Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
“ W eddings are deeply political things,” Mrs. Tibbs says.
She is one of the pack members who very much enjoys things like wedding planning. She is married to Mr. Tibbs, neither of whom I have met until very recently, and both of whom exude elder wolf warmth.
“What are you getting at?” Alexei is not nearly as keen on the planning as most of the pack seems to be, but I know he cares. It is simply the fact that we have been discussing napkins and tablecloths and various flowers that might bloom late. It is hard for either of us to maintain interest in these little details. Though I do like the black lace for the napkins, and I do have opinions on a few of these little…
“It is a time where enemies might be made, well, if not friends, at least friendly. And, when Anya comes down the aisle, someone should be by her side to give her away. What if we asked…”
“No,” Alexei says firmly.
“From what I understand, things parted amicably,” Mrs. Tibbs says. “As I said, you cannot underestimate the diplomatic value of these affairs. And I do believe, having heard what I’ve heard, he would be thrilled…”
“I don’t care how he feels. He’s not going to be in the wedding.”
“You want Elena and Vlad to come, don’t you? That’s why it’s at night. They’re his children now, effectively.”
Mrs. Tibbs speaks plainly, and with a sort of ease that accepts all these changes with equanimity. If the pack now also includes an ancient vampire and his two progenies, then the pack now includes an ancient vampire and his progenies. She just wants to know what sort of place setting they need.
Should she bother with plates, or would glasses suffice? Is there any way to provide fresh blood for them? Or do they need to feed directly from someone? Should we get some willing people to be fed from; apparently that’s all the rage, these days.
I watch Alexei be slowly beguiled by the mundane, even banal matters of hospitality as relating to vampires and I feel Mrs. Tibbs pulling off an old saleswoman’s trick to perfection: speak about something as though it is already happening and watch the person you’re talking to act the same.