After supper the four sat in the living room. Margaret continued to sketch, combining inspiration from the photos and from her life subject before her. Allen continued to be confounded by his project at work. He and Spock discussed the problems and solutions in great detail. This allowed Margaret to observe Spock in his role as scientist and instructor.
Spock was intense. His eye contact could be overwhelming to someone who did not know him as he took in the information Allen provided. He deftly synthesized, categorized, and analyzed, redirecting his lines of inquiry at different points based on a seemingly endless personal knowledge and experience base. Quietly, yet firmly, he led Allen through some of his more intricate points as he might have gently guided a student through a complex problem. Finally he supplied respectful explanations only as needed, often letting Allen grasp each new concept on his own.
Margaret, fascinated, involuntarily set her pencil aside. She could not help but be impressed at the vibrant intellect before her as Spock suggested option after option to Allen. It was true—Amanda had not been simply bragging, as many mothers did, when she spoke of her son's brilliance. Margaret glanced over at Nyota, whose expression said, See, I told you.
Nyota unobtrusively occupied herself in the corner next to a stack of family photo albums Margaret had set before her. Many of them contained images that Amanda had sent Margaret over the years, images whose twins had disappeared in Vulcan's destruction. Amanda tending one of her gardens. Sarek and members of his family. (Nyota guessed at that one.) The family's spacious home. Spock in academic robes. The desert view from the patio. So many things that made up Spock's personal history—gone.
After his encounter with the portrait this morning, Nyota understood why Spock did not want to look through them, at least not while on this visit as he constantly concentrated on maintaining his control. As Nyota looked through the photos, she was in danger of betraying her own sadness. She quietly duplicated the pictures while the opportunity was before her. When Spock was ready to look at them again, she would have them there for him.
"Margaret, we didn't hear about Amanda and Sarek's engagement earlier," Nyota said, trying to distract herself as her tricorder scanned another page. "How long did they go out before they married?"
"I'd say it was about 18 months before the engagement, but they were only engaged about six weeks before the Terran ceremony. The ceremony on Vulcan followed about 10 days later."
"Did you attend either ceremony?"
"Yes, the Terran one. I was Amanda's matron of honor…"
-o0o-
[32 years earlier…]
Margaret lifted her brush to add just one more highlight. There, her portrait of the latest Mayo Clinic director was complete. It would hang in the Clinic administrative wing's receiving foyer. She turned to clean her brush when her studio comm station beeped. It was Amanda's sequence. The screen confirmed it.
CommLink Requestor: Amanda Grayson
Margaret dropped her brush into the cleaning solution and ran up to the unit. "Accept," she said.
The instant Amanda's face appeared, Margaret knew her news. Her sister's face beamed, radiating a joy that could only mean one thing. Margaret smiled back. "So, Amanda, what's up?"
Amanda blushed, looked down briefly, then back up. "Sarek and I are getting married!"
"Gee, I couldn't see that one coming," Margaret joked. "That's great news. I'm so happy for you! Sarek, too. When's the big day?"
"In five or six weeks. We have not set an exact date yet."
"Five or six weeks? Wow, that's really quick. Is there some special reason you're hurrying…will Dad need to bring a shotgun?" Margaret joked again.
Amanda blushed even more. "No!" she exclaimed emphatically, taking Margaret's teasing well. "Margaret!"
The two shared a good laugh. Sarek was too proper, and Margaret knew it.
Amanda voice became more serious. "Maybe I spoke too soon. There is a reason for our timing. Sarek will be leaving for a new assignment on Vulcan in seven weeks. We did not wish to be parted. It is time. We are ready."
"You're leaving Earth?" Margaret had a sudden pang of loss. She missed Amanda already. "Omigosh, this is for real... What did Mom and Dad say?"
"I haven't told them yet."
Margaret imagined her parents' reaction. Despite their support for Amanda, it had been hard enough for them to accept Amanda and Sarek's dating relationship. Marriage—and all that entailed—might be a different thing entirely. Amanda's departure would put the Graysons' daughter in an alien culture and under a jurisdiction outside of their reach. They were not exactly losing their daughter, but, to them, it might be close.
"Whoa…," Margaret breathed out. "Well, there's no avoiding it."
"No, there is not."
"Tell me about the wedding. What do you plan to do? Margaret asked, changing the topic to avoid further awkwardness.
"There will be two ceremonies, one here, one on Vulcan. For our ceremony here, we will follow Terran traditions. There will be no 'kissing the bride,' though."
"That'll come later," Margaret grinned.
"You're terrible!" Amanda said, blushing again, but her eyes flashed their warning. "You better behave!"
"I can pull it together when I have to."
"Promise?"
Margaret giggled, but she knew the diplomatic ramifications of overstepping the bounds of Vulcan etiquette. "Don't worry. I won't embarrass you or Sarek. Geesh, I can't imagine embarrassing Sarek. He's one of those guys that you wouldn't dare embarrass. I don't know that I could even if I wanted to."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"So, after you're married, do I have to start calling you 'Ambassadress' or 'Your Most Excellent Grand Diva'?"
"Very funny." But Margaret's question caught Amanda off-guard. "You know, I don't know. Sarek has sent for his cousin to teach me the ways of Vulcan women before we marry. She arrives the day after next. I imagine she will know. Or someone around here will inform me."
"You'd think with all the time you spent at the embassy and with Sarek that you'd know all that by now."
"There are some topics that Vulcans do not discuss with non-Vulcans."
"Doesn't that secrecy concern you?"
"I would be lying if I did not admit to some apprehension," Amanda replied. "Vulcan society is a closed one. It was not unexpected." She nodded to herself as if she were accepting the fact.
A wave of concern welled in Margaret. "Are you sure about this? You and Sarek seem good together, but…I'm stating the obvious, and I don't want to sound like Dad. I know that you have thought about it and researched it to death, but is there anything you want to talk about before you do this? I'm not trying to stop you, but I would feel better knowing that you were absolutely sure."
Amanda seemed to mull a few thoughts in her head before she spoke. "I appreciate that. I do." She paused. "Sarek is Vulcan, and I am human, but above that we are male and female whose personalities complement one another. I feel completed by him. I am sure."
"Good. This is the last time I'll ever ask. Really, I am happy for you. Unhappy for me because you'll be leaving soon—that's not good—but don't doubt that I'll support you, no matter what."
The reality that her sister would be lightyears away from her hit, and she felt sadness, but from their many conversations, Margaret understood that Amanda and Sarek belonged together.
"Thank you," Amanda said, touched. "Now that I have your blessing, there is something else I need to talk to you about."
"Yes?"
"Would you be my matron of honor?"
Margaret squealed. "Oh, why do you even ask? Of course I will!"
-o0o-
By this time, Allen and Spock had stopped talking to one another and listened in on Margaret's story.
"When I accepted the role of matron of honor, I had no idea what I was in for," she said. "It was like diplomatic boot camp. Federation advisors on Vulcan culture, etiquette, conflict avoidance. Security clearances and protection—and here I thought I was just going to stand with my sister on her wedding day, not secure peace in the galaxy."
"At least the security people kept the press off the front lawn," Allen said.
"What was the wedding like?" Nyota was eager for details. "Was it at the embassy?"
"It was, held in the central garden. I don't think that they decorated it in any special way, but it did not need it. It was already a beautiful setting. The ceremony was held at sunset, and most of the illumination came from torches and candles, and I thought it was neat how the light reflected off the tans and reds of the walls. Spock, there is one thing that I've noticed with Vulcans through the years, and that is their extensive use of candles."
"A candle's flame has spiritual representations and provides meditative focus," he said.
"Well, they sure added a lovely glow. It was absolutely magical."
Spock wondered briefly why Margaret would associate his parents' Terran wedding with the supernatural or paranormal, but thought better of commenting on it. He would ask Nyota about it later.
Nyota continued. "How many guests were there? What did everyone wear?"
"Allen, how many would you say?"
Allen mentally took a count of the people he remembered in his mind. "Hmm, there were about 20 from our side of the family. Sarek had six or seven from his family, but then he had his aides and their spouses, so that was probably 30. Then there were the Federation President and Council and all their spouses, so that's another 20. Plus a bunch of representatives from Embassy Row…. I'd say there were about 100 to 110, not included security and embassy staff."
"Yes," Margaret agreed. "That's about right. They kept it smaller to keep it from becoming a big spectacle. They invited only closer friends and family, plus those of diplomatic necessity. But that was it. It was supposed to be a wedding, nothing else. I think they did pretty well."
"And the dress?" Nyota prompted again.
"It was the traditional white and modest, very modest. It was floor-length with long sleeves. She was covered from the neck down. But the dress had the most intricate beadwork along the neckline, hem, and cuffs. It was both simple and complex. She just sparkled. Oh, and she did not have a veil. Amanda and I wore white flowers in our hair instead. Sarek's robes were the ones he wore for the most formal of occasions. My goodness, they had to weigh a ton with all that fabric and the beads and stones. He had to have four or five layers on."
Margaret continued. "The ceremony lasted about 30 minutes, and the officiant spoke a great deal about different people from different worlds coming together and creating something bigger than themselves…. I guess it was the IDIC philosophy, now that I think about it. The vows were not that much different than they are for most Terran weddings. But the difference was that after she took her vows, my sister Amanda was no longer just my sister Amanda, nor was she just a newly married woman—she became Lady Amanda Grayson, wife and bondmate of Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan."
