Mindy Kim and the Fairy-Tale Wedding

My name is Mindy Kim. I am nine years old. And I am so excited for this weekend. My dad is getting married!
Since I’ve never been to a wedding before, I don’t know what to expect. But my best friend, Sally, says that weddings are pretty and fun. So I am very excited!
“My cousin got married in Hawaii!” Sally told me. “It was at the beach, and sand got everywhere, but it was worth it. It was the perfect fairy-tale wedding!”
Dad isn’t getting married in Hawaii, but I hope his wedding is going to be a perfect fairy-tale wedding too. He and his fiancée, Julie, deserve the best day ever!
At the end of the school day on Thursday, Dad picked me up from school. Usually, my babysitter, Eunice, picks me up, but today was a special day. We were going to get our relatives from the airport! My grandparents, uncle, aunt, and cousins were all coming from Korea for Dad and Julie’s special day.
When I got into Dad’s car, he looked super nervous. He was holding the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles were white!
“Appa, are you okay?” I asked him as we left the carpool lane. Appa is the Korean word for “Daddy.” I call him Appa or Dad, because they mean the same thing.
“Huh? Oh, I’m fine, Mindy. Everything just feels very real now that our family’s coming all the way here from Korea. And Julie’s family is coming from New York and China.”
The only people to ever visit us in America were my grandparents, and they only visited while we lived in California. This was the first time anyone in my family was coming to see us in Florida. I hoped they’d like it here as much as I do!
“I can’t wait to see everyone!” I said. “Do you think they’ll bring Danbi?”
Danbi the Pomeranian is my cousins’ dog. She isn’t as sweet and nice as my dog, Theodore the Mutt, but she’s still really adorable!
At a stoplight, Dad glanced over to smile at me. “Probably not. Sorry, honey. Remember how we couldn’t bring Theodore with us to Korea? They’re coming for the wedding, and then only spending another week traveling around the US after that. It’s too short a trip for dogs!”
I was a little disappointed, but it was okay. Even though they weren’t bringing their dog, I was so happy that I could see my family again!
I checked the back seat to make sure that Dad had brought my sign. When I visited my family in Korea, they made me a sign to welcome me at the airport! I wanted to return the favor by making a sign of my own.
It had Danbi’s face on it, so it was kind of awkward now that I knew she wasn’t coming. But at least the sign was still cute! I used bright and eye-catching colors like pink and yellow and sprinkled lots of glitter on it. I hoped my family would be able to see my sign from miles and miles away!
Dad still looked anxious, so I told him, “Don’t be nervous, Appa. Everyone’s coming to see you and Julie! The wedding will go great! I just know it!”
He smiled. “Thanks, Mindy. You’re right. I should think more positively, even though we still have a lot of work to do before the wedding on Sunday.”
And then we got on the highway. Orlando International Airport, here we come!