“No, ma’am,” he replied without even a slight hesitation. “Though the Quintans have certainly treated me like family ever since I got here.” Of course he wouldn’t tell her mother about Jax, especially not when they were surrounded by strangers. But didn’t it ever get old, she wondered, having to constantly live a lie, making sure that you never slipped up once?
Her preoccupation with Jimmy was completely sidetracked as she caught sight of Casey for the first time. He walked past the guests and stood in the front near the arbor, smiling out at the crowd. He was a far cry from the scrawny, unkempt kid who had aided and abetted Andie in all her schemes. He stood straight and tall, his sandy hair trimmed short and precise, matching his immaculate Armada dress uniform. He must have received his commission right before the wedding. Would he be stationed in Omphalos, she wondered? Or would he be sent to some remote duty outpost? Was Jo all right with that? Jenna couldn’t imagine it herself. Her career, her whole life was fixed in Omphalos. She wouldn’t give that up to go traipsing around the world after some guy.
Once all the guests were seated, the wedding director went to the front to issue some instructions. When Jo entered, everyone was to rise as she walked down the aisle. Then Pilgrim Hai, Symphoria’s resident holy man and legal wedding administrator, would enter. It would be considered an insult to the humility of Pilgrim Hai to show any special mark of favor toward him, so the guests were instructed to forgo any signs of reverence directed at the Pilgrim as officiator of the wedding. Jenna was pleasantly surprised. Most Pilgrims, who were living repositories of the galaxy’s religious customs, expected to be treated like royalty. Some even asked that people kneel in their presence, ostensibly to honor the customs that they carried in their heads. Jenna thought it was odd that a Pilgrim who wasn’t seeking such honors would choose to make his home in Symphoria. With all the lavish, high-end destination weddings, this would be a perfect location for a Pilgrim looking for ego strokes.
A minute later, Jo sashayed down the aisle, and Jenna stared in shock, forgetting even to stand up. She saw her mother stiffen out of the corner of her eye, and she even dared a look at Jimmy, whose mouth had dropped open. Jo flounced past in an emerald-green bikini and glossy gold boots, surrounded by swathes of pink tulle. Jenna had seen some strange fashions in Omphalos, but the commitment ceremony of a wedding was considered an extremely formal event. She had never heard of a bride who dressed like a showgirl for one. Typically, Jimmy seemed to recover first. He smiled wickedly at Jenna and took her arm, helping her up. “OK, I take it back. Everybody’s eyes will be on the bride today no matter what. Just like they’d watch a shuttle crash in horrified fascination,” he whispered. Jenna fought back a giggle.
When Jo reached the front to stand next to Casey, there was an audible gasp from the front row. Jenna didn’t know who it was (one of the close family members was horrified for sure), but she heard a few muffled sniggers among the guests. She wondered then if this had been an elaborate practical joke and if some of Jo’s friends had been in on it all along. She sneaked a glance at Casey, wondering what he thought of Jo’s breach of etiquette, but his eyes were fixed avidly on Jo’s face, and he smiled radiantly.
Maybe love really was blind.
Pilgrim Hai entered next, and his presence was almost ludicrously simple after Jo’s dramatic appearance. He wore nothing but a well-pressed pair of slacks and a spotlessly white button-down shirt. He took his position in the front of the crowd, and the ceremony began. Jo and Casey each promised that they had the legal right to marry, that they were committed to being lifelong partners, and that they would honor each other with fidelity and trust. The Pilgrim then opened up the ceremony to the members of the seated audience and reminded them that if they had any objections to the marriage of Joanna Cruz and Casey Morten, they could voice them now publicly or privately to the Pilgrim any time during the next three days before the final binding ceremony. Back in the days when couples emigrating from Terra married right before shipping out, the longer ceremony was an important chance for people to discuss their concerns about the couple’s compatibility with the marriage officiator before they faced the rigors of space colonization. If too many people voiced the same kinds of concerns to the officiator, he or she had had the right to refuse to perform the ceremony. Divorces had not even been allowed on many early colonized planets; it was too important in small, isolated communities to have stability in order to survive. Of course, with so many settled planets now this wasn’t so much of an issue, and the three-day wedding ceremony was not as common. It was currently in vogue with some of the wealthier segments of society, though, especially when the bride and groom had guests coming from off-planet, which explained why Casey and Jo had opted for the formal ceremony—even if Jo was throwing formal attire out the window.
The commitment ceremony was followed by a buffet dinner and reception. Jenna filled a plate of a wide variety of finger foods she meant only to sample small tastes of and watched in disbelief as Jimmy piled his plate so high she wasn’t sure how he was possibly going to keep it balanced, let alone manage to eat it all.
“You realize they didn’t put out any tables for this reception, right? We’re intended to carry around our food and meet the other guests,” she explained doubtfully as Jimmy took some kind of fried lump off the top and tossed it into his mouth.
“Yep. But you realize that we didn’t eat lunch, right? I’m starving. Bet you I finish my whole stack before you clean your meager little plate, and I won’t drop anything either,” Jimmy wagered.
“You’re on.” There was no way he was going to keep all that food from falling. “If you lose, you’re cleaning my bathroom when we get home.”
“Oh, that’s nasty. And quite the wager. So to make it worth my while: if I win, you have to go for a walk on the beach with me tomorrow.”
Jenna crooked a brow at him. “That’s hardly equal to cleaning a bathroom,” she protested.
“I get to say when we go, and you have to come with me no matter what!” he clarified. Jenna hesitated thoughtfully. Knowing Jimmy, he would probably drag her out of her room in the middle of the night. Then she’d have to explain that to her mother somehow. Still . . .
“All right, you’re on. You’re going to lose, though.”
Suddenly Jo appeared and claimed Jimmy. “I have some friends who are dying to meet your friend, Jenna. You don’t mind?” Jenna waved them both off and threaded her way through the guests until she reached her mother, who was chatting with Casey’s mom.
“Hello, Dr. Morten,” she greeted politely.
“Jenna! I’m so glad you could make it!” Dr. Morten’s enthusiasm was sincere. She grabbed Jenna and hugged her tightly. “It means so much that you’re here.”
Suddenly, a tall, glowering woman with silver hair cut in a severe bob pushed her way around another couple and into their group.
“Elisabeth!” Her voice was deeper than Jenna expected. “Where is the Pilgrim? I must speak to him at once.”
Dr. Morten smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. She ignored the question and instead turned to Jenna and her mom. “Marian, Jenna, this is Margharita Morten, my mother-in-law. Margharita, this is Marian Donnell and her daughter Jenna. Marian is the public relations consultant for the Armada on Zenith, and her husband is the admiral over Dos Cientos,” she added as an explanation. Jenna hid her curiosity beneath a welcoming smile. This must be Casey’s notorious grandmother. Mrs. Morten gave them a tight-lipped smile, and then turned back to Dr. Morten.
“I must put an end to this sham, since you have not seen fit to do so before now. How can you let our grandson marry such a woman? I little expected when we came out to meet our future granddaughter that I would discover a trollop!”
Dr. Morten coughed, and Jenna had a sudden suspicion that she was covering a laugh. Now she was certain who had gasped at Jo’s entrance—and probably exactly who the prank was intende
d for.
“It was an outfit in terribly bad taste,” Dr. Morten agreed. “But I don’t think that it warrants me trying to stop my son’s wedding. I doubt you’ll have any success either.”
Mrs. Morten frowned. Clearly she didn’t expect to get anywhere with Casey either. “That is why I must speak with the Pilgrim and persuade him that they are not compatible, so that he can refuse to bind them. I cannot abide the thought of such a low connection in the family!” she fumed.
Jenna excused herself as quickly as she could before the giggles could explode and betray her. “A low connection”—who even spoke like that? Mrs. Morten sounded like a caricature from a historical novella. Mrs. Morten was a horrible snob, which made Jo’s flagrant outfit suddenly admirable. That woman was never going to accept her anyway; why not give her a reason for it and get a good laugh out of shocking her in the process? But Jenna thought she might want to track Casey down and warn him of his grandmother’s intent to protest. Who knew if Pilgrim Hai might agree with her? Then things would get really awkward.
Her eyes swept the room, first landing on Jimmy, who was standing with Jo and a whole passel of young women. Jimmy caught her eye and held up his plate. It was totally clean. Blast that boy. At least she only had to go for a walk on the beach. Hopefully he didn’t choose some ridiculous time for it.
“Look who managed to tear herself away from Omphalos!”
Jenna whirled to find herself facing Casey. “Hey! Congratulations!” she offered feebly.
“Thanks!” Casey beamed. Jenna stood there awkwardly for a second, desperately trying to think of something to say, while part of her had noted with dismay that Jo’s group had melted away, leaving Jimmy alone with just one of the girls.
“So who’s the mystery man?” Casey asked, his eyes following Jenna’s.
“His name is Jimmy, and he’s just a friend of mine,” Jenna said automatically. She tried not to be bothered by the fact that Jimmy was clearly enjoying himself with the young woman. She was taller than Jimmy by at least four inches, but she doubted he would care. She had gorgeous fiery hair and a very curvy figure. And she was laughing at everything he said.
“Oh, just a friend?” Casey said skeptically.
Jenna flushed, turning her full attention back to Casey. “Yes,” she insisted firmly.
Casey smiled slightly but let it drop. “You’re looking well tonight,” he complimented.
“Much better than the last time you saw me, I’m sure,” Jenna agreed. Casey nodded, but his eyes dimmed just a bit, and he shifted uncomfortably. He must have been remembering the same thing she was. The last time that Jenna and Casey had met, she had delivered her sister’s old flipcom—and an unsent message declaring Andie’s love for Casey. Jenna had found it among her sister’s belongings after she had disappeared.
Jenna decided she’d better change the subject. Nothing was worse than remembering her sister like this, and worse yet, reminding Casey of her at his wedding.
“Your grandmother is a very . . . forceful personality,” Jenna observed.
Casey laughed. “Well, that’s a tactful way to put it. Did you meet her?”
“Just a minute ago. You should know that she was ranting about stopping your wedding. She’s planning to find the Pilgrim and lodge an objection.”
“You can’t be serious!” Casey exclaimed. “Nobody actually does that anymore.”
Jenna’s mouth twitched. “I gather Jo’s unconventional outfit tonight is proving to make your wedding unusual in more ways than one then.”
Casey frowned. “It was a bit appalling, to be honest. If I’d known she was going to wear that I would have tried to get her to reconsider. But what right does that give my grandmother to interfere?”
“Well, she’s only one person. The Pilgrim will probably dismiss her objection.”
“And then she’ll offer to pay him substantially to reconsider,” Casey added, his look growing stormy. “I can’t imagine why she’d bother. Even if she managed to get the Pilgrim to refuse to bind us, we’d just get married by someone else later. All she’d succeed in doing is ruining the most important event of my life!” Jenna decided it was time to lighten the mood. She’d learned from Jimmy a lot about diffusing tension; he was a master at it.
“Still, I bet the look on your grandmother’s face when Jo appeared was priceless. Probably worth every senine you spent on this wedding!” Her quip worked. Casey smiled lopsidedly, and the tension left his face.
“It was pretty memorable. It looked like she suddenly swallowed a lizard!”
They were interrupted by a couple of guests coming to congratulate Casey, and Jenna made her escape. She had managed to at least tip off Casey to his bossy grandmother’s plan without having mentioned her sister at all. That had to be considered a success.
However, when the reception had ended and she was back in her room, she couldn’t help but think of what it would have been like if this had been Andie’s wedding instead of Jo’s.
She missed her sister terribly.
13. The Wedding
Day two of the wedding was mostly divided up, with the women meeting separate from the men. In many cultures this would be the day when religious ceremonies would be performed, but Jo had planned instead for a shower in the morning where she would open any gifts and all the women would provide every possible kind of marriage advice. Some of it Jenna had heard before (“Never go to bed angry at each other”) and some of it was the worst she had ever heard (“Make him grovel for sex”). Jenna herself felt uncomfortable giving advice—it wasn’t like she had any experience with married life herself—but after thinking about her own messy situation with Zane, she suggested, “Try to always be as honest as you can. You don’t want to end up living a lie!”
Some of the young women laughed, and one of Jo’s friends called, “Total honesty is a surefire way to end up unhappily married! You can’t go around telling him that his breath stinks and he’s getting fat!”
Jenna didn’t challenge it; she smiled and let her advice be turned into a joke, as girls in the group came up with more and more ridiculous truths one wouldn’t want to tell her husband. Yet, as she thought about it further herself, she was certain. True honesty had to be part of a marriage if you were planning to succeed. There had to be some way to be kind and yet totally honest.
In the afternoon, the women were treated to the spa services at the resort. Jenna started with a session of electro-stimulation, which was supposed to exorcise any negative stores of emotional energy. She didn’t know if the electro-stim was worth the astronomical price tag or not, but hey, if it got her through the rest of the wedding without wallowing in the fact that her sister should be the bride instead of the increasingly annoying Jo, it was worth it. Maybe it was only her imagination, but Jenna had spent most of her life dealing with girls who treated her like the enemy, and she could see it in Jo, just over the course of a day. It was one of the facts of life when you were pretty enough to attract the guys’ attention. Girls who saw her as competition didn’t attack her physically, of course. It was always subtle, but it ranged from ignoring her to being outright insulting. Jo wasn’t straight-up hostile, but there were little digs directed at Jenna that made her sigh with impatience. She was no threat to the bride’s spotlight, so why the competition?
It took every minute of the most marvelous massage after her electro-stim to banish her desire for the wedding to be over already.
It turned out her mother was having similar trouble. When Jenna returned from the massage, her mother was already in the room. She paced the room from the window to the bathroom and back again. It looked like either her mother had skipped the spa session or she had gotten the opposite of a relaxing treatment.
“Are you OK, Mom?” Jenna asked timidly, a little afraid of what the answer would be.
“I’m all right,” her mother said. “Just fine.” She
didn’t even falter in her pacing. Jenna dropped to a chair and stared at her mother, whose cheeks were livid and whose eyes were tight. She had expected her mother to be sad or maybe anxious, but this was something else entirely.
“If you keep going like this, you’re going to wear a path in the carpet,” she observed lightly, hoping to slow her mother down.
“I’m just trying to get myself under control. I’m fine,” her mother responded through gritted teeth. Jenna watched for a minute more, unsure of what to do. What had happened? Should she comm her father?
Finally, her mother stopped in the center of the room. “I’m just so angry!” she explained, her voice fierce. “And I know I’m being ridiculous, but that just makes me angrier!”
“Angry about what?” Jenna questioned gently.
“Casey,” her mother muttered.
“Casey!” Jenna exclaimed in shock. “What did he do?”
“Nothing,” her mother admitted with a long sigh. “I ran into him with all his friends, coming back from whatever they’ve been doing all day, and he was laughing and happy, and it just hit me all again. I resented it.” Jenna didn’t say anything. It wasn’t rational, but she understood. Nothing about grief seemed to be rational.
“Part of me blames him for what happened to Andie,” her mom confessed.
“You think he could have stopped her from becoming a pilot?” Jenna asked skeptically. She doubted that. Casey may have had more influence over Andie than anyone else, but she had been obsessed with becoming a pilot. Even if he had ever tried to suggest a different career to her, she never would have listened.
Evidently her mother agreed with that assessment. She shook her head ruefully. “No, I don’t think anyone could have stopped her. Not even your father threatening to have her thrown out of the Academy dissuaded her. No, Andie had her heart set on being a pilot. But she was relatively safe, as safe as any skiff pilot ever is, while she was stationed at Dos Cientos. That’s why your father pulled some strings and made sure she was assigned there.”
The Quintan Edge (Roran Curse Book 2) Page 14