A Special Treat 3: Wedding and Honeymoon

The wedding ended up being performed, ironically enough, by a minister friend of Cliff's. Kim's old friend from her off-off-Broadway days was trying to make it in La-La Land as well and had arranged for the minister to perform the marriage of his old friend to his former nemesis. Cliff had known about, and strongly disapproved of, Kim's relationship with the Russian spy, and he'd been elated when she'd broken off the relationship and joined Amanda and the others in Nebraska. Now that the Cold War had ended, Cliff's distrust of Andrei had mellowed as well, and he was happy for Kim that she'd been reunited with the man she'd never stopped loving.

It took place in a small, cozy chapel not far from the studio. The walls were painted white, and there were soft white lights, white drapes, white chairs, and ivory roses in vases at the front and in small baskets suspended from the backs of the chairs.

Cliff and Jeffrey were the witnesses. "This is Andrei," she said awkwardly as the three of them arrived, although she knew perfectly well that they realized exactly who he was.

"It's lovely to meet you," Andrei said as he shook hands with both men. Cliff nodded acknowledgement with a slight smile; Jeffrey remained perfectly sober.

"And I'm Marina!" Kim's daughter spoke up eagerly. That broke the ice. Both men broke into wide grins.

"Well, hello there, Marina!" Cliff exclaimed. Even Jeffrey chuckled. Kim's eyes met Andrei's, and she saw that he looked as relieved as she felt.

The ceremony commenced. As Kim stood with Andrei exchanging her vows, her mind drifted back to her childhood, of all the times she'd pretended to be a bride, envisioning how her real wedding would be. She always knew that it would take place in a large cathedral with dozens of guests. She'd be wearing a long white gown with sparkling diamonds, a head dress with white roses, and white heels that also had glistening jewels.

The part about the wedding gown had actually come true. Despite his drastically reduced income, Andrei had insisted that she have the very best and had taken her to one of the most expensive bridal boutiques in town, where he'd practically maxed out his credit card. Kim was already trying to think of a way to discreetly pay the balance on his account without hurting his pride.

The success of the Cole Porter movie had brought with it a financial windfall beyond Kim's wildest dreams. After the first few dizzying shopping expeditions, she'd begun to think seriously about how to prioritize her new assets. She could afford a much larger apartment now, of course, but her lease didn't expire until May and, accustomed to her old way of thinking, it seemed wasteful to pay so many months of rent at once just so that she could move into a new place sooner.

"Do you, Kimberly Ann Ballard, take Andrei Viktorevich Denisov to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the minister asked her.

"I do," Kim replied.

"Then by the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." As Andrei kissed her, Kim felt a vague sense of unreality, as if she were moving in a dream. She halfway wondered whether she might awaken at any moment and find herself all alone in a small, dingy apartment in Chicago. Now that all her dreams were finally coming true one by one, she sometimes had a hard time grasping that it was all really real. She looked at Marina, who was dancing around ecstatically, her face shining with happiness. Yes, it's really true. Andrei and I are together at last, never to be parted again.

"It's just the two of us at last," Andrei murmured, placing soft kisses on the supple skin of her neck. They were honeymooning in Acapulco, having hurriedly left the ceremony at the tell-tale sound of flashing cameras. Marina had played on the beach until she was quite exhausted and now lay fast asleep on one of the motel room's double beds. There had never been any question that their daughter would accompany them on their honeymoon; Andrei had merely accepted it as a given and, realizing how important it was to him, Kim hadn't said a word about it.

Neither had it been an issue that the climate of their destination so closely resembled that of their home. "I've lived too many years in the cold and snow of Moscow and the wind of Chicago," Andrei had said. "I don't think I'll ever be able to get enough of the sunshine for as long as I live. Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to get started on my first tan."

Having been raised in Key West, Kim was unable to even contemplate the idea of a man reaching Andrei's age without having gotten tanned even once, and once again, the vastness of the difference between her own cultural background and that of her new husband struck her.

Now he murmured appreciatively as he began to kiss her face and massage her breasts, and she felt the evidence of his arousal against her thigh through both their clothing. She grasped his zipper and lowered it, then tugged his pants and underwear off. At the same time, she moved down on the bed until her face was level with his crotch.

He gasped with pleasure as he felt the moist warmth of her mouth enclose him and was bucking wildly within seconds. She moved her head aside just in time to avoid the splash of the hot liquid on her cheek.