The M Word (8 page)

“No. I prefer it. I believe marriages should
be solemnized by God.”

She realized that she knew very little about
his beliefs. “Do you go to church?”

“Yes, a few times a year,” he said. “But I
pray every day. Expressing thanks for my blessings and asking for
help and protection during the day.”

That was sweet, Brenda thought, to hear a
grown man express his beliefs so matter-of-factly. She respected
that. She’d drifted away from her family’s church when she was in
high school and rarely thought about God or religion, except for
the occasional guilt trip.

She’d purposely asked the minister to arrive
after everyone had a chance to mingle and eat finger food. Her
family was notoriously late to events and the last thing she wanted
was to have hungry children screaming through the five minute
ceremony. After the ceremony, her father would fire up the grill
and start cooking his famous onion burgers.

“Keep it short,” she’d told the minister.

Her dress turned out beautifully. The white
satin dress had little cap sleeves and a low square neck. It fitted
snugly through the waist, with a skirt that was neither too poufy
or too narrow. Brenda felt like a princess.

Marius was handsome in his tuxedo, but it was
hot in the Dallas heat, so he had draped the jacket over the back
of a folding chair. His crisp white tuxedo shirt was tailored and
fit him well. Kelly’s eyes had grown wide when they were introduced
and later, when Marius was talking to her parents, she whispered,
“Wow. You didn’t tell me he was gorgeous.”

I didn’t know myself.

A few minutes after six, her mother loudly
asked the crowd to gather. There were about sixty people all
together: her family, some of her friends, a few of Marius’
friends. The crowd was a mixed group, some in shorts and t-shirts,
others in dressier clothes.

There were several tables with white
tablecloths, laden with food, over by the fence. One of Brenda’s
cousins was playing a harp, but silenced as the crowd gathered.

Marius put on his tuxedo jacket. Two dozen
folding chairs ringed the perimeter of the grassy yard, but most
people stood, standing slightly back so there was a small clearing
where she, Marius and the minister stood. Kelly, in a pretty floral
dress, stood over to one side, holding a small bouquet of white
roses that Marius had bought.

Brenda’s brother Tom quickly took a few
pictures.

This is it, Brenda thought and smiled at
Marius, who smiled at her
. I hope I’m doing the right
thing.

The minister raised his voice. “Welcome. We
are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Marius and
Brenda.”

“STOP!” a voice shouted.

Brenda felt the blood rush from her face.
“Steven,” she gasped.

#

At the loud exclamation, Marius looked first
at Brenda and saw her distress, then turned toward the man who had
been her lover, striding into the backyard. He was tall, thin and
blonde, dressed in a suit. Marius felt an instinctive upsurge of
hatred for him.

“Stop the wedding!” Steven continued loudly.
“This is a sham marriage.”

The startled minister silenced, looking as if
he didn’t know what to do, and for a moment the crowd stared,
amazed by the interruption.

Marius started walking briskly toward Steven,
but Lars who was farther back in the crowd reached him first.

Lars walked right up to Steven, standing less
than six inches from him. He was taller than the intruder and
broader through the shoulders. “Go home,” he said firmly, holding
his hands out to his side so that Steven couldn’t get closer to
Brenda without pushing him down. “No one wants you here.”

“Brenda!” Steven continued, shouting over
Lars’ shoulder. “Don’t marry this guy. I love you!”

“Go away!” Brenda responded.

Marius stood next to Lars, also blocking
Steven’s way. “Go. Now,” he said. His hands clenched into
fists.

Steven lifted his chin belligerently. “I’m
not going anywhere.”

Marius said clearly, “You have a choice. Go
quietly right now, or I’m going to throw you in the pool. And keep
you there until the police arrive.”

“You’re trespassing and disturbing the
peace,” Lars added. “Your senior partners will not be pleased.”

Steven stood his ground, but his confidence
faltered as Brenda’s brother, father and one of her brothers-in-law
joined the line of scrimmage. Steven took a step backward.

“What are we going to do with him?” Tom
asked. “String him up?”

“Into the pool,” Marius said, glancing at
Lars. “On the count of three?”

“I’ll go,” Steven said quickly, holding up
his hands to stop them, then retreating.

All the men in the wedding party escorted him
to his car, followed by the gawking crowd.

“Don’t come back,” Marius said coldly as
Steven opened his car door.

“She loves me,” Steven said angrily. “And I’m
going to report you to the INS.”

Then he slammed his door shut for
emphasis.

Several people in the crowd cheered and
clapped as Steven drove away.

“Good riddance,” Marius heard someone
say.

He didn’t move his gaze from Steven’s car
until it was safely out of sight.

He clenched and unclenched his hands, wishing
that he had struck him.

He turned back to the crowd of guests. Where
was Brenda and how was she feeling?

Lars said under his breath, “I’m sorry he
left.”

Marius looked at him, surprised.

Lars explained. “I wanted to throw him in the
pool.”

Marius smiled briefly, then wove through the
crowd to find Brenda.

The entire confrontation had taken only a few
minutes, and yet he felt as if the wedding had started hours ago.
Brenda, beautiful and pale, stood by the minister and her friend
Kelly. She looked devastated.

Kelly took a step forward and raised her hand
to get everyone’s attention. “That was pretty exciting,” she said
pleasantly, and the guests laughed, releasing their collective
tension. “And I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’d like to
get something to drink and take a ten minute break to chill out. Do
you want to take a break, Brenda?”

Brenda looked relieved. “Yes,” she breathed
out. “That’s a good idea.” She motioned to the harpist. “Why don’t
you play a few songs, and I’ll be back.”

Together, she and Kelly walked past the
swimming pool and toward the house, pausing only to get a glass of
lemonade from one of the food tables. Brenda caught the sleeve of
Marius’ tuxedo. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “See if you can help
everyone relax.”

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Give me a few minutes,” Brenda said, not
answering him.

Marius wondered if there would still be a
wedding that day, but knew he had no control over that. He said a
silent prayer as Brenda and Kelly went into the house.

#

Brenda and Kelly went into the master
bedroom, shut and locked the door. Brenda sank down onto her
parents’ king-sized bed. “I can’t believe it,” she said weakly,
then laughed. “So much for my quiet, simple wedding.”

Kelly sat next to her on the bed. “I always
knew Steven was a selfish jerk, but how did he find out?”

Brenda thought for a moment. “Facebook?”

Kelly frowned. “Probably. I didn’t mention
it, but one of our friends probably did.”

Brenda sipped her lemonade, wishing that she
had something stronger to bolster her, but knowing that she needed
to keep all her wits about her. “Did you see the way Lars and
Marius immediately responded? I was so stunned, I just stood there
like an idiot.”

Kelly said, “It happened so quickly, you were
in shock.”

Brenda said, “I’m just glad no one got hurt.
I was afraid it was going to turn into a brawl.”

“You watch too many movies.”

“You don’t know my father,” Brenda said.
“He’s never liked Steven.”

“Well, it’s over now, and everything’s
okay.”

“But I have to go back out there and face the
crowd.” Brenda sighed and rested her head in her hands. “It’s going
to be embarrassing.”

“You’ve survived worse,” Kelly said.

“When?”

Kelly laughed. “Okay, this is pretty bad. But
what choices do you have?” She looked at her closely. “Do you want
me to go outside and cancel the wedding?”

“No. I’m going to marry Marius. I will not
let Steven ruin my life.” She smiled wryly. “At least not any more
than he’s ruined it already.”

Kelly hesitated. “Is Marius an
immigrant?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re marrying him to help him get a
green card?”

“Partly,” Brenda admitted. “I also want a
baby.”

Kelly gasped. “You can’t do that.”

“It’s not illegal. We’re going to have a real
marriage. It’s practical, like an arranged marriage, but it is a
real marriage.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Maybe.”

Kelly didn’t say anything for a full minute.
“I don’t like it,” she said finally.

Brenda nodded, appreciating her friend’s
honesty. “You must admit, though, that Marius is better than any of
the other guys I’ve dated.”

“That’s not saying much.”

Brenda laughed. “You’re right.” She stood and
checked her reflection in the mirror over her parents’ dresser. She
looked a little wrinkled, but not bad. She smoothed her wig and
retouched her lipstick. She squared her shoulders and smiled.
“Let’s go.”

#

In the end, the wedding and reception were
better than Brenda had expected. Steven’s dramatic appearance had
broken the ice, and once he was safely gone, everyone was in a
better mood. The minister made a few jokes, vows were exchanged,
papers were signed, and the party began.

Everyone talked and ate. Her dad’s onion
burgers were popular. Children ran around and only one nephew fell
in the pool, quickly retrieved and unharmed. A brother-in-law
rigged speakers to his iPod, and there was dance music.

Marius met more of her friends and she met
some of his. Marius introduced her to half a dozen graduate
students and a few professors. Brenda was surprised to learn that
Marius was a teaching assistant.

“I thought you tuned pianos,” she said
quietly.

“I do that to help the Music department. My
real job is more academic. I grade papers and teach review
sessions.”

That made sense, since he was getting a
degree in Music History. I’ve married a future college professor,
she thought, imagining him in a v-necked cardigan sweater and
writing on a white board in front of a large classroom. She smiled,
thinking that none of her teachers had ever looked as good as
Marius did now. She had a feeling his classes would be very
popular.

Deborah’s cake was delicious and although she
appeared a little flustered when she talked to Marius face to face,
she managed to say, “I hope you’ll be very happy together.”

When the fireworks started, Brenda slipped
back into her parents’ bedroom to change into traveling clothes: a
watermelon colored sheath dress with matching heels. Marius had
said they were going to a hotel that night and heading out of town
in the morning.

Personally, Brenda thought renting a hotel
room was an unnecessary expense, but now she was glad no one knew
where they were going. She didn’t want to run into Steven again.
And it would be good to get away for ten days.

She wasn’t looking forward to camping, but
braced herself by thinking that what didn’t kill her would make her
stronger.

As she walked down the hallway to the
kitchen, she overheard two women in the kitchen. They were helping,
washing some of the serving dishes. They were talking about
Marius.

Brenda froze.

“You can tell he adores her,” one of them was
saying.

“I didn't even know he was dating anyone,”
the other said. “You know, when that article came out, I offered to
marry him. To keep him in the country.”

The first woman laughed. “You and Mrs.
Simmons.”

“But she's sixty!”

“But not dead yet.”

They both laughed. “I just hope he's happy
with --”

Brenda turned back down the hall and shut the
bathroom door loudly, so they would know someone else was nearby.
The conversation stopped abruptly.

She walked past them quickly, smiling and
thanking them for the help. She slipped outside, gave one last hug
to Kelly and her mother, then took Marius’ hand. Tom took a few
more pictures and then they left.

Marius walked to a recent model sedan parked
out front.

“Aren’t we taking my car?” Brenda asked.

“It’s covered with shaving cream and
streamers,” Marius said. “Ellen said she’d clean it off and take it
back to the house.”

“What about my suitcase?”

“Already here.” He patted the trunk.

Brenda nodded. Apparently Marius had thought
of everything. He reached to open the passenger side door for her,
but she pulled it open herself and climbed inside. She sank down
into the seat. “Let's get out of here,” she said tersely.

Marius quietly started the car. They drove
for several minutes in silence. Brenda stared out the passenger
window, her mouth set in a grim line.

“Just how many proposals did you get,
anyway?” she asked finally.

Marius was startled. “I beg your pardon?”

“How many American women offered to marry you
to keep you in the country?”

He frowned. “Someone has been talking.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

“How many proposals?” Brenda repeated.

Marius' eyes narrowed. “Most of the women
weren't serious. They were joking.”

She noticed he said most of the women were
joking, but not all of them. “How many?”

He let his breath out slowly. “Four women.
Five, if I include you, actually proposed. Several more hinted
before I let them know I wasn’t interested.”

She could tell that he was uncomfortable
answering her questions, but she wasn't willing to back down. “So
why did you choose me?”