Jerusalem

Chapter 11 (The wedding)

      The Army was steady for the mean time . And the news of the upcoming wedding spread all over the place . Congratilations fellow around . And happiness was in the air. Youssef had been seeing Mariam everywhere he goes. He was at the army hospital and there she was dressed as a nurse and helping patients. He was doing an overlook over his Projects , seeing how things are going , and again there she was teaching the little poor kids how to read and write. He couldnt help but to wonder what exactly does she work , he knew she was a Proffessor at college but what else?. He found out after that , she works at a lot of charitable organizations and that she did an internship to become a nurse. Youssef was impressed , to be honest. The girl was literally everywhere. She was doing everything. He felt guilty , no matter how he tried to escape that feeling, he couldnt . Because deep down inside of him , he knew that she deserves better than that, far more better than that. He couldnt shake that feeling away.

The day had come eventually and the wedding was at the door. Everything was ready and everyone was there. All the soldiers and the officers were there. And of course all Friends and Family. The wedding was outdoor , in a huge Garden , it was beautifully decoreted . It looked like a place from a fairytale. It was simple but cozy. It was a masterpiece. The ceremony started in day light. People were waiting for the couple.

"Brother, are you done?" asked Omar , standing outside of his brother room . 

"You can come in, i´m just shaving my chin" answered Youssef holding his metal razor and shaving his chin carefully.

"Are you still using that thing? , you know its dangerous. Besides its so old-fashioned." said Omar.

"Well, i guess i am old-fashioned then. And i am done , so save your advice for next time." said Youssef washing his face.

"Fine, then. i packed my bags and i am ready to leave this house . And if you´re curious , i will move to my new place , i bought it last month. " said Omar wondering what his brother would say.

"Are we talking now , brother?" asked Youssef , recalling their last fight.

"No, nothing has changed , last time i checked . But today is your Wedding , brother . And i thought we could forget our problems for now and act like brothers for the day. As you know , i dont have a lot of brothers. So what do you say?" asked Omar hoping that his brother wont turn him down.

"I think we can do that for a day. By the way, thanks for leaving the house . i transfered the money to your account , your whole share in the house."said youssef while he was putting on his white shirt .

" You know i didnt want the money. But anyway, we have a wedding to attend and we are running late. Ali is waiting downstairs . He took care of the car . " said Omar .

"OK. I will put on the tie and thats it. we wont be late. we will be just on time ." said Youssef tieing his black shiny shoes.

" Let me do it ." said Omar tieing his tie . He moved back and gave Youssef an overlook and said:" you look dashing in a suit, like Leila used to say."

"Are you serious now ? i cant believe that you are bringing her up. Lets go now." said Youssef leaving the room as omar laughed.

Fifteen minutes later and they arrieved at the wedding . When youssef walked in , all his soldiers stood up and saluted him. He spoted Mr. Tarek and went to greet him . His father in law looked tired as if he were ill but he was trying to hide it. Youssef was about to ask him whats wrong. But he noticed his soldiers standing at both sides of the door . They formed two lines , as Faras passed , then his sister , Mayar. Omar looked up and saw the stupid doctor who pumped into him at the hospital, discovering that she was his brothers sister in law. Then the bride walked in, she was wearing a long white dress , it was fluffy from the waist down.The dress was covered in lace. It had a black bow around her waist. Black shoes , white veil and a diamond necklace with a black pearl.(The dress , shoes and necklace were youssefs gift for the wedding. The dress was from italy, shoes from spain , and the neacklace from france. He bought them online , he wrapped them in a present box and send it to her house. Youssef wasnt sure if she will accept the present until he saw her standing there in the white dress). Once she stepped inside , all the soldiers saluted her , their eyes fixed on the ground . She walked in , her head held high and her eyes fixed to the front . There was something about the way she walked as if she were royal. a princess , a Queen. He was standing beside her Father . He cought himself staring at her. She was beautiful. She turned her head and looked at him , their eyes met. She stoped , her father came to her , he kissed her forehead and looked deep into her eyes with a smile. Then he handed her to Youssef . He held her hand , they looked at eachother then walked to their place . They sat down. Everyone was clapping and cheering. Music playing and food was placed on the guests tables . The huge white creamed torte was placed in the center , servants cut it and served it to everyone. After eating , it was only natural for even a first and last dance. They were silent , watching, eating . No word was said . The song played announcing : its time to dance . So he looked at her and said: " we should dance , can you dance ? "