Chapter 14

"So," asked Thule, stepping into the hotel room Dawn and Marigold were sharing to get dressed. "How do I look?"

He was dressed in a traditional black tuxedo with white accessories. Dawn, who had just been zipped into her own dress by Marigold stepped forward to adjust his tie fractionally, "You..." she said, grinning. "... look stunning--better than me and Marigold by any means."

Thule looked Dawn up and down, "I'm sure this particular shade of green..."

"Seafoam," said Marigold, still sliding her dress on.

"I'm sure you wouldn't choose to dress in seafoam every day, but you carry it off very well," said Thule.

Marigold turned to be zipped into her dress and said, "They're just very old-fashioned seeming. They look like prom dresses from the fifties."

Thule obliged, zipping Marigold up and then turning her around to face him so that he could look her over. In the last two months, she'd let her hair grow out to her shoulders again. It was nowhere near the crowning glory she'd had when they first started seeing each other, but it did a lot to soften her appearance. Still, her arms had kept their definition from Africa as had the muscles in her back. The dress exposed enough of both that they clashed with the soft femininity the dress was trying to portray.

"Not all of her bridesmaids are as easy to dress as you two," said Thule, keeping his voice carefully neutral. "I think she picked a happy medium that would work for everyone to a degree."

"I bet Vil talked her into them because of how good Svetlana looks in hers," said Dawn, chuckling. "He is such a dirty old man."

Marigold snorted, "If he were marrying just anyone, I'd be inclined to agree with you. But, I don't think Sabina gets talked into much that she doesn't want to do. She's quite a match for Grandpa Vanya."

Thule drew each of them into an arm, kissing one, then the other. Things had been kind of touch-and-go between Dawn and Marigold for a while. But, as the wedding planning had gone into high gear, they'd seemed to grow closer again. Still, that closeness was too new for Thule to want to do too much to risk poisoning the well.

Still, when he pulled away from them, Dawn and Marigold had each put an arm around the other and were looking at each other meaningfully. Thule turned away to give them their moment. A couple seconds later, while he was still wondering how to tactfully leave the room, there was a knock on the front door of the suite. Thule knew a gift when he heard one and slipped out.

It might be a gift, but it was far from a miracle. Thule's suite had been a beehive of activity pretty much since the first minute they'd been there. Neither Vil nor Sabina had any family to speak of. But, they were still expecting more than three hundred wedding guests. In the short time he'd been helping RSS with the Medeforte case, Vil seemed to have made friends with half of Thule's staff. If it weren't a Saturday, Thule might have had to close the office today. And, it seemed like everyone who knew Thule or Dawn or Marigold and was coming to the wedding had dropped by. As Thule opened the door, he tried to remember who was left that could be knocking now.

He opened the door and found himself looking down at Ioke and Gayle. Thule's face split into a broad grin, "Ioke, you made it. I didn't think you were coming." Then, he added, "And Gayle, I didn't know you were thinking of coming, but it's good to see you again."

"You look amazing, Thule," said Ioke. "Even better than at our prom. Can we come in and have a seat, please?" She indicated Gayle with a tilt of her head. Gayle's simple red dress was low-cut, slit up the unbroken leg, and almost too sexy to wear to a wedding. Its effect was only slightly offset by her cast and crutch.

"Of course," said Thule. "Come on in and sit down. You both look amazing."

Ioke gave Gayle a look that suggested Thule's words had settled an argument between them. By Thule's understanding, things had gotten rather tense between the two of them when they'd been shipboard, but they seemed to have become fast friends since then.

Thule watched Ioke as she walked to a couch with Gayle. Dressed in a green sundress with a bamboo pattern and smiling, she looked more like her old self than any time since she'd gotten back to America. She wasn't entirely back to normal, but Thule had been coming to realize how much that normalcy had been an illusion in the first place. She'd prospered through four years at Mannsborough High and worn her masks so well that even Thule hadn't thought to question if it was even possible to do so and be as genuinely innocent as Ioke had seemed to be.

The Ioke Thule thought he knew wouldn't have applied to be a Medeforte woman, wouldn't have succumbed to Captain Morrison the way she had, wouldn't have been able to shoot him in the end. On the same note, she probably wouldn't have survived her ordeal. Considering how high an opinion Thule'd had of her, it was hard to believe how badly he'd underestimated her.

Since they'd gotten back to America, Ioke had stayed in the big house in Cambridge. She had her own room in the guest wing, but Thule didn't think she'd slept in it yet. Instead, she stayed up late each night, talking to Kale or Thule or Dawn or Marigold or Melinda or someone else, talking almost until the moment she fell asleep on whatever couch or chair she was occupying at the time. During the day, she went out and, from her description of those excursions, it sounded like she managed to pack every minute of the day with something to do.

It seemed clear to everyone that saw her that she was holding off some sort of emotional reckoning with what had happened. Thule, for one, didn't begrudge her that holding off. He'd faced his own demons once or twice and definitely preferred to do it in the time and place of his choosing.

Today, she was smiling and relaxed. She laughed lightly at something Gayle had said outside of the range of Thule's hearing, but which seemed to be directed at him.

Thule raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"You look kind of lost," said Gayle. "I've been led to understand that doesn't happen very often."

"Sorry," said Thule, still a little bit absentminded. "I just had something on my mind. But, I'm forgetting my manners. Can I get you two anything to drink? We're well stocked."

After Thule had gotten them their drinks, Ioke asked, "So, what's on your mind, Thule?"

"That can be a dangerous question," said Thule, grinning. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"I can take it," said Ioke, brushing a strand of hair back from her forehead with a hint of defiance.

"I know," said Thule, his smile softening a little. "I was just thinking you look happier today than I've seen you in a while."

Ioke lowered her head, blushing a little, "I guess I am. Vil Umanski is getting married and we're all here to celebrate it. If such a corrupt old man as him can make a fresh start, I guess anybody can." She pushed her hair back again, tucking it behind her ear and said quietly, "Kale's flying back to Hana today." When she looked up, Thule saw only serenity in her face.

"And that makes you happy?" Thule heard himself ask.

Ioke gave him a ghost of a smile, "Not exactly. But, it had to happen and I feel better knowing where we stand. Kale..." she sighed. "He's incredibly sweet and I'll always be in love with him. But, I was never moving to Hana. I've known that for a long time. It was never who I was going to be. And, for some reason, it feels better knowing that we're not going to work out because of who I am rather than because of what I did."

Gayle reached up and laid a comforting hand on Ioke's arm. Ioke covered it with her own hand. When she spoke again, it was to change the subject. She turned to Gayle, "So, did you get an offer from Medeforte yet?"

"In principle," said Gayle. "It's contingent on my healing properly, but he's paying all my medical expenses and for me to go to Jayanesia and sit in the sun for thirty days while I wait for my legal vesture." She grinned, "I'll take him up on that much at least."

Ioke laughed, "Me too. I told him point blank I'm not interested in working for him at this point. He told me to come take the vacation anyway. So, I am. I think I've earned it."

"You've earned more than that," said Thule.

Ioke nodded, "And he's paying more than that--a lot more."

Gayle nodded in agreement, "Sean's taking very good care of the girls who were on that ship--financially at least. None of us will ever have to work for a living if we don't want to."

Ioke laughed, "Which is a damned waste. I can't imagine a single one of us actually being pleased with the prospect of not working."

"So," said Thule. "When are you two headed for Jayanesia?"

"Two weeks," said Ioke. "We'll fly in Friday and go to Sean's wedding on Saturday."

"Me too," said Thule.

"Really?" asked Gayle, eyebrow raised. "You thinking of becoming a Medeforte woman?"

Thule laughed, "No. I'm going as Melinda's date. Then, I need to stay for my vesture as well. Melinda and I have a contract to sign."