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Sunday could not have asked for a better start as the sun pierced through the smattering of fluffy white clouds that dotted a pale blue sky, a gentle heat drifting down and settling over Farnleigh. Even so, Gaia had packed a raincoat in the car with an array of extra layers for Alfie and Clover, who were ready and waiting in the car while Gaia tapped her foot by the door.
"Hurry up!" she called up the stairs, her patience wearing thin as she waited for Evan and Zara. The time on the invitation was three o'clock on the dot, the ceremony to be followed by an optional jaunt to Wetherspoons for anyone in need of food, and Gaia knew they would be part of that group: she had been up since six, when she had first eaten as she had fed Clover, and her stomach was already beginning to rumble. She had been too busy to think about feeding herself at lunch time, ensuring she got her children ready for the service. As the clock hit two thirty, she gritted her jaw and shouted, "We are not going to be late."
After a few seconds, Evan appeared at the top of the stairs, attempting to tuck his shirt into his jeans with one hand. Moments later, he gave up and jogged down the steps and came to a stop by his wife. "Can you give me a hand, babe?" he asked, and he turned his head over his shoulder to look up the stairs. "Come on, Zar, get your arse in gear," he called, "We're going to be late and I will leave without you if you make me late to my sister's wedding."
"I'm coming, keep your hair on!" Zara yelled, careening around the corner and down the stairs with heavy feet thudding on the carpet. Gaia stood close to Evan, delicate hands tucking his shirt into the waistband of his jeans before she took the belt from his hand, threading it through the loops and buckling it.
"No dress?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, and Evan chuckled.
"The bride can't be upstaged by her brother," he said, grinning down at his wife. "I told Bree I'd do it if it was what she really wanted and she said she just wanted everyone to be happy and comfortable. I hate to break it to you, babe, but I don't feel very comfortable with a breeze blowing around my thighs."
Gaia snorted and smoothed out a crease in Evan's shirt, her hand resting on his chest for a moment. "You're just not man enough," she teased. "Nick's doing it, you know."
"Then I guess Nick feels better in a dress than I do; he's always playing dress-up with his girls," Evan said with a grin. "It's not every day I get to see my little sister getting married, Gee." His voice turned serious as he said, "I thought I'd never see this day, to be honest. I want it to be a great day and I want to be able to celebrate with my sister, and Saul and Jake; I don't want to be self-conscious all day. If that means I'm not man enough, then I guess I'll have to deal with that."
"I'm teasing you, hun," Gaia said. "You're more than man enough for me. Now let's go, ok? I want to get there for twenty to and unless we leave in the next ninety seconds, that's not going to happen. Zara?"
