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“The field where my fucks grow is barren,” she muttered as she stepped out of her sandals and stood at the edge of the pool, head tipped back, drinking in the sunlight. “I have not one to give.”
She dove in, cutting neatly through the clear, clean water. She loved swimming, loved being in the water. Sometimes she floated on the surface of the pool, eyes closed. Paul called her his Nayad, his elemental water spirit. He loved the way her black hair would float around her head like a halo, though he’d make some sort of obscure reference to a nimbus or to some species of seaweed. Never twice the same obscure reference. It was a little tiring.
Still, she loved him… or at least she liked him a lot, respected his intellect, and sensed that they had enough in common (including reasonably good sex) that they could build a fine, professional life together. She often imagined the two of them traveling around the world, living out of their suitcases. She’d photograph everything, and he would write about it in his, frankly a little florid style. She wished he was a bit more influenced by writers like Mark Twain, and less by ones like Henry James, but Paul was Paul. He was an original.
They’d already been to Italy and Turkey together, though she hadn’t actually told her parents that she’d gone there with him. She’d implied that she was traveling with a female school friend. It was just easier than imagining what her mother’s face would look like if she thought her twenty-two year old daughter was no longer a virgin. What would that do to the bride price? Eirene giggled and slipped under the water again.
When she surfaced, she caught sight of her older sister, Rhea, standing beside the pool. “What are you doing?” she shouted at Eirene.
“Swimming. It’s what you do when you propel yourself through water recreationally.”
“Ha ha… I’ve been waiting in the driveway for you. We were supposed to go pick up our dresses this morning.”
“Oh… darn, I’m sorry.” Eirene climbed out of the pool and toweled herself off. “Give me ten minutes.”
“You can’t go with wet hair,” Rhea insisted, following Eirene back into the house.
“Give me ten minutes! And don’t follow me!” She ran upstairs and locked herself in her bedroom, hoping Rhea wouldn’t come up and bother her while she was dressing. In the end, it took her twelve minutes to throw her clothes on, pull her long hair into a ponytail, and blow dry the tail just enough that it would pass Rhea’s critical gaze.
Rhea was incredibly tense about this wedding. It was her first matron-of-honor gig and she seemed to think that was dramatically different than maid-of-honor, or bridesmaid, or any other position in the bridal party, all of which she’d held many times. When Eirene pointed that out to her she gave her a that’s-how-much-you-know look.
Nicki, the bride, had very nearly asked Eirene to stand up with her too, but she’d already invited eight of her friends, sisters, and cousins to serve as bridesmaids, her best friend to be her maid-of-honor, and Rhea as matron, and there wasn’t going to be enough room for the bridal party at the front of the church if this wedding got any bigger. Eirene had jokingly made Nicki promise to think of her next time she got married. Nicki had looked horrified.
Secretly she was glad not to have to stand up. She didn’t like weddings and the only reason she was going was that Nicki was a cousin and she’d never hear the end of it if she tried to opt out. Fortunately Paul was her Plus One, and she figured they’d have a good time together, though Paul wasn’t big on dancing. Or on parties in general. And he wasn’t Greek, which meant he would know anyone but Eirene, wouldn’t be able to talk to most of them, and would be glared at by her parents the whole night. Still, she’d try to make sure he enjoyed himself.
Rhea was in the car, staring pointedly at her watch when Eirene jumped in beside her. “Twelve minutes. Sue me.”
“Honestly, you’re even more irresponsible than before you went away to school.”
“Rhea, it slipped my mind, okay? Don’t be such a jerk.”
“It’s that boy.”
“When did you turn into Yia-Yia?” Eirene demanded. “You talk like an old woman and you’re only four years older than I am.”
Rhea launched into a litany of Eirene’s sins, but Eirene refused to rise to the bait. She stared out the window and thought about what she was going to do with her life once she’d finished her graduate degree. She had hoped to go on and do her doctorate in Ancient History, but Paul, who was hoping to make a name for himself as a travel journalist, wanted to devote some serious time to travel, so she decided to put off her plans to support him. There was never any problem about traveling, it always enriched and broadened one’s life, she told herself. And it wasn’t as if she couldn’t go for the degree any time. In fact, there was nothing stopping her from writing her own, first-hand accounts of her investigation of ancient sites. She might not even need a doctorate if she followed Paul’s lead and began to be published.
“Are you not listening to me?”
“Not at all,” Eirene admitted. “I’ve heard all this a million times. Has it changed me in any way? No. Why don’t you save your breath, Rhea? And by the way, it’s not all about Paul. This is my life and I’m going to lead it however I want. And if Mama and Papa haven’t been able to change my mind, what makes you think you can?”
Rhea’s jaw clenched and she stared straight ahead. She didn’t say another word for the entire drive.
The dress more than made up for the unpleasantness in the car. It was a full-length silk sheath, as blue as Eirene’s eyes, and shot with gold. It was simple, elegant, and Eirene loved it. Even Rhea approved.
“Ugh, my dress is so mother-of-the-bride,” Rhea complained. “Poor Nicki has no taste.”
That was something they could agree on. The bridesmaids’ dresses were even worse.
“Let’s have some lunch,” Rhea suggested. “There’s a nice place a couple of doors down.”
“Promise you won’t lecture me,” Eirene told her.
“I swear. I’ve learned my lesson.”
Eirene doubted that, but she agreed.
Over lunch Rhea told her that she and her husband were moving to Berlin later in the year.
