Bridesmaid
Nikki Wical, Bride's Younger Sister

Oh, to lead the life of a military wife!

Lounging around the house all day with nary a care, blissfully reclining on a silk chaise, plucking bon bons from a never-ending supply of velvet boxes, taking mental notes of the new flower arrangement Martha has created.

Then, of course, are the tea parties. They are elegant affairs rich with petit fours and scones, blackberry jam and orange marmalade, cucumber sandwiches and chutney. The tea has finished steeping. Its steam dances and curls, sending whispers of chamomile into the air. The table is flawlessly laid out with matching silver (freshly polished, of course), starched white linens and Mary Englebright saucers. "How cuuuute!" your guests coo, demanding to know where you obtained such darling items.

You'll all adjourn to play croquet on the expansive front lawn where you, feeling saucy, remove your shoes; the well-tended grass feels like plush carpet under your feet. Or perhaps it's off to tennis practice in your flirty white skirt where Dirk will compliment you on your serve.

Or maybe you'll wake up from this dream on the cat-hair-covered couch where you passed out from sheer exhaustion to find your five-year-old son attempting to feed Legos to your one-year-old son.

Ah, what a life!

Peaceful repose.