the world changes around us
Early morning preparations, on the groom’s side of things, consist largely of a long series of aborted arguments best illustrated by Calista and her fellow groomsmen as the bomb squad to Sol’s repeated tick-tick-b-- no detonations yet, but she sends Charlie on a beer run before their dearly beloved has even got his pants on. She’s missing one groomsman and makes the mistake of saying so, at which point Bruce turns up to have his tie adjusted and all is well again, except for the groom’s nerves.
Leila has her calm in order, as she usually does, but even as she gets ready, it’s clear she’s shielding some pretty significant nerves beneath the composed exterior. Solomon is the only person who really sees her uncertainty these days, though, so the rest of the wedding party will only be witness to her half-smiles and the occasional imperious demand. She tries to curb those, though. Mostly.
Dotty’s contribution to what she is cheerfully referring to as the new happiest day of Solomon’s life is officially ‘unpaid stylist’ and unofficially ‘metaphorical fire extinguisher’, because even a castle isn’t quite big enough for the entire extended Koenig clan to have had enough space not to raise the tension level in the first place. Presumably, this is why it’s Dotty who’s yanked out into the hall by Elsa at twenty minutes to, a hissed conversation ensuing just out of earshot.
(“I don’t fucking know, Dorothea, take some fingerprints or something-”
“Jesus. All right, cover for me, I’ll take Ferdi.”
“What in God’s name for?”
“I have no idea, Elsa, I’m making it up as I go along.”)
The actual ceremony itself isn’t that lengthy, for which Leila is grateful--she doesn’t want to stand up there that long, knowing that they will shortly have to face the resigned judgment of Solomon’s family and her friends. (She has a great deal of sorority girls, and not a single relative in attendance. Her sister-in-law did send a card, which is considered kindly, in her family.) She doesn’t cry during the ceremony, either, a fact which probably doesn’t surprise anyone, even the relatives of Sol’s who’ve only known her a short time.
With a potential minor catastrophe averted - Dotty divides and conquers, seating Emeline Jaeger with Velma and foisting Christoph and his wheelchair on Richard, who’d been situated further back in case of a Jan-related emergency, to be worried about during the reception and not before - said ceremony manages somehow to go off without another hitch, and Isaak smiles only very slightly when his sister leans past Hannah to remark on der Wunder klein.
By the time Sol may indeed kiss the bride, he feels almost punch-drunk.
The reception is in the largest ballroom, and is already set up for them. Leila chooses not to change out of her dress, mostly because it’s not so hugely bulky she can’t move in it, and also because she sort of suspects she’d better keep an eye on everyone.
“Well,” she says to Solomon, quietly, “we did it.”