Left-Handed Engineers From MARZ
Marlone's wedding, part III

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Portia had rented a tent and tables, and with the sun coming out, it was perfect weather for an outdoor reception. The Muellers' back yard was a perfect location; the azaleas painted the perimeter with splashes of deep pink, and the roses and hydrangeas were starting to bloom as well. A cousin of Jack's was playing DJ with a computer on the deck, blaring a selection of rock ballads and love songs in MP3 format. The meal was potluck, provided mostly by Portia and a number of her friends that Zephyr was meeting for the first time. Being surrounded by so many friendly strangers made him grouchy, so as soon as he was no longer needed for pictures, he escaped to the buffet table and helped himself to dinner.

The girls joined them, Tammy sitting beside Zephyr and Brit on the opposite side of Reg. They had brought Reg his plate after getting explicit instructions from Zephyr (nothing spicy, nothing with bones or shells, veggies are good) and then picked through the offerings until they had found enough to their own particular tastes (Tammy had a leaning tower of chicken fingers and some buttery corn, and Brit favored anything beef).

"Do you like wine, Zephyr?" Tammy asked.

"Sure," Zephyr replied. "It's all right."

"Well, there ain't any. All's you kin have instead is ginger ale or Coke."

Zephyr smirked at her. The concept of his mother having a dry wedding amused him to no end. It was only natural... she had met Jack at a 12-step program meeting, and at least a quarter of the guests were from that same circle of friends. And it was just as well; Portia's in-laws had religious objections to drinking, and the under-21 population here was surprisingly large.

"Does Reg like wine?" Brit inquired.

Zephyr shook his head at her. "Nope. He doesn't like wine or beer or liquor or anything."

"Does he like screwdrivers?" she asked, giggling.

"Only if he's fixing something!"

When the girls had finished eating, they dragged Reg off to play catch with them. Zephyr considered tagging along to keep a supervisory eye on them, but he really didn't feel like standing around in the hot sun as softballs narrowly missed him. If Reg needed him, hopefully it would be obvious from afar. Hopefully Brit would be able to prevent the other children who were running to join them from overwhelming him. Brian moved to join them too, which made Zephyr feel better. Leave it to Brian to be wherever a ball game was going on.

Portia had brought the baby out and was showing him off to the female guests, Marlone close by her side. Occasionally their oohs and ahhs rose above the ambient noise of a dozen conversations. Portia really did look beautiful in a dress as richly pink as the azaleas. With her thick hair forced into a French braid and a few pounds padding her diminutive body, she looked nothing at all like the cute, scrawny punk teenager whose photograph adorned Zephyr's nightstand. Only a few barely noticeable piercing holes and two tattoos betrayed the persona she had had back then. Zephyr noticed that Marlone had been sure to get Portia a dress with half-sleeves to cover the tattoos, although the tail of the cobra on her right arm was clearly visible as Portia hefted the baby onto her shoulder.

Zephyr spotted Jack sitting at the head table by himself. He stood up, grabbed his glass of ginger ale, and made his way over through the crowd. He decided, eyeing the mock crystal goblet balanced by its cup in his palm, that he really liked stemware. Forget its inherent girlishness; it was just so damn utilitarian in so many ways. He'd have to get a set for the house... maybe those wonderfully tacky colored plastic ones with the removable bases.

Jack greeted him with a half-smile and a handshake. "Hey there, Zeph. Pull up a chair."

"Isn't the groom supposed to be one of the busiest people here?" Zephyr inquired as he made himself comfortable at what used to be somebody else's place at the table.

"I learned two weddings ago that weddings are for brides. I'm about as important as that there cake, and I ain't complaining. This is Marlone's thing. I'm happy to sit back and watch her shine." Jack took a long sip of his cola and leaned back in his chair. He looked out of place in formal black and white, Zephyr thought, instead of the usual tee shirt and faded jeans.

"Yeah, she looks pretty good, huh," Zephyr agreed half-heartedly.

Marlone and Portia were engaged in an animated discussion with a middle-aged couple nearby. They tore themselves away just then and approached Jack and Zephyr. "...six months old... he's not that fragile anymore," Portia was saying.

"But people carry germs that he hasn't been exposed to!" Marlone exclaimed. "I'm just saying you shouldn't let everybody touch him. He's not a toy; he's your child." Arriving at his side, Marlone leaned downward and kissed Jack warmly. "Hi, sweetie."

Portia growled. "Mom, I've had three others. I know what I'm doing. Quit being such a nag." She shifted Bryce, who was watching everything calmly, into a more upright position on her shoulder.

Marlone turned back to Portia. "Well, you're showing him off like he's a new toy. Or like he's a puppy dog. My poor baby Bryce is going to be all stressed out."

Portia caught Zephyr's eye in a gaze that elicited thirty years' worth of memories. Then she handed the baby to him; he reached up eagerly and took Bryce from her, and with her help made the baby comfortable in his lap. Portia kissed Bryce on the forehead, then did the same to Zephyr and giggled when he made a face at her.

"There... he's happy and he's not going anywhere," Portia announced as she turned back to Marlone. "I have to get the cake ready now. Zeph, if you need anything, if he starts to fuss..."

"We're cool. Go. Shoo. Cake."

Portia hurried into the house. Marlone looked wordlessly at Zephyr and Bryce for a moment, and her expression, Zephyr thought, was unusually opaque. Was it approval, disapproval, disgust, what? She mumbled a few sappy sweeties at Jack, implored him to be ready for the cake cutting ceremony, and dashed off to greet more guests.

Jack and Zephyr looked at each other, enjoying the renewed calm. The baby watched them both silently, his brown eyes seeming to take everything in with intense fascination.

"You know, she's real proud of you."

"No." Zephyr had meant to sound humble, but he knew his disbelief showed plainly. He really didn't want to go into detail with his mother's new husband about why Marlone would never think any more of him than as the child she didn't want. And he didn't feel up to arguing about it. Jack couldn't possibly understand.

"Yeah, she is. She goes on and on about both'a you. Her son the engineer and her daughter the mother of four grandkids... you should hear her. Nothing but pride."

"That's quite a change from her son the freak and her daughter the juvenile delinquent. No wonder she's nervous about introducing us to people. Sounds like she's built us up to be wonderful, successful, perfect kids. Did you see how Portia's dress almost covers her tattoos, but not quite? I wonder what Mom's church friends think of that."

Jack shrugged. "Don't matter what anyone else thinks."

"So what does she say about us to you? Does she ever talk about the past?"

"Oh, yeah. She talks about the tough times, but I've had some tough times myself, so it's nothing shocking. She said you were always the practical one, and you did a lot to keep the family together. And she's grateful."

"She... said that? She has no idea. No fucking idea." Zephyr felt a rant developing and bit his lip to stifle it. This was the wrong time, place, and person for that. "She's grateful, huh? So why does she go out of her way to keep this a big secret from me?"

"Maybe the two of you should have a talk or something."

"No. Maybe she has stuff to tell me, I don't know... but all the things I want to tell her are not nice. And she knows what they are already anyway. I'm pretty sure." He looked down at the baby in his lap to avoid having to face Jack. They were starting to delve into territory neither of them needed to go, especially during this festive, crowded occasion. Bryce met his gaze and poked his tongue out at him, which made him feel a whole lot better.

Just then Brit came running up to them, followed by a little girl Zephyr didn't know, adding an additional welcome distraction. "Uncle Zephyr, Reg walked away in the middle of the game and he won't come back."

Oh shit, he had forgotten about Reg. "Where is he now?"

Brit pointed to the table where they'd all been eating earlier. Reg sat in the chair at his place, staring straight ahead. A couple of children gathered around him were trying to get his attention.

"Leave him alone."

"But..."

"Look, when he's done playing, he's done. He has that right. Now, go over there and tell everyone to leave him alone."

"Oh, all right." Brit turned and shouted across the tent, "You guys! Leave him alone! Jonathan, you get away from Reg or I'll kick your ass! Now!" Brit's young companion giggled, and Jack chuckled. Satisfied that her threat had worked, Brit turned her attention back to the people at hand.

"This is my baby brother," she proudly informed her friend.

"I thought the other kid was your baby brother."

"Yeah, Danny is too. This is Bryce, my other baby brother. Bryce really likes you, huh, Zephyr? Danny's afraid of you. Hey, c'mon, Annie, let's go play ball again."

"Hey girls," Zephyr called out before they could run off. "Cake."

"When?"

"Any minute now."

"Cool!" They ran off anyway, presumably to tell the other children about the imminence of the cake.

"Zephyr," Jack said quietly, "a lot has changed in the past few years. Maybe there's a lot Marlone don't know about you, but there's a lot you don't know about Marlone now, too. I know it ain't none of my business, but I just want to see you all work it out. That's what she wants. She wants it more'n almost anything in the world."

"Yeah, well..." Zephyr was interrupted by an abrupt change in music and the commotion of the beginnings of the cake ceremony. Jack slowly rose to his feet to join his bride. It was just as well, Zephyr supposed... he had a lot to think about before he felt ready to respond to Jack's last comment. Bryce was getting fidgety, so he shifted the baby into a better position and rocked with him side to side.

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