365 Days At War

by Nancy Isaak

  Shawnee, Hannah, and Lily had spent days decorating the ballroom—a childish mix of streamers and hand-drawn stars. Sophia, of course, was responsible for the food. Even suffering from the effects of her champagne-hangover, she managed an astonishing array of mouthwatering plates and dishes—including a three-tiered wedding cake, complete with a ceramic bride and groom.

  Meanwhile, Ian, Andrei, Ethan, and Wester had set up chairs and tables on one side of the ballroom, while a Victrola was installed on the other. Dancing, apparently, was to take place in the space in between.

  * * * *

  I had intended on spending some time on Council work that morning; I was worried that three bonfires weren’t enough for an early-warning system, and wanted to check our local maps for other, possible locations.

  Peyton and Cherry, however, had other ideas. Not long after breakfast, they kidnapped me—forcing me to sit in a chair for hours while they fussed away at my hair and make-up.

  “This is such a waste of time,” I objected. “Nobody cares about this kind of thing anymore.”

  Peyton held up a mirror, so I could look at myself.

  “Wow!” I whispered. “I stand corrected.”

  Cherry had braided a portion of my hair, using it to circle my head like a crown. She had then threaded a necklace of diamonds (real ones!) throughout the braid, hoping that they would catch the light and ‘twinkle’ as I moved. The rest of my hair, she had left hanging down, curling it slightly with a hair iron that she warmed up over a can of Sterno.

  Meanwhile, Peyton had performed what I considered a major miracle. For the first time in my life, I felt truly beautiful.

  My skin looked flawless, my cheeks slightly rouged. Peyton had outlined my eyes with a kohl pencil and lightly brushed my eyelids with an astonishingly ‘six’ different colors. On my eyelashes, she had placed first a clear mascara, followed by a deep black; they were then curled to within an inch of their life.

  But—the most amazing thing of all—somehow, after all that, I looked like I didn’t have any make-up on at all.

  “How did you do it?” I asked.

  “Magic,” she drawled, holding up a lip pencil. “Now give me a slight pucker so that I can draw on your Betty Boop’s.”

  * * * *

  That afternoon, when I finally walked down the center of the ballroom, it was with Jude by my side.

  “Because I had the biggest set in the room,” she told everyone later.

  The truth, however, was something much different.

  Back in the old world, I would have had my mom walk me down the aisle. In this world—after Jay—Jude was the closest thing I had to family. She was like a big sister. Jude annoyed me…she teased me…she tormented me.

  Yet, I knew—without a doubt—that she would die to protect me.

  My sister, Jude.

  And I loved her.

  Of course, when I told her this, Jude whacked me on top of my head. “Shaddup,” she growled. “You annoy me.”

  * * * *

  I was preceded down the aisle by Hannah and Lily; they were giggling flower girls, their little baskets full of freesias. Ethan came next, carrying two golden rings on a small lace pillow. (It was actually Connor who had found us the rings. Before he had left, he’d taken a trip down to a little jewelry store at Trancas, on the far side of Zuma Beach. He’d come back with the rings—his wedding gift to Jacob and me.)

  As Jude led me through the room, I noticed Cherry to one side. She was sitting with her sketchbook in her lap, her right hand moving this way and that, capturing the scene in quick, broad strokes. Shawnee and Wester were seated on either side of their big sister. While Shawnee struggled not to cry, Wester actually looked bored and was tugging on his newly twisted dreads.

  A few seats away, Sophia had lost her own battle with tears; they were freely falling down her cheeks. Beside her, meanwhile, Ian and Andrei were occupied by trying to push each other off of their chairs. Cammie, seated on the far side of the boys, reached out a hand and swatted at them both—trying to make them stop.

  Farther on were Frank and Peyton. They were seated together, holding hands—their affection for each other on full display. Lance was with them, smiling brightly when I gave him a quick wink.

  * * * *

  Jacob, of course, stood with Kieran and Rhys at the front of the ballroom. The three of them were dressed in tuxedos and—to me—looked model-handsome.

  I smiled at Jacob as I got close.

  He responded with a grin, his face lighting up. “You look absolutely gorgeous,” he whispered.

  “It’s all Cherry and Peyton’s doing,” I whispered back.

  Leaning down, he kissed me on the cheek. “No, sweet,” he murmured. “It’s simply all you.”

  I looked up into his ice-blue eyes and was lost—my whole being suddenly revolving around his gaze.

  “Um…Kaylee…Kaylee?”

  Ethan, Lily, and Hannah were giggling uncontrollably when I finally came to my senses. Jay and Porter were standing in front of me and Jacob was holding my hand.

  “You back with us?” asked Jay, grinning.

  “Sorry.”

  Jacob squeezed my hand. I decided that it would probably be better to not look at him, not wanting to lose focus again. After all, this was my wedding—I wanted to remember it.

  “All right,” said Jay—speaking loudly, so that everyone could hear. “We are gathered here today to witness the wedding of our friends, Jacob Riker and Kaylee Michelson. We’ll start with asking if there is anyone here who objects for any reason to their getting married.”

  Beside Jay, Porter suddenly picked up a shotgun and cocked it—glaring at everyone, daring anyone to object. To a person, we burst out in laughter. If there had been tension in the room, it was gone now.

  “Since there are no objections, let us continue.”

  Porter lowered the shotgun.

  Jay turned to Jacob. “You have something you’d like to say to Kaylee?”

  Jacob nodded and pulled out a wrinkled paper from his tuxedo’s pocket. “Sorry,” he said to me. “I was too nervous to memorize it.”

  Beside Jacob, Kieran chuckled, elbowing his older brother. Jacob turned and swatted at Kieran, “Stop it!”

  “Dude,” said Kieran. “Don’t read it. Just speak to her from your heart.”

  From behind me, I heard Cammie giggle, “Such a romantic.”

  Kieran turned and grinned at Cammie, wiggling his eyebrows.

  Meanwhile, Jacob was becoming frustrated. Frowning, he silently read what he’d written, then crumpled the paper up and replaced it in his pocket. Then, he took both of my hands in his, turning toward me, so that I was forced to look into those beautiful ice-blue eyes of his.

  “Kaylee,” he began.

  Rhys giggled.

  Jacob turned and glared at his younger brother, which made Rhys giggle even louder.

  “From the heart, bro,” Kieran urged.

  Jacob turned back to me.

  “Kaylee,” he began again. “You are…well…the only girl I have ever loved. I will always remember the first moment that I saw you—the moment that you took my heart. After everything that happened, that we should find each other again…we belong together, I have no doubt. I love you, Kaylee Michelson. I always have. I always will.”

  There were tears in Jacob’s eyes; they embarrassed him and he swiped at them, futilely.

  Jay turned to me. “Kaylee.”

  I giggled…then…I giggled once again.

  Immediately, fear shot down my spine…oh-no…the last thing I needed was a case of infectious giggling.

  Jude cured me with a hard poke to the center of my back. “Focus, Barbie. We’re all waiting. Time to get your Ken doll.”

  I took a deep breath, calming my nerves.

  “Jacob,” I finally began. “For 365 days, I lived with only your memory. Then—suddenly—at the very moment when I needed you most, you were there. You held out your hand to me and we ran. I’
ve been holding onto your hand ever since and I don’t ever want to let go. You are my love…in the old world, in this new one. There has only ever been you. There will only ever be you.”

  It was my turn to struggle against tears.

  Jacob reached out and gently touched my cheek. Immediately, Porter pushed his hand away.

  “No touching!” he said. “You’re not married, yet.”

  “The rings, please,” requested Jay.

  Ethan came forward, holding up his little pillow. Jay removed both rings and handed one to Jacob, the other one to me. They were simple golden circles, except that mine had a line of tiny diamonds around it.

  “Now, there’s probably something that you’re supposed to say when you put the rings on each other’s finger,” said Jay. “But since none of us seem to know what it is, I suggest you guys just say something nice to each other. Jacob, you go first.”

  Lifting up my shaking hand, Jacob gently slid the ring onto my finger. “I will hold your hand forever,” he said. “I will never let go.”

  “Your turn, Kaylee,” commanded Jay.

  I almost dropped Jacob’s ring when I placed it on his finger, my hand was trembling so much. “It will always be you,” I whispered, looking deep into Jacob’s blue eyes. “Always.”

  We both turned to Jay, waiting for what was next. She shrugged, grinning. “I guess you’re married now.”

  Jacob and I stared at each other—suddenly like two statues, frozen in uncertainty.

  “Dude!” exclaimed Kieran, impatiently. “Like kiss her already!”

  And my husband leaned over and, placing a hand gently on either side of my face, he softly kissed me—on my forehead, on each cheek—on my lips.

  Perfect...

  * * * *

  And then came the party!

  Sophia had made our two favorites for our first meal together as husband and wife—vegetarian lasagna for me and pizza for Jacob. It certainly wasn’t your usual wedding meal, but it made everybody happy and that was what counted to us.

  For dessert we had cake, of course—chocolate with white icing.

  Sadly, there was no ice cream.

  * * * *

  Porter was responsible for the dance music. Over the last month, he had assembled a playlist of old 78’s that he’d found in houses all over the Point. Using an old Victrola, he cranked away, setting the needle down on scratchy records—old songs that most of us had never heard before.

  We had a great time anyway.

  Jacob and I had our first dance to a Billie Holiday tune. Because I was such a hop-dancing klutz, I was worried about making a fool of myself. But Jacob merely clasped my hand in one of his, put his other at my waist; he pulled me in close and glided me across the floor.

  “You’re my wife,” he whispered in my ear. “How random is that?”

  I grinned up at him, “Hello, husband.”

  * * * *

  As late afternoon slipped into evening, everybody eventually found themselves up on the dance floor. Hannah and Lily danced the most—bopping around together when they weren’t trying to entice Wester and Ethan to join them. After the girls, it was Cammie and Kieran—even through the faster songs—clutching at each other, slow-dancing.

  “I think they’ll be next,” I told Jacob. “They’ve really fallen hard.”

  He grinned. “Kieran’s not a marriage fan. He’ll probably be happy just living together.”

  “But not you?” I asked him—curious about the answer.

  Jacob reached out and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. “Not me. I was always meant to be married to you.”

  * * * *

  The other slow-dancing couple that night was Frank and Peyton. They weren’t as touchy-feely as Cammie and Kieran, but there was a closeness to them that was sweet to watch. Whenever they sat down at their table, Frank held out a chair for Peyton; when they rose, he inevitably gave her his hand.

  The sweetest moment between them, however, was when they slow-danced over to Lance. As usual, the shy kid was simply sitting there, happy to be watching from the sidelines. But Frank and Peyton reached out to him—pulling him gently up—and including him in their dance.

  It came to me then that I had got it all wrong—I had thought that Frank was treating Lance like a younger brother. It was only at that moment that I realized that Frank had somehow become Lance’s father.

  Which made Peyton a mother—now, that was totally random!

  * * * *

  Later, Jay and Shawnee pulled the younger kids up onto the dance floor, in an attempt to teach them the “bhangra”—a traditional Pakistani dance. Rhys was more than willing, but—unfortunately—he was saddled with two incredibly awkward left feet. Ian and Andrei, however, were more than adept at the intricate moves.

  At one point, Shawnee and the two boys took off across the dance floor, Jay yelling out instructions. Rhys watched them from the sidelines, his face burning with jealousy and frustration.

  “Guess I need to have another talk with Shawnee.” Cherry moved up beside me, her sketchbook clutched to her chest. “Look at how Ian is looking at her. That girl has another admirer, no doubt.”

  “She’s just having fun.”

  “That’s the problem,” said Cherry. “She’s just having fun, but I don’t think that Rhys is—he’s serious.”

  “Shawnee doesn’t like Rhys?”

  “She sure likes to kiss him,” Cherry admitted. “But that’s about as far as it goes, feelings-wise, I think.”

  “Well, she is only thirteen.”

  “In the old world; in this world she’s a bow-sniper whose commanding officer has the hots for her and…” Cherry suddenly stopped, considering her words. “Wow…that is so totally not a sentence I ever thought I would say.”

  “It’s weird, huh?”

  She nodded. “Like, totally.”

  I pointed to her sketchbook. “So, any chance I could take a look?”

  “Pretty sure there isn’t,” said Cherry, wiggling her eyebrows mischievously. “You’ll just have to wait until I’m finished.” She leaned over and gave me a quick hug. “Congratulations, by the way. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer couple. Can’t wait to see the baby you two lookers pop out.”

  Shocked by the thought, my eyes went wide and my mouth dropped open.

  Cherry quickly flipped open her sketchbook. “Hold that look, will you? I want to get it down for posterity.”

  * * * *

  As the party began to die down, Jacob and I moved around the room, thanking everyone.

  Jude, of course, whacked me on the head and punched Jacob in the arm. “I know she’s annoying, but you hurt this girl in any way, Riker—you will have to answer to me.”

  “I’ll treat her just like a princess,” he said.

  “Well, you don’t have to go overboard,” frowned Jude. “Just don’t be a douchebag.”

  Jacob placed his hand over his heart. “I promise…no douchebaggery here.”

  * * * *

  The younger kids could barely stand still when Jacob and I tried to say good-night; they were all hopped up on sugar and excitement. Lily and Hannah were giggling and pulling each other’s hair, and Ethan and Wester were having a face-making contest. Meanwhile, Andrei and Ian were trying to pull a laughing Shawnee one way on a chair, while Rhys was tugging in an opposite direction.

  “I wonder which ones will wind up together,” I mused, as Jacob and I walked away. “There are definitely future couples in that group.”

  “It’ll be interesting watching what happens,” said Jacob. “Although I’m a little bit worried about Rhys.”

  “You might want to have a talk with him,” I suggested, “so his heart isn’t too broken.”

  Jacob sighed. “Shawnee’s playing the field already.”

  I shrugged. “A lot of guys on the Point and, for the first time in her life, that girl is feeling attractive.”

  “Maybe I’ll mention something to him.” Jacob reached out and swirled m
e into his arms. “But not now…because I’ve got much more important things to do.”

  * * * *

  At the bottom of the main staircase, Jay and I sobbed in each other’s arms. Jacob, meanwhile, stood to one side with Porter and Jude—all of them looking very uncomfortable.

  “It’s going to be so different now!” cried Jay, on my shoulder. “We won’t be sisters-from-another-mother anymore.”

  “We’ll always be sisters,” I said. “Always.”

  “But now you’re married and you’re moving away…you’ll be living in the mansion.”

  “I’ll come and visit every day,” I promised. “Or you’ll come and visit me.”

  “Or you could all just move in here,” Porter muttered under his breath. “Not like we don’t have the room.”

  Ignoring him, Jay squeezed me hard. “Promise me you won’t turn into one of those girls. The ones who get a guy and forget all of their old friends.”

  “Never,” I promised. “Never.”

  * * * *

  The moment we walked out of the mansion, Jacob and I were greeted with applause. There had to have been fifty or sixty guys there—grinning and pushing at each other. Tears filled my eyes as I descended the stairs and Jacob held onto my hand, giving it a little squeeze.

  “You look beautiful, Kaylee,” called a guy.

  “Wish you would have waited for me,” yelled another.

  Another voice cried out from the crowd, “Well done, Jacob! Now, bring the tribe some babies!”

  I must have reddened, because the crowd burst into laughter. Beside me, Jacob looked equally embarrassed.

  “Move back! Come on…give us some room!” The crowd parted and Kieran and Cammie came forward, each leading a horse—Chestnut and Beauty. The horses had been decorated—their manes braided with flowers and tiny bells hanging from their reins.