15
Wedding
Madhu pulled Carmen’s veil back a bit on her head. “Oh, you are such a beautiful bride!”
“Thank you.” Carmen looked in the mirror, the only head to foot mirror in Habitat 2. “It does look very nice, considering it was made completely here.”
“The lace Madhu donated really helps,” said Ethel, admiring the gown. “You should see what this looked like when I wore it. From a distance it looked pretty good, but close up it wasn’t so great.”
“The parachute material is now mostly replaced or covered,” said Madhu. “We’ve got to pressure Mission Control to send a real wedding gown!”
“Don’t count on me needing it,” replied Monika.
“I was speaking in generalities. This is the second wedding on Mars; it won’t be the last.”
Ethel glanced at her watch. “It’s just about time. I’ll investigate where the groom is.”
“I’m hoping he’s coming,” said Carmen.
“Don’t worry, Will and Sebastian won’t let him back out now!” replied Ethel. She headed out of the Geo-bio lab, which they had been using as the bride’s preparation area because the bedrooms were so small. She poked her head around the corner into the Great Room, which was set up for the ceremony; the reception would be in Habitat 3, where they usually ate. They had decorated the room very nicely; the couple would get married under a white arch covered with vegetation and woven with daisies, the only flowers they had at the Outpost. Two rows of chairs flanked a central aisle. Armando stood behind the chairs, fiddling with a camera.
“No groom yet?” she asked.
“No. Shall I go get him?”
“I think so. It’s time.”
“Okay.” Armando walked out the airlock and into Greenhouse 1 on his way to Habitat 1, where the groom was dressing. Will, Sebastian, and Paul were there as well. Armando stuck his head in the open door. “It’s time, I think.”
“Okay,” said Érico, sounding a bit nervous. He looked at the others. “So, you won’t talk me out of this?”
“Too late for that,” replied Paul.
“Hey, watch out; you may be next!”
Paul shrugged. “My wife is divorcing me, and that will be finalized in another two months. If Monika can be convinced, maybe we will get married. Who knows.”
“If you back out now, I’ll cancel your assignment on the Deimos flight,” said Sebastian, joking.
“We don’t even know for sure that there will be a Deimos flight.”
“Oh, there will be. Mission Control seems convinced the problem with the Hadriaca is not systemic. We’ll be flying a Deimos mission at the same time Armando and I fly to the ITVs. That way either manned shuttle can rescue the other. The Hadriaca will haul up Mars rocks and other samples—on two engines—then boost one ITV on trans-Earth injection. I don’t see a problem.”
“Well, don’t worry, I’m not backing out,” replied Érico. “I’m ready.”
“That’s the spirit,” said Will.
Érico headed out the door and toward Greenhouse 1. The other men followed behind the groom, who was dressed in the fanciest suit on Mars; Sebastian’s, though he had given it to Érico as a wedding present. They crossed Greenhouse 1 and arrived in the habitat; through the geo-bio lab’s open door, the women saw and heard them arrive. Érico stood at the back, waiting for his bride to appear; the others sat. Shinji and Roger arrived from Habitat 3, where they had been busily preparing the meal.
Carmen came out of the Geo-bio lab, followed by the other women. The latter passed her and went to sit with their husbands. Érico smiled as Carmen approached him in her beautiful wedding dress, happiness radiating from her face.
“You are a vision of loveliness,” he whispered to her. He leaned over to kiss her, but she shook her head.
“After the vows, my love!”
“Oh, yes. Of course.” He offered her his arm and she locked her arm with his. Shinji started the wedding march and they began to walk down the aisle.
[Completed Monday, Dec. 30, 2002]