The M Word (7 page)

#

After she left, Marius ate his breakfast
thoughtfully. Brenda was a passionate woman, with a quick temper,
but equally quick to make amends. That was good. He would find it
difficult to live with a moody woman who held grudges.

He had overstepped his bounds last night,
offering to give her a massage.

She was still emotionally fragile. It would
take time to earn her trust.

But Marius wasn't worried. He was a patient
man. God in His wisdom had let Brenda become part of his life. He
would be forever grateful, no matter how precarious it might
be.

He started singing.

#

Every day at work, Deborah wanted to talk
about the wedding. Other than a concerned, “Do you know what you’re
doing?” she hadn’t specifically referred to Marius’ immigration
status, which Brenda appreciated.

She’d also toned down any mention of Marius’
physical looks, which was a relief. Brenda didn’t mind if her
co-worker still had a secret crush on him, but she hoped that as
Deborah came to know Marius better, his romantic mystique would
fade, and she would see him just as another person, who happened to
be nice looking.

On the Friday before the wedding, Deborah
asked, “What kind of wedding cake are you getting?”

“I don’t know, yet. Whatever sheet cakes
there are at the grocery store.”

Deborah was horrified. “You can’t do
that.”

“Why not? It’s just cake.”

“You need a wedding cake,” her friend
insisted.

“I am not going to buy little plastic
figurines of a bride and groom.”

“If you don’t like those, you can put fresh
flowers on top, but you need a wedding cake.”

“Why?”

“It’s a tradition.”

“Just because it’s a tradition, doesn’t mean
I have to follow it. People would be just as happy with brownies
and ice-cream.”

Deborah offered, “I’ll make you a cake.”

Brenda smiled wryly. It was crazy, but it
seemed like everyone wanted to make her wedding fit their ideal.
They were genuinely offended by her desire to keep the entire
celebration simple and low-key. “No,” Brenda said. “Don’t go to all
that effort.”

“I insist,” Deborah said. “You’re only
getting married once. You should have a nice cake.”

Brenda was beginning to realize why Kelly had
let her mother have full-reign on her nuptials. It was easier than
fighting.

“Very well. That would be nice. Thank
you.”

#

On Sunday, Brenda and Marius drove to her
parents’ house. Brenda talked more than she usually did, and Marius
could tell that she was nervous, perhaps worried about what her
parents would think of him. He wondered, himself. If he was a
father, he would be very concerned if one of his daughters decided
to get married within two and a half weeks. He glanced at Brenda,
trying to imagine the two of them raising a daughter.

She said, “I think it’s just going to be my
parents, my brother and his family and my sisters and their
families, but I could be wrong. We might end up with cousins and
aunts as well who couldn’t wait until the wedding on Wednesday to
meet you.”

“You’re the youngest,” he said, trying to
keep the members of her family straight in his mind.

“Yes. Tom is twelve years older and Joan and
Ellen are eight years older.”

“They’re twins.”

“Yes. And don’t bother trying to remember all
the nieces and nephew’s names. Just smile a lot and let them climb
on you, and you’ll fit right in.”

“Sounds like you have a fun family.”

She nodded. “Fun and noisy. Everyone talks at
the same time, and if they feel that they aren’t being heard, they
just talk louder and faster.”

Marius smiled. “I like them already.”

As they walked up to her parents’ front door,
she added, “Oh, and everyone is a science fiction or fantasy nerd.
There are different camps. Some are more Tolkien, some prefer Star
Wars, and a few are rabid Harry Potter fans. I like C.S. Lewis
best, but I’m in the minority. Everyone seems to like Star Trek, so
that’s the safest ground until they get to know you better.”

“I’ve never seen Star Trek,” he admitted. He
knew some of the characters, of course.

Brenda blanched. “Never? Not even the new
movie?”

“No, but if someone wants to compare Mozart
to Beethoven, I can discuss that.”

Brenda looked at him closely. “We really are
from different worlds,” she said, just as her mother opened the
front door.

“Marius?” her mother exclaimed. He was
briefly able to see a family resemblance between her and Brenda,
before she hugged him. “Welcome to the family,” she said. “I hope
you’re hungry.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said.

Brenda’s mother glanced at her with approval,
then guided him into the crowded front room. “Here comes the
groom,” she announced.

#

Marius was a brave man, Brenda thought later,
as she watched him interact with her family. He dutifully ate the
dry pot roast and lumpy mashed potatoes, and complimented her
mother. He smiled and seemed totally unruffled by the intense
conversations buzzing around him. A lesser man would have run
screaming from the building. Although she loved her family, they
had little tact, and she was appalled by some of their
questions.

Most of the inquiries were innocuous, and
Brenda was interested to find out more about her future husband.
She learned about Polish cooking, that Marius’ paternal grandmother
was Italian and that he was a linguist. He was fluent in three
languages: Polish, Italian and English, moderately passable in
French and German, and that since he came to Texas, he was now
learning Spanish.

Brenda was impressed, and she could tell from
the bemused expressions on her family’s faces that they liked him,
but they thought he was a rare, strange creature. When he confessed
his ignorance of Star Trek, her brother-in-law Keith jumped into a
long lecture on the character development of Spock and Vulcan
philosophy.

Sprinkled throughout this discussion, there
were a few awkward highlights.

First, when Marius explained that he was
studying Music History, her father asked bluntly, “Is there any
money in that?”

“Not much.”

Next, her sister Joan asked where they were
going on the honeymoon.

Brenda answered “We’re not going anywhere,”
at the same time that Marius answered, “We’re going camping.”

“Camping?” her mother repeated, surprised.
Their family tended to be more stare-at-the-computer types than
sweat-in-the-outdoors types.

Brenda looked at Marius with raised eyebrows,
but didn’t want to emphasize the fact that she didn’t know what was
going on.

“I read online that planning the honeymoon is
one of the groom’s responsibilities,” he said pleasantly. “I wanted
to surprise you.”

She was definitely surprised. “How nice,” she
lied weakly. The prospect of camping in the Texas heat in the
middle of the summer sounded deadly. “What else was on the list of
groom responsibilities?”

“Flowers.” He turned to her mother. “I
estimated seven corsages and boutonnieres. Will that be
sufficient?”

Her mother seemed pleased. “That’s lovely,
thank you.” She flashed a look of triumph at Brenda who had
vehemently nixed the idea of flowers the week before.

Corsages at a family barbecue
. Brenda
inwardly cringed. She had a feeling that her wedding was going to
be the tackiest conglomeration imaginable, but it was too late to
complain now.

“Will any of your family be coming?” her
sister Ellen asked.

“No, but I’m hoping that my mother will visit
us in the fall,” he said.

Later, one of her nephews wanted to show
Marius his latest video game. Marius appeared to be interested,
listened to the convoluted explanation and nodded appropriately.
During the instruction, Marius’ cell phone rang. He glanced at the
screen, turned the volume off, and put the phone back in his
pocket.

“Who’s Francesca?” her eagle-eyed nephew
asked.

“A friend,” Marius said simply.

He looked slightly uncomfortable at the
question and Brenda’s internal radar started beeping.
Francesca?
Logically, she knew that the name of Francesca
could belong to any type of woman, but the name conjured up a
curvy, dark-haired woman in a red mini-dress and ridiculously high
heels.

She asked Marius, casually, if Francesca was
coming to the wedding.

“No,” he said simply. No further
explanation.

Then her nephew demanded his attention, and
the conversation swirled on around them.

Francesca.
Brenda realized, belatedly,
that she knew nothing of Marius’ romantic past.

He’d agreed to marry her, but she didn’t know
what or who he had left behind -- had he been in love with
Francesca?

Finally, as they were getting ready to leave,
after being crushed by a series of hugs and last minute jokes, her
brother Tom asked what was probably on everyone’s mind. “So, are
you doing this for the green card?”

Brenda froze. The room, which had been filled
with noise grew unnaturally quiet and everyone seemed to stare at
her and Marius. Brenda forced herself to smile and tried to think
of a smart comeback, but then Marius spoke.

“I am not marrying your sister for a green
card,” he said clearly. “I am marrying her because I love her and I
want to spend the rest of my life with her.”

It was the perfect response. Brenda knew he
was lying, but she appreciated the generosity of his expression.
She sensed that Marius would never purposely try to embarrass or
humiliate her. They were a team, now. She felt a surge of gratitude
and impulsively reached over and kissed his bearded cheek.

She felt the collective emotional approval
from the crowd. The awkward moment was glossed over and forgotten.
This was followed by a few more hugs and last minute advice.

As they walked to her car, Brenda said
quietly. “Thank you for today. I know my family can be
overwhelming, but thank you.”

Marius smiled. “I like your family.”

CHAPTER SIX

When sisters invited her out on Tuesday, the
night before the wedding, Brenda should have realized that they had
hidden motives. What she thought was going to be a quiet dinner at
one of her favorite restaurants turned into a surprise bachelorette
party at a local hotel that lasted until three in the morning and
deteriorated into a slumber party. Kelly apologized for not warning
her. “I thought it was just a surprise dinner with your friends,”
she said quietly when her sisters weren’t listening. As it was,
Kelly stayed for the professional manicure and pedicure, but had to
leave before midnight. Their friend Andrea made a joke about Lars
being a ball and chain.

Brenda would have liked to sneak out herself,
but didn’t want to look like an ungrateful party-pooper.

At least her sisters had been smart enough
not to hire a male stripper and settled for DVDs of romantic movies
playing in the background.

Brenda had called Marius at ten p.m. to warn
him that she didn’t know when she’d be home. “Have fun,” he said.
“And I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Don’t expect me before noon,” she said, and
it was closer to one p.m. when she drove back to the house.

She’d only had two drinks and had avoided
most of the high fat and high sugar foods, but she still felt as if
she’d been run over by a truck. She’d be very glad when all this
wedding celebration was over.

She heard Marius singing when she opened the
front door. She smiled, and hummed along. She supposed that in a
few years, she’d become an expert on opera as well.

“Good morning,” she called out.

He walked into the living room, wearing jeans
and a polo shirt. “Good afternoon,” he corrected. “Are you hungry
or do you need to take a nap?”

Brenda clutched the back of the couch for
support. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Marius had shaved.

“Your beard,” she gasped.

He nodded, rubbing his hand along his square
jaw. “I thought I should clean up for the wedding. Look nicer.”

Nicer? That was an understatement. He had
been a good looking man, although hairy, with the beard, but
without it, he was gorgeous, like a Renaissance painting of a
warrior angel with his thick curling hair and classic features.

He smiled at her bemusement and she realized
that he had a slight dimple in one cheek. Deborah would never get
over her crush if she saw him now.

He added, “I didn’t want you to think you
were marrying a werewolf.”

Brenda swallowed. “And you cut your hair,
too?”

“A little,” he admitted. His thick hair now
curled around his ears and nape instead of down to his shoulders.
“I never thought I’d get married with my hair longer than my
bride’s,” he teased.

“I’m glad you didn’t shave it all off,” she
said, but realized that he’d probably look good bald, too, - like a
sexy biker. She could imagine him riding a Harley in a ripped
t-shirt that exposed his muscled shoulders and arms.

He saw that she was staring and asked, “Are
my sideburns even?”

“They look even,” she said, trying to keep
her tone impersonal. She still couldn’t believe how good Marius
looked. It made her uneasy. She’d always been drawn to handsome
men. It was one of her character flaws that she subconsciously
thought that beauty outside meant beauty inside. And experience had
proven over and over that handsome men should not be trusted.

She covered her mouth to hide a fake yawn.
“I’m sorry. I really have to get more sleep, or I won’t be able to
stand upright at the ceremony.”

He nodded. “When do you want me to wake
you?”

She did not want him coming into her bedroom.
“Don’t bother. I’ll set my alarm.”

#

The family barbecue started at five p.m. and
the minister was scheduled for six. Brenda had planned to hire a
justice of the peace, but in the end, it had been easier to
coordinate with her parents’ pastor. “Do you mind a religious
ceremony?” she’d asked Marius.