Chapter 4
The next morning.
I sat at the vanity and opened the military concealer William had sent.
I put it on my forehead in layers.
The last coat finally covered the red IDIOT.
I got into the diamond-covered gown and put on the veil.
It was time.
My mother took my arm and walked me out.
We stepped outside the compound gate.
Charles was standing next to a beat-up old jeep with dried mud caked on the sides.
He was not in a suit nor in a dress uniform.
Instead, he was dressed in a faded, sweat-stained set of old fatigues.
There was no procession behind him, no groomsmen, and not so much as a ribbon on the hood.
His hands were empty. He had not even brought flowers.
When Charles saw me come out in that gown, his face knotted up.
He strode over, his tone full of disdain.
He said, "Emily, what are you dressed like that for? You look like you're working a stage.
"I went in to base this morning, and the colonel told me our marriage paperwork has been put on hold.
"I spent the whole drive over worrying you were going to call it off. Then I see you dressed like this and I know you can't let go."
I stared at the battered jeep, its window shattered and a chunk missing.
"Charles, a major general picks up his bride in a wreck?"
Charles' face darkened.
He said, "Emily, can you stop being so materialistic?
"You're the one who insisted on today. Lauren just went through what she went through. If I throw a big wedding now, what does that do to her?
"I keep it quiet. I take you over there. No reception and no guests."
I looked at him standing there like all of it was reasonable.
"Charles, I'm standing here in a white gown and a veil. You want to move me like something you don't want anybody to see. Is that what I am now?"
Charles' patience finally snapped.
He said, "You're still on about the show of it? Lauren gave up any claim at all, and you can't take a little inconvenience?
"If you get in this car today, I won't cut a single cent from your living allowance. Why bother making a fuss about a couple of wedding cars just for appearances?"
As he spoke, he reached out to grab my arm.
His hand was an inch from my dress.
An engine roar broke open at the far end of the street, loud enough to rattle the windows.
Charles pulled his hand back and turned to look.
Twelve armored black limousines, every one of them carrying Defense Council plates, came into the compound in a single straight line.
Twenty-four armed outriders on heavy military motorcycles ran alongside the convoy and cleared the road.
Rotor blades tore the air open overhead.
Two gunships came around low and put red rose petals down over the whole street.
The entire street fell silent in an instant.
The convoy stopped dead in front of the jeep.
A guard opened the door of the longest car in the middle.
A pair of polished boots came down onto a red carpet.
William stepped out of the car.
He was in a pressed dark green general's dress uniform, and the gold braid and the stars on his shoulders were hard to look at.
He stood like something carved for a war memorial.
He walked straight to me and looked down at Charles.
"Who exactly are you?" William said.