Everyone was still waiting when the two girls got back to the studio. Without a word, Ella and Elizabeth resumed their former poses. "Everybody ready?" asked Brad. Wade nodded. "Smile and say 'cheese'!"
There was a flash, and then everyone relaxed. Ella glanced at her sister. That's all?
That's all! Elizabeth laughed and gave her a hug. I told you there was nothing to be afraid of!
"Do you, Wade Andrew Cassidy, take Robin Ann Maxwell to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, until death do you part?" asked the priest.
"I do," said Wade.
"Do you, Robin Ann Maxwell, take Wade Andrew Cassidy to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, until death do you part?"
"I do," said Robin.
"Then by the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Wade lifted Robin's veil and kissed her, and everyone cheered. Tears of joy were in her eyes as she turned to embrace Elizabeth, Ella, Polly, Anthony, Katie, Juliet, Mike, and the Bernsteins.
"I'm so happy for you, sweetheart," Juliet told her new sister-in-law. "I know how much you've suffered, and I wish nothing but happiness for you from now on."
"Thank you." Robin's voice was barely a whisper. "I'm so glad we're sisters now."
"So am I."
For their honeymoon, Wade and Robin flew to New York to see the neighborhood Wade had lived in when he'd been in high school. They said good-bye to all their friends, and Wade drove them to the airport.
"That was a really nice ceremony, wasn't it?" Polly said to Anthony as they returned to the motel. They'd been dating regularly for several months now, but this would be the first time they'd spend the night together. They planned to spend several days seeing the sights in Chicago before heading back home.
"It was," Anthony agreed. "Weddings are one earth custom I find very beautiful." Although it was a warm day, Polly shivered. "Well, what do you want to do first?"
It was on the tip of Polly's tongue to suggest the zoo, but she quickly thought better of it. "How about a museum?"
When Anthony laughed, it sounded just like a human laugh. "Which one?"
"How about the one with the planets?"
"I'd love to see it."
Congratulating herself on her quick thinking, Polly accompanied Anthony on a tour of Chicago. For dinner they went to an Italian restaurant, where they ate spicy sausage submarine sandwiches. Polly knew that it wasn't Anthony's preferred food and appreciated his consideration of her. Later, they stopped by a pet store and picked up some feeder mice for in case he got hungry later.
Alone in the motel with Anthony at last, Polly was at a loss for what to do. Anthony slipped his shoes off, sat on the bed, and turned the television on. He smiled and motioned for her to join him.
After about twenty minutes of silence, Polly could stand it no longer. "Well, is this all we're gonna do? Watch TV?"
Anthony's eyebrows went up. "What do you want to do?"
"Well, I just kind of thought we'd...you know..." Unable to look him in the eyes, she fidgeted with the bed cover.
"Make love?"
"Well, I know it can happen between Visitors and humans, because my sister...you know..." She looked up to see that his lips were beginning to turn up at the corners. "I just don't know how."
Anthony laughed. "The same way two humans make love, pretty much. We have the same basic equipment of the same approximate size. It just looks a bit different, is all."
Polly blushed a deep red. "So do you even wear fake human skin on your...you know..."
"Does it matter?"
"Well, no. I just wondered."
"Listen, Polly. I really like you a lot, but I don't think we should make love just out of curiosity. I think we should wait until we're both really ready for it."
"Do you think you're ready?"
"I'd better not say. I don't want you to feel pressured."
"Well, I think I'm ready, if you are."
"So this is where you went to high school." Robin and Wade stood holding hands and looking up at the New York High School for the Performing Arts. The building was made of gray stone and had an arched doorway with a window on each side.
"Yep. This is where I made my very first movie." Now that the danger was over, Wade planned to return to California and complete his studies. He and Robin began to walk along the sidewalk. "Being here brings back so many memories."
"What were you like as a teenager, Wade?" Robin asked her new husband.
"I was kind of a loner," Wade replied. "People thought of me as strange. I didn't have too many friends until this guy named Christopher started hanging out with me. What about you?"
"I was really boy crazy," Robin told him. "I dated Daniel Bernstein for awhile until he got too possessive and controlling. He almost became my first lover, but I found out what he was really like in time." She rolled her eyes. "Thank God."
"I never really had a girlfriend in high school. Like I told you, people thought I was strange, plus I was super shy around girls."
"You were a hidden jewel waiting to be discovered."
Wade laughed. "I'm so glad you think so."
"Home at last, kiddo," Mike told his small daughter. Shannon chortled and began to squirm. "Want to get down?" He sat her down, and she began to scoot across the floor.
"Fun trip, but great to be back." Juliet sat on the sofa and stretched her arms and legs, leaning back as she luxuriated in the softness of the leather. Shannon pulled herself up on the edge of the sofa and stood looking up at her mother and grinning.
"You're going to be walking soon, aren't you, little one?" Juliet said as she lifted her daughter and sat her in her lap.
Mike laughed. "We'll really have to watch her then." He went to the sofa and sat beside his wife, putting his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder, and for several moments, all was still and quiet.