Pretend for the Placid Palace (PftPP)- Chapter 1.1

Word Count: 2440

Chapter 1: I do

3:26. Late.

Of all of the days I have been late to and all the events I missed large portions of, I chose to also trip up my sister’s wedding day. I wish I had been born with the ability to stop time instead of needing a stopwatch that disappeared each time I needed it. I didn’t use it much, but it had a mind of its own. And because it disappeared so often, I couldn’t stop the world to get to the wedding on time. I had to be at the wedding at 2:30, and that was the latest.

I pulled into the parking lot, unprepared for the warmer day, and hopped out of my run down truck gifted to me by my father. While I drove around to find a spot in the lot, I passed the ceremony and it looked like Avianna was saying her vows. It was a good thing she insisted on a long speech about nothing by the officiant, our older brother, Lee.

I hopped out of my truck and ran to snag a seat when a pair of talons clawed into my head. Stinging followed a chunk of my deep red hair falling to the ground. I hollered and checked the back of my head to see how bad the damage was when I heard a taunting caw from the sky. I didn’t see anything in the sky, but I had a feeling it was Avianna’s bird, Malcolm. Invisible bird, I should say. Only Avianna could see him, but invisible things aren’t immune to giving off shadows. I saw the silhouette of the osprey fly back to the stand next to Avianna. That wretched bird hated me from the first time we met, the day Avi found him in the woods. I suppose it was fair for Malcolm to punish me for being late. It was the only time that bird had rational judgment.

I booked it to save my skin. I didn’t want to get mauled again and I didn’t want to miss the entire ceremony. It was the least I could have done for my twin sister. I didn’t have any reason to be there early. We didn’t have any bridesmaids or groomsmen. It was only the immediate family at the wedding. Avianna wanted it to be a unity celebration between two families. When she brought it up, I pondered about how with each generation, families became larger and larger. I had to wonder if we were all related but too confused to know it. Maybe things like that were meant to be simple.

So, with Avi’s choice, I had no reason to be there early. I had a huge editing job to finish the night before and I went to sleep at an embarrassing hour of the night. And as a 26-year-old with no relevant life skills, I didn’t have the time management to get it done earlier. So I slept in. It’s like some omniscient force compelled my parents to name me Leighton.

I was about ten yards away from the last open seat when the heartbeat in my ears subsided. At a brisk walk, I strode to the chair and sat down with as little interruptions as possible. I tried to breathe as quietly as I could when I looked at the center of attention.

Avianna wore a beautiful white dress as many brides did. It was modest in cut, but it had the most intricate bead detailing. In the sun the beads sparkled in the sun, but they couldn’t beam brighter than Avi’s smile. Her bright red hair was sheathed in a pearly veil anchored in a braid crown. Everything was relatively simple, but Avianna’s smile brought all the specialty. The dress might have been white, but it was warm to compliment the delight of the day.

The groom, Damon, wore a black velvet suit in stark contrast to his blond hair. His suit was also simple in concept, but there were small engravings in the cuffs of his blazer and lapels. Damon had all sorts of facial piercings, but his face was soft and nurturing. His eyes were soft and caring even with messy eyeliner around them most times. His nails were painted black and he held Avianna’s hands with the tenderness of someone holding a newborn kitten. He smiled and it was one of the only times I didn’t see him chewing a piece of gum.

Someone jabbed me in the ribs and Dad whispered to me to stop breathing so loud. The most important part of the wedding crept upon me. I held my breath and listened for the most important, dangerous, enthralling words Avianna could say:

“I do.”

A collective sigh filled the empty space like the trees held their breath with us. I smiled and smiled until my face hurt. I could only observe Avi’s happiness to have Damon as her official husband. In my lifetime, I had been invited to parties to share the joy, but I never could. I always thought that because the party wasn’t for me, I wasn’t allowed to have fun. That wedding was the closest I got to defeating that creeping dullness, yet it was still there.

Damon and Avianna were the closest to a perfect match I ever heard of. I chaperoned most of their dates and the intricate connection the two had was impalpable. Avi listened carefully to each word Damon said even if they were outrageous ideas only someone with a big imagination could express. Damon was the most respectful man I ever met. Anything he could clarify for their communication, he did. He was the sweetest person in the world and he had the amazing power to revive the dead. I’m sure if one minute thing died that Avianna liked, he’d revive it in a heartbeat.

They took each other’s hands. Damon’s black nails and Avi’s white nails intertwined as they skipped to the small fold out table set up with a unity candle. They grabbed the lighter together and lit the never ending wax statue. I read up on unity candles recently and I never understood how they worked. Sure, there was a contraption on the side of the glass that collected the wax and reused it, but by all laws of thermodynamics, it shouldn’t work. But it did. I guess it wasn’t only humans in the world to harbor magic.

The flame sat atop the wick, popped for a couple of seconds, but stayed lit. The slow burn of the candle for the rest of the marriage began. Damon and Avianna sat on the last two chairs placed off to the side of the gazebo. A ukulele sat propped up on one seat.

Damon played in a band. It was pretty popular in the day, Placid Palace. I didn’t listen to music all too much. I found it too distracting. But, each time I turned on the radio in my truck, the raw emotions in each song hit me where I caged it most. It wasn’t a store bought jingle. It was intrusive, like reading someone’s diary. Damon’s rushed stories always consisted of how he formed Placid Palace at the tail end of high school with some old elementary school friends. He hinted about high school being the hardest time of his life, so the band was one of the better things to happen to him. I sympathized with him, but didn’t everyone have some bad high school experiences? Placid Palace stayed together for five years but split because of “creative issues” as Damon put it. I didn’t believe it. I don’t think I ever heard of a band breaking up purely because of creative issues. The closest thing I could think of was a falling out with some friends of mine because of differing opinions, but there was more behind it than that. I don’t know exactly why they broke up, but there had to have been more reasons.

But Avianna believed it, and Damon was an honest man. It was my skepticism holding me back. She loved him and trusted him so I kept quiet.

As Damon was in a band, he had to play a song he wrote for Avianna. He gave us all a preview a couple of days before the wedding while Avi picked up her dress. I thought he would do something heavier like how he did on stage, but the ukulele suited the situation better.

He cradled the ukulele in his lap and said, “Alright! It’s amazing and great,” he stuttered, “To have this wonderful new family-” Avianna bumped him, “And a wonderful wife. So now, as a little gimmick, I wrote this song in celebration.” He faintly plucked the ukulele to make sure it was in tune and started strumming. “So,” he chuckled, “I call this one ‘Cheesy Love Song’.” He looked at Avi while he played the intro and sang:

I know you love a good cheesy love song

You and I together belong

It’s something you and I both know

And with each other we’ll gro-o-ow

It’s a cheesy love song where I describe your eyes

They’re the clouds and the mountains and the overcast skies

They crinkle when you smile

And they dance all the while

We’re to-ge-ther

I know you love a good cheesy love song

But sometimes your face will be long

It’s something you and I both know

We’ll help each other to grow-o-ow

I know you love a cheesy love song

But this I also know

We’ve had this true love along along

And I know. You. Know. It’s. So.

Damon played a little outro and smiled sheepishly when he was finished with a flair. It didn’t have any true substance, but it was nice to listen to.

“Oh my goodness,” Avi squealed and clapped, “Damon, that was so good!” She laughed so much she cried and Damon offered her his handkerchief. We all clapped and whooped to show appreciation.

He reddened and looked away. He buried his face in his hands to cover up his abnormal blinking that came from a nervous tic. “Gee, I didn’t think it was all that spectacular. I wrote the lyrics while on a dinner date. We still have the napkins, just ask Willow.”

Willow said extremely monotone but also juvenile, “You told me to bring them. What else was I supposed to do?” She fanned out the flimsy napkins. “I had to take these out of the scrapbook for this.”

If it was someone else, I wouldn’t have laughed, but something about Willow’s delivery made me crack up. I’m pretty sure everyone else had the same opinion because laughter erupted from all of us. I would have never thought she was Damon’s sister. Her sunny and outgoing disposition along with wallflowerness that couldn't take a hint was so different to Damon’s reserved and cautious nature.

The sky darkened and beckoned us to hurry to the venue we planned to go to after the ceremony. So much for the sunny day. We all scurried to our respective cars. Everyone except me and my father. For a man his age, his body acted about thirty years older.

I went to go help him. “Hey Dad, how much longer do you have left? From the way your legs are working, it’s gotta be less than five years.”

He supported himself with his cane of whimsy he crafted when his legs started feigning. “Ah son, why must you make me do math? You know your old man hates math. I’m a history teacher, not a mathematician.” He tried to speed ahead in fake frustration, but was inevitably slowed by his failing body.

“Sorry.”

“Well, if I remember correctly, I was born with ninety-five years on my clock. I’ve probably traveled thirty years in total, give or take. Now you do the math, son!” Dad climbed into the back of Lee’s minivan next to their son, Garret.

Although I worked with words for a living, I loved math. I ran the numbers in my head and said, “That would leave you with sixty-five years left. And you’re sixty-two. Three years, give or take.” Three years. I didn’t want him to go. I love my Dad. I love him a lot. I hardly knew my mother. She went out into the woods one day, following the call from an animal, and she just disappeared. Avi and I were about ten and Lee was seventeen when she left. All that time we never heard her talk. I don’t think she could talk. So, we never got to know her like how Dad knew her. None of us were prepared. Truly, I don’t think anyone could be prepared for something of that caliber.

Dad tried to cover it up and played it off as a joke; something he did all too often. “Ah, well better get cracking on that bucket list.” He produced a weathered piece of paper from his pocket with coffee stains and small rips all around. “No one will live without knowing the name Amar Kresh!” He triumphed and shook his fist to the sky.

“C’mon Grandpa,” Garret whined, “I wanna get to the venue. I’m hungry!”

Lee and his wife Emily whirred around in their seats. “Young man,” Lee warned, “You better apologize to your grandad. Just because you’re hungry does not mean you get a pass on disrespect. Apologize.” Lee always had a small edge to him, even when we were little. If I did something inappropriate, he’d always have something to say to put me into place. He wasn’t intimidating as a young teenager. Now with a full blood-red beard, broad chest, shaven head, and booming voice, he could whip any of us into shape.

Calmer, Emily supported Lee’s authority. “Your father is right. We didn’t raise you to be this way.” She hardly raised her voice because her mild mannered conviction was almost as moving as Lee’s intimidation. They were good for each other. She tied up her short black hair and texted Avianna. The conversation was too long, Damon and Avi were probably a quarter of the way to the venue already.

Garret grumbled a halfhearted apology. He averted his black eyes and put on the hood of his sweatshirt he put on over his suit. I could see the red hot embarrassment steaming from the top of his burnt orange hair.

Everything got awkward real quick and I had to flee the scene. “Alright, I’ll catch you guys at the venue.” I gave an awkward laugh, pulled out my keys, and ran to my truck.