twenty-four #3
Graella knew Sulim well enough not to request something so far-fetched that Sulim had to politely say no and risk ruining the bride’s big day.
But to be a bride’s right-hand woman was one of the highest honors, and Graella had graciously done it for Sulim when she married into the family. If Graella thought her friend looked amazing in a blend of dark blue and green that fluttered around her knees and cinched at her waist, then so be it.
Granted, it meant men like Marco made comments he usually kept to himself… and Sonall had been speechless when she asked him to help her button up that morning… and Jacelah was very keen on many pictures and videos of Sulim in particular…
But Mira had been delighted by her look as well, and that was enough to have Sulim giggling and agreeing to meet her in an upstairs bathroom for a quickie with promises of more for later.
There’s something to be said for these skirts.
So much easier to put herself back together after fooling around for ten minutes.
There was still much on the horizon before Sulim had the rule of the roost in Jacelah and Vern’s absence, such as helping the former pack her bags for a trip to Qahrain, but this was another area where the likes of Lady Joiya stepped in and offered such noble services.
She saw no reason for men like Master Marlow and her bodyguards to be around and not take the bridal party back to Qahrain with teleportation.
Not only was that safer and more economical, but it meant more time for the family to be together before the time came to part for many months, if not years.
Jacelah would inevitably want to visit her daughter after the baby was born, after all.
Which was how Jacelah discovered that Graella was pregnant. Joiya was the one who accidentally revealed it.
But none of that was on the platter on the wedding day. Graella was the queen of the event in her boldly beautiful white and emerald green dress and hair swept up on her head. The seamstress had done a masterful job of hiding whatever small pooch Graella now sported.
From the back porch, Sulim surveyed the party, including those coming in and out of the ballroom for refreshments.
Most of the Gardiahs’ major work acquaintances, the employees, and friends among the planetside nobility were in attendance that day, with even many of the live-in maids wearing their best dresses while discoursing with the middle-aged daughter of this lord and not-so-subtly flirting with the ranch
hand they had their eyes on for the past few months.
It was not lost on Sulim that some paired off to go into hiding, and soon, the only people she saw actively participating in the reception were the bride, groom, and a handful of guests.
Sonall soon appeared from the ballroom and was approached by Kema, who engaged him to dance with her.
Vern had gone off with Lord and Lady Coraria to give them a tour of the innermost fields while discussing whatever matters still needed to be settled.
Jacelah, however, was the absence that Sulim noted the most.
Wouldn’t she want to spend as much time as possible with her daughter?
The one she just discovered was pregnant?
The one having her big day, where she would never feel like such a young, vibrant princess?
The one about to embark on her marital journey to another planet, where she would plant her seeds and bloom as the future Lady Coraria?
She had been gone too long to have simply been in the restroom. As Sulim inspected the downstairs of the main house, she realized that the door to Jacelah’s salon was left ajar.
The woman said nothing as her daughter-in-law entered.
Jacelah sat upon her couch in the middle of the room, her dress wrinkled around her legs as she perched an elbow atop a pillow and perused an ornate photo album that Sulim recognized as the one containing the infant and adolescent pictures of her children.
In her other hand was a glass of liquor—it was quite unlike her to raid her husband’s stash from his office.
Sulim sat next to her, hands wrapped around her knees as she glanced down at the photos of a little boy and girl, their heads bent over their tutoring lessons. Next, they celebrated the little girl’s birthday with a large, red cake and the turnout of every local girl under the age of ten.
Nobody has pictures like this of me… Her aunt had not been a sentimental woman—she barely had photos of her flesh and blood children, let alone her ward.
Most photos of Sulim were of her as an adult.
And there was the portrait on the wall in front of her.
Wedding dress. A groom. Trying to look like I’m alive because I was so exhausted.
Exhausted and worried that she had married into something she couldn’t escape.
The children grew older as the pages went by in the album, and the liquid content in Jacelah’s glass grew smaller.
Eventually, the appearance of another baby, dedicated only one page in the album, made Jacelah stop flipping.
She put her hand on the thick-cheeked infant dressed in Temple white, his name and birthright dedicated to the Void, before he was sent off to Dassil with a loyal maid.
Jacelah flipped the page. Sulim held her breath as she beheld photos of a little boy enjoying all that Dassil had to offer a baby with some means.
As his curly red hair grew longer and bushier and his freckles became more prominent on his round face, Jacelah finished off her drink and tossed her empty glass onto the couch cushion between her and Sulim.
The last picture she looked at was of the young redheaded child in his kindergarten uniform. She slammed the album shut.
For a moment, the two of them sat in silence—Jacelah in contemplation, and Sulim in curiosity.
When Jacelah flopped over and sobbed into Sulim’s lap, there were no surprises.
Sulim put one hand on her mother-in-law’s shoulder and the other on her head.
She wouldn’t pretend what it was like to be a mother losing her children to the whims of time and fate, but if there was one thing Sulim was good at, it was being quiet when silence was needed most.