1934

Ever since that chance encounter on the train, Evelyn and Richard started seeing a lot more of each other. Everyday, Vera would hear of Evelyn's latest adventure with Richard: "Richard took me to a fancy restaurant," "Richard and I saw the latest Gabrielle Turl film," "Richard took me for a walk on the beach," etc. Vera was happy for Evelyn, but hearing of nothing but Richard irritated her.

One day, on the day after Evelyn's twenty-second birthday, the twenty-year-old Vera noticed Evelyn wasn't looking all that cheerful. "Evelyn, what's wrong?" asked Vera.

"Richard proposed to me last night," replied Evelyn.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" exclaimed Vera. "But why are you so unhappy about it?"

"I turned him down."

"What? Why?"

"What if he's Matthew's father, Vera? I love him, but I don't think I could live with myself if I married someone who already fathered a child with another woman."

Vera rolled her eyes and said, "You're being stupid. There's a good chance Matthew's father is Victor; didn't you hear Fleta and me talking and noticing that Matthew resembles Victor somewhat? And besides, Fleta's already starting to see someone else, so I don't think she'd be too heartbroken if she found out you were engaged to one of several men whom she slept with."

"Well, I suppose you have a point, but…"

"But what? Mother and father adore Richard and it's hard to find a man whom father approves of. And we can't live off father forever now that he's out of a job."

Evelyn said slowly, "I'll think about what you've said."

"Good!" sighed Vera. "I hope you got the point!"

The next day, Vera was delighted to find out that Evelyn had indeed got the point; she had gone back to Richard and said she accepted his proposal. They were to get married on the last day of the year.

Evelyn and Vera had always believed a wedding was a wonderful occasion filled with happiness and love. What they were thinking of was the ceremony; the nine months leading up to the wedding were stressful and filled with tears and angry words. First, there was the Fleta incident. Evelyn knew her father wouldn't approve of Fleta and Matthew being there, but she gambled and sent Fleta an invitation. When her father found out, the two engaged in a screaming match that lasted for almost a month until Mr. Claythorne begrudgingly accepted that Fleta would be coming to the wedding.

Second, Vera was one of the bridesmaids, and was therefore obligated to never-ending dress fittings. It seemed that Evelyn wasn't satisfied with any of the dresses Vera tried on. "No, that's not the right colour," "No, that makes your bum look big," "No, it doesn't fit in with the theme," etc. Vera was now beginning to wish she and Evelyn weren't sisters so she could strangle Evelyn. It wasn't until late November that Evelyn finally found the perfect bridesmaids dresses (elegant, sleeveless black dresses) for Vera and two other friends of Evelyn.

And finally, Richard's parents kept turning the rare moments of peace into the common moments of war. For example, during the summer, Vera decided to get to know Richard better as they would become family real soon, so she went out to a movie with him. They both enjoyed the movie and chatted about it on the way out—which was when they ran into Richard's mother, who promptly accused Richard and Vera of having an affair. They quickly denied it and insisted they were just friends (and besides, Vera never had any real desire to be Richard's lover; to her, he was simply the brother she never had). Mrs. Barclay seemed to have believed them at the time, but then brought it up at dinner, resulting in the usual screaming match. Luckily, Evelyn understood Mrs. Barclay's tendency to jump to conclusions and later on told Vera that she knew she would never, ever betray her sister like that.

Both Evelyn and Vera had only one wish: That the wedding would be over and done with.

Christmas was relatively peaceful. There were no tears or fits of anger or screaming matches. Instead, there was peaceful gift-giving and gift-receiving. And for once, Richard's parents had grown tired of turning the peaceful moments into one of those melodramatic movies and didn't make a fuss about anything.

"You know, mother," said Vera to her mother as the two prepared Christmas dinner, "I'm happy for Evelyn, but I feel somewhat envious. I wish for my first love."

"I thought Warren was your first love," said Mrs. Claythorne.

"Oh no, Warren was just my first puppy love," laughed Vera. "And Victor was one of those silly crushes all teenage girls get. No, I long for real love, someone whom I'll want to spend the rest of my life with, someone whom I'll be willing to die for."

Vera half-expected her mother to say, "Now don't get so melodramatic, dear." To her surprise, her mother laughed, "Well, be careful what you wish for, because you just might get your wish!"

Vera didn't see why having this wish come true would be all that bad. Perhaps it was just because of the stress of the wedding that Mrs. Claythorne was saying this.

It seemed as though the day would never arrive, but at last, it did. Vera now found herself marching right behind Evelyn down the aisle at St. Joseph's church. It was hard to believe that there had been any tears or anger during the past nine months. Mr. Claythorne was won over the moment he saw his great-nephew and no longer made any fuss over Fleta being there. And earlier that morning, when Mrs. Barclay was about to make a spectacle over the fact that Vera's black dress was a little tight-fighting and would thus attract the attention of other men, Mrs. Claythorne finally plucked up the courage to say something that was incredibly out-of-character for someone like her: "Judy, shut the hell up." So far, Mrs. Barclay was obeying that command.

Yes, the magic of the wedding made it appear as though nothing stressful had ever occurred.

Finally, Mr. Claythorne reluctantly gave Evelyn away to Richard. Vera stood right beside Evelyn and with the other two bridesmaids. The minister began his speech. Vera's eyes casually wandered around the church—and quickly landed on a rather handsome young man who was staring right at Vera.

Before Vera could look away, she found herself staring right back. For a moment, it seemed as though all of time was frozen, that it was just her and the man. Something about him took Vera's breath away, making her feel slightly light-headed.

It was the cheering and applause that snapped Vera back to reality, causing her to realize that Richard and Evelyn had already said "I do," and were now ready to go back down the aisle. She followed, but kept turning around to catch a glimpse of the stranger.

Evelyn and Richard's wedding reception and dance occurred in the evening at a ballroom, to celebrate both their marriage and the upcoming New Year.

"I still can't believe you're now Evelyn Barclay," commented Vera when they arrived at the ballroom.

"Neither can I," admitted Evelyn.

"And just think, you have me to thank for it," said Fleta. "If I hadn't slept around, you would've never met Richard, I would've never gotten pregnant, you would've never gone looking for me and re-met Richard, he wouldn't have proposed to you, and none of this would've happened, so you have me to thank for it."

"Thank you, Fleta, the egomaniac," said Evelyn, rolling her eyes.

Vera was about to say something else when a voice behind her said, "Excuse me, miss?"

Vera turned around and saw the handsome stranger standing in front of her. "Yes?" she breathed.

"I saw you at your sister's wedding," said the man, his voice soothing Vera's jumbling stomach. "You were one of the bridesmaids, I believe?"

"Yes, this is my sister," said Evelyn.

"How do you do?" asked the man. "My name is Hugo Hamilton. What's yours?"

"I'm Vera," said Vera, her stomach twisting in knots. "Vera Claythorne."

"Vera Claythorne, would you be willing to take the pleasure of having the first dance after the bride and groom's dance with me?" asked Hugo.

Vera nodded. "How about we sit next to each other until the time comes?" she suggested.

Hugo was satisfied with this, so the two sat next to each other and sat through the toasts to the bride and groom, and Evelyn and Richard's dance, until, at last, the other guests were permitted to dance. Hugo took Vera by the hand as the two slowly stood up and made their way to the dance floor. Vera's palms were sweating up a storm. She hoped Hugo didn't notice.

A slow song on the piano was playing. Hugo put his arms around Vera's waist and she around his shoulders and the two began to dance. Making an attempt at a conversation, Vera said, "So, what's your family like?"

"It's just me and my sister," said Hugo. "She was married for a little while, but then her husband died when she was seven months pregnant with my nephew, Cyril, who'll be turning eight in just two days, almost one. She's a very proud woman and insists on being called Mrs. Hamilton at all times, but she was willing to accept my help in raising Cyril in his manor—when his father died, he inherited the family fortune."

"Oh," said Vera, suddenly feeling as though her family was nothing worth talking about. "Well…my father lost his job to the depression recently, and my sister is now married as you can see…and I've been trying to find a job as a teacher, though it's hard to find a decent teaching position. And Evelyn is becoming a daytime nurse at a local hospital."

"You know," said Hugo slowly, "my sister's been looking for a governess to help us look after and teach Cyril. I might bring you up with her and see if I can get you a job."

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" said Vera. "I love children, and I guess it's the closest thing to a teaching job I'll ever have."

Later, when it was getting close to midnight, Vera told Evelyn all about what Hugo had told her (Hugo had to leave early to help his sister with getting Cyril to bed, as he often resisted with strong will).

"Don't take his word for it," warned Evelyn. "Some men will say anything to get in your skirt."

"But Hugo doesn't seem like that at all," insisted Vera. "In fact, he seems very charming."

"Well, good luck," sighed Evelyn.

At that moment, Richard's father announced that it was time for the ten-second countdown to 1935, a year that Vera was sure would be the best of her life, assuming Hugo kept his word.

"…5…4…3…2…1…"