Page 24 of Unholy Matrimony

Father Ireni finishes the betrothal and the doors open. We proceed behind him down the center of the Church and come before the Iconostasis. I’m so focused on Lina that I almost miss Father Ireni’s inquiry.

“Do you, Leonid Borisovich Igorov, have a good, free, and unconstrained will, and a firm intention to take as your wife this woman, Kalina Nikolova, whom you see here before you”

“I have, reverend Father.”

“Have you promised yourself to any other bride?”

“I have not promised myself, reverend Father.” I take a deep breath and wait for Lina to say her part.

“Do you, Kalina Nikolova, have a good, free, and unconstrained will, and a firm intention to take as your husband this man, Leonid Borisovich Igorov whom you see here before you?”

Lina smiles. “I have, reverend Father.”

“Have you promised yourself to any other man?”

“I have not promised myself, reverend Father.”

Satisfied, Father Ireni says, “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.”

The “Amen” resounded across the church.

Father Ireni continues, and now we are about to be crowned husband and wife! We are blessed three times and drink the wine from the cup three times. He wraps our clasped hands with the white cloth and covers it with his vestment, grabs our hands, and takes us around the lectern three times in the Dance of Isaiah. Behind us, holding the crowns above our heads, are Oleg and Ilya. Lina is beaming with joy. I will always remember her in this moment, the moment before she was my wife.

After we finished going around, Father blessed us, and they placed the crowns on our heads. I can hear a camera somewhere. Hopefully, it was an excellent shot because this is one I want on display in our home. Father Ireni finishes the ceremony with “God grant them many years.”

The whole parish and choir sing to us. I put my hands on either side of her face and pulled her near, taking her lips in mine. I kiss my zhena 6for the very first time. Right here at this moment, it is only us., I cannot hear everyone else celebrating. I see only her. We break our kiss and we turn to face the parish. We make our way down the aisle hand in hand as husband and wife. Exiting the doors, everyone surrounds us in the narthex, giving hugs, kisses on the cheeks, and handshakes.

Lina looks around for her family and looks at me. They are nowhere to be found. I pull her to me, kiss her ear, and say, “Try not to worry, we will deal with it later. YA lyublyu tebya, zhena,7” I whispered into her ear, my breath warm against her skin. I tilt her face to mine, “YA tozhe tebya lyublyu. Muzh8.” Those words spoken from her lips give me life.

The crowd ushered us to the parish hall, where we celebrated with champagne and vodka. We sit and plates of food are sitting in front of us. “Thank the Lord,” Lina says crossing herself, “I’m starving! I haven’t eaten since last night!” I expected a vegan meal, but to my surprise, I was presented with a steak, potatoes, and winter squash on the plate. I look at Lina’s plate and it’s all vegan.

Confused, I looked up at her. She laughs, “I couldn’t have moy lev9 having vegetables on his wedding day, now could I?”

“You set this up? For me?” I ask, my heart about to burst.

“Of course I did. The cake is also not vegan,” she places a kiss on my cheek, “Now eat up, I want my dance.”

We finish eating our meals, and people are already dancing, drinking, and having a good time. Lina is enjoying herself, chatting with some women of the parish who came to congratulate her. I see Oleg dancing with Mila and catch his eye. I beam at him. I know the happiness he must feel every single day. I motion for them to come over. Oleg says something in his wife’s ear. She turns to look over, and a smile spreads across her face. They make their way over.

“Zhena10, Oleg, and his wife want to say hello. I thought you’d like to meet her,” and she turns to face me.

“Yes! I would very much!”

The pair came around the table and I stood and pulled Oleg into a hug. “Pozdravlyayu, brat11!” as he pats my back. He pulls back and looks at Lina. “Mrs. Igorova,” smiling, “This is my wife, Mila.” Mila extends her hand out to Lina, but she gets pulled into a hug. “I am so happy to meet you!” Lina pulls back from the hug and looks down at Mila’s stomach, having felt its roundness.

Mila places her hands on her stomach and smiles, “I’m due in 3 months. His name is going to be Alexei.” Oleg places a hand on her stomach and beams with pride. I see the yearning look on Lina’s face as Mila takes her hand and places it on her belly. Oleg gives me a sly smile, knowing what this is going to bring up the conversation between her and me.

“You’re going to have to excuse us for a bit. My muzh12 owes me a dance before this night is over,” as Lina pulls me away to the dance floor.

I can’t help but smile as she wraps her arms around my neck. She is still wearing her platok and I reach up to untie it. I pull it down from the top of her head, revealing her hair. The reddish brown hair has been curled and flows down her back instead of the braid she typically has. I close the space between and she lays her head on my chest as we slowly dance to classical music.

After a few minutes, others join us in dancing. I lean down to her ear and whisper so only she can hear, “Tsvetok13, I cannot wait to take you away from here and claim you as mine.” I grab her hand and place sweet kisses on the top and the palm, then place it on my cheek, holding it there.

Someone next to us clears their throat and we both jerk from our intense moment. It's my father. “Pozdraylyayu14, Leonid, and beautiful Kalina! What a lovely wedding this is, no,” he says with a deep chuckle. I let go of Lina and pull him into a hug. He and I both know it is just for show. “Thank you, father. For putting all of this together on such short notice,” I am trying to sound as sincere as possible. I don’t want Lina worrying about anything.

“Kalina, will you do this old man the honor of dancing with him?” he pressed with a coy smile. Lina looks over at me, unsure of what to say. I give her a nod in reassurance, and she smiles, taking his hand. I swallow back my words as my father takes my wife and dances with her.

I am standing off to the side of the dance floor watching, not knowing what he could say to her. I know it can’t be good. Oleg and Ilya join me, standing beside me, watching my father.

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