Every now and then, Cassie’s mother Jan tries to get a word in edgewise in the conversation, but Arnold is quick to interrupt her. After some time, I notice her resignation and how she keeps her eyes on her food.
I wonder how monstrously he must treat his wife and daughter at home. A man who would be willing to sell his daughter into debt must be twisted beyond comprehension to be able to sleep at night.
As the two men drone on in their conversation, I hear Arnold repeating a point Jan had made almost verbatim. Feeling exhausted just by being in the proximity, I speak up.
“Jan said that a moment ago.”
The two men stop at my sudden interjection, and Arnold raises an eyebrow. “Pardon?”
“What you just said about your church’s youth program providing women’s social groups — Jan brought that up a few minutes ago before you interrupted her.”
Arnold starts to go red, while the middle-aged man speaking to him clears his throat. “R-right, must have missed that. Anyhow, I’ll see you around, Arnie. Enjoy the food.”
He and Arnold exchange a nod, and before he turns back to his food, Arnold glares daggers at me while Jan pretends she hasn’t heard any part of the exchange, her cheeks bright. I can’t help but smile a little at the man’s embarrassment, and I dig back into my food with a little more vigor.
Cassie is paralyzed by the subtle exchange. I imagine that challenges to her father’s authority must not be common in the household.
I know already that Arnold won’t like me. Even if I wanted to be cozy with that govnosos, I’m an outsider here in every respect. I can feel it in the way everyone here regards me. This is a tight-knit community already, but as a Russian who knows nobody, this cold, cordial kindness is the best they’ll be willing to muster.
The rest of the dinner goes uneventfully, and after dinner, the time comes for me to drive my bride back to my home in Brighton Beach.
The family gives us both stiff goodbyes, and I exchange names with and receive business cards from a staggering amount of people I have no intention of seeing ever again. I can tell they hope the same, even as they keep up appearances.
There’s a certain finality to the goodbyes Cassie exchanges with her closer relatives, a few cousins who she might have known better than others. I’m reminded of what a foreigner I am to these people, and I realize that this ceremony is cutting Cassie off from these people altogether. She seems most upset about her brother, who’d fallen asleep earlier in the evening, but whom she went to kiss goodbye anyways, after asking my permission.
She’s being given to me, and in this community, the husband dictates how the new family will be run — where we go, what we do, and how we behave. In marrying Cassie off to someone like me, she’s getting sent away for good, and many of the family sense it, but none dare question it.
I can’t decide if it’s for better or for worse for her.
But then I see her father embracing her, hugging her tight to him, but there’s no love in the embrace. His eyes meet mine for a moment as he hugs her, and I realize this man is little better than a jealous ape giving away what he sees as one of his possessions. Cassie’s tearful embrace with her mother is the only one of the night that seems to have some emotion to it.
Finally, we’re walking out the doors for the last time, her hand in mine as I guide her to my car, a sleek black corvette I keep for special occasions. I didn’t let anyone decorate it for the event.
Rice is thrown at us as we make our way down, and a few times, I feel Cassie’s legs start to wobble as she loses her balance.
We finally reach my car, and I hold the door open for her, helping her into the sleek leather seats, tucking all of her long white gown in before shutting the door.
A moment later, I get in on the driver’s side, and we pull away, leaving those strange people behind us as we drive south.
Once we’re a ways down the road from the church, I feel like I should say something, to try to make small talk about the big night, how she must feel in all the rush, or something along those lines, but I can’t bring myself to see such words as anything more than cruel and unnecessary. So we sit in silence.
I glance over at Cassie as we get onto the highway. She’s looking out the window, her expression unreadable, but now that she’s far away from the claws of her family, her beauty seems to jump out at me all the more.
Against the cold black color of the car’s interior, Cassie couldn’t contrast more. Her white wedding dress, blonde hair, pale skin, and blue eyes that sparkle in the setting sun make her look like a diamond beside me.
A feeling of satisfaction rises in my chest as I look back to the road. Cassie is the most pristine woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I’m taking her away from a group of people unworthy of her. The world is cruel to women like her, and she’s been dealt an even more oppressive hand.