[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

[headfollowheart]

Only imagine what that wedding would have been like. Zoe plucked a bit at her skirt. The dress wouldn't have been approved, oh no; the romantic lace and tulle would have been nixed for something far more sleek, sexy - Charlotte, in a word.

And Victor wouldn't have tolerated Zoe's misery, most likely.

As for the children, she goes a little red as she requests a martini, but she gives the question it's due consideration. "Not right away, I don't think," she says. "But I don't think we'll wait too long. He turned thirty-six this year."

[gardenplots]

"Thirty-six! An old man, indeed. I'll turn 57 this year. Where does the time go? It seems just like yesterday I was just starting out." She pulls a face. "And now I do sound old, don't I? Quick! Point me to an eligible dance partner before I feel the yen to call for my walker."

[headfollowheart]

Papa would be sixty. Really, he - they - would have been better off if he'd gotten a divorce and married Maggie instead of...clinging to a marriage that wasn't working.

"Weeeell you could try to steal Hadyn from Elisha." But Hadyn was already making faces at her for the bouquet incident. "Or coax Michael off a wall. That might work out better."

[gardenplots]

Maggie looks across the room until she locates Zoe's brother. "I'm not certain he'd be happy with that. I think I unsettle him, dearest. Both of them." Though Michael's unease could be chalked up with a certain wariness he had towards Spades of a certain age, not that she blamed him.

[headfollowheart]

"I'm not sure Hadyn knows quite what to make of you." And of course, Papa and Aunt Maggie were so...connected, and she didn't really think Hadyn was ever going to want to know about their father.

Her memories then, she supposes.

"I think a lot of people unsettle Michael," she says. "He moved out of the Castle again. You can imagine the eyebrows."

[gardenplots]

"Poor Haydn. I can't resist teasing him. I don't believe he's used to that from someone my age." She doubts his grandmother or Laureline smiled often, much less teased anyone. "I wouldn't want to stay in this dreary place either if I were in Michael's shoes. Still, a Suit likes to keep its Faces close."

[headfollowheart]

"He's not really used to it from anyone." Except she and Jordan, but that was different. Family was different, really, she supposed.

"It's...a lot different than Heart Castle," she says with a rueful smile. "I wasn't entirely comfortable at first, honestly."