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“Finally, something you don’t know.” Every bit of her tone is as playful as ever, and I lightly snicker. After a few long moments, she tells me, “In America, it’s tradition to do three things on your wedding day. Something borrowed, which is the circular diamond ring Amelia has on her middle finger. Something blue, which are the sapphire earrings I bought her for today, and something new… which is likely the knickers she’ll have your brother ripping off her later.” Emily gives me a wink, and I don’t understand what britches are. My English is fairly good, but I don’t know what that word could mean.
“Knickers?” I say, questioning her.
“Her panties, underoos, undergarments, thong,” Emily tells me, and an older woman behind us smacks me on the shoulder, then points forward. I feel like I’ve been snapped at while attending church services. Emily and I stop whispering to each other and start paying attention to the rest of the ceremony.
After about ten minutes, the ceremony is completed, and both Ruslan and Amelia walk down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Ruslan Umarova. People hoot and holler in celebration, and a round of applause breaks out for the both of them.
Most of the people here in attendance know the Umarovas, and because of that, it means they’re allies, long-time friends of our actual father, or people we’ve known our entire lives. The only person who really showed up for Amelia was Emily, which proves just how small her world was. In a way, I think it must be a blessing. I imagine she never has to worry about people wanting to speak to her about certain things or people wanting something from her.
Within the next couple of hours, we attend an American-themed “happy hour” where everyone attending the wedding takes part in having drinks and eating appetizers. It is something where we can all mingle with each other, but I notice that Emily and I mostly end up speaking to each other, except for when we spoke to Eset and Nazyr a bit.
Emily, Amelia, and Eset all went out to dinner the other night, and I’m glad they’re all getting along. It’s a no-brainer that Amelia and Emily would since they’re cousins. Still, Emily making a conscious effort to try to have a relationship with my baby sister does nothing but give me more confidence and hope about the outcome of our relationship in the long run. Things like that matter, and Emily’s only proving herself more and more to me as time goes on.
The workers for the wedding are putting the last final touches on the reception area. Instead of having small, circular tables, Ruslan and Amelia opted for very long ones. We have five rows of tables that end up forming a sort of horseshoe shape, and over the tables hang fairy lights. It’s a nice change from the typical weddings we see here in Grozny. My brother and Ameliahave really done a fantastic job of blending their two cultures and creating something beautiful.
Amelia’s currently walking around with Ruslan, thanking everyone for coming, with Karim on her hip. He’s all smiles and is in his own sort of baby tuxedo, which is damn cute if you ask me.
We have some space between the other guests and us, so I grab onto Emily’s hand, forcing her to look at me. “Have you spoken to Amelia about what’s happened back home?”
Emily nods and then takes a sip of her champagne. “Yeah. I told her everything, and I mean everything. There wasn’t any small detail I refrained from telling her.”
Good. I’m sure telling Amelia is going to help take some of the weight off her shoulders. “What did she say about it all?”
Emily shrugs her shoulders. “What else can she say besides the obvious? She told me she was sorry I went through it and encouraged me to do what I’m already doing so my aunt can’t hold anything else over my head anymore.”
“Have you spoken to your parents yet?” I honestly don’t know if Emily called them up and told them about what happened, but given the severity of the situation, I think she’d want to see them face-to-face.
“No, not yet. I think it’s something I need to tell them in person. I hid a lot from them, and given the fact that I did hide it from them, I should at least give them the dignity and respect to tell them right to their faces.”
I don’t blame her for wanting to do that, not one bit. Although, I have some doubts that she’s even going to do it in the first place. Whenever she talks about speaking to her parents, there’s an undeniable fear in Emily’s eyes. Her entire body language changes. She’s usually relaxed posture-wise until then, and when she speaks about it, she’ll wrap her arms around her waist. Her breathing always goes from normal to ragged, longbreaths that sound like they hitch every once in a while. If Emily actually tells her mother, I’ll be shocked, but she needs to if she wants to avoid her aunt going behind her back.
“I think it’s good of you to want to communicate with them directly. Calling or texting could be seen as insensitive, and given the circumstances, I think what you’re planning on doing is right.” I squeeze Emily’s hand, trying to be here for her in whatever way that I can. I don’t want to be overly attentive, but I also don’t want to seem like I don’t give a damn either.
“Yeah, that’s what I figured. I’m just still reeling from her threats. I really never expected her to turn on me in such a way.”
Any time Emily speaks to me about this, I can practically hear the disappointment in her voice. She hoped for so much from her aunt, but I think the only thing that ever really mattered was her loyalty… but her aunt had none. She only cared about herself.
“I’m sorry that she did. I know you had hoped she would be trustworthy, and unfortunately, she wasn’t. Maybe at the time, she was, but it seems obvious to me that when it came to her or you, she chose herself in the end. Once you speak to your parents, I’m sure things will get better.”
“I really hope you’re right, Lom.” Emily sounds exasperated, so I tug her hand as I walk toward the dance floor. “Whoa. What are you doing?”
I turn my head back to glance at her with a twisted smile. “I’m getting your mind off all of this, so come along now.”
“Lom, I don’t know how to, like, nicely dance. I only know how to club dance.” Emily’s eyes widen with each word, and I’m trying not to laugh.
“Well, I guess you’ll have to improvise. I’m sure the guests won’t mind you shaking your ass a bit.”
“Lom!” Emily smacks my hand away and freezes right in her tracks.
“Don’t worry about a thing. I got you, and you’ll move with me. I take the lead, remember?”
“I don’t remember because I’ve never danced with anyone like this before.” Emily grits her teeth and speaks lowly, and I realize she’s terrified that she’s going to make a fool of herself. I smile lightly and grab onto her hand again, walking alongside her as we reach the dance floor.
The music is slow and sensual, so this shouldn’t be too terrifying to her. All she honestly has to do is match my movements. I bring her hands up over my neck and plant them there while I snake my hands on her hips. We move slowly as a unit, together with grace. After a few minutes, she eventually calms down, and I’m happy that she’s enjoying this. “See, not too bad, is it?”
“If I knew it was like this, I wouldn’t have freaked out in the first place,” Emily tells me, but I don’t know if I believe her.
We stay on the dance floor for five songs, and then Emily wants to head over to the bar to get a drink. I tell her I’ll meet her there in a few minutes as I spot Ludvik in my peripheral vision. I head over to my right-hand man, and he immediately diverts his attention to me.
