Chapter 4-2
698 Words
My degree secure, my future decided, there wasn't much time for existential crises as I started preparing for my wedding reception.
Yes, I was already married.
But the way our wedding ceremony was conducted — in the middle of the night, at a notary's office — was considered quite irregular by everybody, including Jack's widowed mother. And my married one.
Who was coming to Ashford two days after my graduation, and staying until the reception.
With father and the boys, they bought tickets for a coupé cabin, the two youngest sharing a bunk bed.
They could have bought tickets for two compartments, since Grandpa was paying for everything, but they preferred to keep an eye on the boys.
It must have been one very long week for them, though.
I kept that in mind as I was waiting for them at the station. Uncle Billie wasn't here (he would be confused to see his sister, and we didn't want to confuse him in such a public place). Grandpa and mother were at speaking terms, but barely, so it was only Jack and me.
My parents had never met Jack before, so this would be the first time they would meet. And I was already married.
It was going to be awkward.
When the train stopped, the boys jumped out of the second-class carriage, eagerly running toward me.
I sent Jack to help my parents with their luggage while I gave a hug to each of my brothers.
"Big Sis!" Mikey shouted over the incoming trains' noise. "I missed you!"
I hugged him, ruffling his hair. Since when was Mikey so big? His head was almost at my chest level. Billie seemed to be at shoulder level, while Sam was an inch taller than I was. And Sam is fourteen, about to enter high school.
Who knows how much he'll grow later.
"Not so big anymore," I said, after hugging Billie and approaching Sam, who was standing a bit further, as if pretending he had nothing to do with us. "Sam is bigger than me now!"
I hugged him, his gangly, skinny body resisting for a bit before I felt his arms around my back.
Once all my brothers were hugged, and their hair ruffled, I turned around, looking for my parents.
They managed to get all their luggage out by now, with the help of Jack and the conductor. My mother was standing by the door, looking after the luggage, while the men lowered the last suitcase down the stairs.
"Let's help mom and dad with the luggage," I commanded the boys, heading towards mother.
She smiled faintly at me, the signs of a long and stressful trip evident on her face. I hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, no ruffling hair this time around.
"Oh, Dana," she said. "I'm so sorry for what happened to you. That you had to get married because of us."
Was it tears I could hear in her voice? And guilt?
Did she take the accusations the Immigration folks were spewing, about my birth certificate being fake (and them being able to prove it), seriously?
"I was going to get married to Jack anyway," I said, stepping back a bit to see her face. "I wasn't forced to do anything I didn't want to do. And mother, it's not your fault they came up with those awful lies to come after me."
"Lies?" my mother asked, as I dried her face with a handkerchief. Can't let the boys see mother crying, or they'll get emotional, too.
After all, they're light mages about to hit puberty. They're sensitive to any expression of emotion.
Sam was already sensing something, because he was looking at us with worry.
"Yes, those lies about dad bringing me here with him, and you faking the birth certificate, naming me as your daughter," I whispered into her ears. "We'll discuss them tonight. Sam's watching."
That forced her to calm down, and she nodded, blowing her nose in my handkerchief.
I put it back into my pocket, kissed my father, and smiled at my family.
"Now, Jack is going to bring a trolley, but he will still need help to make sure nothing falls down. Let's see which one of you can arrange luggage best, so it doesn't fall."
Trick to get little boys to help — make it a competition.
- Writer
