Sybil at Sixteen (19 page)

“We're here,” Clark said, giving Sybil a hug as though he hadn't just seen her an hour or two before. “What can we do to help?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Sybil said. “Hi, Scotty. Schyler.”

“Hello there,” Schyler Hughes said. “You've grown since the last time I saw you, Sybil.”

“I'm definitely older,” Sybil said. “Thea and Claire are upstairs helping Evvie get dressed. Come on in. Sam's pacing around the living room driving all of us crazy.”

Clark walked around the living room. “The state seems to be taking good care of this place,” he said. “Everything appears well tended to.”

“Oh, Sam,” Schyler said, walking over to him. “My grandfather extends regrets, but he can't make it today. Why you'd want him, I don't know. Anyway, he asked me to give you this.”

Sam took the envelope from Schyler. “This is it,” he said. “The down payment on our first house.” He ripped the envelope open, then stared at the check with disbelieving eyes. “Twenty-five dollars!” he yelped. “He only sent twenty-five dollars?”

“I'm sure that's more than he'll give me,” Schyler declared.

Sam walked over to the staircase, and looked up. “Evvie!” he shouted. “Sebastian Prescott sent us twenty-five dollars!”

Evvie's laughter could be heard throughout the house. “Cash it fast!” she called down. “Before he stops payment.”

“Twenty-five dollars,” Sam muttered. “From now on Claire negotiates with him.”

Sybil laughed. “Your other presents have been nice,” she pointed out. “You have no cause to complain.”

“Right,” Sam said. “But a man can dream.” He looked for a moment as though he was going to rip the check up, then he put it back in its envelope, and rammed it into a pocket.

The doorbell rang again. This time Scotty answered it. “We're here for the Greene wedding,” a young man said. “Is this the right place?”

“It sure is,” Sam said. “Big Red! Come on in.”

“This is Big Red?” Sybil asked.

“Bill Moscowitz,” Big Red said. “And my kid brother Alex. I hope you don't mind Alex coming, too, Sam. If there isn't enough food, he promises he won't eat.”

“Billy,” Sam said, and he embraced his old friend. “And Alex. God, I haven't seen you since you were in diapers.”

“I was a little older than that,” Alex said.

“He starts BU in the fall,” Bill declared. “And since you mentioned Evvie having all those beautiful sisters living in Boston, I thought this might be a good way for him to meet a few people.”

“This is one of those beautiful sisters,” Sam said. “Sybil, this is the legendary Big Red and his kid brother, Alex.”

Sybil smiled. “It's nice to meet you,” she said. “And there'll be plenty of food. You may have to share a plate, though.”

“May I share one with you?” Alex asked.

“Is he good or what?” Bill said. “So you're actually getting married, huh, Greenie?”

“Only if my bride ever makes it down the stairs,” Sam said. “Evvie!”

“I'm almost ready,” Evvie called down. “Is the rabbi there yet?”

As though to answer her question, the doorbell rang again. This time Clark got the door, and let the rabbi in.

“Beautiful day for a wedding,” the rabbi said. “Is everything set outside?”

“It should be,” Clark said. “We followed your directions explicitly. There's a canopy, what do you call it?”

“A
chupah,
” the rabbi replied. “And the wine glass? Is that ready as well?”

“All set to be smashed,” Sam said. “Thank you for joining us, Rabbi Tannenbaum. Literally as well as figuratively. Evvie! Hurry up! The rabbi's here!”

“I'm ready, I'm ready,” she said.

“She's beautiful,” Thea called down. “She's worth waiting for, Sam.”

“I've been waiting half my life,” Sam said. “At least it feels that way. Sybil, want to go to the kitchen and tell Gran and Megs we're just about ready?”

“My pleasure,” Sybil said. She walked to the kitchen, and found her mother and Sam's grandmother engrossed in conversation. “I think we're ready to start,” she said. “At least everybody's here.”

“I'm a nervous wreck,” Meg declared. “How do I look?”

“Young enough to be a bride,” Mrs. Greene said, giving Meg a hug. “Come on, before we get so teary we flood the place.”

The three of them walked out the back door and over to the garden where the
chupah
had been set up. There were flowers all around, roses in full June bloom, and arrangements that Clark had provided. Sybil could hear the ocean in the background. Evvie and Sam had decided its waves were the only music they needed.

Clark, Schyler, and Scotty walked out together, followed by Bill and Alex Moscowitz. Sybil was pleased for Sam that he had invited his oldest friend to share in the day. Evvie was surrounded by sisters, after all. Sam was entitled to a blood brother. Ronnie and Claire walked out together. Claire immediately joined Schyler, and Sybil was taken, as she always was when she saw them together, by how perfect they looked as a couple, more like twins than half cousins. Thea and the rabbi strolled out together. The rabbi continued walking to the
chupah
, while Thea stopped and stood between Scotty and Clark.

Then, finally, Evvie walked out. She and Sam had decided on a small wedding, basically informal, since they both were in mourning for the death of parents. Evvie had even discussed with Meg whether she should postpone the wedding, but Meg had vetoed that idea, much to Sam's relief. So they'd gone ahead with their June plans, but they'd cut the guest list down, and instead of an elaborate bridal gown requiring veils and bridesmaids, Evvie was wearing a simple, white, waltz-length dress and a big picture hat. Around her neck was a pearl pendant, that Sybil recognized as a gift from Nick and Meg to Evvie on her sixteenth birthday. Sybil had assumed it must have been pawned years before, and congratulated Evvie silently on having held on to it.

“This is a very joyous occasion,” the rabbi began. “The union of two special people, Samuel Steinmetz Greene and Eve Sebastian. Theirs is not a runaway courtship or a hasty decision.”

Claire turned to Scotty and smiled.

“It's rare for two young people to have made a commitment to each other that has been so severely tested,” the rabbi continued. “And yet their love never faltered, and their desire for a permanent union always shone.”

Sybil knew she should listen, but her mind wandered. The setting was perfect. Clark had arranged for caterers, and two of them stood at attention while the rabbi continued to speak. There was the gentlest of ocean breezes, not even enough to disturb the tablecloths. No clouds in the sky blocked out the sunlight, which seemed to offer its blessing to Evvie and Sam. Some curious sea gulls flew overhead, but they were the only uninvited guests.

Sybil looked at her family and Sam's and those friends so close that they might as well be family. Clark was filled with delight; his pleasure in the event was obvious. Schyler and Claire stood so close together they might almost have been one. Scotty and Thea shared their space companionably. Bill kept grinning, while Alex seemed merely respectful and polite. Every now and again, though, he tossed a look over at Sybil. When she noticed, she blushed. She'd forgotten that boys her age could find her pretty.

Ronnie, Meg, and Mrs. Greene were all standing together, and of them, only Ronnie was crying. Sybil smiled at that. Evvie and Sam had been worrying for weeks that once their mother and grandmother got together, their tears would drown out the ceremony, but Mrs. Greene was smiling, and Meg simply looked at peace with herself.

Mrs. Greene and Meg walked up to the
chupah
, and each of them lit a candle, then handed those candles to Sam and Evvie. The rabbi said something about generations and the passing of love. Sybil wasn't ready yet to think about generations. It was easier to admire the way the silver and the china glistened in the sun.

The rabbi read from the service. Much of what he said was in Hebrew, a language Evvie had been taking at Harvard, but still professed to have trouble with. Sybil liked the way the words sounded, so exotic on this New England coastline. Then Sam and Evvie exchanged their vows. They spoke in Hebrew as well. Sam stumbled over a word, and Evvie smiled at him. She had no trouble with hers.

“Sam and Eve both have things they'd like to say,” the rabbi declared. “Vows that have special meaning for them.”

“I thought I loved you the very first time I saw you,” Sam began. “At my grandparents' bookstore. But I didn't really know what love was. I'm still learning about it. Every day you teach me something new about love, about giving and sharing and commitment. It isn't simply that I can't imagine a life without you, Eve. It's that I delight in a life shared with you, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. I promise to love you and to grow with you, to wipe away your tears and share your laughter. Whatever I am, I give freely to you.”

“When I met you, Sam, I thought I knew everything,” Evvie said. “And when I fell in love with you, I was sure I knew everything. But lately I've learned how little I do know. That was frightening for me, but having you by my side, knowing that throughout all my pain and confusion, you were there and your love was supporting me, kept me whole, kept me alive. My love for you today could overwhelm the world, and yet I know it's nothing compared to what my love for you tomorrow will be. I promise you, Sam, that no matter what happens to us, I'll be there with you. We'll share the good times and the bad, and at those moments when you feel most alone, you'll know I'm right there by your side. Whatever I am, whatever I become, I give freely to you.”

They exchanged rings then and looked at each other with such wonderment it was as though they had never really met, yet were delighted with the prospect of spending their lives together anyway. The rabbi said a blessing over a glass of wine, which Evvie and Sam then sipped from. Then Sam walked over to where a wine glass covered by a napkin was on the ground, and he smashed the glass with his foot.

“
L'chaim
!” Clark sang out.

Everybody stared at him.

“Did I do wrong?” Clark asked.

“You did absolutely right,” the rabbi said. “To life! And to Evvie and Sam!”

And soon everybody was cheering and crying, and Evvie and Sam were too busy kissing to notice.

“I've been to a lot of weddings in my day,” Mrs. Greene declared. “Big fancy ones at all the best hotels. But in my opinion, I've never seen such a beautiful one as this. Of course I may be just a little bit biased.”

“I don't think we've been properly introduced,” Bill said to Thea. “My name is Bill Moscowitz. I'm Sammy's best friend from way back. But don't hold that against me.”

“Of course I'll marry you, Schyler,” Claire said. “When your net worth exceeds ten million.”

“I was sure you were supposed to say
l'chaim,”
Clark said. “I've been rehearsing it for weeks, to get that gutteral out right.”

“And it was right by the gazebo over there that Nicky and I burned my ruffled dress,” Meg said.

“I don't know Boston very well,” Alex said. “Maybe you could show me some of its sights.”

“I want a more formal wedding,” Thea said. “I've always imagined myself in a long satin gown. But the important thing isn't really the wedding. It's the marriage.”

“Why ten million?” Schyler said. “Why not the world?”

“I'm happy to say this wedding brings back no memories for me,” Scotty said. “Not a single vivid flashback.”

“I still say Grace Winslow must be spinning in her grave,” Ronnie said.

Sybil listened to all of them, as she wandered around, sharing conversations, making comments of her own. She walked over to Evvie and Sam, who were standing on the beach, posing for photographs.

“Oh, Sybil,” Evvie said, and she gave her sister a hug. “Wasn't it perfect?”

“It sure was,” Sybil said. “You were beautiful, Evvie.”

“I thought so,” Sam said. “She was worth six long years of waiting.”

“So was he,” Evvie said, and she gave Sam yet another kiss. “Oh, Sybil, don't go away. I want to give you something.”

“What?” Sybil asked. “Brides don't give things. They get them.”

“No one's ever accused me of being traditional,” Evvie said. “Sam, unclasp my necklace for me, all right?”

“Sure,” Sam said. He handed the pendant to Evvie.

“This is for you,” Evvie said. “I hope you like it.”

“But Nicky and Megs gave it to you,” Sybil said. “On your sixteenth birthday. Don't you want to keep it?”

“I want you to have it,” Evvie said. “Don't worry. It isn't because I'm angry at Nicky, or anything like that. But I think he would have wanted you to have it. It's a feeling I got when I put it on this morning, that it should be yours. Think of it as a gift from him and from me, and when you wear it, you'll know how much we both love you.”

“Oh, Evvie,” Sybil said. She put the pendant on with trembling fingers.

“It looks perfect on you,” Evvie declared. “Of course, today everything is perfect.”

“Even me?” Sam asked.

“Don't push it,” Evvie said, but then she laughed. “Even you.”

Sybil kissed them both and walked away, so the photographer could resume taking pictures. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen so many joyous people. Even the rabbi was beaming, and he hardly knew them.

She stood outside the group for a moment, enjoying the day, enjoying the pleasure they were all sharing. And then time paused, and their happy babblings were silenced by the ocean. Sybil turned away from her family and looked toward the sea, toward the sky. She could see Meg there, on her sixteenth birthday, unaware of her own beauty, uncomfortable in a ruffled dress Aunt Grace had purchased for her. And she saw Nick, walking in with his friends, then stopping, seeing Meg for the first time, seeing his future, seeing his life. Sybil stood still for a moment, witnessing their love, and then they vanished, and the wedding sounds came through again, and Sybil was sorry and glad and suddenly very eager.