“Ladies and Gentleman. Ladies and Gentleman. Your attention please. Hello. Thank you for coming, and eating the food that I paid for. I would just like to say that it in the darkest times, there is always a light. And what better light is there then love? To the bride and groom!”
The room echoed the last five words, then took a collective sip. The father of the bride sat down, leaning over to kiss his daughter’s cheek. Then the groom stood, tapping his fork against the glass.
“Erm, hello, everyone, thank you. We are here today, to celebrate my lovely wife. But I must also raise a glass, to the empty chair at the table. By big brother, Lucas, who… who decided to fight. I would propose a minute’s silence, but he would have hated that. So instead, I am going to repeat his favourite saying. ‘Where’s the f-ing music?’ ‘ey?” he drank. The room echoed the last few words, and laughed. As they drank the band began playing again. Sebastian sat down and Maya, his beautiful bride, took his hand.
Lucas, had signed up for the military the day after he looked old enough to pass for eighteen. The entire village was proud. They sent him away with fruit cakes, honeys, and preserves. He had written to each one of them a personalised thank you. It took two weeks for each letter to be delivered, though. It was a change from hearing him once a day to reading him once a month. The worst thing about the death was that they were told in person by a smartly dressed Officer, the very next day they received his last letter which had ended “I know you worry, Mother, I’ll stay safe.”Sebastian had been in the garden with the bees when the news came, collecting wax to make candles. He adds cardamom, and nutmeg to the wax to scent them.
He excused himself. It was his wedding night, he had a surprise for his wife. Their new house, he had brought it a week earlier and spent the last few days making it habitable. Making sure she had a place to stay when he was away. But that didn’t matter now. Now was now. The future would come soon enough. He took his wife’s hand and moved her to the dancefloor. Neither of them new how to dance, so they just swayed. He was glad when his brother enlisted. He loved Lucas with all his heart, but so did Maya. She had loved Lucas since she was old enough to know what love is. Then when Lucas moved Sebastian was the closest thing she had to him. And he was thankful for the companionship. They just fell together. Maya’s attention turned to her father, who was cutting in for a dance with his daughter. So Sebastian then turned to his mother, spotting her across the room, sat alone at the table.
“Mother. Come for a dance.” He offered her his hand.
“Lucas would have loved that dear.” She looked to him with tears in her eye. “Just loved it. He was always so cheerful.”
“I thought it would be better than being sad about him dying. Be happy about him living.”
She smiled. He could see she was putting on a brave face. But he didn’t want to question it.
“Come dance with me?” he said.
He led her to the dance floor, then began a very simple waltz, with his mother leading, but making it look like he was. They didn’t speak, just danced. She was thinking about Lucas, and how lucky she was to have a son that stayed close to home. He was thinking that it’ll probably break her heart when he announces he’s going to fight.
But he needs to know.
The Officer never told his family how Lucas died. There was something suspicious, and Sebastian needed to find out what happened to his brother. He had enlisted there and then, when he was out with his bees. He was going to tell his family that Lucas had a few months left on his rotation, and without completing it they won’t give them Lucas’s last paycheck, or compensation for his death, or something like that he hadn’t quite decided. He was only planning to stay long enough to find out what happened. Then put a bullet in his leg, or shoulder, make it seem like a real battle injury rather than self-inflicted. If people found out that he did it to himself, he would be ridiculed. He wouldn’t care about that. But if Maya left him, he would put a bullet in his skull.
He needed to dance with his wife. Whilst the song changed he took his wife back from her father, and held her waist whilst she took his shoulders.
“You know I love you? Don’t you?” she smiled up to him.
They didn’t hear the van approaching.
“I know.” He smiled. “I love you more.”
“Were not going to have this argument again.”
“You know you’ll loose?”
“I wouldn’t want to humiliate you.”
A man in sharp military dress entered the room, observing the guests with curiosity. The music stopped and all eyes fell to him. The military man turned on the spot before abruptly raising his hand in the air and shouting “HEIL!”.
The room echoed the word.
SJS writing 