Chapter 19

Vicki's turn:

Hi! I'm Vicki and I am almost nine and I'm in Louisiana with my dad and my new stepmom. I flew here by myself from California. Well, not really. Mom and her husband dropped me at the counter at the airport and I had an adult taking care of me all the way here. But I was by myself until Daddy and Kim met me at the airport here.

When Mom first found out about Kim, she freaked. I remember her saying to Johnny, that's her husband, "I can't believe he's out chasin' teenagers." I know she talked with Kim about it, but I guess Kim made her comfortable. Because here I am.

I like Kim. She's pretty. She's smart. When we were introduced over the telephone, she didn't sound like she was talking to a dumb little kid. She talked to me about what I like and don't like and about school and what I watched on TV. I think at first Mommy thought I was supposed to be mad at Kim and Dad, but I can't be. Kim's nice. I love my Daddy and I know that adults need somebody to be partners with them. I was hoping that Daddy and Kim ended up happier than Mommy and Johnny. Mommy gets mad at Johnny sometimes. I think it's about work and money and stuff like that, but I'm not sure.

Daddy is always so correct. Like the booster seat for his car. He says the law says that a booster seat is needed for kids my size, so we get one. Last summer when I came to visit Daddy, he took two weeks off to spend with me. We did everything I could think of. He was trying to make me happy and to make up for the rest of the year when I wasn't with him. It was hard, though. He didn't have his own house, so we stayed at his sister's house in a little travel trailer, and it wasn't as much fun. I tried to be good, but I guess sometimes I can be a pest. At least that's what Mommy says.

This time Daddy has an apartment. It's neat. I have a bedroom, even though I know it's also an office because he has a computer desk and the biggest printer I've ever seen, but he and Kim put me a bed in there and Kim didn't let him buy pink everything. I don't know why everybody thinks that little girls are supposed to like pink. I don't. Kim doesn't.

Kim used to live with her Aunt Jenn. Now I've met Aunt Jenn and I guess it's Aunt Laci. What would you call them? They're two ladies and they live together, partners, you know. I think that's called lesbians. Johnny has some other names, but I said one once and Mommy told me to never use that word again, that it wasn't nice.

Aunt Jenn and Aunt Laci are nice. I mean, if Aunt Jenn had taken Kim in when Kim needed somebody, that's what good people do, isn't it? That couple in California adopted a little girl. Adoption is a good thing, too, so I think those are good people. I've played over there with the little girl. She's a neat little girl. Just has two mommies, is all.

So if Kim's got Aunt Jenn and Aunt Laci, then so do I.

And my two aunts took me to see Kim's wedding cake at a cake shop. That's just interesting. I've seen some of that stuff on Food Network but they took me to this shop and the guy that owns it, he's really nice. He feeds me brownies and lets me play with that cone thing he uses to decorate cakes. He makes it look easy. I tried it. It's not as easy as it looks.

Wedding cake. Tomorrow my Daddy and my Kimberly are getting married. I was so sad that I wouldn't be there, because I love my daddy and I think I love Kim, too, but I was in California and they're in Louisiana. Now I'm in Louisiana, and I will be standing there between them, holding their wedding bands. It's not going to be one of those big fancy weddings. I've seen Kim's dress and Daddy's suit. And I have a nice dress.

I asked Kim about them getting married.

"We're already married," Kim told me. "In the old days, before the government kept records, a man and a woman would announce to their families that they were married. They started living together, and when there was a judge or a preacher around, they would get him to do a ceremony and make it a public record, but the real marriage started when they said they were married."

"Oh," I said. "I guess Mommy and Johnny did that, too, huh?"

"I suppose they did," Kim said to me.

"But tomorrow's the day that your dad and I get to announce our marriage and have it made part of the public record." She hugged me. "And I am so very happy that you're here to be with us!"

"Really? I'm not in the way? Sometimes I think I get in the way with Mommy and Johnny." I did. I don't know what to do about it. Sometimes I make sure I stay in my room or in the living room and leave them alone. But Johnny doesn't smile at me like Kim does. Kim smiles even when Daddy is not around, like when he was on the telephone today talking to somebody at his work.

Saturday afternoon. It's time for the wedding. Like I said, not one of those big fancy ones. It's a little church that doesn't really look like a church, and we're in the meeting hall. Aunt Jenn and Aunt Laci are there. Daddy's sister and her husband and my cousins are there. Two girls from Kim's school are there. One of her teachers, too. The guy from the bakery is there with another guy and they have this table set up with the cake and with some really fancy pastries and some other little food things.

And there's a minister.

We didn't rehearse this and I didn't know where I was supposed to stand, so I sort of hung back. Kim waved her fingers at me to come closer, then guided me to stand between her and Daddy. She told the minister, "This is our daughter. She's as important here as we are." Daddy smiled. No wonder he's marrying her.

My Daddy and my Kimmy said their vows, the minister said some words, I handed each of them a wedding ring, Daddy kissed Kimmy, and they're married. Magical, isn't it?

The cake and other stuff was good. Really good. I told Rico, the guy with the bakery, how much I enjoyed it. "Sweetie, you get your Aunt Jenn or Aunt Laci or Kim to bring you by any time. I'll teach you how to do that icing thing."

I turned to Aunt Laci. "Did you hear him say that?"

"We''ll get you over there somehow. He's usually about to close when we get off work, though," she said.

"Then maybe Kim will..." And then I thought about where I was. Daddy and Kim's wedding. It might be difficult to get them apart for a while. I know they love each other and with adults, that's special.

I look around for Daddy and Kim. Kim's got a little wreath of little white flowers around her hair, and she's wearing a natural cotton dress that's not quite white, but I think it looks like something from a wedding in a book about the Celts (I told you I can READ) and it's just perfect for her. Another of Aunt Laci's friends is taking pictures and they're calling me over again. I'm taking some of them home again. Seeing me with Kim and Daddy, I don't think Mommy's going to be perfectly happy, but I am. And they are.

Kim's turn:

I thought I was going to faint. Really. Yes, I know that I've been living with Tim for more than a month. I know that we pledged marriage the first time we mated. I know that I thought of myself as his wife. But we went into that little Unitarian church or whatever, and stood there.

Vicki was hanging back a bit. Since we weren't doing a big complex wedding, we didn't do a rehearsal, so I guess Vicki wasn't sure where she was supposed to stand. I knew. I motioned her closer, then put her between us. I told the minister that she was as much a part of this as either Tim or me. And we did our vows, the minster read from the Common Service, Vicki gave us each a ring to present to the other, and it's a done deal, but I thought I was going to faint.

Laci chose the dress. Laci. I always thought that Laci was the less feminine of my two aunts. (Vicki told me that I have two aunts since Laci and Jenn are a couple. I don't know why I never saw it like that, but then that's sort of the surprise that Vicki brings us) I thought Aunt Jenn would be the only help.

But it was Laci. "Here," she said. "One of my oddball friends who has a shop that specializes in medieval costumes has this one. It's supposed to be some sort of Celtic priestess thing."

"It's white," I giggled. "I ... uh, waaaay past white."

"That's an archaic idea, in the first place. In the second place, it's your first marriage..."

"ONLY marriage," I corrected.

"Okay, only marriage. And it's not dyed. It's unbleached linen, so it's not pure white. And it's long, but not too long, and flowing, and heaven knows, with that set of legs and that waist and that chest, you can carry off virginal Celtic princess better than anybody I know of." She looked at me, smiling. "And with a delicate wreath of flowers around your head..."

So that's what I was. Celtic priestess. For a day. Tonight I'd be skyclad. Vicki poked Aunt Jenn about spending the night over there: "Just Saturday night." Knowing look. "Because Daddy and Kim need a night. Adults do that. Need a night."

I marvel at the wisdom of my step-daughter.

Casey and Gina were there. I'd introduced them to Tim and to Vicki.

"You really did it. I saw you say the words. I saw you get the ring. I saw you kiss him. I watched you sign the license. You're for real."

"Yeah," Gina said. "Right up to today I thought you were kidding."

"Nope," I said. "Got a kid already." I tugged a smiling Vicki alongside me. "Vicki, be very careful, darlin'. Otherwise when you get to high school you'll turn out like one of these two."

Gina let out an outraged gasp.

Vicki giggled. "If you are the only ones from my Kimmy's class to show up, you must be very special."

"See! " Kim squealed. "You've deluded an innocent child!"

"We ARE special," Casey said. "So's your Kimmy. Kim, get your husband over here."

Tim wasn't far. He joined us. I introduced Casey and Gina.

"You're the only classmates she invited," he said.

"They're special," Vicki popped.

"Undoubtedly," Tim replied. He smiled at them.

"Gee," Gina quipped, "you said you were marrying some OLD guy."

Mizz Sandersen, my physics teacher, was also in attendance. "You look positively radiant, Kimberly," she said.

"Thank you, Mizz Sandersen. Thank you for coming."

"You honor us," Tim told her. "Kim goes on about your classes."

"I could go on about Kimberly," she replied. "She's one of my students of whom I have great expectations."

Tim's niece Zoë wants my dress. "I wondered what you'd wear. I knew it wasn't going to be a gigantic huge wedding, so I wondered. This is just so absolutely perfect! You look beautiful!"

"Oh, thank you so much, Zoë! You flatter me." It did. Zoë's really pretty, you know, 'beautiful'. I settle in somewhere around 'cute'.

"You really are," Denise reinforced. "You ... you and Uncle Tim, you two just look RIGHT together. And Vicki darlin'," she said, stroking Vicki's hair, "You bind it all together."

"I think so," Vicki answered. "I kinda like 'em."

The little reception wound down. Vicki slid in between Aunt Jenn and Aunt (that's gonna take some getting used to) Laci as Tim and I walked out into the sunlight of a pretty fall day. Zoë, Denise, Casey and Gina provided the requisite shower of rice. We got in our little SUV and drove off.