Beth's Weekend, and Beyond: Cliffs Notes

Settings: Mexico City, Mexico, and New York City, USA
Primary Characters: Beth, Ed, Marko (groom), Sheila (bride)
Genres: tragedy, comedy, adventure
Major Themes: illness, redemption, relapse, natural disaster, hubris

Chapter One Synopsis - Events Leading Up to the Wedding
Beth, having arrived safely in Mexico City, meets Ed at the hotel as he is on the way to the rehearsal; he has been named Padron of the Rings. Later, while dressing for the rehearsal dinner, Ed tells Beth that the rehearsal was a disaster, as Sheila was very late and the group missed their time slot. Beth learns that Sheila appeared very ill. Later, at the rehearsal dinner, Sheila makes a brief appearance and seems pale and unwell. Ed's mother finally takes charge and chases her into the elevator and home. Beth and Ed offer condolences to Marko.

Chapter Two Synopsis - Day of the Wedding

The reception area

Beth, Ed, and Ed's brother and sister-in-law meet in the lobby for breakfast just as Marko's parents arrive. They learn that Marko and Sheila are both in the hospital on IVs, along with Marko's cousin's girlfriend. All three ate dinner at the same seafood restaurant two days before. Later, word is circulated that they have been struck with salmonella poisoning. Much speculation is raised about whether the wedding will occur, but everyone proceeds as planned. Buses transport the guests to a large cathedral at 6:30, and at 7:15 the wedding party begins to process down the aisle. Marko looks somewhat peaked, though Sheila looks well. The priest announces that the full Catholic mass will now be abbreviated due to the bride and groom's condition. An inaudible sigh of relief ripples through the groom's side of the church. The bride and groom are married to the tune of a live string quartet and choir. Alexandra, the groom's cousin, looks nervous during her reading and later collapses as the guests are filing out; it is later learned that she, too, has been struck with salmonella poisoning. Due to the Cipro taken by everyone at the restaurant as a prophylactic measure, however, she is not hospitalized. Beth's stomach, which has been feeling unsettled all day, finally recovers just as a waiter walks by carrying a tray of lychee margaritas.

The bride and groom rest while the guests take their seats, then appear above the crowd and descend in a glass elevator with "All You Need is Love" playing in the background and fireworks lighting the scene. Toasts are drunk and dinner eaten, though the new couple avoids consumption of liquids or solids. The guests watch several dances featuring the bride and groom and various family members, then the dance floor is opened to everyone. Glow sticks, plastic neckties, light-up devil horns, pom-poms, balloons, and shots are distributed to the dancers at intervals.  

Beth and Ed notice that the groom and his family have vanished, but they reappear near 1:00 A.M.; it is discovered that the groom was napping upstairs. The bride and groom cut the cake, then retire as it is served. Beth and Ed leave the celebration shortly afterward.

Chapter Three Synopsis - Post-Wedding Events

Medieval-style dinner at Meson el Cid

After breakfast with Ed's mother shortly before her departure, Ed takes a nap while Beth goes shopping in a nearby mercado. It is learned that Sheila and Marko have spent their wedding night fighting over use of the bathroom. In the afternoon, Beth and Ed board a tour bus, where Beth is immediately bitten by a sinister-looking insect that leaves a large welt. The bus takes the group on a tour of Mexico City, and Beth and Ed join the bride and groom for a cocktail party that evening. Marko is in attendance, signalling his recovery by taking skips from a bottle of Gatorade and eating a roll. Sheila appears to be improving as well. The groom's brother-in-law, Sean, shows Ed and Beth a picture of Alexandra and the ill girlfriend-of-cousin being transported through the airport in wheelchairs. Later, Ed and Beth go to a local restaurant for dinner with Sean and Charlotte, the groom's sister. They are surprised to find that the restaurant hosts a medieval-style feast on Saturday nights. They are plied with wine and entertained by jugglers, acrobats, musicians, and men on stilts. Back in the hotel, Ed and Beth are woken from their sleep at 12:19 A.M. because their room is swaying violently. They conclude that it is an earthquake and wait in the darkness for about 90 seconds for it to stop. When it does, the curtains continue to sway. When no announcements are made, they eventually go back to sleep.

Chapter Four Synopsis - Back to New York
That morning, Ed tells Beth he has read that it was a 5.8-magnitude earthquake. They find no damage in their room or outside the hotel. After breakfast, they pack, and Beth's stomach again begins to feel unwell. It grows worse during the wait at the airport, the flight to JFK airport, and the cab ride to their apartment. The cats greet them with loud howls of huger, which move Ed and annoy Beth.

Chapter Five Synopsis - Ed's Accident

Ed in his room

Beth goes to work in the morning but leaves due to stomach pain by 11:00. As she lies down, she notices that Ed's street clothes are on the bed and that is running shoes are gone. When he is not back by 12:45, she begins to worry, and at 1:30 his mother calls to say Ed is in the hospital, confirming Beth's suspicions. Ed's mother reports that Ed did not know Beth's phone number (Beth rolls her eyes, as she has been encouraging him to memorize it for a year and a half) and left her a message to pass on instead. He is at Beth Israel because he passed out during his run. Beth immediately packs Ed's wallet and phone and a change of clothes for him and takes a cab to find Ed in the emergency room. She sees that his face and knee are scraped but that he looks otherwise alert and normal. He explains that he stopped at an intersection, felt dizzy, and woke up in the middle of the street, being tended by a patron of a nearby restaurant. He felt fine, but an ambulance was called. He received a CAT scan and several EKGs and his blood was tested. A doctor soon arrives, who tells Beth and Ed that though everything looks fine, it is recommended that Ed stay overnight for continuous heart monitoring. Beth returns home for more supplies and a bagel sandwich for Ed and returns just in time to watch him be wheeled to a room. In a conversation with Ed's brother, she learns that Sheila has gone back for an ultrasound and that the honeymoon is postponed indefinitely. Beth stays with Ed throughout the evening; they watch a movie on his laptop and eat dinner.

Chapter Six - Resolution

Ed's ride to the stress test

Beth joins Ed at the hospital the following afternoon. He is changing into shorts for a stress test. The nurse insists on wheeling him to the treadmill and he runs for 20 minutes. Later, a doctor joins Beth and Ed in Ed's room to tell him that his heart appears completely healthy and that the unconsciousness was likely caused by Ed's very fit heart returning his body to low, post-exercise blood pressure too quickly as a result of stopping suddenly. This can happen to people with overly fit hearts, he says, and the two discuss the principle of diminishing returns as related to fitness. The doctor gives Ed some tips to prevent this happening again, and after answering some questions, discharges Ed and tells him to return home. Beth and Ed take a cab and are greeted by their Russian doorman. He inquires about Ed's face, then points to Beth and asks if she did it. Beth assents and the doorman nods wisely and says, "Yjes, this is sometimes happen."