Page 3 of So I Married an Alien
“It’s an Earth tradition, one of them,” Gazargo says, plucking my ring from my palm and giving it to my new alien groom.“Now put the ring on her hand, Roth’kar.”
Roth’kar grunts, never looking up at me as he reaches for my hand.At least he only has five fingers.I don’t know how I’d handle six or seven on top of the double arms.
Carefully, Roth’kar slides the ring onto one of my fingers—the index one.
“Wrong finger,” I say gently, then wiggle my ring finger.“It goes on that one.”
With a huff of impatience, Roth’kar does as I tell him, removing the ring and then plunking it onto my ring finger instead.He pulls away, and the band shines in the low light.
“Your turn,” Gazargo says to him.
Roth’kar holds out his lower hand for me—I’m glad he chose an arm himself, as I only brought one ring—and I slip the ring onto his ring finger, pushing the band down until it’s seated.
When I stand up straight again, Roth’kar is pointedly looking away from me, his cheeks stained a dark bluish color.He retracts his hand, flexing his fingers before returning them to his side along with, well, his other hand.
Gosh, so many hands.
Then an unbidden thought hops into my brain.If he has two sets of arms… does he also have two?—?
I can’t think like that.We’re still strangers.It will take time for us to get to know each other, which we’ll have to do before any funny business can happen.
“And now, you say your commitments,” Gazargo instructs.
“Commitments?”Roth’kar’s brow pinches.“I am committed now.”
“Yes, yes, they are just nice things to say before you agree to the marriage.”Gazargo waves a hand dismissively.“Come up with something.”
“I’ll go first,” I interject, because I actually wrote something down and rehearsed it at home.“Roth’kar.I promise I will be honest with you, sometimes even when you don’t want to hear it.I promise to be loyal to you, unless it’s at a game of Bullshit.I promise to cherish you, and to have no others, until death do us part.”
Roth’kar’s mouth drops open.
“Until death do us part?”he repeats, horrified.
“It’s a common phrase in human matrimony,” Gazargo says.“Now, yours, Roth’kar.”
The alien flexes his throat like he wants to speak, but all the words he had are gone.
“Uh,” he says, then curses something in his own tongue that his translator must not be able to translate.“I will also, erm, cherish you, and be loyal to you.”He doesn’t mention anything about honesty.“I will do all my due diligences as your husband, as they are called for.”
What?As they are called for?Well, at least he seems dedicated to his responsibilities, whatever he thinks those are.That’s a good sign.
“Oh, all right.”I smile brightly.“That’s nice, thank you.”
“Do you take Roth’kar to be your lawful husband?”Gazargo asks me.
I nod.This is what I signed up for, after all.“I do.”
“And do you, Roth’kar, take Amara to be your lawful wife?”
Those glowing eyes settle on my face, and I wonder who he is under that indifferent expression and if he’ll show me.
Eventually, he nods and says, “I do.”
ChapterTwo
Roth’kar
What do these rings symbolize?I am still pondering this even as we say our commitments, and then once again confirm that we have, in fact, chosen to be married.Why did I have to say it three times in three different ways?
