Page 109 of Return of the Spider
“She’s more than that, bud,” I said and rubbed his head. “She’s your little sister, and you always need to help and take care of her. Okay?”
“Okay,” he said, and laid his head on my shoulder, and suddenly everything was perfect in my life.
CHAPTER
91
Gary soneji had toadmit it: Missy was right about the tuxedo. It fit him well and made him feel different, empowered even.
And her mother, Christiana, had been absolutely correct about her brother’s heated barn being a wonderful venue for a wedding and reception, especially when it was lavishly decorated for Christmas Eve.
Fresh holly, laurel, and evergreen garlands wrapped the old posts, lower beams, and railings inside the barn. A string trio was softly playing Christmas tunes. The air was scented with spice from pots bubbling atop woodstoves burning in the corners.
Three large wood and electric-candle chandeliers were suspended over the central space, throwing a warm glow on the crowd of one hundred, all busily gabbing or drinking or nibblingcheese or finding assigned dinner seats at one of the long tables on the floor or up in one of the old haylofts.
It was all so wonderful that it unnerved Soneji a little as he moved through the crowd, sipping from his champagne glass, accepting congratulations, and feigning interest in the names of the perfect strangers who’d come at him in waves since Roni had toddled down the aisle with flowers, and he and Missy had exchanged their vows. By the time he crossed the room a second time, he was getting upset. How was he supposed to remember all these names?
“Gary!”
Soneji would not have turned if the call had come from behind him, but Missy’s older brother, Marty, was coming right at him, his bow tie already undone and his collar open. A glass of whiskey neat was nestled in his paw of a hand.
“Marty,” Soneji said, and prepared for the man-hug he knew was coming.
Built like a Greco-Roman wrestler, Marty Kasajian had huge, long arms that he wrapped around Soneji as he rubbed his dense, dark beard against Soneji’s cheek. His breath stank of cigar smoke and liquor.
“You’re true family now, Murph,” Marty said when he broke the embrace. “A brother to me and to all who are gathered here for you and my baby sister and that precious Roni.”
“That’s kind and great,” Soneji said, trying to sound pleased. “So great. Thank you, Marty.”
“A drink!” Marty cried. “We must drink to this union, Gar, with a great bourbon!”
Soneji hated it when Marty called him Gar.
“I promise I’ll share one with you later,” he said. “I don’t think Missy would want me sloppy drunk this early in the night.”
Marty Kasajian closed one eye, pursed his lips, and nodded as he held out his glass. “And my sister would be right. She’s always right. That’s the thing about wives and sisters—they have a sixth sense about what’s right, don’t they?”
Soneji spotted Missy waving him to their table. “I’m learning that,” he said. He left his brother-in-law and went to his bride’s side.
“You look stunning in that dress,” he said. “Really.”
“Aww,” Missy said. “Thank you. Mama says I got lucky.”
“No, I’m the one who got lucky.”
Beside Missy, Roni started clinking a glass with her spoon. Soon many in the barn were clinking. Soneji leaned in and kissed Missy and then Roni, which got a roar of approval.
Soneji raised his glass to the crowd, feeling once again that this was all happening to someone else. The sense of being an impostor in the constant center of attention intensified during dinner and with every spoon-clinking and kiss.
Halfway through his roast duck, claustrophobia began to set in. He needed air. He needed a few moments alone.
He excused himself and told Missy he’d be right back, then he went to the stall that served as a cloakroom and found his overcoat.
Soneji went outside. He walked away from the barn into the darkness, glad for the clear, cold night, glad to be free of the incessant chatter that constantly boiled out of his wife and everyone at the event. Couldn’t they all just shut up once in a while?
He wasn’t sure how long he stood there looking up at the night sky, but it was long enough that his fingers and toes felt numb when he turned back toward the barn and his future. He was confronted at the door by Missy, who whispered furiously, “I’ve been looking for you. We’ve all been looking for you.”
“But Missy—” he began.
