by J. Naomi Ay
"Oh, sorry dear," she said. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I? I'm really just looking for Loman. Is he around?"
"Mother!" I shrieked and pulled up sheets. "What are you doing here in my bedroom in the middle of the night?"
"Charlotte," Senya growled. "Go away. Loman isn't in our bed."
"Oh sorry," Mother cried. "I guess I made a mistake. You haven't seen him in your bathroom or your closet? Just yesterday I found him hiding in Berkan's. I don't know why he's avoiding me. Do you think the sex is not enjoyable enough? Poor Manny always said I was quite the little minx. I know I'm older now, but I still have plenty of zest."
"Mother, this is far too much information. I really don't want to discuss your sex life with dad or anyone else."
"I'm just curious," she sat down on the corner of bed, "since you seem to have the reputation of a vamp, as well. How do you keep him here instead of running away?"
"I am going to run away," Senya declared throwing back the sheets. "Since I shan't be allowed to sleep anymore, I might as well get to work."
"You can sleep, dear," Mother insisted. "I'll speak quietly so you won't be disturbed."
"Speak as loudly as you want, Mother Charlotte. I shall go downstairs and ruin someone else's life. It may be 2AM here in Mishnah, but it's daytime in the Empire somewhere else. There is always a politician I can torment around the clock."
"That's sweet of you, dear," Mother replied. "Say hello to your politician friend from Katie and me. Now, Katie Anne, I really need your advice on this important matter."
Mother climbed into bed, lying down in the spot that Senya had just vacated, whereupon she proceeded to describe Loman's performance issues in great detail.
"Mother!" I covered my ears, and put a pillow on top of my head.
Suddenly, I heard a shriek, and it didn't come from my mother at all. It was Loman who had yelled when Senya opened the bathroom door.
"Loman," Senya scolded as my future step-father ran. "What were you doing in my bathtub this time of night?"
"Sorry, Sir, I apologize. I didn't think you would need it at 2AM."
"Loman!" Mother cried. "There you are. I've been looking for you."
"Hello, Charlotte." Loman waved. Then, he raced across the bedroom floor, heading straight to the terrace and out on the deck. It was still covered in ice from the odd weather, and unfortunately, Loman slipped and tumbled down the stair, breaking his hip and hurting his back.
"Kari-fa!" Senya swore as he ran outside.
Mother and I ran too, but first, I grabbed my robe. I also rang the Palace medics, and told Berkan to come right away. Then, I headed out to the deck where I found Senya kneeling over Loman in the snowy sand. He had his hand on Loman's hip, and his eyes were glowing.
"You've got a bad break here. You'll need surgery right away if you ever want to walk. It'll take six months of rehabilitation, daily therapy and multiple pharmaceutical regimens. Alternatively, I can fix you right now. If you want me to do this, Loman, just nod your head. It'll hurt for a moment, but then you shall be as before."
"No, thank you, Sir," Loman gasped. "I'd rather be repaired at the hospital in the conventional way."
"Are you certain? I am offering you this choice. I would not do so for anyone but you."
"I appreciate that, Sir, but you must understand. I shall be laid up for a good six months unable to perform in bed. I'll have to forgo all my training, running, curls and lifting weights. I'll become sedentary again and probably fat. I am looking forward to it, more so than my honeymoon."
"Alright," Senya agreed, "if you are absolutely certain."
"I am indeed, Sir," Loman nodded, "but if you wouldn't mind, could you please put me to sleep in that way that you do? The pain is not so unbearable. It's just that Charlotte is coming, and I'd rather not talk."
"Of course, Uncle, pleasant dreams." Senya touched his hand to Loman's head and instantly, Loman closed his eyes and started snoring.
The medics and Berkan arrived. In short order, Loman was transported to the New Mishnah hospital where he proceeded to undergo a hip replacement and disc repair.
"Well, it's a pity," Mother told me the very next day. We were having breakfast at the table in my suite. I had prepared a pot of coffee, and Luci had brought cheese Danish. We sat around and watched the ice and snow begin to melt. "Loman can't be here to decide on our wedding decorations," Mother continued. "Do you like the gold ribbons or the blue and purple ones? I was thinking of freesia and orchids with peonies, a carrot cake with vanilla cream cheese frosting and a sixteen piece string ensemble for the music."
"Mother, do you think this is really important now? Are you sure Loman wants to go ahead with the wedding after all? He's going to be in a wheelchair for the next six months. Maybe he just wants to slow down and recover first. You should reschedule until January at the soonest."
"No, absolutely not," Mother declared in an obstinate way. "We're going to get married next week as we have planned. Now let's go over the guest list. Luci, Berkan's given me names for all your relations, and I'm afraid all your second cousins can't be invited."
"That's fine, Mother Charlotte," Luci replied. "We should just have a small family ceremony in any case."
"We've got your children and your grands, your in-laws and your sisters and their spouses. Katie, on your side we've got your husband's father, uncle and cousin, although I consider them quite savage and uncivilized. Actually, I’d prefer to leave them out. We've also got Taner, his daughter and his niece. Of course, we have dear Steven and his girlfriend, Hannah, but only if she agrees to attend, which she may not. There's one additional person your husband has requested. I don’t believe he's related, but I invited him anyway. He RSVP'd this morning and replied he'll be delighted to show up."
"Who is it?" I asked and glanced at Luci. She shrugged and raised her eyebrows.
"Let me see, what was his name?" Mother murmured, taking her finger and scanning down her list. "Oh yes, here it is, Dr. Michael Silverman."
Ten days later on the first Sunday in July, we were preparing for my mother's wedding. It had stopped snowing finally. In fact, it had returned to normal weather. The forecast for today was near eighty degrees. The wedding was set to take place in the Palace courtyard under canopies that had been erected for the guests. Afterward, there would be a luncheon, followed by a dinner dance in the Crystal Ballroom. Undoubtedly, Loman would go back to his suite and resume his convalescence instead. Mother, on the other hand, was determined to dance until morning.
"We don’t need to consummate tonight," she declared. "We did all that well before I nailed the ring. In fact, now that we're finally married, we'll get back to a normal schedule. Once a week at most, that should be often enough. Unless, I have a headache of course, then even that may be too much. At my age, frankly, he'll be lucky to get any. What does he think I am, a girl of nineteen? Really, at ninety, one shouldn't expect any at all. Why, he might have a heart attack and find himself dead."
"Mother," I groaned, and let Luci assist her in dressing, as I couldn't stand this conversation any more.
Mother was wearing a white bridal gown covered in lace and a million seed pearls with one of my tiaras propped up on her head. She had white satin six inch heels, which didn't help with the height differential, as Loman was easily six foot five, while Mother was maybe four-eleven.
"Go get dressed yourself, Madame." Luci waved me away, so I walked across the courtyard to my own suite.
It was a flurry of activity around me as the staff hurried to get the seating and flowers ready. Visitors were already arriving. They milled about, listening to the orchestra. I waved to a few and called Hello to others, until I saw my son near the water fountain. He was jumping or dancing around, playing some kind of game.
"Shika, what are you doing?" I cried. "You're making your suit a mess."
Racing over, I discovered he was kicking a soccer ball, booting it with his fine leather shoe across the immaculately maintained
lawn. The ball landed in front of Hannah, who was stunning in a blue summer dress, and had apparently decided to attend after all. She ran down the field in high-heeled sandals, before passing off to RJ, who lost the ball. Joanne recovered it and made an outside kick to cross it over to Sam, who then sent RJ tumbling into the grass.
Sam kicked a goal through the post of two wedding chairs. Petya applauded from the sidelines as his baby son, Loran tried to clap his hands, but hit his face. Angelica whined and begged to play, so Marik put her on his shoulders, and together they ran around pretending to score. In the meantime, Elana and Marie huddled in a corner, busily chatting.
I waved to their mother, the Cyganian Queen, who glanced at me, before raising her nose and turning away. She didn’t recognize me without my finery, and that was just fine.
I had discovered on this trip, I was still Katie no matter what costumes I wore. I could pretend to be a Queen or an Empress, but inside I would always be just me. It would take far more than a dress, some jewels or a fancy pair of shoes to metamorphose this ordinary human girl into someone else.
In my room, I discovered my husband pacing the floor while yelling at someone on the vid. It had to do with some regulation or law which obviously he didn't like. Unfortunately, it was putting him in a foul mood right before the wedding.
"Come on!" I called. "It's time to get dressed. Nobody is going to start this without you."
He waved for me to quiet, while he finished his conversation, so I went into my dressing room to get prepared.
I had a gold lace gown in my favorite style that made my waist look small and my hips thin. I wore my hair down across my shoulders, pinned with a diamond barrette. I had an elegant diamond waterfall around my neck. I wore my antique wedding ring from the Imperial Collection. Then, I looked in the mirror and smiled at my reflection.
I wasn't a girl. I was a woman of nearly sixty, but overall, I didn't look all that bad.
When I emerged all dressed and ready to go, I found my husband his tuxedo from his closet. I gathered all of his fancy regalia and help him put them on. Before donning his tail coat, I made him sit on the sofa, so I could brush his hair and trim it a little bit.
"I remember when we were just a boy and girl." I fastened his silver and black tresses with a diamond clip. "I was lonely, and you were being abused. Now we are here with our lives more than half way done. What happened to all those intervening years that disappeared in the blink of an eye?"
"Ach, Katie, are you sad again?" He pulled me into his lap. "Today is a day for celebration and love. This is life. For better or worse, it is as it must be."
"I look back at all the things I did and all the things I wanted to do, especially those I never got done. Why do they just seem so trivial now?"
"They are not trivial. They are just in the past, a distant memory from which we have survived. Time moves on and life changes whether we wish it to or not. Remember this, my love, out of tragedy comes joy. Sadness rebirths happiness once again. Sometimes we need to shake things up so that we will appreciate what we have. Sometimes we need to make it snow in June so we will be thankful for normal weather."
"Senya," I said putting my hands on his face. "Tell me the truth, did you change yourself because I was depressed and bored?"
He laughed a little and pushed me off of his lap. "Come on, it's time to go. Your mother is marrying my uncle today, and I am supposed to declare that crazy deed done. Since Mother Charlotte does not wish to partake in a wedding night consummation, you and I shall return here and celebrate in her stead. We shall pretend we are still young. We shall love each other as newlyweds, but with the added pleasure that only thirty years of marriage can bring."
"Are you sure you're up for it?" I teased. "You're getting old there, you know."
"Indeed, I am, but that's not all my tribulations. I am handicapped by a poor leg, and infirmed from loving you, as the foremost victim of your testicular deconstruction."
As he put on his tailcoat and grabbed his cane from the air, I realized he was missing an item from his apparel.
"We forgot your tie. Hold on a moment while I run back to the closet and get it." I turned to go, intent on finding the missing ascot, when he held up his hand and smiled in a knowing way.
"No need," my husband replied. "I've got it right here. I am ready to go."
Reaching into his pocket, he extracted exactly what I knew he would. It was a tie, but not an ascot or cravat. It wasn't a bolo or a zip, a puff, or four-in-hand, but a shiny silk satin red-banded bow.
My mother's wedding was a beautiful affair, even though the groom was lying on his back in a traction bed. He had one leg cast like a mummy and his blankets were pulled up to his chin. He still managed to say "I do" and don his ring.
Since Allen raised a fuss about the seating, we decided that no one should sit at all. We all crowed under the canopy in one big mass, but that was fine since no one bothered to pull rank. After Senya declared the marriage made, Mother turned to us all and waved her bouquet.
"Who's going to catch it" she cried. "Who's going to be the next in line?"
She tossed it in the air, but it didn’t go far. In fact, it seemed to be heading straight toward little Angelica Korelesk who held out her arms in gleeful anticipation, but a sudden gust of wind came rushing up and took the flowers airborne once again.
They flew over the heads of our entire congregation, veering first right then left then dropping down into the back.
"Who caught them?" We all asked as everyone turned to see the girl, who by tradition would be the next to become a bride.
It wasn't Joanne.
It wasn't RJ.
It wasn't Luci's second cousin, twice removed.
The crowds parted to reveal the girl, who gazed with surprise at her future groom.
I clutched my own beloved's hand in mine as I looked at my son and his future bride. For the girl who had caught the flowers, was the one they were intended for, my future daughter-in-law, Dr. Hannah.
Epilogue
Katie
It was during the wedding dinner as the orchestra began to play, I was walking around the room and mingling with our guests. Senya was at our table chatting with Taner, Berkan and Thad while my mother was dancing with every available man.
I had just said goodnight to Elana and Marie, who were taking their babies home to bed, when I stopped at the bar for a glass of champagne. Turning back to survey the scene, I noted everything was calm, and all were having a good time. It seemed this wedding had turned out alright after all.
I glanced over at my husband, who smiled back at me, and then pointed his cigarette toward the door. Shaking my head, I was unsure what he wanted.
I mouthed, "What do you mean?"
He smiled in his knowing way, while nodding his head toward the man who was waiting there.
Dressed in a black tux and tails, our guest awkwardly stood. He pushed his glasses up his nose with his finger. He smiled uncertainly, and scratched his head as my heart froze in my chest.
My knees became weak, and my breath caught in my throat. I knocked back that entire glass of champagne. Then, I smiled my regal smile, straightened my shoulders and held out my hand, as I walked over to welcome Dr. Michael Silverman.
The adventure continues with
The Two Moons of Rehnor, Book 8
The Choice
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