“I’ve seen that there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do for me and my family.” I dropped my bike so I could hold her. “I’m too old for dating, too arrogant to let someone else make the decisions, too grumpy to be a good grandfather. I need lots of help. I need a partner, someone who won’t put up with my departures from reality. And I’m too broken to get down on one knee. Today. Please say you’ll marry me, today, secretly, so we don’t take anything away from Aeryn’s wedding,” I ended in a low voice, lacking confidence. I felt weak.
Terri pursed her lips and rubbed her chin. “So, this is your way of telling me how much you know about me?” She started laughing, light, musically. She pulled my face to hers and kissed me, slowly, warmly.
“It’s been lonely in my cabin, but you know what? I think I’ve found myself. I discovered who I really was on top of that hill outside Denali. And then when you came, all I saw was another man trying to dominate me. You proved me wrong, and for that, I applaud you. You made it possible for me to trust people again. This past week has been amazing, not just making love with you, but every aspect of your entire life. The whole world is before us, and I want to be a part of that journey. You are going to take these people to a better place, and you can’t do it alone. Yes, Chuck, I’ll marry you.”
I don’t know why I thought she’d refuse. Maybe my ego was more fragile than I’d admit. I was old school and being married was important to me. Maybe Terri recognized that. She made me happy, and I still carried a certain amount of guilt, a feeling that I was betraying Madison.
Floyd readily accepted her. He recognized the love in the air and worked his nose between us as I tried to kiss my newly betrothed. His tongue was out and ears were up. He was panting from being hot, a condition that lasted fully six months out of the year. We needed to have snow on the ground before he was comfortable.
“I love you, Terri, and I can’t give you a proper honeymoon, but we can go to Valdez!” I smiled.
“Valdez is your idea of a honeymoon? Let me guess. You need to go to Valdez and set up the transshipment location, get everything ready for the miners. And you decided you wanted to knock off a piece or two while there, so you invite me?” I stood there with my mouth open while she laughed at me.
“Knock off a piece?” I asked incredulously. She put her finger to my lips.
“Just when you think you have me figured out, you don’t. I’ll take you, but only because it’s bargain basement Sunday and you’re the best of what’s left,” she taunted.
“Is that the best you have? Just wait until you get me home, woman,” I answered, feeling comfortable jousting with her. I held her to me and couldn’t let go. She nuzzled my neck.
“We’re not going to get there at this pace. If you want Aeryn mad at you, keep going down this road.” Terri leaned back and smiled. My heart melted, and I fought the tears.
“Her soon-to-be husband shot me with an arrow,” I dodged, hiding behind humor to keep me from turning into a blithering idiot.
“Come on, now, lover. I’ve got my own wedding to get to, and I don’t want to miss it!” She broke from me and walked her bike a few steps, jumped on, and peddled quickly away.
“Come on, Floyd. We’ve got places to go and people to see.” I picked up my bike and rode after Terri. She wouldn’t let me get too close, so we made it to the community center ahead of schedule, despite our delay.
The Community had one non-denominational preacher. I had no idea if he had any real certifications or not and I didn’t care. He was a nice guy and a motivating speaker. He’d been with us for six years and ministered to a broad swath of the residents. There had been a Russian Orthodox priest at one point, but left when we told him there was no way we were building a church. We offered that he could pick from what was available, assuming that the parishioners could convert it for use in a low-technology setting.
He lasted less than one year. It seemed that austerity didn’t agree with him. That did more to convert people than anything else. We had a wide variety of original faiths, so the Muslims, the Jews, the Baptists, the Catholics, the Wiccans, and everyone else worshipped in their own homes and came together one day a week to worship as a group. It was more of a potluck gathering of friends, but the preacher coordinated it and made sure that fun was had by all.
He stood there in a simple robe on the makeshift stage in front of the community center. There were two rows of chairs, with names written on them. It looked like we were given up-front seating, along with Toby’s family. Charles and Diane were up front as well. I looked at it and it finally registered.
“Really?” I said. Terri shook her head. “Charles and Diane? Prince Charles, Lady Di?”
Then she smirked. “That is kind of funny.” I didn’t see the humor in it, but the new generation had no idea who those figures from history were.
“Preacher man!” I called and Terri slapped me on the arm. A few people were around, setting up tables for a buffet of sorts. I didn’t seen Aeryn or Toby as I made sure we had space to talk with the preacher privately.
“Welcome Chuck and Terri. It is so good to see you here. I was surprised when Aeryn and Toby came to me, but this is a new world and they are so much in love. Do you want a run-through of the ceremony?” he asked.
“Yes, but later. First, we were hoping that you could marry us.” The preacher beamed and hugged Terri, then me.
“I am so happy for you both! You’ll be the Community’s new power couple,” he said happily. I hadn’t known there was such a thing. “When were you looking to do this?”
“Today, maybe right now, inside where no one else can see? We don’t want to detract from Aeryn’s big day. We want to do this just for ourselves,” I explained.
“Sounds good to me. Love can’t wait, huh?” I looked at Terri and we both shook our heads. He led us into the community center, to a back office where we raised hands and took oaths, then he did a quick ceremony and told us to kiss after a hearty pair of “I dos.” Floyd was our only witness.
He left us on our own, taking Floyd outside with him.
“I don’t even know your last name,” I said, holding her tenderly.
“It doesn’t matter, it’s Nagy, now,” she replied, kissing my eyebrows.
“I don’t need that. I don’t own you so you keep whatever name you want,” I pleaded with her.
“I know. That’s why it’s okay to change it, because you don’t insist. Do you want to know what my name was?” she asked. I held her face in my hands, feeling blessed that such women as Madison and Terri wanted to be with me. I didn’t answer. It was her secret to share.
“Horny. I was Mrs. Major Horny.” She hung her head.
I chuckled. It escaped before I could stop it. I bit my lip trying not to laugh out loud. “I’m sorry,” I said, trying to sound sympathetic.
“That’s why I don’t tell people, and if that information ever escapes my husband’s lips, there will be hell to pay!” she threatened playfully.
“Yes, dear,” I replied and, holding hands, we left the center, entering the world for the first time as husband and wife. The preacher had a ledger that he maintained and would enter our information accordingly. That would be the only record until such time as Alaska rejoined the technological revolution.
“We need to find Aeryn and see what we can do to help,” I said as we looked from place to place. It would have been better had we split up to canvass the area, but I didn’t want to leave go of Terri’s hand. Together we walked, asking people as we passed.
No one knew anything about the ceremony other than it started at noon. We returned to the preacher and asked him.
“Of course, she’s already here; locked herself in a back room of the center. Toby will arrive closer to noon. She was in the room next to where you two got married,” he said happily. I was angry, but then tamped it down. He’d given us what we asked for �
� privacy.
We hurried back inside and knocked on the door. Aeryn opened it after a few seconds.
She wore a beautiful white wedding dress, complete with long, white gloves. Her hair was pulled back and held with a silver clip. She looked stunning and a little green. The dress looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
“Where?” I asked, pointing to her gown.
“Dad!” she exclaimed. “It’s Mom’s dress. Charles went to our old house and got it for me. It survived all this time.” Like most wedding dresses, it had been sealed in a bag and stored carefully. I wasn’t surprised that it lasted, but I was surprised that the twins had remembered it and that Charles went after it. That was a long ride, maybe twenty miles one way from our cabin with a number of hills in between. She pointed to the wall where a suit hung.
It was one of my suits, complete with an old pair of black leather shoes that were starting to crack.
I wanted to hug her, but she looked off. “Are you okay, sweetheart? Nerves?”
“Morning sickness. Joy,” she answered. It was hard not to smile. “I heard, you know, the ceremony next door.” She looked upset.
“I’m sorry, we didn’t want to detract from your day, sweetheart!” I begged her, taking a knee so I could look up into her eyes.
“I know, Dad. But you have to share with us, with Charles and me. We really are happy for you, two, but we deserved to be at your wedding.” She sounded hurt, but at least she wasn’t throwing up.
“And we’ll have another one. Sometimes, you have to do what’s right for yourself. Besides falling in love with this beautiful woman, the most important point in being together is that you two approve. You gave us that. Everything else is just administrivia. We’ve already shared all that we are between us all. You and Toby, Charles and Diane.” I rolled my eyes. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to say it without making a face.
“Let’s get you cleaned up, Miss Pukebreath, and then you can tell us how this day is going to pan out,” I added, while I rubbed her shoulders. Her neck and upper back were tight, maybe from throwing up, probably from nerves. She was still only sixteen and this was her special day. Of course, she wasn’t ready for it. No one ever was.
Terri carried mint leaves in a small pouch and shared some of those with Aeryn. They talked and prepped while I put on my old suit. I was happy that Charles found a belt that worked. The suit was way too big on me. It had been a long time, but I was still much thinner than when I last wore it.
But none of that mattered. Madison would have been proud that Aeryn was wearing her dress. I hadn’t thought that they were that much alike. I was wrong about that and many things. I was glad to have someone back in my life, because when there wasn’t, I tended to lose myself and make bad decisions. In such a short time, Terri had become my rudder and the wind in my sails.
“You can’t die!” I blurted out. Both women looked shocked. “Please, nobody else die on me,” I begged. They both hugged me and promised not to. I excused myself to go outside and get some fresh air. Floyd had been waiting in the hallway as Aeryn hadn’t wanted dog hair or slobber on her dress.
Floyd went with me and I felt a sudden pang of fear and loneliness, but it passed quickly. Terry was with Aeryn, not her mother, but her friend and my friend.
And that’s why I came back to the world after being gone for a year. It’s okay to mourn. It’s not okay to disappear into a pit of despair. “What do you say, Floyd? Let’s see what kind of eats Toby and Aeryn pulled together for us,” I told my dog. He didn’t know what I was saying, but his nose suggested there was something he liked on those tables. With his ears up and tail held high, he marched at my side. When I reached into a covered pan, I got my hand slapped. Floyd’s ears drooped when he saw that I didn’t steal anything for him.
“You keep grubby paws from pan!” Babushka yelled at me. I didn’t know her name. Everyone simply referred to her as Grandmother. I wasn’t even certain when she’d appeared or how. All of a sudden, there she was, telling the Russians how they would never survive in the old country where people worked for a living. She was the kindest soul with the sharpest tongue of anyone I’d ever met.
“Come on, Babushka, just a little taste. I’m the father of the bride! Surely you can make an exception for me?” I tried to make my case.
“Away with you, freeloader!” she howled as if I was a moose trampling through her garden. Discretion was the better part of valor, so Floyd and I strolled away from the table. Guests were starting to arrive and they were watching me closely. I gave the thumbs up and pointed to the table, then patted my stomach. They made a beeline for the food table while I walked quickly away. I heard Babushka yelling at me to come back so she could box my ears. I made like I didn’t hear her and kept putting as much distance between us as I could. I figured I was permanently banned from the food table. Maybe Aeryn could make me a plate, or Terri. Toby owed me, big time. He could work Babushka for a plate for me and one for Floyd.
He shot me with an arrow. My leg was stiff, but it no longer hurt like it used to; that pain was a distant memory. The past week was a blur. I remembered people running in and out of my house, the terminable phone calls, and Terri, there with me every moment.
I liked my new life and that’s what it was, a new and completely different journey. I stood and took in the fresh air. It was cool enough that I wasn’t sweating in my suit. It took me three tries to get the tie right, but I felt good in the suit, professional. I was the governor after all. Maybe I’d take the suit to Valdez. It was important to have the upper hand. If they expected a hick, I wouldn’t give them one.
They didn’t know what they were in for.
More and more people arrived, so Floyd and I became the greeting party, receiving congratulations of all sorts. Many had presents and I had no idea what to do with them, but then Diane started yelling at people to put them on a table next to the food line. I hadn’t seen her arrive, but expected Charles would not be far away. I angled around the crowd, keeping them between me and Babushka. Diane looked at me and smiled, then ran around the table to hug me. She felt all of eighty pounds, but she had a great deal of energy. I hope Charles understood how that would keep his life interesting. Once I looked into her eyes, I guessed that he probably already knew that.
“Charles?” I asked and she pointed to the food tables where he was studiously sampling each dish. Babushka raised a serving spoon and waved it at me menacingly. Charles smiled and waved his fingers at me. I backed away slowly as Babushka lunged toward me. I turned and ran.
I wasn’t too proud. Diane’s laughter receded into the distance. Abigail and Phillip arrived with their dog teams pulling two sleds with trailers filled with food. Jo, Emma, and Tony followed them, riding their bikes. Floyd ran straight through both teams, nearly inciting a riot. He considered himself a husky, while the other sled dogs considered him a wolf. I ran after him and muscled him away from the teams. All he wanted to do was go play. Abigail and Phillip worked to calm their dogs while Jo summoned a small army of people to carry the serving trays to the tables.
I would have helped, but couldn’t risk getting within arm’s reach of Babushka.
Alexey and Alyona arrived carrying a couple of large potted flowers. They put these on the sides of the stage. I worked my way to the front so I could thank them for continuing Terri’s work in the greenhouse. Alyona waved at me as if I were a petulant child. “For past year, it has been Chuck this, Chuck that. I’m glad you finally come to your senses. She is good person and you will be happy.”
“Yes, Da, and spasibo,” I told them. They headed for the food table, making me jealous. I wondered what I would have to do to get a sandwich before the ceremony.
Too late. I spotted Toby coming from the side and taking his place on the stage. Charles worked his way up there and stood next to him. Someone started yelling for everyone to take their places. I stood in fr
ont of my designated chair, when I spotted Toby’s parents. I greeted them as old friends, even though I had never spent much time with them. I knew that I should have. I’d lost much time during the dark time.
We made small talk until someone started playing a guitar, then we stood in front of our chairs. Lucas appeared and grabbed my arm, directing me to follow him.
He opened the door to the community center, smiling at the crowd. Clarisse walked out first, slowly, using her cane. Charles jumped down to help her up the two steps to the stage. Emma and Jo walked out next, followed by Amber, Abigail, Terri, and finally Colleen. I looked at the women from the original Community, along with Terri, my new wife, as they all took the stage. I took Aeryn’s arm and, walking slowly, we approached the stage where Toby waited at the bottom of the stairs.
I choked up as I saw that the women were standing in for Aeryn’s mother and probably had been for the past year. I walked tall, although tears ran down my cheeks. Aeryn saw me and smiled, but she was crying, too. When we reached Toby, I nodded to him and kissed my daughter on the cheek. I stood there as they walked onto the stage. Terri joined me and hugged me around the waist as we moved to our seats in the front row.
Then the preacher started, which brought me back to reality. Did all preachers have that same voice? Did they teach that in the seminary? I wouldn’t ask. He told us to sit down, so those of us with chairs did. There was a huge crowd behind us. I wondered how many were there. It could have been half the Community and deservedly so. Aeryn and Charles had made everyone feel welcome over the past ten years.
Fury (End Times Alaska Book 4) Page 11