Saturday morning, Jacob’s mom burst through his door, making him jump up in bed. “Whoa, Mom. Everything okay?”
She nodded excitedly. “We're having a ball!”
“The ball?” The first thing that popped into Jacob’s mind was that she was really enjoying herself. “Did you want me to join you? Oh, wait. You mean one of those big dances.”
“Yes!” She hesitated. “Well, no. Much smaller. No carriages or big dresses. More like a party. Remember? We’re celebrating Aldo’s recovery!” She pulled his hand. “Get up! I need your help—we’re going to make this place shine.”
“It’s going to be here?”
She scowled at him. “Of course. Where else would it be?”
“Somewhere bigger? Maybe in Eklaron?”
She folded her arms. “And where in Eklaron would be big enough? Everything in Maivoryl City is off limits.”
She had a point. He knitted his brows, thinking. “The castle in Macaria?”
“Oh, Sondalane? That’s a great idea. It’s completely falling apart, and we couldn’t get it ready in time for tonight.”
Jacob jumped out of bed, glad he always slept in a T-shirt and pajama pants. “It’s tonight? Why didn’t you say so? The yard’s a mess!”
“I know! I’ll get Matt up. Could you guys rake the leaves? The weather is going to be nice enough for us to BBQ and to have a couple games of football or basketball or whatever you want—so the yard needs to look good.”
He agreed to help, and she bounced out of the room. Jacob hadn’t seen her so hyper since she’d found out she was pregnant with Amberly, and that had been a really long time ago. Nine and a half years, at least.
He changed quickly, putting on warm clothes before going outside with Matt.
The brothers took turns raking the leaves into a pile, then jumping into it, scattering the leaves everywhere. Amberly joined them, and they tossed her into the pile a few times before getting serious and cleaning everything up.
After a couple of hours, the place was perfect. Mom came out and looked the yard over—made sure the BBQ grill was ready and the yard presentable. She reported that Gallus was bringing his wife and kids.
Dad came back from running errands. He and Mom had decided to have a full-out feast, including steak, ribs, hamburgers, chicken, and hot dogs.
Jacob picked up Aloren, who’d volunteered to help Mom make sure things were ready.
Matt watched her enter the house with Mom. He shook his head. “I can’t believe she’s my sister.”
Jacob chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve been having a hard time adjusting to it too.”
“I’ll bet!” Matt elbowed him in the side. “You having a crush on your brother’s sister is definitely weird.”
Jacob pushed Matt away, laughing. “Stop it. I don’t want to think about that.”
The brothers pulled stuff up from the crawlspace under the house—old Thanksgiving decorations that Mom hadn’t used in years, folding tables and chairs, and boxes of cloth napkins and tablecloths.
Eventually, everything was ready. Jacob, Aloren, and Matt followed Mom around the house and yard as she inspected things. Tables were set up in the back yard so they could take advantage of the unusually warm weather. The grill was heating up, with Dad watching over it. The house was absolutely perfect. Mom approved.
She had Jacob, Matt, and Aloren change into clean clothes, then she sent Jacob off to pick up everyone. Even Early was coming.
Meeting Gallus’s family for the first time was entertaining. His wife was very attractive—taller than Matt and Jacob, with dark skin and hair. Not as dark as Gallus’s, though. Her eyes were a brilliant honey color—Jacob couldn’t stop staring at them, and Gallus laughed when he noticed.
“She’s from the same country as Aloren’s mom. They have darker hair and skin, but very light eyes.”
Gallus’s children were fun—they were really excited to meet Jacob, but didn’t jump all over him like little kids usually did. Instead, they followed him around the yard until Gallus called them back.
Finally, everyone was at Jacob’s house and in their places.
Jacob ended up next to Matt. He wondered briefly where Aloren had gone, but decided to try to get over it and move on. Maybe she’d gone to the bathroom or something.
Dad welcomed them all and explained how the evening would go. They’d start out by eating a small snack, just to make sure no one was absolutely starving, then they’d break for various things—games and activities, etc.,—and would end with dinner, dessert, and a movie. Matt and Jacob were really excited about this since most of the people from Eklaron hadn’t ever seen movies. Aldo and the Makalos were the exceptions.
The snack was a sort of food Jacob had never seen his mom prepare before. She said it was a delicacy from Gevkan. It was made with creamed chicken and cheese sauces, and was sucked out of small bowls with straws that were actually a vegetable growing in Eklaron. You would then eat the straw. Disgusting.
“What is this stuff?” Matt asked.
Jacob shook his head. “No idea. It looks gross.”
Matt leaned over his bowl and sniffed. “Smells okay. Should we try it?”
“You first.”
“No—let’s go at the same time.”
Jacob agreed and pulled the green straw toward him and sucked on it. The stuff came faster than he expected, and he nearly breathed it in. He coughed, trying to clear his airways. Matt had the same reaction. “Is Mom trying to kill us?” Jacob asked.
Matt didn’t answer. He was staring wide-eyed across the table toward the path between the forest and the garage. He nodded his head in that direction, and Jacob looked.
Kevin and Aloren were approaching, holding hands.
“What’s he doing here?” Jacob asked.
Matt’s mouth popped open. “Holy cow. I have no idea. Does he know about Eklaron?”
Jacob knitted his eyebrows and looked away when Aloren glanced in their direction. “He shouldn’t, but how could he not? I mean, look at half the people here. They aren’t normal. Unless she’s about to tell him.”
“So, that’s Aloren’s boyfriend?” Akeno whispered. He sat across from Jacob, putting his bowl and cup down. “He’s here to meet Gallus. It seems he wants to date Aloren, but your parents told her it wasn’t appropriate. Not unless Kevin got permission from her guardian. Gallus is the closest thing to a guardian Aloren has. He practically raised her.” Akeno motioned to Jacob’s parents. “I’m sure if they’d known she was Matt’s sister—which, by the way, is absolutely insane—”
“Tell me about it,” Matt muttered.
“They would’ve taken her in as well.”
Jacob watched as Aloren and Kevin sat down near Gallus, disappearing from sight behind the heads of other people. He turned back to his food, trying it again, with better results this time. It wasn’t bad, actually, if he thought of it as a cheesy-chicken soup.
A moment later, Gallus stood. “I’d like to take the opportunity to say a few things.” He waited until every eye was on him—it didn’t take long, since his voice resonated so well. “As is the custom in Gevkan, whenever young people wish to declare their engagement, the parents announce it first to all the loved ones and friends.”
He motioned to where Jacob assumed Aloren and Kevin were sitting. “Aloren’s parents aren’t living, so they’re not here to make the announcement themselves.”
Jacob twisted, straining to see them. Aloren flushed and Kevin looked just as shocked as Jacob felt. The blood had drained from his face, and a greenish yellow—a color Jacob didn’t see often, representing near hysteria—swirled around him. Jacob snickered. It seemed Kevin didn’t know that by meeting Gallus, he was committing to a whole lot more than he thought.
“I’d like to let everyone know that I’ll be conversing with Kevin throughout the party and, at the end, shall decide if I approve of Aloren’s choice in marrying him.”