Chapter Two Hundred Four: The Wedding
Victoria announced her engagement on a rainy Sunday in April.
She was twenty-eight years old, a graduate student in astrophysics, following in the footsteps of her grandmother Grace and her great-grandmother Stella. Her fiancé was a young man named James, an engineer she had met at a conference on exoplanets.
Lina received the news in a phone call.
"Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandma," Victoria said, her voice high and breathless. "I'm engaged."
Lina sat down on the couch, the old cushions sinking beneath her weight. She was one hundred and eight now, and her body was slower, her bones more fragile, but her heart was still full.
"Engaged," she repeated, the word feeling familiar and precious on her tongue. "You're engaged."
"I'm engaged! James proposed. I said yes. We're getting married!"
Lina's eyes filled with tears. She looked out the window at the garden, at the roses Katherine had planted so many decades ago, and thought about all the weddings she had witnessed. Lily's wedding, with the flowers and fairy lights. Leo's wedding, quiet and intimate. Stella's wedding, under the stars. Clara's wedding, with the music and dancing. Eleanor's wedding, in the garden where Katherine used to sit.
And now Victoria's.
"Congratulations, sweetheart," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "I'm so happy for you."
---
The family celebrated.
The penthouse was filled with people. Every generation was there, from the oldest to the youngest. The rooms were crowded with laughter and conversation, the air thick with the smell of fresh flowers and baking bread. Children ran through the halls, their footsteps echoing on the hardwood floors. Babies cried in their mothers' arms. Grandparents dozed in armchairs, lulled by the warmth and the noise.
Victoria showed everyone the ring. It was small and simple—a single diamond on a silver band, with a small engraving on the inside that read, "To the stars and back."
"It's beautiful," Lina said.
Victoria hugged her. "Thank you, Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandma."
---
The wedding was planned for the following spring.
Victoria wanted a garden wedding, like her mother and her grandmother and her great-grandmother before her. She wanted flowers and fairy lights and a string quartet. She wanted her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother to walk her down the aisle.
Lina's eyes filled with tears when Victoria asked her.
"I'd be honored," she said.
Victoria hugged her. "Thank you. You're the one who taught me what love means."
---
The months passed.
Victoria and James planned the wedding. They chose flowers and a cake and a menu. They argued about the guest list and the seating chart and the color of the tablecloths.
Lina helped with all of it.
She did not complain. She did not interfere. She just showed up, again and again, and did what needed to be done.
"Why are you doing this?" Victoria asked one day.
Lina looked at her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter.
"Because you needed someone," she said. "And I needed to be that someone."
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
"You're a good great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother," she said.
Lina shook her head.
"I'm just your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother," she said. "Trying to do the right thing."
---
The wedding day arrived warm and clear.
Lina sat in the front row, her cane in her hand, her eyes fixed on the altar. The garden was transformed—flowers everywhere, fairy lights everywhere, a string quartet playing music that made everyone cry.
The family filled the garden. Every generation was there, from the oldest to the youngest. David, who was ninety-nine, sat in a wheelchair, his eyes bright, his smile warm. Lily and Jake, in their eighties, held hands like teenagers. Leo and Maya, also in their eighties, sat close together, their shoulders touching, their fingers intertwined.
Grace and her family were there. Stella and her family. Clara and her family. Samuel and his family. Eleanor and Thomas and baby Stella and baby Ethan. Aurora and her husband. Melody and her partner. Hope and her fiancé.
Lina's heart was pounding.
Her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter was getting married.
She thought about the first time she had held Victoria, a newborn in her arms, so small and perfect. She thought about the first time Victoria had said "Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandma." She thought about the first time Victoria had looked through a telescope and seen the stars.
And now this.
She was not ready.
But she had to be.
---
The music changed.
Victoria appeared at the end of the aisle, her arm hooked through Lina's.
Lina walked slowly, her cane tapping against the ground, her old bones aching with every step. But she did not stop. She did not slow down. She kept going.
Victoria's dress was white and flowing, with flowers in her hair and a veil that trailed behind her. She was smiling. She was crying. She was beautiful.
Lina watched her walk down the aisle and cried.
She handed Victoria to James, who was waiting at the altar, his own eyes wet with tears.
"Take care of her," Lina said.
James nodded. "With my whole life."
Lina kissed Victoria's cheek.
She walked back to her seat and sat down.
"She's beautiful," she whispered.
She looked up at the sky.
The star that was Ethan twinkled.
Lina smiled.
---
The ceremony was simple.
The officiant spoke. The couple exchanged vows. They exchanged rings. They kissed.
Victoria and James were married.
Lina clapped until her hands hurt.
The family cheered.
---
The reception was chaos.
Dancing and laughing and speeches that went on too long. Grace gave a toast that was funny and sweet and perfect.
"Victoria," she said, "you've been my great-great-niece for twenty-eight years. You've been my friend. My inspiration. My partner in stargazing. I couldn't have asked for a better person to carry on our legacy."
Victoria cried.
Grace hugged her.
"I love you," she said.
"I love you too," Victoria replied.
---
Lina found Victoria on the balcony, looking at the stars.
"Are you okay?" she asked, standing beside her.
Victoria nodded. "I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"About everything. About growing up. About starting a new life."
Lina put her arm around her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter.
"Are you scared?" she asked.
Victoria was quiet for a moment. "Terrified."
Lina held her.
"Me too," she said. "But you're going to be okay. You're going to be more than okay. You're going to be wonderful."
Victoria leaned into her.
"I love you, Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandma," she said.
Lina's eyes filled with tears.
"I love you too, sweetheart. More than anything."
---
The reception ended.
Victoria and James drove away in a car covered in streamers and tin cans.
Lina stood in the parking lot, watching them go.
She looked up at the sky.
The star that was Ethan twinkled.
"He's gone," she whispered.
The star twinkled again.
Lina smiled.
She knew Ethan was listening.
---
That night, Lina sat on the couch alone.
The penthouse was quiet. The family was gone. Victoria was gone.
But she was not alone.
She looked at the photograph on the mantel—Ethan, young and handsome, his gray eyes bright, his smile warm.
She looked at the night sky through the window.
The star that was Ethan twinkled.
"I love you," she whispered.
She thought about Victoria, the newest bride in their constellation. A bright star, just beginning to shine.
She thought about all the stars that had come before. The ones who had burned bright and faded away. The ones who were still burning, still shining, still becoming.
She thought about her husband, her constant, her anchor, her home.
She was not afraid.
Not anymore.
She had survived worse.
She could survive anything.
As long as she had her family.
As long as she had her constellation of stars.
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End of Chapter Two Hundred Four