Jan, Vicki and Marshall got back to the meeting room and found it empty.
Vicki laughed. "I guess maybe we're adjourned for the day and nobody bothered to tell us?"
"Well, Ray is expecting to meet us here when he's done," Jan said, sitting down. "We should at least wait for him, in case there's something he wants to talk about."
Vicki hopped up onto the table as Marshall said, "I wonder if there's some coffee."
"Or beer," Jan added, loosening her tie.
"We probably shouldn't open the door to having beer in here," Vicki said wistfully.
"Do you think Ray's really an alcoholic?" Jan asked. She lit a cigarette.
"Well," Vicki said, "you're a detective and I'm very short, so we're certainly not qualified to give a medical diagnosis."
Marshall got up as they giggled. "If it's going to get silly, I'd better get us some coffee," he said, smiling. "I'll be back."
"Thank you, dear," Jan said as he left.
"I wonder where everybody else went," Vicki said. "Neil was ahead of us, where did he go? And I guess Tammy is having her mysterious rendezvous with Katherine." She frowned. "You don't think she wants somebody dead, something like that?"
Jan shook her head, lighting a cigarette. "If she wanted somebody dead, she'd just tell them to stop breathing."
"Oh, crap. I never thought of anything like that. Could she really do that?"
"I think so. But she hasn't, and I don't have any reason to think that she will."
"I guess I'd better start being nicer to her."
"Well, maybe," said Jan quietly, "but not for that reason. It doesn't work on family. She can't do anything to you or me or Marshall or Vinnie."
Vicki looked up sharply. "Marshall gets included but not Pat?"
Jan shrugged, looking somewhat sheepish. "Family means family. Marshall is my husband."
"So, if Pat was my wife she'd get included, too?"
"I'm not sure. After all, this is a personal thing, not a legal one, and–"
"Tammy doesn't approve of Pat, I know. And she wishes I was straight, though I don't think she'd ever say so."
"Then how do you know? Maybe it's just that she doesn't like Pat, or doesn't think she's right for you."
"You weren't raised by her, so you didn't get her lecture about the birds and the bees, as she called it. It was real specific: boys have this part, girls have that part, these two parts are designed to fit together, like in a machine. Boys will always want to stick their part into your part, so you need to control if and when they will get to do that, no matter how much you might want to."
"That was it?"
"Well, some stuff about pregnancy and VD and stuff like that. But it left me feeling really weird when I figured out that I didn't want boys to stick their parts into my part, no matter how careful I was about pregnancy and VD. And I was curious about girls, and not only about their parts. I just wanted to be with girls. And she didn't even mention that was a possibility."
Jan shook her head. "Vinnie would have been fine with my being gay. In fact, for a while, when I started dressing like this, I think he assumed that I was. I remember a couple of awkward conversations where he was trying to let me know that it was okay with him if I was gay, and me saying, 'I know, Dad, and I would be completely comfortable telling you if I was, but I'm not. Really.' I think I gave him a little lecture out of Sherlock Holmes about proceeding from the facts, no matter where they take you." She laughed. "I was an awfully didactic girl, and I had some of those speeches memorized. I think at times I acted more like a college professor than he ever did."
Vicki smiled. "I'd like to get to know him better. I liked him when he was here, but I didn't know then he was my father. And now, who knows if we'll see him again?"
Jan took her sister's tiny hand in hers and squeezed. "We will. Definitely." She grinned. "You can take that to the bank."
The door opened and Neil came in, carrying a mug of coffee. He sat down and said, "I was looking for Dr. Lee–"
"Oh, I forgot about them," Vicki said.
"–and I was informed that she got tired and they went to bed. She will favor us with her presence again in the morning."
Jan put her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes. "Wait," she said. "I'm getting a psychic flash here. I'm sensing . . . yes . . . it's a tiny trace of bitterness, somewhere in the room with us." She opened her eyes and grinned. "How am I doing?"
Neil laughed. "Pretty good, I'm afraid. She and I are still mad about what happened on the bridge. She thinks I was wrong, and I think she was. In the past, the only method we've had to resolve these sorts of things was for me to give in and agree with her. And that's not how we're going to resolve this situation, so we're probably stuck. And I'll let you know one thing. If we end up working with the Jinx on this, be prepared that some people may jump ship, probably both ways. From us to them, and vice versa." He paused and looked at them as Marshall came back in carrying three cups of coffee.
"Do you know Jason?" Neil asked. They shook their heads. "But you know Christy." They nodded. Vicki and Jan sipped their coffee as Marshall sat down.
Neil leaned back. "Jason is Christy's son. He left with Dr. Lee and the others, and she stayed. She puts up a good front, but I know she's torn up about it. But we all had to make our decisions very quickly, as you know. Dr. Lee was not about to give us a lot of time to think it over. I'm just using Christy as an example, because you know her. Families, couples, friends were split up."
"She had to decide between her boyfriend and her son?" Jan asked.
"No, she had to decide between the Jinx and Utown."
"How old is Jason?" Vicki asked.
"Fourteen. According to Jinx rules, he's an adult and can make his own decisions."
"And how does he feel about . . ."
"About his mother having a relationship with someone barely older than he is? He hasn't said, to the best of my knowledge, but his body language indicates to me that he's not exactly thrilled about it."
"I can imagine."
Tammy came in and sat down, putting a mug of beer on the table in front of her. "Are we adjourning for the night," she asked, "or is there more business?"
"There is one thing I think we should talk about," Neil said, "before we meet with Dr. Lee again. But I want to wait until Ray gets here, because I know he'll disagree with me."
There was a knock at the door, and Pete poked his head in.
"Come on in," Vicki said as he came in, followed by Katherine.
"We just wanted to check about the wedding plans," he said. "I forgot to mention it before." He laughed. "We were about to go to sleep when we remembered it. We wanted to make sure you can still preside."
Vicki nodded. "Yes, absolutely. Where and when?"
"Duffy's. We–"
Vicki laughed explosively. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, covering her mouth. "That's just so perfect. Absolutely the best place. When?"
"Tomorrow afternoon," Katherine said. "After lunch."
Vicki nodded. "I'll be there."
"We hope you can all be there," Katherine said.
"Definitely," Pete said, stepping toward the door. "Have a good night."
They closed the door as they left, and Tammy said, "Duffy's is that dive, isn't it? What a place for a wedding, even for a musician and a murderer. I don't think I'll be attending that event."
"You should go," Jan said. "We all should."
"Just because they got us the food and everything? We thanked them for that already."
"It's nothing to do with that. Trust me. If you go, you'll be enormously pleased."
Tammy regarded her elder daughter as the door opened and Ray came in.
Ray came in and sat down. "I hope we're not in for a long night," he said, "I'm exhausted." He glanced at the mug on the table in front of Tammy. "I sure could use a–"
She looked at him and shook her head.
He shrugged. "You're right. As tired as I am, it's probably not a good idea. I'd doze right off. Do we have anything we need to discuss tonight?"
Neil nodded. "I do have one thing to mention, and I think we should talk about it before we meet with Dr. Lee again." He looked around. "Is that okay with everyone?"
They nodded, and he said, "I am obliged to point out how much we're risking for this stadium idea. We have a way out, and supplies, and it looks like we can move without being noticed, at least at first. But going to the stadium will bring us right into the middle of the forces we're trying to avoid."
Vicki looked around the table. "Everybody should give me their best arguments, pro or con."
"I say we don't," Neil said. "For the reasons I stated. We have a responsibility to our citizens."
"I say we do," Ray said. "I would hate to think that we follow our principles only when it's safe and easy." Jan slid her cigarettes across the table to him and he took one.
Tammy shook her head. "I vote no," she said, looking at Vicki. "I think Neil is right. But your decision is what matters."
Marshall smiled. "I pass. I didn't say anything before, when I wasn't going, so I'm not going to start protesting now that I am going. That might look bad."
They all laughed, and they turned to Jan.
"The arguments have been good," she said, looking pleased with herself, "but we need to do this."
Neil shook his head. "No arguments? No back-up?" He smiled. "Just this Delphic Oracle routine? We should decide this on the basis of some sort of 'psychic powers'?"
Tammy smiled and Neil's head slowly turned to he was facing her.
"Point taken," he said, rubbing his neck.
"The Delphic Oracle was Greek," Jan said, "and I'm Italian, so that's a little off. And we're not deciding, we're arguing and debating, then she's deciding, based on everything we've put on the table, including but not limited to my opinion. Fair enough?"
He nodded.
They all turned to Vicki, who said, "Actually, it was Ray who convinced me, but it's nice to know that Jan thinks this will work." She looked around the table. "We're going to the stadium. We're not bringing the entire population with us, after all. If we don't survive, Jan will know, and she'll lead them in another direction. But I do need to mention one thing. The two people who voted against going, Neil and Tammy, are both going. The two people who are not going, Ray and Jan, voted in favor. So, I do have to ask, should we reshuffle the team?"
"Absolutely not," Neil said. "You can and should bring up your doubts about a plan when you debate it, but you can't express those doubts in your tactics. Once you decide to do something, you have to do your best to succeed. Nothing else makes sense. I have relevant experience and training that nobody else here has, so I should go. Tammy has talents and abilities that nobody else has, so she should go. With all due respect, having Jan or Ray with us will not increase our chances of success, so they shouldn't go. And, in my opinion, Jan has to stay here, because she's by far the best qualified to lead the whole thing if you're taken out." He smiled. "Arguments?"
There was a moment of silence, then Vicki nodded. "Apparently not."
"Which reminds me of something else I need to say," Neil continued to Vicki. "Short of us all being killed in an explosion, it's difficult to imagine us getting into any sort of fix that you wouldn't be able to get yourself out of. And I know you don't want to think about this, but if we do end up in that sort of situation, that's what you need to do, get yourself out, even if you can't help the rest of us. That would be your responsibility."
She frowned and made a face, looking at the table. Then she looked up. "We should do our best not to end up in that situation. And, to be blunt, it would have to be pretty overwhelming odds for me to consider that option. I may not have your relevant experience and training, Neil–"
"–but I certainly wouldn't want to get into a fight with you. Point taken."
Perry woke up and found SarahBeth sitting on the side of the bed, taking off her sneakers. The sun was coming in the window, brighter than it had been at any time since their arrival.
"I've been up all night," she said, "and I need to get a couple hours of sleep. Please don't let me sleep any longer than that, though. I have a lot to do today."
"How did it go?" he asked, putting his hand on her arm.
"Fucking great, actually," she said. She turned and smiled, her eyelids drooping. "I'll tell you about it when you wake me up, but we have an army, or at least a good beginning. And it is going to kick ass, you can bet on that."
He started to ask a question, but she seemed about to fall over. He stood up and pulled off her T-shirt. Then he reached behind her and unhooked her bra, helping her to take it off. For once, she didn't even throw it across the room, she just dropped it on the floor. She fell back on the bed, and he pulled off her socks and unzipped her jeans. It took some ingenuity, but he managed to pull her jeans off, and then he lifted her legs into the bed and under the covers. She hummed happily, her eyes closed, and he climbed in next to her, putting his arm around her middle. She rolled over so she was facing the wall, pulling his wrist so that his arm stayed around her. He snuggled up against her back, and she squeezed his arm.
"I love you so much," she mumbled.
"Me, too," he whispered as she started to snore.
The room was dark, and Sam wasn't sure what had awakened him.
Then he heard her speaking. "We had a band, Vinnie and I. When we were still in Ross. Did I ever tell you about that?"
"No," he said slowly. "I don't think you ever did."
She rolled over and lay right next to him, her hand on his chest and her head resting on his shoulder. This was a little surprising. She was not usually a snuggly bedmate unless she was looking for sex, and her voice didn't have any seduction in it now. That was one thing he liked about her, she wasn't coy. When she was horny, you knew about it. When she wasn't, she kissed him, told him she loved him, then she moved to her own side of the bed. This ritual, after years with Terry and Alex (who were much less predictable), was actually quite pleasant.
He stroked her head, partly to let her know that he did like a bit of snuggling from time to time, when it was available, but mostly to find out who he was snuggling with. In the dark, hair was the best way of telling Alex and Terry and Tammy apart. Their voices were too similar.
The hair was long, so it was definitely not Alex. And it was wavy, he realized, so it was Tammy. Terry's hair was a bit shorter and straighter.
"Vinnie played the bass, and I sang. I also wrote the songs, or at least the lyrics."
This was very unusual, though, in a more important way then her snuggling. This was Tammy, but she was talking about Alex's life. He knew that Tammy didn't usually have access to Alex's memories. He was far more interested in the fact of this than he was in the memories she was talking about, which he knew might be partially (or completely) inaccurate.
Perry had awakened SarahBeth after around two hours, as she had requested, and, when she was functional, she had dispatched him to get coffee.
When he returned, he found her already dressed, and talking to an attractive young woman with short dark hair and a rifle. The woman gave Perry a funny look as she left the room, and he gave one of the mugs to SarahBeth.
She grinned as she sipped. "That's Tina. She's my second-in-command, and she's jealous."
"Jealous?" he asked, sitting next to her on the bed.
"Of you. She wants me for herself."
He chuckled. "I hope you haven't recruited everybody on that basis."
SarahBeth laughed. "No, of course not. That's how she got promoted, though." She nudged him. "I saw you checking her out, you know. She is definitely cute."
"And armed. Where did she get the rifle?"
SarahBeth sipped her coffee. "I've been waiting for you to ask about that. I think it's because you haven't been taking this whole thing seriously. If we're an army, we need weapons, and you never asked where we were going to get them." She nudged him again, causing a little coffee to spill onto the floor. "Ask me about it," she said.
"Where are you going to get guns?" he asked obediently. "Or do you have them already?"
"We got them last night," she said. "I asked Katherine where the police station was around here, and we broke in."
"I didn't know U-town had police," he said.
"They didn't, but before this became U-town it was a regular neighborhood, with schools and hospitals and police stations. And I had an idea that with hippies like Ray in charge of U-town, they wouldn't have wanted weapons. So, whatever weapons were in the police station were probably still there."
She paused, and Perry leaned over to kiss her. "That's my smart and clever girlfriend," he said.
"Damn right. We broke in, and we found all kinds of stuff. We had a couple of guys who knew about guns, what kinds we should take, which bullets go in which guns, all of that, so the army is all armed and ready to go."
He paused. "I'm afraid–"
"Oh," she said, kissing him on the cheek, "it is so cute when you look all bashful like that. You don't need to be afraid of me. What's on your mind?"
"Well, it's not you that I'm afraid of. I am more worried about all the people you've just armed who may not know anything about guns."
"You just have to trust your smart and clever girlfriend to solve these problems. As a matter of fact, they're all practicing right now. In the basement of the police station, there was a . . ." She frowned.
"Firing range," he supplied.
She nodded. "That's it. All sound-proofed. They're going to practice until I get back."
Jan Sleet opened her eyes and squinted at the sunlight coming into the room.
"Too bright," she said, rolling over.
Marshall laughed. "It's still overcast out, it's just brighter than it's been in a while."
"I'm not used to it," she said, pulling the covers over her head. She squirmed around. "Now my feet are cold," she said, her voice muffled. Her feet, large and bony, had been uncovered when she'd pulled the covers up, and she waved them around.
Marshall stood up and walked around to the foot of the bed. He pulled the covers back down, re-covering her feet and uncovering her head.
She rolled over on her back and put her arm across her eyes. "I need a sleep shade," she said.
"I think it's probably time to get up," he said, getting back under the covers but not lying down. "We've got a meeting, then a wedding, then there may be a big meeting, then I've got to get a nap before we start out."
"A wedding," she said thoughtfully. "I've got to see what I have to wear that's clean." She grabbed a handful of her hair with her free hand and waved it around. "Should I try to get a haircut this morning?" she asked. "It's getting pretty long."
"I think you'd look good with longer hair," he said. "You should let it grow until it's as long as Vicki's."
"I'd look pretty silly with hair that long," she protested, trying not to look pleased.
"No, you wouldn't," he said. "You'd look beautiful."
Dr. Lee faced Vicki across the meeting table. The others were there also, but Dr. Lee addressed her question to Vicki.
"Do you even have an army?"
Vicki smiled. "Not yet, but we will very soon."
Ray looked up.
"I know you don't like the idea," she told him, "but I also know SarahBeth, and the more you fight her, the faster we'll get an army, and the bigger and better it will be."
"It's nice to know you're backing me up."
She shrugged. "The alternatives group has come up with a lot of good things, and one of those will be an army. I know it seems I'm undercutting you, but we've got a lot of things to do, all of which have to happen right now, and I can't do everything according to the rule book." She smiled. "We've got a force of nature among us, and I'm going to put her to the best use I can. And if I asked her to create an army, she'd make damn sure it never happened, just to piss me off."
"So, are you going to carry a gun?" Perry asked.
SarahBeth made a face. "No, I hate guns. I'm not going to carry one."
"But then–"
"Listen, who runs the U.S. Army?"
"The President."
"Does he carry a gun?"
Perry shrugged, smiling. "Not that I'm aware."
"Exactly. Same situation."
He nodded. "I see. So, how did you convince people to join up?"
"I told them what happened to us, in the meeting room and on the bridge, and I told them they had to join, and that they had to go and recruit other people." She grinned. "Let me tell you about Tina. She was fucking her boyfriend when I went to see them. He wanted me to join in, but I said no, but that I'd do it with her while he watched. I made him sit in a chair on the other side of the room. When we were done, she was ready to join up. He wanted to join, too, but I told him no."
"Why?"
"Discipline is important, but so is initiative. He should have at least tried to join in."
"And would you have let him?"
She grinned. "None of your business, sir."
He hugged her. "So, what now, more recruiting?"
She shook her head. "Not right now. I've got something else I need to do. There's going to be a crisis otherwise."
Dr. Lee asked, "I assume you've thought of the subway tunnels?"
Vicki nodded. "Of course."
"You'll have to move quickly."
"Last night we got a complete diagram of the tunnels, and the locations of the food and other supplies."
"They gave it to you? Or you took it?"
"I would have taken it, if there was no other choice. But that was a last resort, and we persuaded them. Or really Katherine did, along with Pete and Perry Nelson."
"You sent her to do your strong arm work?"
"No, I sent her to protect Pete, which she would have done anyway. But she ended up convincing them, though I don't know how. I know it was with words, though." She laughed. "If I wanted to strong arm anybody, I'd do it myself."
"I congratulate you, if you've figured out how to tame her. I was never able to do that."
"I haven't, and I haven't tried. Ray has helped her get herself under control, but the biggest factor was Pete. And he had no idea of taming her, just of making her happy, and being under control makes her happier than being out of control."
There was a knock at the door and Daphne barked sleepily. Katherine climbed out of bed and took her revolver from the bureau. She carried it over to the door, and asked, "Who is it?"
"It's meeeee!" replied SarahBeth. "Your most excellent maid of honor! Wedding preparations must be made!"
Katherine looked at Pete and he shrugged, grinning. She opened the door and SarahBeth marched in, followed by three others, a young Black man, a short woman with greased-back hair, and an elderly man in a bathrobe, all carrying suitcases. The Black man averted his eyes at Katherine's nakedness, delicately holding up his hand.
Katherine went to the bed and pulled on a long T-shirt. "Can I ask what's going on here?" Pete asked as she sat down next to him and took his hand. Katherine shrugged. Daphne rolled over so she could watch the proceedings.
"You can't get married dressed like you usually do," SarahBeth said. "And I knew you'd never do anything about it if I didn't step in." The elderly man went back out to the hall and carried in two more suitcases and an ornate floor-standing ashtray.
The Black man moved the only chair to a far wall, and placed the ashtray next to it. Then the elderly man went to the door again and opened it, and T.C. came in. She went and sat down in the chair, lit a cigarette and said, "I don't usually make housecalls, but I was informed that this was a desperate situation, involving a wedding." She smiled. "Hello, Pete, Katherine." She turned her head. "And Daphne, of course."
They said hello, and Daphne barked, and T.C. said, "I think you know David and The Amazing Frankie, and of course you know Finch." She leaned back, the chair creaking. "Now," she said, drawing deeply on her cigarette, "marriage is a serious and important institution, one of the traditions which goes throughout human history, and when you take this step, you add one more thread to the fabric which holds together human society. This is clearly something far too serious to be undertaken lightly, or casually, or while wearing worn dungarees. Your hair, also, needs some attention, which is why the Amazing One is here. We're working as a team to ameliorate this crisis."
T.C. held up a pudgy hand. "But first, before we proceed, I have three questions. I ask you to give each one full and careful consideration before you answer."
She paused, and they both nodded.
"Katherine, do you love Pete? Are you prepared to spend the rest of your life with him?"
She nodded, smiling. "Absolutely. I wouldn't want to spend it any other way."
"Pete, do you love Katherine? Are you prepared to spend the rest of your life with her?"
"Yes," he said very seriously, squeezing her hand. "Yes to both questions."
T.C. drew herself up. "And one final question. Do you have any money?"
Katherine laughed. "Yes, I do."
T.C. nodded. "I thought you did. I recall that you share my mistrust of banks." She rubbed her hands together. "Well, then, let's get to work."
At that point, the suitcases were opened and various
outfits were displayed for Pete and Katherine's approval (or,
more often, disapproval). As Katherine tried on different
outfits, Frankie washed and cut Pete's hair, then she worked on
Katherine's hair as Pete tried on clothing. As this was going
on, Daphne snuck over to the bed and climbed up. She waited a
moment, to see if anybody objected, then she lay down, looking
pleased with herself.
T.C. sat and supervised, smoking. SarahBeth tried to bum cigarettes from her, until she realized that there would be a charge, then she took them from Pete and Katherine instead. David and Finch helped Pete and Katherine with dressing and undressing, something it was obvious they were more used to doing without assistance.
SarahBeth stood near the door, watching, and occasionally there was a knock at the door and she stepped out into the hall to talk to someone for a few minutes. "Army business," she would explain when she came back in.
The final decision was in favor of tan khaki shirts (Pete's somewhat darker than Katherine's) with dark slacks, and Pete had been persuaded (with some graphic language from SarahBeth) that it was not appropriate for a gentleman to get married without the benefit of underwear.
T.C. then turned her attention to Daphne. "Would you like a new outfit for your dog?" she asked Pete. "I feel confident that we could contrive something which would conceal her . . . condition, if that's a consideration."
Daphne grabbed a corner of the sheet and tried to wrap herself up in it. Pete went over and squatted next to the bed. He rubbed the visible part of her head and asked, "Would you like something new to wear, Daph? We could leave you alone while you try things on."
She shook her head, her eyes clenched closed.
SarahBeth went to one of the open suitcases and rummaged around, finally pulling out a bright silk scarf in various shades of orange and yellow. She brought it over to the bed. Daphne sat up and barked happily as SarahBeth carefully knotted the scarf around her throat. David brought over a hand mirror and Daphne admired herself, then she barked and licked SarahBeth on the cheek, which quickly turned into a rather elaborate kiss.
"Ahem," Pete said eventually, after all the suitcases were
packed.
SarahBeth stood up, her face flushed, and said, "Sorry." She looked down at the floor, scuffing one sneaker against the other. Daphne panted happily, her tongue hanging out of her mouth.
David and Frankie were carrying the suitcases out into the hall as T.C. finished totaling the bill on a small pad and handed it to Katherine.
T.C. and her crew had gone, and SarahBeth had sent Pete to get coffee and something for them to eat.
When she and Katherine were alone, SarahBeth frowned. "You're not going to wear the guns at the wedding, are you?" she asked hesitantly.
Katherine smiled. "Pete and I talked about that. I felt kind of weird about it, but he said it was okay. It was kind of romantic, actually, the way he said it. He said that he's getting me the way I really am, and that's how I should look. Not some 'different,' 'improved,' 'better' version." She made the quote marks with her fingers as she talked. "Not some non-violent, 'perfect' version, but the real me. And I'm getting him as he really is, too. And that's fine. He also pointed out that, if I was really 'improved' and not violent, he'd be long dead, and so would I."
SarahBeth pursed her lips. "That's romantic? Not that I'm planning on marrying Perry, but I have all kinds of plans for him. I'm improving him already."
Katherine smiled. "Well, it seems romantic to me. One time, when I was trying to get him to leave me, because I was so afraid I'd end up killing him someday, he asked if there was anything he didn't know about me, anything worse than what he'd seen. He'd seen me try to kill Neil, and I nearly did throw another Jinx off a rooftop, so I said no. And he took my hand and said it was okay with him." She smiled, her eyes moist. "That's romantic, to me."
"Well, I am glad you didn't kill Neil. He's kind of cute, for an older guy."
Daphne barked agreement from the corner.
"I'm not sure why we're going there early," Marshall said as he combed his hair.
Jan shrugged, adjusting her tie. "There might be things we can help with."
"I don't mean this to be as negative as it will sound, but is there some reason we're as involved in this as we are? I know you and Pete are friendly, but I didn't think you were that close."
She laughed. "You're making it more mysterious than it is. For one thing, they got us the food and the way out. For another, it's a wedding!" She kissed him on the cheek. "Weddings are fun, as you may remember."
"And there's the mysterious reason you told Tammy she had to be there."
"Exactly. Which I'm still not going to tell you. Come on."
They left the room and walked down the hall to the stairs. Jan took out her cigarette case, and Marshall brought out his lighter.
On the street, they spotted Pete, Katherine and Daphne about a
block ahead, walking in the same direction.
"The presence of Daphne would make this a unique wedding, no matter who the bride and groom were," Marshall commented.
Jan nodded. "True, even apart from the bride's rather checkered past."
"Which we had better not comment on when your mother is around."
Jan laughed. "That was funny, what she did to Neil, because she obviously thinks both Pete and Katherine are pretty low class. And if you made fun of them for that, it would probably be okay with her. But you can't say anything about Katherine being crazy."
"Exactly. The funny thing is that Tammy gets this pained look whenever Daphne is around, but if Daphne was crazy, if she really thought she was a dog, Tammy would be on her side. But since she's obviously sane–"
Daphne turned and barked. Marshall and Jan had longer legs than the others and they had gained some ground while walking, and Marshall was suddenly nervous that Daphne had heard them talking about her.
"Dogs do have very good hearing," Jan whispered.
He laughed as Pete turned and waved. Marshall waved back and they hurried to catch up as Pete and the others waited.
"Are we going in the same direction?" Pete called as they came up.
"I expect so," Jan said. "We thought you might need some help getting set up."
He shrugged as they all started walking again. "We're probably not going to do very much, but thanks for the offer."
"No matter what we do, Duffy's is still going to look like Duffy's," Katherine said.
"Well, you both look very nice," Jan said.
Daphne barked, and Jan patted her head.
"I mean all three of you, of course. That's a very pretty scarf, Daphne."
Daphne barked again, and Pete said, "The scarf, and the idea of getting dressed up–"
"–and the haircuts," Katherine added.
"–were all thanks to She Who Must be Obeyed."
They all laughed. "I can guess who you're referring to," Marshall said.
"She decided she was going to be the maid of honor," Katherine said. "And we had to ask around to find out what a maid of honor was supposed to do. We didn't have a clue."
"And we were afraid to ask her."
"Or tell her we weren't going to have one."
Daphne barked.
"We have to be careful what we say about SarahBeth," Pete said. "She and Daphne–"
"We've heard," Jan said. She patted Daphne's head again.
"Behold!" the Professor announced as they entered Duffy's. "The place is gaily festooned!"
It was true, after a fashion. Ribbons and yarn and string were hanging everywhere, plus some inexpertly-made paper flowers. The Professor looked around proudly. "We've been festooning for hours," he explained.
"I can tell," Jan said.
"So, when does the happy couple arrive?" he asked, looking around.
Pete laughed. "We're here now, sir."
The Professor squinted at him. "So you are, Petronius," he conceded. "You're so well groomed, I didn't recognize you. And I've never seen your hair so short."
Pete shrugged. "A lot of people see us and think we're brother and sister, so I wanted to avoid–"
"Quite right. No good ever comes from trying to emulate the aristocracy."
"Pete, Katherine," Jan said, "please sit down. We'll do everything."
"Which probably won't be much in any case," Marshall added.
"Especially since the festooning is all done already," Jan agreed.
Pete and Katherine sat at the bar and Archie brought them beers.
"Courvoisier goes very well with root beer," Fiona said, gesturing with her glass as Katherine lit a cigarette.
Katherine shook her head. "No, it doesn't."
So, Pete and Katherine sat at the bar, drinking and smoking, while Jan and Marshall moved the tables and chairs around (without, it seemed, a really clear plan). This project was further hindered by Daphne, who followed them around and got underfoot until Marshall brought her leash over and handed it to Pete.
"Can you hold her? She seems a little worked up."
Pete took the leash, reaching over to rub Daphne's head. She looked up and barked, but Archie was already holding a bowl under the tap, filling it about halfway with beer. He brought it around and placed it at Pete's feet. Daphne barked and smiled, then she ducked her head and started lapping up the beer.
"We're here!" SarahBeth announced as she and Perry came in.
Fifteen arrived a moment later, and both he and SarahBeth immediately tried to take charge. They had very different ideas, however, about nearly everything, and Marshall quickly said to Jan, "I don't think we should get into the middle of this. Let's get a drink."
She had to admit that this was a good idea, and they went to the bar. Marshall said to Pete, "If they get into a fight, which seems quite likely, my money is on her," indicating Fifteen and SarahBeth.
Pete laughed as Archie brought a beer for Marshall and, after a moment's conversation, a glass of white wine for Jan. "Fifteen might surprise you," Pete said. "He's small, but I'll bet he's quicker than she is."
"Young Mr. Nelson!" the Professor hailed as Perry came up. "We were discussing your first novel earlier–"
"I think we should postpone any literary criticism for today," Katherine said firmly.
"In honor of the occasion?" Matthew asked. "Probably for the best. We should concentrate on the happy couple."
Carly leaned over and said to Perry, "Pity, we worked up a nice parody of the scene where–"
"Hey," SarahBeth said as she walked by, "hands off my boyfriend." She craned her neck up to kiss Perry on the cheek, whispering loudly, "Watch out for her, she'll lead you on and break your heart. Just a–" She saw what Fifteen was doing and yelled, "Not over there!"
She stormed off and Carly said to Perry, "She's your girlfriend?"
He nodded.
"That's a little surprising," she said slowly.
"It is to me, too," he said, then he quickly added, "but a very pleasant surprise, of course."
"I thought she was gay."
He smiled. "She thinks so, too."
"So, Pete," Matthew said, "any honeymoon plans?"
"We haven't thought about it." He finished his beer and put it down for Archie to refill. "Though I suppose SarahBeth may have arranged something for us and she's been saving it as a surprise."
"It's a good thing she wasn't there when you proposed," Katherine said to him, kissing him on the cheek. "At least we got to do that part ourselves."
"She'd have made us do it all over again, without the laughing."
At that point, the guests started to arrive. Fifteen began to bring folding chairs out of the back room, and of course the tables had to be rearranged again.
Tammy arrived first. She looked around the place, her expression severe, then she went to the bar. Archie had her drink ready for her, and she took it to a table and sat down.
Then the others started to arrive. Dr. Lee and CJ came, causing somewhat of a stir among those who had not heard of their return, followed a few minutes later by Christy and several other former Jinx. Christy looked startled that Dr. Lee was there, but the Jinx leader didn't react. Christy and the others sat on the opposite side of the room from their former leader.
Neil came in, bowed sardonically to Dr. Lee, got himself a drink, and went to sit with Christy.
Marshall was surprised at how many people were there. There were Jinx, former Jinx, members of various other gangs, park people, musicians and others. At least fifty people were crammed into the small bar. Things were a bit chaotic, especially since both Fifteen and SarahBeth were both still trying to run it. Pete and Katherine, meanwhile, just sat at the bar and talked and joked as they drank, as if they had forgotten there was any other purpose to this afternoon.
Finally, however, Vicki arrived and things started to get going. When she came in, SarahBeth immediately went to Perry's table and sat down. Fifteen, finally able to operate without interference, quickly got everything ready to go as SarahBeth demanded to know why she didn't have a drink. Not receiving a satisfactory answer, she dispatched Perry to the bar to get her one.
Meanwhile, Vicki went over and hopped up to sit on the bar between Pete and Katherine. "Anything special you'd like me to say?" she asked.
Pete shrugged. "We haven't really thought about it. Is there some sort of standard way it should go?"
"This is the first one I've done," she admitted. "Doc always did them before. I thought about it a little on the way over, and I figured out a couple of things I could say, nothing fancy. I'll keep it brief. Then the usual: 'Pete, do you take Katherine,' and all that." She grinned. "Unless you want to do a blood oath thing, like the Jinx?"
Pete smiled and shook his head. "I think not," he said. "Blood makes me squeamish."
Vicki half turned to look at Katherine, who laughed. "I'm sure there's something funny I could say right now," she said, "but I can never think of things like that in time to actually say them." She smiled. "Sometimes I get a good laugh out of Pete in the middle of the night, when I think of something funny I could have said at lunch the day before."
Pete smiled and kissed her. "Let's do it," he said, and she smiled and nodded. "Save our seats," he said as he took Daphne's leash and the three of them went into the back room.
"Come on," Jan said to Marshall, "Tammy wants us to sit with her. That way she doesn't have to sit with any riff-raff."
"As if they could sit down at her table if she didn't want them to."
Vicki jumped up onto a table and clapped her hands. The sound was like a rifle shot, and people slowly quieted down and turned to face her.
"I wish we could have had music," Vicki began, "but Pete said he wouldn't be married to anything other than rock and roll, and rock and roll isn't a possibility right now. So, without any further . . ."
Her voice trailed off as the Professor lifted his head and started to sing, in a surprising tenor voice. It was a slow, mournful ballad, with lyrics which were not in English.
Vicki shrugged and nodded to Fifteen, who opened the door to the back room. Daphne marched out slowly, in time to the singing, a basket of confetti in her mouth. She reached the center of the room, put her hands on a chair and raised herself up. Then, with a flick of her neck, she scattered the confetti over all the people assembled there.
"I'll bet she practiced that," Marshall commented, turning to Jan. Then he noticed that she was blushing furiously, and obviously suppressing giggles. "What's up?" he whispered as Pete and Katherine started to walk slowly from the back room to the bar.
Jan indicated the Professor, who was now standing (rather unsteadily) and continuing to sing. "I hope nobody else here can speak the Irish language," she whispered. "Because I'm pretty sure he's making up that song as he goes along, and it is incredibly obscene."
Tammy shook her head. "What can you expect in a place like this?"
As Pete and Katherine passed Matthew, walking slowly toward Vicki, he dipped his fingertips into his mug and sprinkled them with beer. The other regulars followed suit, one by one, as the couple passed.
When they were in front of Vicki, hand in hand, Fifteen stood beside Pete and SarahBeth stood beside Katherine. SarahBeth held Daphne's leash, and Daphne leaned against her hip, looking like she was about to cry.
"Relationships should help us to be better," Vicki said, her voice filling the room. "Not because the purpose of a relationship is self-improvement, but because it's a sign of what kind of relationship it is.
"A good relationship doesn't result from two good people getting together. It's according to how people fit together. Most of us have been in at least one relationship that just didn't work, which brought out the worst in both parties. It doesn't mean either or both is a bad person, it means they don't fit.
"But some relationships are the opposite of that. They bring out the best in both people. It takes luck to get that opportunity, but it takes intelligence to recognize it when it comes along, and a certain amount of guts to stand up in front of all the people who matter and announce it. So, for all three of those, the luck and the intelligence and the guts, congratulations to both of you.
"And, here, in front of the people who matter the most to both of you, I will say what I didn't say before, which is that we wouldn't have food and medicine tomorrow if it wasn't for our two friends here."
She paused and smiled, then she continued. "Paul David Peterson, do you take this woman to be your wife?"
He smiled. "I do."
"And Katherine Ann diGregorio, do you take this man to be your husband?"
"I do."
"Then, by the power vested in me by nobody in particular, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife."
Pete and Katherine kissed, and everybody applauded, and Daphne started to cry. She went over to Pete and pressed her face into his slacks. He looked down and stroked her hair.
"I think it's not an official wedding unless at least one person cries," Vicki said, jumping down from the table and patting Daphne on the back.
Pete squatted, taking out a bandanna and folding it so the clean part was on the outside. He wiped Daphne's face, and then held the bandanna over her nose and said, "Blow."
She did, with great enthusiasm, and he kissed her on the forehead. "I'm so glad you're here to share this with us," he murmured.
"Petronius," Archie said, coming out from behind the bar, "we have a couple of surprises for you." He held up a flash camera. "Someone left this here a long time ago. We think there are four pictures left in it. I have no idea if the film is still any good, or if you'll ever be able to develop it..."
"We'll give it a try," Pete said. Katherine squatted on the other side of Daphne, and the Amazing Frankie ran over with a hairbrush. "Let me touch him up," she said. "He's starting to look scruffy already."
She applied the brush (and a little beer) with vigor until Pete's hair was satisfactory. Then she asked Archie, "Do you want me to take the picture?"
Archie nodded. "With Daphne in the shot, they're too low, and my old knees won't let me squat. Or, they might let me squat, but I'd probably never get up again."
He handed her the camera, and Pete and Katherine and Daphne all smiled. Frankie clicked the shutter, and they all grimaced at the flash.
"That's the brightest thing I've seen in a week," Pete said, blinking.
"You should get a picture with Vicki," Fifteen said. "Because she presided."
So, Vicki hopped up and sat on the bar, and Pete and Katherine stood on either side of her, and Archie took a picture of them.
"Ahem!" said SarahBeth.
"And, of course, one shot of the wedding party," Pete said quickly, and Archie took a picture of Pete, Katherine, Fifteen and SarahBeth.
"One shot left," Pete said, looking around.
Matthew laughed. "I think that should be of just the two of you."
Pete nodded, and the photo was taken, and, with great ceremony, the film was removed from the camera and given to Pete.
"It's a shame you don't have rings," Carly said. "You miss all that slavery symbolism–"
She was interrupted by a laugh from Vicki. "I forgot!" she said, reaching into the pocket of her leather jacket. "I'm sorry. Hold out your hands."
They did, and once it was explained to them which hand a wedding ring was supposed to go on, Vicki slipped a ring onto Pete's finger.
Katherine's ring proved to be a little tight, so Vicki took it back and pulled, stretching it wider. Then she blew on it to cool it off, and slipped it onto Katherine's finger.
"I've always had big knuckles," Katherine explained. "My mother used to tell me to keep my hands low, and not to gesture a lot, because she said my hands looked like a boy's hands."
Pete, meanwhile, was examining his ring. "Is this what I think it is?" he asked.
Vicki nodded. "It's a guitar string, braided around and around. I tried a bass string, but it was way too fat. This came out better. I hope you like them."
Pete nodded. "Of course," he said. "Thank you very much."
"Hope it doesn't turn your finger green," SarahBeth muttered.
"And one more thing," Fifteen said. He went to Christy's table and came back with a large piece of stiff paper. "It's a certificate," he explained. "Miss Christy has beautiful penmanship, of course, so she wrote it. If we run out of lines for people to sign on, they can write on the back." Pete and Katherine looked at it, Katherine taking a small pair of gold-rimmed reading glasses from her jacket pocket. "We had to kind of guess at the date," Fifteen said.
Pete laughed. "No matter. We'll have flexibility about when we celebrate our anniversary." He pulled out a pen. "Where do I sign?"
Pete and Katherine signed it carefully at the top, then Vicki signed on the line for the officiating officer. As Fifteen and SarahBeth signed it next, as members of the wedding party, Pete noticed an odd expression on each of their faces. So, as Fifteen was about to start taking it around the room for others to sign, Pete said, "Hang on. We have to follow protocol, my friend. Family members next, which means Daphne, and then Archibald, for letting us use this fine establishment, and then the rest of these disreputable scoundrels at the bar here, and then everybody else."
So, he took it back and leaned over, holding it for Daphne. And, as she very carefully drew a paw print on the next available line, he examined the certificate, upside down, and he saw that Vicki had signed it "Vicki Everett."
As Fifteen took the certificate around the room for people to
sign, Pete smoked a cigarette and watched carefully.
"Are you afraid someone will steal it?" Katherine asked.
He shook his head. "No, but Vicki signed it 'Vicki Everett,' and I'm wondering where that came from. She's always been 'Wasserman,' and if her father is the same as Jan's, his name is . . . something with an 'S,' something Italian, not 'Everett.' And Tammy's name is Nelson. So, I'm waiting for a tell." She frowned a question. "I'm waiting for someone to react. Then I'll know who to ask."
She took a cigarette from his pack and lit it. "Why don't you just ask Vicki?" she asked.
"If I have to. But anything to do with family is touchy with those folks, and I'd rather . . . Ah." He smiled. "Marshall knows."
They saw Jan lean over and say something to Marshall, who glanced at them as he got up. He made his way across the room to them.
"How did you know I wanted to ask you something?" Pete asked.
Marshall smiled, putting an empty glass and mug on the bar, and motioning to Archie for refills. "My wife told me. Of course, she didn't tell me why, just that you wanted to ask me a question."
Pete leaned toward him. "We were wondering about Vicki's sudden change of name."
"I'll bet a lot of people here are wondering about that, at least those who are sober enough to notice. You know that Tammy is her mother?"
"Hers and Jan's, yes."
"Everett is Tammy's real name. She just found out and started to use it, very recently. Nelson was never her name, she's not related to Perry."
"Ah," Pete said, "then–"
Suddenly he was interrupted by Daphne, who scrambled across the room to the door and started to bark.
Pete started to move in the direction of the door, but Katherine pulled her revolver and said, "Wait. Let me–"
"My wife informs me that it's no threat," Marshall said. "Just old friends, who want to offer their congratulations, but might prefer not to come inside."
Pete and Katherine moved to the door, and Pete took Daphne's leash and pulled her aside so he could open it.
"Petronius!"
"Chesterton!"
"This is a surprise," Pete said as he and Katherine stepped outside and Daphne barked happily. "I thought you two went away," he said. The door to Duffy's closed behind them.
"We're here," Randi said as Daphne scampered over and started to sniff at Chet. "Just keeping kind of quiet."
"Letting the girls find out how well they can do on their own?" Pete murmured and sipped his drink.
They laughed as Chet kissed Katherine's cheek and said, "Your hubby is pretty smart." He gently moved Daphne's head away from his crotch.
She smiled. "I know that. And it's so nice you came."
"We wouldn't have missed it," Chet said. He stroked Daphne's head and she pressed her cheek against his thigh, smiling, her eyes closed. "We wanted to wish you two–"
"Hey, who's this?" SarahBeth asked as she poked her head out the door. She came out, cigarette in one hand and beer in the other. Perry followed behind, and the door closed again behind them.
"Two old friends, meet two newer ones," Pete said. "Chet and Randi, please meet SarahBeth and Perry, with whom we've shared quite a few adventures in the last several days."
SarahBeth's eyes got wide as Randi held out her hand and said, "So pleased to meet you. I believe you were close to my granddaughter at one time, when she was in need of a friend, and I appreciate that."
"No problem," SarahBeth said quietly. She seemed glad to take her hand back, and, as she suddenly looked around for her cigarette, it reappeared between her fingers. She looked at it for a moment, then took a long drag, and a drink of her beer.
Meanwhile, Randi turned her attention to Perry.
"I'm an admirer of your work, Perry," she said, sipping her martini. "The early novels showed a certain promise, but the fourth one was nearly a masterpiece. Of course, because of the state of the world at that time, it was never distributed as widely as the early ones, but you can't judge everything by sales, can you?"
Perry coughed. "I'm afraid I've only–"
"Of course, you've only written three so far. You're writing it now. But I've read it several times, and so has Chet."
Perry laughed uneasily. "Aren't there rules about this sort of thing? And aren't you worried this will–"
"–put pressure on you? Oh, the pressure that really matters won't come from me. I think you can probably guess who it will come from."
Perry glanced nervously at SarahBeth, not knowing how she would react to this, but she was scratching Daphne behind the ears, and he suddenly had the idea that Randi's last comment had been inaudible, except to him.
"And rules?" Randi continued. "Who would set such rules, after all?" She smiled. "So, the next time the Professor starts to give you a hard time, you can tell him what I said."
"We have to be going," Chet said, "but we wanted to wish all the best to both of you." He hugged Pete and kissed Katherine on the cheek again. Daphne got in front of him and stood up, her palms flat on his chest, and licked his face. He hugged her, and Randi stroked her head.
Then Chet and Randi started to walk down the block toward the overhead subway tracks. "We'll see you again soon," Randi called over her shoulder, then she threw an arm around Chet and they vanished.
Pete chuckled. "I think that's a good ending to this." He jerked a thumb at Duffy's. "That drunken revel in there can continue without us. SarahBeth, can you do us one more big favor?"
She looked up, startled. "Huh? What? Oh, I don't know. Maybe." She grinned slowly. "Maybe not, of course."
He held out Daphne's leash. "Can you take her back to the hotel?"
"Why? Where are you going?"
Katherine took Pete's hand. "Just for a little walk," she said. Daphne whined quietly. "A special place we want to visit, because it may be the last time." She said the last part very quietly.
SarahBeth shrugged, but she was interrupted by Daphne, who barked and tried to follow Pete and Katherine, straining at her leash as they slowly walked down the block together.
SarahBeth pulled her back and squatted, whispering something in her ear.
"Oh," Daphne said, her eyes getting wide. She leaned against SarahBeth and closed her eyes.
SarahBeth stood up, stroking Daphne's hair, and said to Perry, "My big, brave, heroic, handsome boyfriend is going off on a Quest. An Adventure." He resisted the impulse to look around to try to figure out who she was talking about. "And he deserves an appropriate send-off." She grinned. "And he'd better not be bedding any comely local wenches on the way."
He hugged her. "I promise to share any comely local wenches with you. Always."
"You're catching on. Come on."
The little concrete path between the highway and the river was barely wide enough for them to stand on, and they looked out at the water through the chain link fence that went up six feet over their heads with barbed wire along the top. Of course, there were no cars on the highway, and the night was very quiet.
Alike in height and build and hair color, and even dressed alike at the moment, they stood facing the river, their arms around each other. They were silent for a few minutes, then she said, "So, how did that stack up against playing rock and roll?"
Pete, whose mind had been on something very different, said, "Huh?"
"You remember, that conversation in the rehearsal, when we first met, about which was better, playing music or having sex. You said music was better. How about getting married?"
"Ah," he said, holding her close. "The wedding itself was fun, it was nice, but it doesn't matter a lot to me whether we got married or not. What I really like is being together, married or not, just day in and day out. That's . . . completely different from playing music." He laughed, and she chuckled, squeezing him. "You'll have to take my word on that. Playing music is hours and hours of practicing and rehearsing and working on songs and arguing and things breaking and people quitting and lugging heavy equipment around, just in order to have that hour on stage. Which is worth it.
"But this . . . This is hundreds and hundreds of little moments, of small pleasures. That you get me coffee when you get some for yourself, and that you know me well enough to know when I want it and when I don't. And that we're in the middle of this disaster or crisis or whatever it is, and we figure out what we're going to do as a team. And that you know I'm not the same as I was when we met, and I'm not going to fool around with anyone else, even if you leave me alone with Daphne–"
"–or I come in and find Vicki sitting on the bed with you."
"Exactly. And I was attracted to Vicki when I first met her, but I pretty quickly figured out she wasn't interested in guys. Anyway, to get back to the point, is any one hour of this better than that one hour on stage?" He shrugged, looking sheepish. "Not really. But I wouldn't trade it."
They were quiet for a while, then she asked, "Do you want to play music again?"
He nodded. "I'd like to, if it's possible. I didn't want to before, right after KC ended, that was too soon. But this last week, when there's been no electricity and I knew I couldn't play even if I wanted to, that made me realize that I think I'd like to give it a try. Somehow."
"And you haven't thought about how being married to me might interfere with your career?"
He laughed. "Oh, yes, I can imagine the interviews. 'So, Pete, what does your wife do?'" He took his arm from around her in order to tick off points on his fingers. "First, and most important, we need to find a place to live where people aren't going to hassle you all the time. I have no idea where that would be, but we need to find it. I'm hoping, as I bet a lot of people are for various reasons, that we end up being able to continue U-town somewhere else, somehow." He shook his head. "We'll have to see. Second, as you know very well, I'm talking about playing music, I'm not talking about a 'career.' My goal in life, or at least one of them, has always been to avoid careers of all sorts, even those which involve playing music."
She smiled and came into his arms. "I know," she said quietly, "I'm just playing with you."
He held her, one arm around her slender waist, resting comfortably on the butt of her revolver, the other cradling her head as it rested on his shoulder.
Next Chapter: Marshall