by Admiral Krunch

---

 

        Oil sizzled and rolled in the frying pan as Christina shook it over the stove. Even though she was tired and more than a little depressed, she expertly cracked an egg on the side of the pan, deposited its contents in the middle, then placed the empty shell on the counter; all with only her left hand. Using a spatula, she edged the egg to one side of the pan so she had room to add a few strips of bacon. When she had everything arranged just as she had most mornings, she stared listlessly at the cooking food. The bacon wrinkled , the oil danced, and Christina sulked.

        The sulking had started shortly after Christina woke up that morning. It continued into the shower and persisted while she got dressed. For the first time since she'd owned it, Christina opted not to wear her silver cross. It was a small, though childish, rebellion against what she had decided was unfair treatment by her uncle.

        So strong was her need to sulk that it sustained itself while she put on her makeup, and it continued to that very moment as she cooked breakfast for Alek.

        "Let me do this," Misha said as she placed her hand on top of her niece's.

        Nodding, Christina released her grip on the frying pan and sat at the kitchen table.

        "You are not yourself today, Tina," Misha observed. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the weak shrug that Christina had offered as an answer. "Did your dinner not go well last night?"

        "No," Christina sighed.

        Misha scooped the eggs and bacon on to a plate, then abandoned the stove. "I know it was not the food ..." she said incisively as she sat down next to her niece.

        "Diana," Christina complained, " ... Richard's partner. She said some nasty things to me."

        "What did she say, child?"

        Again shrugging, Christina explained, "She said that Richard would never want to stay with me ... that I was just a toy." Frowning, Christina added, "I felt so ... worthless."

        Misha put her hand on top of Christina's and waited for the girl to meet her eyes. "Tina, did these words hurt you because this woman said them, or because you believe them?"

        Not wanting to answer, Christina looked away.

        Taking Christina's chin in her palm, Misha directed the girl's face back to her own. "Tina," she said compassionately, "No one may hurt you in this way unless you allow them."

        "Okay," Christina whispered as she nodded.

        "This is not all that is bothering you," Misha discerned.

        Taking a deep breath, Christina answered, "On top of everything, Uncle Alek grounded me."

        "Yes, I know this."

        "Well ... I mean, I'm twenty-one years old! I know I was late, but it's not like I was doing anything wrong. You know, it was important for me to stay ... and I came home when I was told to, and I still got grounded anyway. It's just not fair. I'm not a little girl."

        "You are not a little girl," Misha agreed.

        Turning to her aunt, Christina asked, "Do you think you could talk to Uncle Alek for me? He listens to you. If you told him that-"

        "No, Tina," interrupted Misha.

        "No?" Christina whined.

        "No. I cannot do this for you."

        "Why not?"

        "Tina," Misha explained, "You must BE the person you wish others to see."

        "... I don't know what you mean."

        "If you wish your uncle to treat you as an adult," Misha continued, "you must engage him as one."

        Christina complained, "I do!" Misha gave the girl a knowing glance, and Christina conceded, "Mostly."

        Misha looked into the living room as she heard the sounds of heavy feet on the floor. "Go to him," she insisted as she looked back at Christina.

        Looking to her aunt, then towards the doorway, Christina stood up. She entered the living room and saw Alek sitting on the couch, struggling to get his boots on over his large feet.

        Noticing his niece, Alek complimented, "That is a very pretty dress, Tina."

        A grin exploded on Christina's face, and she held her hands behind her back as to give her uncle a better view. Her shoulders sank as she recognized that for too long, she had been playing the part of a little girl for her uncle. "Uncle Alek," she said seriously, "I need to talk to you about something."

        Sensing the urgency in her voice, Alek answered, "Of course, Tina." He abandoned the struggle with his boot and patted the couch next to him.

        Christina smoothed out the bottom of her skirt as she sat down next to the giant man. "About last night-" she began.

        "If this is about your punishment," Alek interrupted gruffly, "I will not change my mind. You are grounded, and that is final."

        Without reacting to her uncle's comment, Christina placed her hand on top of his and looked the man in the eyes. "Uncle Alek," she began again, "I know why you make all your rules." Before Alek could interrupt, she continued, "And I really appreciate it. ... I don't think I've ever had anybody in my life who cared about me as much as you do."

        "Of course I care," Alek said, losing most of his fire.

        "I know. And I know you just want to keep me safe. And, I really appreciate that." Taking a deep breath, Christina could not escape the feeling that what she was saying would hurt Alek in a way she couldn't repair. "... The thing is ... I'm an adult." She said the words in a plain way; it was not an argument, it was a self-evident truth. "I have this little voice in my head that lets me know if what I'm doing is right or not."

        "A voice?" Alek asked.

        "Yeah," she continued. "... I think it might be Aunt Misha's voice ..."

        "... Then I have nothing to worry about," Alek joked weakly.

        "When I was late last night; it was because I was trying to stand up for myself."

        "Tina-"

        "I know that sounds stupid," she interrupted, "but it's the truth. I wouldn't lie to you."

        Alek made a face as though he was about to contest that last assertion, but instead he said, "I know that you would not lie to me."

        "Sometimes, I'm gonna be late. And maybe I'm gonna make some decisions you think aren't the right ones ... but not because I want to disobey you. I wouldn't do anything stupid, and I would never do anything that would make you ashamed of me."

        Alek did not say anything for a moment. Without any anger in his voice, he said, "I could never be ashamed of you, Tina."

        Christina could not ignore the sad look on her uncle's face. Still, she pressed, "So, if it's okay with you, I'd really like to not be grounded."

        Alek looked down at his feet and exhaled through his nostrils. "Yes Tina," he eventually said. "You are not grounded."

        "Thank you," Christina responded, though for some reason she could not define, she felt like she should have said, "I'm sorry." Unable to bear the silence that had filled the space between them, Christina stood and placed her hand over her uncle's shoulder. "I made you breakfast," she offered.

        "Good," Alek said as he looked up. He still looked strangely wounded, but he made an effort to smile for his niece. Returning to the struggle with his boot, he added, "I will join you in a moment."

        As Christina watched Alek on the couch, she wanted more than anything to wear the necklace her uncle had given her. She rushed up the stairs and went into her room to retrieve it.

        She surveyed herself in her full length mirror as she clasped the silver cross around her neck. Suddenly she no longer felt angry at Alek. In fact, she promised herself in that moment that whatever transpired between herself and her uncle, she would always wear that necklace.

        On the way out of her room, she noticed the plush bear on the floor next to the chest of drawers. All too well she remembered throwing it there during her fit the previous night. As she paused and examined the bear, something did not seem right. She went to the bear and picked it up. Looking at it again, then at the rest of the room, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was out of place.

        "Tina!" she heard her uncle call from the kitchen, "We must hurry!"

        Not wanting to keep her uncle waiting, Christina placed the bear on top of her chest of drawers next to the picture of Anastasia, then hurried downstairs.

 

        Working at the store felt unbearably awkward to Christina. She should feel good, she thought. After all, she'd finally stood up to her uncle, though it was nothing like she'd expected. In a way, it was anti-climatic. Through every glance, every trivial conversation, all the things that usually filled the slow paced days, Christina felt as though she was miles away from the man. She almost wished her uncle had scolded her, as he had when he retrieved her from the city.

        Christina had always taken refuge in her uncle, even though at times that refuge felt similar to a cage. As she mindlessly swept the perfectly clean floor, she reflected on what Misha had told her. 'Be the person you wish others to see.' While Christina had come to learn that her aunt was always right about everything, rarely did Christina recognize the consequences of her aunt's advice until later.

        Lost in thought, Christina realized that her childhood had ended the day she walked through the burnt rubble of her former home. Though she had only been twelve years old, that day she had become an adult. That was the day she learned that in life, everyone was always performing without a safety net.

        Thinking back to the night that her uncle had tucked her into bed, Christina almost wished she were still grounded. She stopped her pointless sweeping, then returned the broom to its home against the wall behind the register. Staring at the phone mounted on the wall, she knew that her uncle was not the only man in her life she needed to speak with.

        After letting out a long, deliberate breath, Christina picked up the receiver and dialed Richard's number.

        "Hello?" Richard said on the other end of the line.

        "Hey," Christina started in the exact tone voice she'd used in her conversation with her uncle. "We need to talk."

        "Of course," Richard offered casually. "Why don't you come over for lunch?"

        "I don't want to come over," she answered calmly.

        "I don't understand-"

        "Richard," Christina interrupted, "This is not working out."

        "If this is about Diana-"

        She insisted, "This is about you and me. I don't like Diana. I don't like the way she treats people. More than that, I don't like who you are when she's around."

        "How many times do I have to explain this," Richard started in an exasperated voice, "It's nothing but business."

        "I know that. But you're so focused on work that I don't know where I fit in. And you don't say anything about the way Diana treats me."

        "... She just has an abrasive personality. She's always been that way. It's not that she-"

        "It's not about her," Christina reiterated. "It's about how you treat me. So, I don't think we should see each other. At least, not until you're done with all this."

        "Christina," Richard said in a hurt voice, "I just can't give up what I do for a living."

        "I'm not telling you what to do, and I'm not asking you to give up your job. This isn't a threat, or an ultimatum. I'm just telling you that I'm not going to do this anymore."

        "... If that's the way you feel ..." Richard said eventually.

        "It is," Christina replied in the same rational voice. As she hung up the phone, she felt the same sort of sickness she'd felt this morning. It was one thing to want everyone to treat her as an adult, and it was another thing entirely to be one.

 

        As the days passed, Christina found that her situation did not improve. Between not speaking to Richard, and the new distance she felt between herself and her uncle, she felt as though she were suddenly out of step with life as she knew it.

        Luckily, there was little time to focus on those feelings. She had been drafted into Lisa's wedding, and as a result, she'd spent every spare moment with Steph and Lisa. She had to suffer through an awkward, last-minute fitting for her dress, and generally help Steph manage Lisa's manic behavior. Lisa had nearly had a breakdown when one of the groomsmen called to say he would not be able to attend the rehearsal dinner. While Steph was fast approaching the end of her rope with Lisa, Christina was happy to not be the center of attention for a change.

 

        Finally, after all the morning runs, starvation diets, and all the mini disasters that accompanied any wedding, the morning of Lisa's wedding ceremony arrived. Christina, who had never been directly involved in a wedding before, had no idea just how complicated the whole affair was. That, however, what was not on her mind at the moment.

        Returning from Steph's apartment, where she was party to a planning session that was designed more for her friend's sanity than anything else, Christina parked her car on the side of the house and retrieved a box from the back seat. It was yet another packaged addressed ambiguously to "Chris Chase" that she had previously picked up from the post office. In spite of the barking coming from the kitchen, Christina first went to the door of the old barn.

        "Andrei," she called as she peeked inside. She saw her older cousin cutting a plank of wood on a saw horse. Sawdust billowed through the air and covered every inch of his arms that were not covered by his tank top. "Andrei!" she repeated louder, but in amused voice.

         He turned around and pulled a pair of goggles over his head. The outline of the goggles was clearly apparent on his sawdust covered face as though they were tan lines. His face asked, 'What?' though he didn't say a word.

        "We have to get ready for the wedding," Christina laughed.

        "We have plenty of time," he insisted. "It's only ..." he started to say as he looked around the room. Of course there was no clock. Andrei didn't even wear a watch. Now that he was making things again, there was only one time of day as far as he knew, and it was named 'work o'clock'. The only interruption he allowed was 'half past Steph'. As he gave up his search for a timepiece, he reasserted, "We have plenty of time."

        Christina was not even modestly annoyed with her older cousin. Ever since Andrei had quit working for Mr. Conrad, he'd spent at least as much time working in the barn as he'd ever spent at the garage. The difference was, he was happy. "Well, I have something for you. Come on."

        Andrei nodded then and looked back towards the saw horse. "Can I just-" he started to ask.

        "NO," Christina laughed. "I know that look. First it'll be that little piece of wood, then he'll bring friends, and then I won't see you for hours."

        "Alright." He took off the goggles and deposited them next to his half finished work. Brushing off as much sawdust as he could, he followed Christina out of the barn then into the side door of the house.

        Upon their entry, Boris ceased his barking and demanded attention from Christina.

        "Hey," Nina said as she collected the breakfast plates from the kitchen table. "Where were you?"

        Christina gave the dog a scratch on the top of his head, then paid no attention as he shadowed her across the kitchen so she could take a knife from a drawer. "The post office," she answered as she took her box to the table.

        Nina stopped what she was doing and Andrei paid attention as Christina sliced through the packaging tape and opened the box. She took a smaller box out of the package and checked the sticker on the side. She handed it to Nina, then another to Andrei.

        "Cool!" Nina exclaimed as Andrei examined his box with a raised an eyebrow. "You got us cell phones?" Nina asked as she opened her box.

        Christina too had a box, and she unpackaged a slim pink cell phone. Nina was already three steps in front of her older cousin, and was already powering her pink handset on.

        "Why do we need these?" Andrei asked, still eyeballing the box.

        "... Because," Christina started sarcastically, "It's time for you to join the rest of us in the twenty-first century."

        Nina was now reading the instructions, and she was dialing the activation number for her phone.

        Andrei plainly said, "I don't need a cell phone."

        Taking the box from her cousin's hands, Christina unpacked his blue phone and flipped it open. "Now we can keep in touch no matter where you are," she explained,

        "Where am I going to be?" he laughed. "We live in the same house."

        "Well, sometimes I'm at the store."

        "There's a phone there, too." Andrei joked.

        Opening the phone, Christina turned it on and explained, "Best of all, you can put Steph on speed dial." Showing Andrei how to do it as she entered Steph's number in the first position, she added, "Then you can call her whenever you want." Turning to Nina, who was now activating Christina's phone, she asked, "What's my number, Nina?" The girl read it off as Christina entered it into the second speed dial position on Andrei's handset. "... And," she teased, "Maybe when you're done talking to Steph all the time, you can call me."

        "Thank you," Andrei said, more as a way to end the conversation than anything else.

        "This is so great," Nina said as she handed Christina's phone to her.

        "See?" Christina beamed at Andrei. "It's great." Just then, Christina's phone lit up and beeped.

        "What's that?" Andrei asked.

        "Text message," Nina explained without looking up from her phone.

        Andrei watched Christina's slender thumbs erupt over the flat keys causing Nina's phone to light up and beep. Nina looked down at the tiny screen and laughed to herself. She, in turn viciously thumbed at the phone, and Christina's handset again came to life. After watching this process repeat itself another time, Andrei demanded, "What are you doing?"

        "Texting," the girls said in unison.

        "What?"

        "We're sending text messages to each other," Nina explained as she held up her phone.

        "But ... you're standing right in front of each other!"

        Not looking up from the phone, Christina laughed and sent another message.

        Reading it, Nina giggled and whispered, "I know, he doesn't get it at all," then replicated that sentiment on the keypad.

        "... Okay," Andrei eventually said, eventually realizing they'd forgotten he was in the room. "If the family meeting is over, I'm going back to work."

        After finishing a last text message, Christina said, "Oh, no you're not!" She grabbed Andrei by the arm, insisting, "You have to get ready for the wedding."

        "It's not until this afternoon!" he balked.

        "Yeah, but Steph is the maid of honor! She has a TON of stuff to do all day, and you have to be there too."

        "What for?"

        "... Because you just have to," Christina insisted. "That's the way it goes. It's a full day event." Getting behind her large cousin, she placed both hands on his back and pushed him towards the living room.

        "She'll be busy with Lisa the whole time!" Andrei continued to complain. "I'll just be sitting around, doing nothing!"

        "Like a good boyfriend," added Christina as she shooed him upstairs.

        "He sounds pretty enthusiastic," Nina joked once her brother was gone.

        "I'm not thrilled either," Christina admitted.

        "Why not?"

        "Well, for starters, I need you to be my plus one."

        "Your plus one?" Nina asked.

        "Yeah," Christina explained. "The invitation is for Christina Chase, plus one."

        "You're still fighting with Richard?" she almost chided.

        "Not fighting, exactly. Mostly not talking," Christina said as she fought Nina's disapproving glare. "Look, he had plenty of chances to come around by now. I just don't want to go alone."

        "I was supposed to go out with James tonight ..."

        "Come on, Nina," Christina pouted. "Why don't you call him up on your new phone," Christina said as she wiggled her own pink cell phone in her hand, "and tell him you have a family emergency."

        Rolling her eyes, Nina eventually said, "Okay."

 

        "I still can't believe it." Nina said as the Saab drove through town.

        "Yeah, I know," Christina insisted, in a way that made it clear she didn't want to talk about the subject any further. They'd spent the last two hours talking about the same thing, and there was nothing either of them could say that would make the situation better.

        Andrei, who shuffled uncomfortably in his rented tux as he drove, let out a long sigh. He realized that the entire day was going to be consumed by this sort of nonsense. As he drove closer to the church, he tried to imagine that he was back in the barn.

        "But ... I mean, even in the daylight," Nina said in disbelief, "... it's just so much more ..."

        "ORANGE! YES!" Christina exploded from the front seat. "I told you it was orange! I told you it was so very orange that I would be in mortal danger of being juiced unless the ceremony ended quickly."

        Andrei chuckled a bit, eliciting a scowl from his cousin.

        "Don't you start," she threatened.

        "I'm not going to say a word." Andrei mumbled as he stared straight ahead. The truth was, he needed to practice his game face before he got to the church. While Lisa had been driving Steph crazy for weeks, Steph had been describing to Andrei, in excruciating detail, how the crazy-driving had occurred. This in turn, was driving Andrei crazy. He knew that the best way to get through things was to keep his head down, his mouth shut, and against all sensory input, assert that both Christina and Steph looked beautiful in whatever hideous thing they were forced to wear. "You look ... nice." he said as he cast a glance at his cousin.

        "Very convincing." Christina said sarcastically.

        "I will never make you wear anything like that when I get married," Nina consoled, though she still sounded amused.

        As Andrei parked the car, Christina unbuckled her seatbelt and insisted, "Let's get through this wedding before we start planning yours."

        As the three of them started up the walk to the front of the small white chapel, Christina saw Steph pacing testily back and forth in front of the open doors. "There you are," Steph shrieked. "Explain to me again," she said to her boyfriend, "just how illegal it is to kill someone?"

        "I think it's probably very illegal." Andrei answered.

        "Where's double-O lawyer?" Steph asked, wanting a more definite legal answer to her question.

        "He's ..." Christina started uncomfortably.

        "I'm with Christina tonight," Nina interrupted.

        "Oh," Steph said, apologetically, though she had no time to dwell on her friend's problem. "You should probably get inside, It's almost go time." As Nina and Christina went into the church, Steph grabbed Andrei's hand and confessed, "I'm kinda flipping out."

        Used to the drill, Andrei held Steph and insisted, "It's all going to be fine." He gave her a long kiss, then lied, "Did I tell you how great you look in that dress?"

        "Be still my heart," Steph joked, "and suspend my disbelief." She led Andrei into the church and pointed to a pew where Nina was already sitting. As Andrei left, Steph turned to Christina and asked, "Are you doing okay?"

        "Yeah, it just took a while to get Andrei stuffed into a suit. We'd have been here earlier, but-"

        "Not that," Steph dismissed. She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb, saying, "I mean, showing up with half-pint. What's the deal with the beau?"

        "There's no deal. You know, I don't even care," she lied. "Frankly, Richard complicates things. I think I like things are better when they're simple."

        "So it's over?"

        "I dunno," Christina admitted.

        "Well, I think we can upgrade your escort," Steph said cryptically. She cast a look across the church to where several well dressed men were loitering and tossed a nod into the crowd.

        Christina asked "What does that mean?"

        "Well," Steph started, but she was cut off by a blood curdling shriek.

        "WHERE'S STEPH?" Lisa called from a far off room.

        "I gotta go," Steph apologized as she hurried off towards the source of the sound. "I'm the maid of honor, the hair dresser, and animal control all in one."

        As Steph disappeared, Christina saw that the other girls in the hard-to-miss orange bridesmaid dresses were lining up in the front of the church. Realizing that the ceremony was due to start soon, she took the last place in line. Due to her height, she was placed on the far end, as the girls closer to the bride would be standing on ascending steps. Making her the end cap only made sense. From her position on the end, she saw the groomsmen lining up on the opposite side.

        After all the rushing to get to the wedding, Christina found she was unable to simply stand in line while she waited for the ceremony to start; she started counting the pieces of stained glass to occupy herself.

        After what seemed like half an hour, Steph lined up behind Christina and whispered, "It's time."

        The organist, who had been doing the musical equivalent of treading water for the past few minutes, started playing the familiar wedding march. All of a sudden, Christina felt a little nervous. Though she'd practiced her simple role in the ceremony a few nights earlier, it dawned on her that she didn't want to make any mistakes in front of an audience. If she so much as stumbled on the way down the aisle, she would be mortified. The first bridesmaid walked up to the entrance and was met by the first groomsman. He took her arm in his, and they started into the main hall.

        Each of them stepped forward a step and there was a pause while they waited for the first couple to get a head start. Leaning over, Christina saw that the next groomsman in the queue was the one she'd walked down the aisle with during the rehearsal.

        "Wait," Christina whispered to Steph, "I thought I was going with Gary?" She watched as he disappeared into the main hall.

        "Slight change of plans," Steph said as the line of girls stepped forward.

        "What does that mean?" Christina asked as the line again moved. Her question was answered when a familiar face leaned over from the line of groomsmen.

        "Adam?" Christina asked in surprise.

        The man gave a small wave as he realized Christina was looking directly at him.

        "He's the one who couldn't make it to the rehearsal," Steph explained.

        Christina stuttered, "But why is he walking with me?"

        "You can thank me later." Steph gave Christina a little shove into Adam as the two of them met in front of the doors.

        "I guess this is us," Adam said as he held out his arm.

        "I guess so," Christina choked as she wrapped her arm around Adam's.

        Christina smiled nervously as she was led down the aisle towards the altar. She had already been anxious about the whole affair, but the change in partners made her all the more tense. Though the sea of faces was focused on her and Adam, they quickly looked towards Steph, who entered alone, a few steps behind them. They parted as they neared the altar. Christina took her spot on the left side while Adam joined the row of well dressed men on the right. Christina again cast her view around the room, then over to Adam, who looked overly pleased at the sudden rearrangement of partners. While she was putting on her orange dress that morning, Christina had assumed there was no way she could possibly have felt more uncomfortable. Of course, Christina, more than anyone, knew just how quickly life could change.

        After Steph had taken her place opposite of the waiting best man, all eyes watched the doors. Lisa, escorted by her father, a bald man only slightly taller than her, entered the hall. Lisa, who had spent months alternately losing, then gaining back weight, looked about even for the ordeal. In the final analysis, she'd actually lost several pounds, but she had never achieved the dramatic change to which she aspired.

        None of it mattered. For all the stress she'd put herself through, Lisa looked radiant as she approached Oliver, who was waiting in front of the line of groomsmen. Christina wondered if the brightness in her face was due to Steph's mastery of cosmetics. For a moment, she wondered if it wasn't due to makeup, but rather the reflection of the light from a row of abused bridesmaids wrapped in Tang colored frocks. But when the girl finally reached her fiancé, Christina had no doubt that the source of the glow was love.

        Christina zoned out as the ceremony started. She was lost in her thoughts as she replayed the rehearsal over in her mind. It seemed extremely condensed compared to the actual event. She tried her best to remember what she was expected to do, but it seemed that her primary job as a bridesmaid was to simply stand.

        What seemed like an eternity later, Lisa and Oliver exchanged rings. Though Christina had not spent a lot of time attending any religious services until she came to Oak Grove, she had learned very quickly that anyone given a pulpit was inclined to talk for quite a long time. This was doubly true in the case of a wedding ceremony. Several times she was certain that they had finished, only for the minister to launch into another speech about love or commitment. Christina wondered if there was anyway she could become an atheist, if for nothing but brevity.

        Eventually, Lisa and Oliver were allowed to kiss, and the ceremony drew to a close. Everyone in the church looked extremely pleased, mostly because they were happy for the newly married couple. Christina, and most of her compatriots, while happy for Lisa, had had quite enough of standing. Following Lisa, then Steph, the girls one by one met their partners and started out of the hall. Christina once again found herself on Adam's arm.

        Once they were outside the building, Christina said, "I didn't expect to see you here today."

        "I didn't expect to see me either," Adam joked. He cast a hand towards Oliver and said, "But Ollie's a marine. I expect he'd shoot me for desertion if I didn't make it."

        Christina laughed a bit, then added, "We have to get in line to greet everyone." She took her place at the end of the line of bridesmaids, noticing that Adam stood out of place so that he was next to her. She stood there as a few familiar faces, and some visiting relatives with whom she was not acquainted, started their slow march out of the hall and out into the warm summer day.

        "Did Steph put you up to this?" Christina asked as people started to arrive

        "Actually," Adam started as he shook and older gentleman's hand, "I put Steph up to it."

        "... Oh," Christina said. Starting with the older man, Christina made a concerted effort to speak with each guest, mostly as a way of avoiding further conversation with Adam.

        When everyone had made it out of the church, Christina was whisked away by the photographer. It seemed that a wedding, at least for the bridesmaids, was an endless series of places to stand. First by the altar, then the receiving line, and now in various line-ups with the bridal party for seemingly endless permutations of photos.

        Though she was beginning to tire of the entire affair, happy though it might be, she hoped she didn't mirror the look of intense boredom she saw on Andrei's face as he dutifully held Steph's purse and hers.

        After the bridal party had been thoroughly photographed, they were released and the photographer focused strictly on the bride and groom. Before Adam had another chance to approach Christina, she made her way to where both of her cousins were standing.

        Handing a purse to Christina, Andrei complained, "Why do these things take so long?"

        "At least you got to sit down," Christina laughed. "Besides, we're only half way there. We have the reception next."

        "Well I thought it was magical," Nina interjected.

        The rumble from his throat was followed by a ringing coming from one of Andrei's pockets. Disturbed by this, he reached around and found the blue cell phone that he'd forgotten he now owned. "Hello?" he asked, surprised that anyone would already have his number.

        Christina and Nina exchanged a giggle at Andrei's discomfort at joining the rest of the modern world.

        Andrei looked up from the phone to see Steph waving from across the lawn.

        Andrei waved back, then closed his phone. "How did she get my number?" Andrei asked with a raised eyebrow.

        "Get used to the phone calls," Christina laughed.

 

        Once the photographer was finished taking pictures of Lisa and Oliver, the couple went to their waiting limousine. Steph, who seemed to have let go of the tightly wound ball of stress that she'd been carrying around in her belly for months, joined Andrei and the girls. "Ready to go?" she asked as she took Andrei's hand.

        Andrei pulled her close and gave her a hug. "Always," he answered.

        "I'm so glad it's over," Steph exhaled.

        With Steph's back to the Christina and Nina, Nina felt free to make kissy faces at her older brother. Christina, however, gave him a thumbs up to indicate that he was racking up major boyfriend points for all his trouble.

        They immediately stopped as Andrei let go of Steph and she faced the girls. "Mind if I steal your brother?" she asked.

        "Nope." Nina had stopped taunting her brother just soon enough to maintain a straight face for Steph. "We can ride without him."

        Christina had just cast the couple a wave with her fingers, when she saw Adam approaching.

        "Hey," he said, "I guess we all head over to the lodge now." He was referring to the meeting house that Lisa's parents had rented for the reception. It was the same building used by the Oak Grove after school program, and the Fraternal Order of Antelopes, which was the local equivalent of the Masons, though unlike the Masons, it was no secret that the Antelopes was a weak excuse for the elder men of the town to get together to drink and play cards.

        "Yeah," Christina agreed. "So ... I guess we should-"

        "Do you need a ride?" Adam offered hopefully.

        "Oh ... no ... no thanks. I have to take Nina."

        "Well ..." he recovered, "I'll see you there then."

        "Yup," Christina gulped as she cast Adam one of her finger-waves.

        "You don't waste any time," Nina joked after Adam was out of earshot. Between the wedding and her new phone, Nina was in a sunny mood that not even her older cousin's glare could sink.

---

Edited into coherence by Holly H. Hart.
Thanks to Sephrena Miller for taking an early read.
There's only 8 more chapters left. Time to get a-commenting.
Krunch Away!