Eden
Copyright© 2014 by Colin Barrett
Chapter 64
The wedding went off flawlessly. Igwanda had agreed that all but a skeleton crew for the Gardener might gather on the surface for the event, and even those who remained on board could take their choice of views on the ship's monitors from among transmissions of several holographic broadcast units set up specially to record it.
Igwanda was briefly surprised to see the size of the Edenite contingent, which seemed to match the number of humans. Not until he actually counted did he recognize that the match was exact; he was amused that they had reverted to the numerical symmetry they maintained during the early days of the humans' visit. The aliens paid rapt attention as the ceremony proceeded to its conclusion.
As best man, Akakha's only actual duty consisted of passing Igwanda the wedding ring. The colonel had fashioned it himself out of a small specimen of iron from the natives' mine, using their own forge for the work. He had earlier apologized to Meiersdottir for the rudeness of its workmanship and for the lack of gold or platinum. "I regret that no-one had the foresight to include spare quantities of either metal in our stores," he told her. "But I will of course replace it with a more traditional ring when we return."
"The hell you will," she retorted. "I'm not giving up being the only woman on Earth with extraterrestrial jewelry, and jewelry that was made by her husband on top of it. Besides, this way you can just pull out a magnet when you want me."
In the somewhat bizarre custom of human weddings, almost immediately after the ceremony concluded the two who had just been joined together in matrimony found themselves wending separate ways among the attendees accepting congratulations and good wishes. Feeling awkward in such a setting, Igwanda mostly stood in one place while the occasional well-wisher approached him, whereas the sociable Meiersdottir reveled in her special popularity as bride by circulating happily.
The colonel was feeling slightly bored by the whole activity when Monte Smith came up to him.
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