Steph noticed that Elora was strangely quiet during this retelling. Jerry finished his story with gusto.
"We worked through the awkwardness of not knowing one another until we found that the things we had in common helped build a stronger love than any I could have hoped to find. That's all we want for you, Steph: a chance at a love with a good foundation and the right start."
"You mean financially," Steph said.
Jerry frowned. "That's a part of it, but I mean in all ways. I think the man we've found is an exceptional person and will make a wonderful husband for you in every possible way."
Elora's dark eyes landed on her daughter, then. "Duty matters, Stephanie. It's important that you understand this, as it is a very big part of who we are as women of El Farah. You will find happiness, even if it isn't there at the beginning."
Jerry cast his wife a curious glance at that statement, but he didn't ask about it. The conversation was finished, and the family finished their dinner in comfortable silence. When their plates were clean, Steph helped her mother wash up.
"Stephanie, there is a box in the attic I want you to find before we go," Elora said, putting the last plate away in the cabinet. "You'll find a beautiful little hair accessory that I wore on my wedding day, and that my mother wore on hers. I think it will go beautifully with your gown."
Elora told her where to find the box before sending her up to the attic on her own. Steph pulled down the folded staircase and headed up the steps into the cool dark room above their house, turning on the flashlight on her phone to better see the space.
She'd always been a little afraid of the attic. There was nothing particularly exciting up there-mostly spiders, from what her father told her. Looking around now, it was clear that he had been pulling her chain. The room was tidy and clean, with several labeled boxes stacked around the room. Following her mother's directions, Steph headed toward a corner of the room where she found a box labelled "wedding."
"You must be my treasure," she murmured, pulling the box from its corner.
It was taped shut, and Steph was careful as she used her recently manicured nails to peel at the tape, opening the tattered old box. Inside there was a random jumble of things, and she began pawing through to find the accessory her mother had been talking about.
There were piles of documents outlining the details of the marriage. Steph read a few paragraphs of small print before she got bored and set the papers aside, looking for better things. Her mother's small, diamond-encrusted tiara was in a black box, snugly encased. Steph delicately pulled it out, turning it around to catch the muted light of her phone. It was petite, delicate, and beautiful.
And it was a total wake-up call.
Steph would be wearing this tiara on her wedding day, in just a few days' time. She placed it on her head and reached for her phone, taking a picture without looking to make sure the flash illuminated the image. When she turned it around, she stared at the picture for a moment.
In all honesty, she looked sad. Was this really what she wanted? To be dressed up as a beautiful doll and given away to some man? While her parents hadn't really given her a choice in the matter, deep down Steph knew she had one. She could still say no. She could walk away.
She could devastate her mother for the rest of her life.
Steph sighed as she removed the tiara and placed it back in its case. She sorted through the box a little more, for curiosity's sake, and came across a small pile of photographs from her parents' wedding day.
Her father looked young and handsome. He was smiling in every picture, clearly overjoyed with his new bride.
Her mother, on the other hand, was another story entirely. Steph looked through picture after picture, all of which must have been taken after the private ceremony. In each image, Elora's gaze was downcast, her features grim. While there were some images in which she had tried to smile for the camera, Steph knew her mother well enough to know that she had been faking it.
Elora had not been happy the day she married Steph's father. That much was clear. What had she said at dinner? That duty was the most important thing? She had done this out of duty-to her family, to their culture-over any personal feelings she might have had on the subject. Steph wondered if her mother's parents had ever asked her what she had really wanted either, though she already knew that answer.
In that moment, Steph knew she couldn't go through with the ceremony. She couldn't look as downtrodden as her mother had on her wedding day. That was supposed to be the most romantic day of a person's life!
Thinking back on the conversation she'd had with her parents at dinner, Steph couldn't think of a way to express her concerns and actually get either of them to understand. Her father had justified her nerves as those of a skittish bride, afraid of the unknown. Her mother had dismissed them in favor of doing what she must, in the name of tradition.
With her stomach in knots, Steph put the photos back in the box and closed it up, carrying the tiara downstairs before folding the stairs back up into the ceiling. She headed to her room, where she set the tiara in her suitcase. Her mother called from the living room.
"Stephanie! Did you find the headpiece?"
"I did," Steph called back. "It's already packed!"
When she didn't hear footsteps coming in her direction, Steph perched on the small windowsill of her tiny bedroom and stared out as the Vermont sun sank beneath the trees, casting an indigo glow across the carpet of forest that stretched as far as the eye could see. She looked at her phone again, tapping it open and looking at the picture of her in the tiara.
She had never looked more scared in her life.
Her parents came upstairs, then, knocking on her door.
"Come in," she said dully, closing out the screen and setting the phone down next to her.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" her father asked, ever enthusiastic.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Steph answered.
Jerry nodded as though he understood, which of course he didn't at all. "It's going to be wonderful. We'll have much to celebrate in the next few weeks, and there will be lots of time for you to get to know your new beau. You're going to have fun. You'll see."
Her father walked over and planted an affectionate kiss on her brow, giving her an encouraging smile as he left the room, his hand squeezing his wife's shoulder.
Elora stared at Steph for a moment longer before she came and sat on her bed. "Do you have any questions for me?" she asked gently.
Steph was taken aback. Elora had a way of being tough and cold, but loving all at the same time. It was difficult to explain. She simply showed her emotions differently, and while Steph knew she was deeply loved, it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to have an emotional conversation with her mother. A moment ago she would have jumped at the chance, but now, faced with the opportunity to tell her all her fears and worries, her tongue felt firmly tied.
"Not that I can think of," she said, even as her brain screamed at her for not telling the truth.
What good would it do? Her fate was sealed now.
After a moment, her mother released a breath. "I know how frightening it can be," she said. "But you must know that we would never put you in a bad situation. We have done our due diligence by you, and I believe very firmly that you will be happy."
"What am I going to do without you?" Steph asked in a small voice.
It was the one unasked question none of them had wanted to answer. Having found a man in El Farah, it wasn't clear whether Steph's parents would also stay in the country. Steph had been trying to come to terms with the fact that she very likely would be alone, married to a stranger in a foreign country that she felt no allegiance to.
It wasn't exactly the most comforting of thoughts, and while her parents believed they had chosen a good man, Steph knew that anyone could look good on paper. That didn't mean they weren't lying or hiding some aspect of themselves. What if she got trapped in a terrible marriage? What if she had to find a way to escape?
Elora placed a warm hand over her daughter's, startling her. "You're going to make it through this just fine, Stephanie. Take your fears and pack them away. I would never send you to a man who could not provide for you in all ways. The emotional connection can grow between a man and a woman. I promise."
Elora hesitated before wrapping Steph in a tight hug. In a moment that was meant to be touching, Steph felt cold and awkward. After a moment, Elora stood and exited the room, reminding her daughter to get a good night's sleep.