Nine Months
January 1970
Her mother and grandmother made all the food. With only sixteen guests a caterer was unnecessary.
They decided to marry in Victor's spacious backyard; he spent most of the day before hanging paper lanterns throughout the yard.
Though it was old-fashioned, Patty decided to wear her mother's wedding dress. Inexplicably, the feel of stiff fabric against her skin made her feel closer to her father.
Those were the wedding plans.
Victor had been surprised, she knew. After she'd accepted his proposal they'd lain in bed together and she had whispered simplistic thoughts in the morning light. "I've never wanted a big wedding. Just my family and my close friends. Then it's more personal, you know?"
"I want whatever you want, Patty. Just say the word."
She had kissed him then and smiled. "And sooner rather than later."
"I'm completely on board with that!"
Standing in Victor's sister's old bedroom, looking at herself in a full-length mirror, Patty felt the same mixture of emotion churning inside of her that she had felt that morning. There was excitement and wonder and some starry-eyed romantic cliche about love. Yet at the same time that undertow of fear sucking her down: too fast, too fast, too fast.
Everything about her relationship with Victor was fast-paced, and slow, methodical Patty still felt lightheaded and caught up in the wild ride. She'd only known Victor for six months, but that time felt stretched out and prolonged by the depth of her feeling for him. The first time she'd seen Victor was when he'd entered the little book store where she worked. Not being one to squander potential when she saw it--especially since she didn't get to college, still lived at home with her mother, and didn't have a stupendously active social life--Patty hadn't been opposed to flirting with the young, attractive man who didn't look particularly apt to pick up a book.
"I saw you from outside," he later confessed. "And I just knew I had to meet you."
The whirlwind simply escalated from there.
Patty loved how contrary they were. Victor was sharp where she was soft. He was out to prove something to himself, his parents, the world, while Patty was more content with the status quo of her life. She knew who she was. She knew what she was meant to do and always seemed to have known. Her mother had raised her on that knowledge. Finding someone who had questions about everything and anything had been such a turn-on.
He loved easily where she had more trouble. Perhaps this was the characteristic she loved most in her soon-to-be-husband. Victor's parents, somewhat distant, had left Victor with a hole he constantly sought to fill. Never in her life had Patty met someone who needed her in that way and though she had been overwhelmed by the grandiose nature of this need at first she had soon grown to love her role. She could fill the empty spaces inside of Victor without question.
Yes, when he had proposed she'd gone with her gut and said no. That ever-present undercurrent of too soon, too soon, too soon had been swifter than her heart that day. When the fates conspired, though, they did so in big ways. Her aunt--really her distant cousin--had died only days afterwards and left Patty her journals, complete with a true story of how her grandmother had missed out on true love. After talking with her grandmother, Patty knew: love was once in a lifetime; you couldn't let it pass you by.
So here she stood, nearly overwhelmed by the love and happiness that burned inside of her; at the thought that she finally had a new adventure and a destiny that hadn't been laid out for her from birth. These thoughts were nearly enough to quash her doubts; the too soon, too soon, too soon.
____________________________________________________________________
"Congratulations to both of you." Sylvia Bennett grimaced more than smiled at Patty and Victor as she said the words. She stood with one hand on her husband's shoulder, the other clasping a flute of champagne. Neither Patty nor Victor was overly fond of the drink, but Sylvia had insisted. A quaint, backyard wedding was not what she had envisioned for her son. Patty may have been able to literally freeze time, but surely Sylvia could do more damage with her icy blue eyes.
"Well thanks, Mom," said Victor dryly.
"I'm sure you'll be as happy as we've been."
Without meaning to, Patty's eyes flickered to Ivan, trying to gauge his reaction to his wife's words. He remained as stony-faced as she'd ever seen him. Victor took after his father in looks, but he had an ease and charm about him that Patty doubted Ivan had ever possessed. For a brief moment she wondered if Sylvia and Ivan could even pretend to be happy anymore.
Patty, your manners. The sound of her father's voice in her head jarred Patty from her contemplation and she looked back at Sylvia. "Thank you, Sylvia. And thank you so much for letting us have the wedding here. It couldn't have been more beautiful."
"Well for what you aspired to, I'm sure that's true."
Abruptly, Ivan wheeled away from the scene, leaving Sylvia's hand to drop ineffectually to her side. Victor looked after him for a moment and Patty squeezed the arm she had wrapped around his torso more tightly against him. Go ahead, she though, and Victor seemed to read her mind, heading off after his father. Patty kept her eyes on him as he walked away, and scarcely acknowledged when Sylvia said, "If you'll excuse me," a moment later.
"Please tell me you didn't meet her before the wedding." Susan Lark, Patty's best friend since high school, crept up behind her and looped an arm through Patty's. "She is an ice queen if I've ever met one. I can't believe you would knowingly choose her as a mother-in-law."
"I didn't choose her. I chose Victor."
"They're a package deal. You can't just pick and choose his family."
"It's not like we're going to be living with her, Sue."
"If she has her way you'll be gone by next Christmas."
"Then she obviously doesn't know much about how stubborn I am."
Susan continued to chuckle even as Patty's mother approached, looking like a Fury. "That woman," Penny hissed, merely increasing Susan's humor. "I've met people like her before. Thinks she owns the world!"
"Mom."
"Oh, Patty, hush. As if you and Susan weren't talking about her too. I'll tell you right now, you make a stand at the beginning of your marriage or else she'll walk all over you."
"What do you know about it, Mom? Dad's parents were dead when you got married."
"That's besides the point! I know what I'm talking about here. Ask Susan."
Susan grinned and nodded. "In my experience, Patty--"
"Shut up, Sue." Patty sighed. "Can we talk about something else on the happiest day of my life?"
For a second, Patty could physically feel both her mother and Susan restrain from comment. Neither of them had been ecstatic when Patty had first announced the engagement. Susan had always expected Patty to end up in college with her, although she had understood why Patty felt the need to put things on hold after her father died. Patty knew this permanent end to that idea had Susan more put-out than she cared to admit. Her mother, possibly unlike any other mother in the world, just didn't seem to like the idea of her daughter marrying. Still, they were trying. Kind of.
"What's your song?" Susan asked after a moment. "Please tell me you're not going to dance to something super sappy. I will be forced to intervene."
"'I'll Never Fall in Love Again,'" said Patty dryly. Susan snorted.
"No dear, that's my song," said Penny.
Susan smirked. "Last I heard that wasn't true, Mrs. Halliwell." Patty pinched her. "Ow! Don't make a fuss! You're the one who told me."
Penny shrugged a shoulder. "I don't kiss and tell."
"Thank God," said Patty under her breath.
"Okay. Enough, enough, enough. Let's get some dancing going. I want to dance." Susan grabbed Patty's hand and twirled her around. "Where's that husband of yours anyway?"
"He's--"
"Look, you go get him and I'll get the music started. Come on, Mrs. H."
Patty watched for a moment as her mother and Susan walked away and then headed in the direction she had watched Victor go earlier. Night had fully set in, but the yard was well-lit and Patty didn't stumble as she made her way across the lawn. Still, she was nearly ten feet away before she spotted Victor alone underneath a rather large tree.
"Where'd your father go?"
Victor shrugged. "Inside? To bed? Who knows."
"Are you okay?"
There was a pause, just enough time for Patty to grasp Victor's hand and squeeze, and then he said, "Yeah, I'm great."
"Susan's starting up the music. Do you want to dance?"
"Yes."
And just then the love theme from Romeo and Juliet filtered through the backyard. Victor laughed and Patty rolled her eyes.
"I'm going to kill Susan."
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