| |
Nick escorted Jean into the gym at the high school. It was decorated with flowers and pictures drawn by the youngest of Ted’s kids. Jean was still a little wobbly. She had been one of the last to wake. After Bridget gave birth, most of the other women had woken up. It was a strange coincidence that no one was talking about. It had seemed as if the cry of the newborn baby had triggered something, and all but a handful of the sleepers had woken at the same time.
But not the person that he cared the most about. He had sat by Jean’s bed through the storm that raged overnight and into the wet, gray morning. She had finally woken just before lunch. And he had never before felt so grateful to see her smile at him.
Now all the cots were back in storage in the storm shelter. Just in time to use the gym for Ted and Nixie’s wedding. Rows of chairs had been set up facing a small open space at the front of the room. People were arriving in groups and couples. Most people were in nice clothes with a few people in suits or dresses.
“I wonder where they got those suits,” Nick grumbled. He felt a little underdressed even though he’d changed out of his usual jeans and into the closest thing he had to dress pants.
“I think Claude had some,” Jean said.
Rosa, Nixie’s mother, waltzed in wearing a floor length gown of blue. Her father, Istvan, was wearing a tuxedo that had seen better days. They both exuded such joy and excitement that they could have been wearing old rags, and no one would have noticed. Jean pulled away from Nick to go talk to them. He stood there struggling with his riotous feelings. After waiting so long for her to wake, he wanted her all to himself. But she had other plans.
Wisp arrived with Bridget. They were both dressed in flowing shirts and simple white pants. Wisp carried tiny Willow in one arm. She was a bit of a celebrity. Not because of what her father was, but who he was to the community. He’d touched a lot of people working as a finder. His hard work and quiet manner had brought a lot of people around to accepting all the biobots in the community.
Kyle and Ruth came in with James and Helen. All of them were sporting new clothes, too. Nick felt at a disadvantage. When had they had time to go shopping for new clothes? Tillie arrived in a dress almost as fancy as Rosa’s, but Angus trailed behind her looking his usual rumpled self.
“It’s a party,” Jean said, startling him out of his people-watching. She slid her arm through his. “Sometimes people like to dress up.”
He shrugged. “I guess I’m not one of those people.”
“Then stop being cranky about it. No one is going to care. Today is all about Nixie and Ted.”
“Yes. You’re right,” he conceded, but he still felt grumpy. He wasn’t going to admit that he might be a tiny bit jealous of the happy couple.
People kept arriving, jostling those already present further into the room. Nick took Jean up front to find a seat. He was curious to see what the first post-Zero Year formal wedding ceremony was going to look like. As if that had been a cue, others filed down the rows to take seats.
A group of Ted’s kids who were musically inclined, hurriedly set up at the front left. They launched into something lively that sounded more like a jig than a Wedding March and had Nick’s toe tapping immediately. Angus had been asked to conduct the ceremony. He took his place at the front of the room, beaming at the crowd.
Without any fanfare, Ted arrived with Nixie which sent the remaining people scurrying into seats. Nixie wore a long tunic and pants made out of some shiny, slippery material. It was a silvery blue that flowed around her like a full body halo. Ted wore something similar that was a couple shades darker and cut a little different to emphasize his broad shoulders. Nick made a note to have a word with Claude about some new clothes.
Ted and Nixie walked up the aisle holding hands then parted to stand on either side of Angus facing the audience.
Angus held up a paper. “I am holding the first Proclamation of Marriage sanctioned by the Alliance of Survivors.” He grinned over at Tillie. “I have to say that we really worked hard on this one.” He took the paper in both hands and looked at it admiringly. “This paper says that Nixie and Ted have declared that they wish to share their lives with each other, support and aid one another and any children that they bring into their family from now forward.”
A great cheer erupted from the audience which was heavily peppered with Ted’s kids. Nick barked a rough laugh. There was a bubble of emotion rising in his chest that was making him feel like he needed to yell, or he’d do something silly like cry.
Angus took a step back, drawing Ted and Nixie together in front of him. They joined hands. Ted squared his shoulders, a happy grin on his face. “We are here to celebrate with our friends and family the love that we share.”
Nixie looked at Ted and smiled. “We are here to say that from this day forth, we are one.”
Angus stepped to the side. “To avoid reinventing the wheel, we have decided to use the old designation of Mr. and Mrs. To avoid confusion, and because we will need to track any children for a generation or so, they have chosen to share the surname Walker. A name that refers to all the walking they have done while collecting the lost children. So I am pleased to introduce Nixie and Ted Walker.
There was cheering, applause and more music. The crowd strolled down to the cafeteria where food had been laid out with finger sandwiches and miniature quiches, a basket of oddly shaped pretzel sticks that someone was experimenting with and small cups of strawberries. The center of attention was a three tier cake. Nick couldn’t stop staring at it.
“What?” Jean asked giving him a jab in the ribs.
“How did we get here? How did we go from mass graves to wedding cakes?”
“You’re awfully gloomy,” Jean said gently. “What’s wrong?”
Nick looked around the room at the smiling crowd. Adahy and Bea had come up for the event. Verona and a few of her people were present. All of Ted’s kids, his brothers and their partners, even Peter was present. The first official marriage was something that a lot of people had wanted to witness. “It feels wrong.”
“The flu is done for this year. The crops are safe for today. We have enough food and drink to spare for this celebration.” She grabbed him by the shoulders, looking into his eyes. “It’s okay to be happy.”
Her words hit Nick hard. Was it? Did he deserve happiness with all that had happened, and all that might happen?
Jean squeezed his arm. “Look at me.”
Her brown eyes were soft and welcoming. “We all have the right to be happy every now and then. Isn’t that what we’re all working towards?”
“Is it?”
“Safety isn’t enough,” Jean said. “A full belly isn’t enough. You know that.”
Nick felt a little wobbly. His emotions were all over the map. He swallowed against the tightness in his throat. “I almost lost you.”
Jean kissed his cheek. “I’m here. And I’m going to be here for as long as I can.”
He pulled her tight into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Should we fill out one of those papers?” he asked softly.
Jean pulled away to look at him. She cupped his face in her hands and winked at him. “Preferably in the next nine months.”