[OTA] We Are Gathered Here | The Fox-Kattalakis Wedding

[headfollowheart]

A few things had gone wrong, honestly. There had been some confusion in the morning when they’d arrived to decorate the church - a few bouquets on the altar, some green and blue ribbons twined around a few of the posts - and it’d been locked. She’d managed to leave Spade Castle with her dress, veil, the coin from his mother strung on a thin leather thong, the emerald silk sash and Victor’s ring - but of all things, she’d managed to leave her shoes in their box in the closet, and Chives had had to go back for that. Hadyn looked a little green from his adventure shanghaiing Victor with Ben and Elisha, her cousin Sara had in usual Sara fashion managed to break the heel on her left shoe. Nerves finally hit as Chives was braiding her hair, and by the time the veil was settled over the smooth curls, her nails had left indents in her palms.

In the end, though, it was pretty much perfect. Two of her closest friends preceded her down the aisle in soft blue dresses with forget-me-nots in their braided hair and small posies in their hands. She’d walked towards her fiance on her brother’s arm with her hands full of spring flowers, and after the words were said and Victor lifted the veil, they were married. It only felt a little different than before, Zoe thought as their brief kiss ended. But it was different; she was Zoe Fox.

Zoe Fox knew, of course, that Victor Fox would have preferred them to just slip back to their apartment - no big party, no flowing wine and hors d'oeuvres - but she’d wanted something. And he’d given her carte blanche in the end, really; she’d chosen the small reception room that opened out into the Castle gardens, she’d picked the combination of hyacinths, hydragea, and lily of the valley for the table arrangements, the Greek-flavored menu of spanakopita, wild green and strawberry salad, linguine primavera and herb-encrusted lamb. She’d pored over cake designs until she finally picked a vanilla bean cake with strawberry puree filling, decorated in vanilla buttercream. She’d pruned the list of friends, family and acquaintances who might be expected to be invited to the wedding reception until they numbered barely fifty.

Under the strict supervision of Chives, of course the reception looked perfect, she thought as they arrived, and she smiled as she slipped her hand into Victor’s arm and the full skirt of her dress swirled against both of their legs. Perfect, though perfect didn’t matter quite so much to her right now.

Comments

[falsepretences]

"It should have been," he says as he takes a sip. "You could have blessed the happy couple with many talented children. Maybe voices like angels and faces of sirens." Though, really, considering how much Zoe Fox looked like her cousin, there was a fair chance of the latter, anyway.

[heartvestment]

"... and now I'm sad. I could have. It would've been awesome." She rocks closer to him. "You should dance with me to make up for the absolute disappointment you've brought."

[falsepretences]

"Are you sure that'll be enough to make up for it?" He's a good dancer, but his area of expertise - if he had one - was more ballroom. They'd see how this went. "I don't need to get you a nice wand from Tiffany?"

[heartvestment]

Let her tipsy brain think about that for a moment. "Both." Now tugtug at his arms. "Let's dance."

[falsepretences]

"As the lady commands," Jordan murmurs as someone puts 'My Funny Valentine' on. Well, this would be pretty easy. "Is it just me, or is this wedding taking place in 1955?"

[heartvestment]

"It's vintage. Shh." She puts her finger to his lips for a moment before properly beginning to dance with him. "You're not allowed to judge the bride and groom's taste."

[falsepretences]

"Well, where's the fun, then?" With all seriousness. Jordan has probably never been to a wedding where he was all that interested in the bride and groom's happiness. "What are the rules then, darling?"

[heartvestment]

“The rules are you poke awful fun at the bridesmaids. You pinch the cheeks of the flower girl. And I’m pretty sure there’s a rule that you have sex with the chick who played the bride down the aisle.”

[falsepretences]

"The bridesmaid dresses aren't acres of hot pink tulle, though." He'd missed that particular wedding but he'd heard. "And there wasn't a flower girl. So I suppose I might just have to make do with the last item on that little list of yours."

[heartvestment]

She lets out a long sigh. "Well, I suppose it's alright if you only get to one of them. But you better make it good to make up for missing the others."

[falsepretences]

He smirks a little bit and leans in, brushing his lips against his her ear. "I promise," he murmurs, "that it'll make up for it, darling, until you're satisfied."

[heartvestment]

Edie can’t help shivering a little, looking up at him with wide eyes. ”Well, someone sounds eager,” she murmurs after a moment, and it’s entirely possible that she’s talking about herself.