I
Julia wasn’t expecting any visitors, thinking that anyone in town that would see her would be busy with Natasha and Darren’s wedding.
She just happened to be wrong when Nik, Jeremiah and Miri walked through the door of her room.
“Mom!” Miri said running over to where her mother sat by the window; “I’ve never been so happy to see you in my life!” She gave Julia a hug that caught her off guard.
Miri sat down in the other chair, and Julia said, “I’m so sorry I put you and your siblings through all this. I don’t know what came over me. I hope you guys don’t hate me for running off the way I did. That’s just not me at all.”
“Mom,” said Miri, “we were worried because that’s not the way you usually behave. But you’re going to be okay, and they’ll let you out of here soon.”
“I hope you’re right,” Julia said; “I haven’t been the most patient patient this place has ever seen.”
“It’s just not going to be today, I’m afraid,” Nik said. “As much as we’d all like you to be able to come to the wedding with us, it’s just not going to happen.”
“How’s Natasha holding up?” asked Julia. “She nervous?”
“She and Darren almost eloped a couple nights back, but then realized that not even Darren Dixon could get a JP on such short notice,” said Nik, laughing. “So they’re both a little nervous.”
“Sandy and Danica have arranged everything for today,” Jeremiah said; “I’ve seen pictures of the cake, and Sandy’s drawing that the bakers went by, and it’s stunning! Danica has been doing flowers and the reception with a lot of help from Nikolai and Vixen. My girls are so jealous right now!”
“The boys, they’re just ‘ehh, Aunt Tash is getting married. So?’” Nik said. “At least my two younger ones and Adam are. Your son, Julia, had a devil of a time finding a suit to fit him. David said it took four hours to just find a pair of pants for the boy. That kid’s going to be tall! Five-five at eleven? Shit, sounds like me, doesn’t it?”
“It does,” Julia said, laughing, which made Miri relax. “I remember Kiera trying to find jeans for you and Jeremiah because your legs are so long. Joe was a piece of cake. He had normal size legs, whatever that means.”
“I wish Kiera and Peter could have met Natasha,” said Nik wistfully. “I think they would have liked her.”
“I have no doubt of that,” Julia said. “Could I have a few moments alone with Miri?”
Nik and Jeremiah looked at each other, then Jeremiah said, “Sure, we’ll be in the waiting area.” They then left Julia’s room.
“What do you want to tell me, Mom?” asked Miri.
“Who has been taking care of you while I’ve been going temporarily insane?”
“Nonna and Granpa David, why?”
Julia sighed. “I just wondered. I’ve got a feeling that I’m going to get a talkin’ to.”
“I don’t think so, Mom,” Miri said; “They’ve been just as worried about you as the rest of us have. We’re all glad you’re more or less okay.”
“I just want to get out of here, Mirielle,” Julia said.
“I know, Mom,” Miri said; “Uncle Nik said something about tomorrow, but I don’t know for sure.”
“I just want you to have a good time at the wedding and not worry about me too much,” said Julia, resigned to the fact that she would not be going to the wedding after all.
“Mom, we all wish you could be there. If things had been different, you would be,” Miri said; “I’ve already met people who remember me from when I was a baby. Who remember Dad. It’s been kind of surreal.”
“I can imagine,” said Julia; “I know that one of my BlackOps Girls passed away not too long ago.”
“Kylee,” Miri said; “She had cancer. Everyone has mentioned her at least once. No one seems to know where she’s laid to rest though.”
“That was her choice,” Julia said; “given what we all did during the Occupation, and how notorious we were, I don’t think I’d want someone coming to my gravesite looking to pay homage or cause trouble.”
“You have a point there,” Miri said; “they said outside I could only stay a few moments. There’s an Army chick outside who looks a lot like Nana Christine. It’s really weird.”
“Her name is also Christine, by sheer coincidence,” Julia said. “She’s the only one who has come in to speak with me that wasn’t someone trying to get me to remember what happened to me during the time I was gone, because I just can’t. Sgt. Travis has been very nice to me.”
Miri then took her leave, giving her mother a hug. “I can’t wait til you come home! I hope it’s before the thirteenth, because that’s the day I’m going to Freshman orientation at Northwestern.”
“I thought Kimber was going to take you up there.”
“She’s been told to rest until her baby arrives, so she’s not going to be taking me up there,” Miri said. “She couldn’t even be here. Niki and Drake went to her house to keep her company before they came here. Niki looks great, by the way.”
“That’s good,” Julia said. “And if Kimber needs the rest, then she should rest. It’s better for her baby if she does.”
“That’s what Aunt Jas told me,” Miri said. “I’ll see you in a few days, Mom!! We all love you!”
Then, the 16 year old was gone.
Julia just sat there and cried.
===
Well, well, he thought, the CIA Director is getting married today. How nice.
“Too bad I didn’t know this sooner, or I could have taken out The Triad, their families, and the CIA Director all at the same time,” Pike thought. “There will be plenty of time for that. Need to get this cause off the ground again.” He sighed, thinking, I can see why Lincoln Marsh left.
Pike raised a glass of champagne to no one, toasting his “independence” from his oppressively clingy wife. Caterina D’Alessandro, the Contessa, was a royal pain in the ass during the last year Pike spent with her. Their son, Vittorio, was just like her; while their daughter, Audrina, was more like him. Vito would make a good Count, Pike thought. He was moody and demanding like his mother, and only 14 years old.
Audrina was his princess. She was calm and serene, and more deserving of the title Contessa than her mother was. She reminded Pike of his mother one moment, his father the next. Audrina was the perfect blend between the two, almost like Caterina’s bloodline didn’t even enter the picture. But, it had, because she had the dark D’Alessandro coloring.
But, thoughts of his daughter aside, Pike still had a major grudge, and it wasn’t against his “widow”. It was against his father. He’d believed everything that his mother told him about his father, without checking to see if it were true. All he knew of his father now was that he had apparently remarried a younger woman and had three daughters; the oldest of whom was about Audrina’s age.
She’s probably a whore or a golddigger, Pike thought; Pater dear seemed to attract such women. It wasn’t anything Pike wanted to dwell on. He had other things to accomplish. Resurrect A.R.M. from the shit pile, then fool everyone into believing he was on their side. It would be too easy to do, Pike thought.
A major part of that plan was unable to be implemented now because of Pike’s age, but in a few years, after A.R.M. has operated in the black for a while, and in secret, all bets were off.
He looked down at the tablet screen to the article about Darren Dixon’s wedding and decided to let him have a few years with his bride before he eliminated him. Pike was sure that Dixon had political aspirations, and that the Presidency was not out of the question.
“We shall see,” Pike said coldly as he downed his third glass of champagne. He was starting to get a little buzz, which meant it was time to find some willing bitch to satisfy him.
He grabbed his wallet from the table in front of him and went in search of someone to make fireworks.
===
“Grandfather, I have to head back to school on Friday,” Kelly said as she, Eric and Krysta ate a light lunch on the porch. “Orientation for the new class starts on the 13th, and I’ll find out who my new roomie is then. I hope she’s nothing like Gwen.”
“I thought you liked Gwen, Kelly,” Eric said.
“I do, but I wasn’t sorry to see her transfer to Loyola after the spring semester,” said Kelly. “I was always cleaning up after her. She wasn’t messy, but she burned a lot of people, and I had to cover for her misdeeds.”
“Is this the person you were so pissed off at over spring break?” asked Krysta.
“Yeah,” Kelly said; “And it didn’t get any better. She’s a nice girl, but her priorities are all screwed up.”
“And you’re hoping that the new roommate will be more like you, or less like Gwen?” asked Eric.
“I want someone who has a sense of pride about her behavior, her grades, her surroundings,” Kelly said; “I’ll move out on my own if I get another Gwen.”
Eric only nodded his head. Gwen wanted legal advice from him, even though he wasn’t licensed to practise law in Illinois. She was in a shitload of trouble, and didn’t know what to do. Kelly didn’t know that about her. And it wasn’t Eric’s place to tell her. Gwen was an adult, and if she wanted Kelly, still technically a minor, to know, it was her place to say something.
“There’s talk that the daughter of one of the heroes of the Resistance is coming to Northwestern,” Kelly said. “I hope that’s true! I’d love to meet her, and not to gush about how I admired the Disturbed Ones growing up. She’s going to be a scared freshman just like I was. I want to know her on a human level.”
“Maybe she’ll be your new roommate, Kelly,” Krysta said.
“I doubt it,” Kelly said; “They’ll probably put her with someone older than me.”
“Still it would be nice if they put you two together,” Krysta said; “You don’t know which one it is?”
“No,” Kelly said. “They all graduate early from school, just like I did, so I have no idea who it is.”
“One’s at Oklahoma, two are at Georgetown, and I think one graduated from Northwestern this past spring,” Eric said.
“That last one was Kimberlin Draiman, Grandfather,” Kelly said; “I don’t know who the others are.”
“She’s a journalist, isn’t she?” asked Krysta; “I’ve seen her byline in the online papers. She uses a different last name though. She’s been doing a series on her twin sister’s bout with cancer that I’ve been following.”
“She must be good, then,” Eric mused.
“I think her articles are good, Eric,” Krysta said.
“And that’s all that matters, Krysta,” Eric replied. “No one else’s opinion matters.”
Krysta blushed.
Kelly looked at her grandfather and Krysta, and thought, they’re just like teenagers in love. I hope to find love like that someday, but not with someone who is thirty years older than I am.
===
“I was thinking of going into the City to see the fireworks,” Christian told his family; “If we leave now, we could still make it.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun, Christian,” Kathryn said; “You got my vote.”
“Mine, too!” Lili said. “I wish Helene and Erin weren’t at their camps.”
“I’m sure they’re going to see fireworks, too, Lili,” Kathryn said; “It wouldn’t be Fourth of July without them!”
“They’ll be home next week,” Christian said to Lili; “Erin and your mother are going to do that art thing at the museum; and Helene has rehearsals every afternoon until ‘Asylum’ starts in August.”
“I can’t wait to see Helene dance in that!” Lili said. “She’s got the lead part! I think it’s cool!”
“She beat out older girls for the part of ‘Karyn’,” Kathryn said; “I was surprised because isn’t that part in the original ballet danced by an adult?”
“I think it is, Kathryn,” Christian said; “But remember, this is a teenage dance company. Not only does Helene have the talent to pull it off, but she looks older than 13, too.”
“She’s become more confident,” Kathryn said, thinking about how nervous she was to see her girls when she first returned home from the clinic. “I almost envy that trait in her.”
“You’ve become more confident, too, Kathryn, since you’ve been home,” Christian said. “Even your father has noticed.”
Kathryn still couldn’t talk about her father without feeling shame about the way she disappeared from his and her mother’s lives. She still felt guilt over not being able to tell her mother she was sorry for causing her so much pain before she died. Kathryn was working on those things in her sessions with Cameron Chang, but half a lifetime’s worth of guilt and shame wasn’t going to disappear from her life overnight.
“Maybe we can ask my father if he, Krysta and Kelly would like to join us,” Kathryn suggested.
“That’s a wonderful idea, Kathryn!” Christian said. “Go give them a call.”
Kathryn hesitated for a moment, then went down the hall to Christian’s office to call her father’s house.
A few moments later, she had returned, where she saw that Lili was all ready to go.
“No answer at the house, and the call went straight to Dad’s voice mail,” Kathryn said. “It was a good idea. I guess they had other plans.”
“There will be plenty of time for family get togethers,” Christian said, reassuring Kathryn. “I’d call Chris, but he’s still out of town until Friday.”
“Can we go now?” said Lili, interrupting her father’s train of thought.
“Sure, princess,” Christian told his six year old, “we should get some snacks and drinks before we leave because everything is more expensive in New Your City.”
“But, Daddy,” Lili said, “we’re rich.”
“We are,” Christian said, “but even rich people like to save money. I have three daughters who might want to go to college someday, and college is expensive!”
“Oh,” said Lili, not understanding.
Soon the three of them got into the car, and headed off to New York City to see the fireworks.
===
II
It was 4pm, and the wedding was due to start in just three hours. Sandrina thought that she and Danica would never get done putting things in place.
“The flowers are gorgeous, cousin!” she told Danica; “Where did you find such beautiful lillies?”
“I had to order them special because they had to be flown in,” Danica said; “I was stressing that they wouldn’t arrive in time because of the airline strike last month. But they’re here, and that’s at least one thing I don’t have to worry about. They won’t go out until just before the ceremony begins. They have to stay cool. So Aunt Tash won’t get her bouquet until just before Uncle Nik escorts her down the aisle.”
Sandrina swiped her hand across her forehead, saying, “I’m going to have to take another shower before I get dressed. How did we ever get pressed into service as bridesmaids?”
“Because Aunt Julia can’t be here, and Aunt Jasmine didn’t want to,” Danica said. “In case she had to fly back to Chicago to tend to a patient.”
“Well, at least Mom is her matron of honor,” Sandrina said; “Her dress is stunning! Mom can’t wear just any color, and Aunt Tash picked the perfect shade of orchid for her. I didn’t realize that she and Aunt Tash had the same coloring until Dad pointed it out to me.”
“Is Alex going to be here?” asked Danica.
“Yes, he should be arriving at the airport in about an hour,” Sandrina said; “I’m glad that he was able to get away. I just wish that he wasn’t in North Carolina. I miss hanging out with him.”
“You talk to him on the phone every night, Sandy!” exclaimed Danica, laughing; “so don’t give me that line, cousin!”
“Whatever,” Sandrina said; “He’s taking a cab to the house, and I’ve instructed Nikolai to let Alex use his bedroom to change.”
“I haven’t even seen Aunt Tash’s dress yet,” Danica said; “Does she want it to be a total surprise to everyone, not just Darren?”
“Vixen’s seen it, but she’s not talking,” Sandrina said. “I have seen, however, Dad’s uniform he’s wearing for the ceremony when he walks his sister down the aisle. I don’t remember Dad ever wearing it with all his ribbons and medals and stuff attached.”
“It will be a sight for sure,” Danica said; “With my folks and Kendria here, my Grandpa Frank is going out on the boat for the first time since he retired. He was actually looking forward to it. He’s not built for inactivity.”
“No, he isn’t,” Sandrina said; “Remember when we were about six and we went out on the boat and I came back with that killer sunburn? I think Grandpa Frank must have bathed me in aloe vera that night.”
“Then you started to peel, and that was kind of gross, because you could literally peel off layers of your skin,” Danica said.
“I haven’t had a sunburn that bad since then,” Sandrina said. “Only takes one time to learn that lesson!”
Danica looked at her watch, saying, “Sandy, we still have the reception menu to look over, we better get over to the restaurant and make sure it’s being done right. What a stroke of luck we were able to book that huge balcony for today!”
“That was all you and your big blue eyes, Danica!” Sandrina said; “I think the owner was quite taken with you.”
“Yeah, he asked me out, and I went,” Danica said; “Gustav is a nice guy, a little older than we are, but I don’t know, Sandy. I guess I’m kind of picky about men.”
“He’s asked you out since then, I know,” Sandrina said; “If you like the guy, then that’s all that matters.”
“I like him, but not in that way,” Danica said. “I think he wants to go faster than I’m willing to go.”
“If he gets out of line, we’ll just send Matt over to his place,” Sandrina said, laughing.
“Matt is kind of intimidating when he doesn’t need to be,” Danica said; “It’s his height. People freak over his height.”
“It’s not his fault,” Sandrina said; “I only hope that when he has kids, the boys aren’t as tall as he is. I think that would make Dad freak.”
“Your dad isn’t intimidated by anyone,” Danica said.
“Just Mom,” said Sandrina as she and Danica headed to the restaurant.
===
Natasha wished that her nieces had gotten the services of a hairdresser, because she was too nervous to do her own hair.
KateLynn had come over to offer her assistance, and was presented with a very nervous sister-in-law.
“Tash, will you just calm the hell down!” she said as Natasha fussed with her hair. “Tell me what you want done to it and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Sorry, Kate, I’m a little nervous,” apologized Natasha. “I just want a simple French twist. I wear my hair like that all the time when I go out, but today I’m all thumbs.”
“Okay, then,” KateLynn said; “Like this?” She showed Natasha what she had done, and Natasha was pleased.
“Exactly! Kate you’re a genius!”
“No I’m not,” KateLynn said; “I’m just not the bride.”
“Where’s Vixen?” asked Natasha.
“Downstairs talking to Nik,” KateLynn said; “She and Nikolai are asking all kinds of questions about Nik’s uniform.”
“I want Vixen to help me with my dress,” said Natasha.
“I’d not put on the dress until just before the limo arrives to take you to the church,” advised KateLynn. “It will stay fresher if you wait.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” asked KateLynn; “you’re just going to say ‘okay’?”
“I’ve never gotten married before,” Natasha said; “I don’t know what to expect.”
“I daresay none of us does, especially the first time,” KateLynn said.
“Oh, I’m not planning to do this again,” Natasha said; “This is a one-and-done thing.”
“Then quit worrying. You’re going to be fine, Tash.”
For the first time since she walked into her sister-in-law’s house, KateLynn saw Natasha relax.
===
III
It was 6pm, and guests were already gathering inside the National Cathedral. Everyone was in their best clothing, milling about talking to other guests.
None of Natasha’s family had ever met Darren’s stepbrother, Martin Dixon, who was seven years old when his father married Theresa Tremonti and adopted her son Darren. The older Martin Dixon, and his wife, had long since passed away, so Martin, Jr. was the only link Darren had to their parents. They had a sister, the only child that Martin, Sr. and Theresa had together, but she died during the Occupation defending her Catholic beliefs.
Martin was charmed by Jordan Draiman because she was so self assured, even though he knew her history with the Resistance and the punishments and abuse she suffered at the hands of the New Army. He found that he and David Draiman had a lot in common, such as their mutual like for motorcycles and Akitas.
In speaking with Jacob Ross, Martin learned that he was the feared Morbus. “Every man wanted to be Morbus and defend their way of life,” Martin told him. “Your sacrifices and your skills during the Occupation are legendary.”
Jacob felt a little uncomfortable with all the praise, and asked Martin if he thought his brother would ever get married.
“I knew that Darren had found someone special,” Martin said; “He was looking for someone like his mother, whom I admired a great deal. She was the mother I never got because my mother died shortly after I was a year old. I didn’t actually meet Natasha until about a year ago, but she was everything he told me she was.”
“He waited a long time for Natasha,” Jacob said; “And apparently, she was worth the wait. I’ve known Natasha since she was 18 years old and came to Chicagoland for training. She’d been through a lot before then, like many young people during the Occupation.”
“I’m just glad that she makes Darren happy,” Martin said; “Darren could have had any Washington socialite, but he wanted Natasha. He was willing to wait for her. Not even I am that patient. I’ve been married and divorced twice now. I have great kids, but I don’t think I’ll ever get married again.”
Danica came out into the vestibule at that moment and said to Martin, “Mr. Dixon, Darren is here and asked me to fetch you.”
“You’re Danica, right?”
“Yes, sir. The other girl is my cousin, Sandrina.”
To Jacob, he said, “I guess it’s almost time. It’s been a pleasure talking to you, Jacob.”
“Likewise, Martin.”
As Martin disappeared with Danica, Jacob thought about the beautiful woman he was growing more fond of by the day, and wondering if he could send her back to the man who loved her more than his own life.
He decided that he’d fight for her, but would let her make the final decision.
Choose me, sweet Bethanie, he thought.
===
Vixen helped her mother get her gown on, careful not to mess up her hair.
“People are going to stare, Mom,” she said as she finished zipping up the dress.
“They’re supposed to stare, Vixen,” Natasha told her daughter; “I am the bride, after all.”
“No, Mom, I mean they’re going to look at you and be so jealous they don’t have your figure,” said Vixen. “Darren might have a heart attack!”
“Well I don’t want to be a widow on my wedding day, do I?” Natasha said. “It doesn’t show too much on top, does it, Vix?”
Vixen took a really good look at the dress. Her mother looked perfect in it. It didn’t show too much. It was the whole dress that would stun people. Her mother had a killer figure, and knew it. It clung to her curves like a second skin, then flared out to the skirt. Vixen hoped her mother was right and that someday in the future, that she would have her mother’s figure and would be able to wear this dress on her wedding day.
“No, Mom, it doesn’t show too much up top. It’s rather modest, unlike some of the dresses I’ve seen you wear,” said Vixen.
“Oh, you mean the ‘dressed to kill’ dresses? Darren likes them,” her mother said; “makes men jealous as hell that I’m not with them.”
“So sex sells?”
“Yes, Vixen,” Natasha said; “but not at 13. Is that clear?”
“Like crystal.” And Vixen laughed.
Just then, KateLynn called up the stairs, “Tash, Vixen, limo’s here!”
“Okay, now Mom,” Vixen told her mother, “this isn’t the time to get all stupid nervous, okay? Only me, Uncle Nik and Aunt Kate will have seen you in this dress by the time you get to the church. Nikky hasn’t seen it, and Sandy and Danica have been too busy. They’re changing at the church.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Natasha said as they started down the stairs. When they got to the bottom, Vixen almost laughed as her uncle laid his eyes on his sister. They just about popped out of his head.
“Wow, sis, what a dress!” Nik said. “You’re gonna make me look bad.”
“It’s gorgeous, Natasha!” KateLynn said. “And only you could pull that one off!”
“Told you, Mom,” Vixen said.
“I know, Viktoria,” Natasha said.
Natasha thought the 20 year old limo driver was going to pass out when he saw her. Yep, sex sells. But the only one buying on this trip is the man who waited patiently for her all these years.
The ride to the church took forever in Natasha’s mind. Vixen, Nik, and KateLynn talked a mile a minute. Natasha looked out the window thinking, for everyone else, it’s just the Fourth of July. For me, it’s my wedding day. Everyone from my kids to the President will be there. Except for Julia, and poor Kylee, God rest her soul.
“Mom, what are you thinking about?” Vixen asked.
“How my life, our lives, are going to change today,” Natasha said. “You’ll have a dad for the first time ever, and maybe a couple of siblings. I don’t know.”
“You’re going to try and have children?” asked KateLynn.
“Darren and I have discussed it, and if I can’t do it, maybe we’ll adopt. There are so many kids out there who need a family,” Natasha said, half to herself, and half to KateLynn.
Nik knew that tone of voice Natasha used. She had told him a secret years ago that not even his wife knew about. Nik remembered being shocked at the time, but could see where Natasha could have felt the way she did then. She was only 18, and no one had ever told her that she was more than a whore.
One person told her that then, and Natasha, still known as Vixen, believed them. She admitted to her brother that the first time she ever felt loved was when this person told her that she was more than the teenage prostitute they had rescued; that she had a future if she wanted it; that she was a pretty girl. Natasha later realized that her feelings for this person were more of gratitude than of love.
And that person would be at her wedding.
Before she knew it, they had arrived at the church, and Sandrina and Danica were there to meet them.
As Natasha got out of the car, the cousins got a real good look at their aunt’s dress.
“Wow, Aunt Tash!” Danica said; “That is some dress!”
“I couldn’t have designed a dress that perfect even if I tried!” Sandrina said.
“Nice, right?” asked Natasha.
“Oh, yeah,” Sandrina said; “It’s nice.”
“Well...” Natasha said, “let’s get this show on the road. I can’t keep my groom waiting.”
===
IV
Julia tried to keep herself occupied so she wouldn’t think about the wedding she was missing because she was cooped up in the Government Employees ward at Walter Reed.
It wasn’t working.
The book that Sgt. Travis brought her wasn’t holding her attention; and the magazines were garbage about celebrities and she had no interest in that.
Julia had found out that Sgt. Travis played chess, but she had already left the hospital before Julia had a chance to ask her to play a game or two or twenty.
God, I’m bored, she thought. I’d rather be at that wedding watching my sister in arms getting married than being stuck in here.
Julia went to go lay down in the bed and take a nap. It’s not like she’d be going anywhere. Not today at least.
Neither of my weddings were the extravaganza that I’m sure Sandy and Danica had coordinated for Natasha, Julia thought as she drifted into sleep. Now both Ryan and Jack were gone, and I’m not sure I’ll ever trust my heart to any man again. They’ll just die on me...
Not true, Jules.
“What?”
You should find someone to trust your heart to, Ryan said; And Jack agrees. There might be someone out there for you. You’re not a black widow, after all.
“But you both died.”
So, it happens, Jules. It’s not you. Men would have to be blind, stupid, or both to not see you have a lot to offer.
“You have anyone in mind?”
Not really, Julia. You just have to let it happen. I’d tell you if I could. But I can’t because I don’t know.
“Not much help, Ry.”
Sorry, Jules. But you’ll find someone. Someone who doesn’t have heart problems or cancer or would otherwise die on you.
“I’ll believe it when it happens.”
You’ve always been stubborn, Julia. That’s what I love about you. Among many other things.
“I love you too, Ryan. I miss you.”
I miss you more.
God, please don’t torture me anymore...
===
The ship would leave early the next morning from its port in Norfolk, Virginia. A new crew of staff came on board and got acquainted with the ship known as the Queen of the Atlantic. It had been christened just five months before. This would be her maiden voyage.
One third of the people who were part of the service crew were not who they said they were. They were the government’s DeepOps team, assigned to this cruise by order of the President for only one reason.
To keep the CIA Director and his new bride safe.
There had been no threat to either Director Dixon or Ms. Vincent, but it was best to keep them safe at any rate. Ms. Vincent had minor children.
One of those DeepOps team members Natasha Vincent would know on sight, if she had not had her looks drastically altered two years before. Everyone thought she was dead, a victim of a fabricated bout with cancer.
As Mariah Gadsden listened to the ship’s captain during his talk to the crew, she knew her job was to make sure that the special guests on board were safe.
And she would do that job perfectly. She wouldn’t have to kill anyone. Just keep an old friend and her new husband safe.
In another life, she was known as Kyle Lee, a simple country girl from the hollers of the Kentucky mountains she called home. She had married, had children, had a life working for the state she always considered home. Then the President himself called her one day and offered her the opportunity of a lifetime. After discussing it with her husband and children, she took advantage of the higher pay, the benefits, and the appearance altering surgery that went with it.
She knew that her husband, Greg, and her two teenagers, Susan and Jason, would keep her secret.
Kyle Lee Jackson then ceased to exist. She became Mariah. And in turn, a hired assassin who would go to great lengths to keep her charges safe, along with the seventy-nine others who were part of her team.
Natasha Vincent wouldn’t know her if she stood right in front of her, Mariah thought as she headed to her stateroom in the employees deck.
And that made her a little sad.
===
At 6:55pm, the organist began playing.
Right on the stroke of 7, the bride and her brother appeared at the back of the cathedral.
Martin Dixon poked his brother gently in the ribs, just like he had when they were kids. “Hey, kiddo,” he said, “here comes your bride.”
As if on cue, the organist started playing “Here Comes the Bride”.
Everyone in the church stood, turned to look at the back of the room, and saw Natasha Vincent walk down the aisle, preceded by her bridesmaids and her matron of honor.
Darren let out an audible gasp. My God, Natasha! he thought; you are absolutely breathtaking!
And the bride was the center of attention as she was walked down the aisle by her only true sibling.
When Natasha and Nik reached the altar, the priest asked, “Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?”
“Her family and I do,” Nik said as he handed off his sister’s arm to her groom. He then went to sit down next to his wife, who leaned over and whispered,
“You do look incredible, Nikolai. I can’t wait to rip that monkey suit off you!”
“KateLynn!” Nik whispered back in pretend shock. “We’re in church!”
“So?” KateLynn whispered in reply, smiling.
The priest continued,
“We are brought here today to witness the marriage of Darren Joseph Dixon to Natasha Viktoria Vincent. I trust there are no objections.” He paused, then continued,
“Darren, do you take Natasha to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day onward, to love and respect, all the days of your life?”
Darren smiled at Natasha and said in a clear, strong voice, “I do.”
The priest repeated the vow to Natasha, who also said, though her voice was shaking with emotion, “I do.”
The Mass went on for about 45 minutes, during which time, all the kids under 16 were quickly growing bored.
“Miri,” Zach whispered to his sister, “can’t they just say I do and get it over with? What’s with all this other stuff?”
“Tradition, Zach,” Miri whispered back; “So just can it, okay brother?”
Zach had no retort for that.
Alex Springer, who had barely enough time to get off the plane from Raleigh, get dressed in the men’s room at the airport, and grab a cab for the cathedral, sat in the back near the door. He’d seen Sandrina come in with the bride, and she made eye contact with him and smiled. He made a decision before he even left North Carolina. He was going to ask Sandrina’s father for his blessing to marry his daughter, then propose to her at the reception if the opportunity presented itself.
Jacob sat there, remembering the scared, untrusting girl that Natasha was when he first met her 27 years before. She needed some assurance that she was worthy of the chance that had fallen into her lap to be trained as an assassin. Natasha had years worth of anger and bitterness, and he knew that she had to deal with those before she could be an effective killer. He let his guard down too far and allowed her to get too close. His affair with her was brief, and she ended it when she realized that it was gratitude, and not love, that she felt. He held as special place in his heart for her, and was happy that she had finally found a man worthy of her. But even he thought that the ceremony had dragged on much too long.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to two very fidgetty nine year olds, the ceremony was over. The priest then introduced the congregation to “Mr. and Mrs. Darren Joseph Dixon”. Then the newly married couple walked up the aisle and into a waiting limosine to be taken to the reception. The bridal party followed.
Soon, everyone at the church was headed to one of Washington’s premier eateries to sit on the expansive balcony to have dinner and fireworks.
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