Chapter 5: The Wedding

Isak walked his sister down the aisle at four o'clock on Saturday with his shoulders squared and his chin up.

Their father had died six years ago, and there was no one else to do it.

I sat in the second row with Solveig, who was crying so hard she'd gone through three tissues before Kari reached the front.

The ceremony was in the lodge's great room, in front of the big windows.

The lake behind them had turned silver, and the trees along the shore were orange and red.

Kari wore a plain ivory dress and a crown of dried flowers over her braid.

Her groom was a tall quiet man with a trembling jaw, and he was already wiping his eyes.

At the front, Isak kissed his sister on the forehead and put her hand in the groom's.

Then he walked back down the aisle with a stiff, careful step.

He sat down beside me, and I took his hand without being asked.

It was ice cold.

"You did that perfectly," I whispered.

"Just making sure I didn't trip," he whispered back.

Kari's vows were short and funny, and the groom's were one sentence long because he couldn't get through a second.

Everybody laughed, and everybody cried, and Leif, who stood up front as best man, blew his nose.

At the reception, they cleared the chairs and set up round tables with candles.

A band of four older men tuned up in the corner.

A waiter came by with a tray of champagne, and I took a seltzer and so did Isak.

He had not touched a drink in thirteen months.

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