Sixty days and counting - Kim Stanley Robinson [205]
“Yeah, I did!”
“Oh my,” Anna muttered.
Actually Charlie was not far below Joe, although on a different catwalk; he had gotten lost at an intersection. He retraced his last steps, and turned a corner—and there was Roy Anastophoulus.
“Roy!”
“Charlie!”
They gave each other a hug.
Over Roy’s shoulder, Charlie saw Andrea Blackwell. Charlie had not been aware that they were on again, but by her smile it appeared to be so.
“It’s good to see you!” Charlie said. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
“No, well, when we heard about Phil and Diane coming out to get a marriage blessing from the Dalai Lama, we asked if we could tag along and join in.”
“So—you mean—”
Roy nodded. “Yes. We got married yesterday at the courthouse.” They showed him their shiny new wedding bands. “Now we’re here for the blessing.”
“Wonderful!” Charlie said. “Wait till Anna hears!”
He yelled down to the ground: “Hey Anna!” Then: “Just a second, I have to catch up to Joe. In fact, if you could take this catwalk across to over there, and wait? Maybe you can help me cut him off.”
“Sure.”
Back on the ground Anna was indeed delighted with their news. They gathered with the rest of the guests on the lawn in front of the main house, and cheered the appearance of the Dalai Lama, entering the big tent with Drepung, and followed by Phil and Diane, then Roy and Andrea. A troop of Khembalis in their best Tibetan finery performed a brief dance, accompanied by the drums, horns, and swirls of incense that reminded Anna all of a sudden of the first time she had seen the Khembalis, performing a similar ceremony before their little office in the NSF building.
The Dalai Lama, cheerfully sublime as always, led Phil and Diane through a brief set of Buddhist wedding vows; then did the same for Roy and Andrea. While they were still up there, Drepung gestured to Frank and Caroline to come up to the front, and they came out of the crowd to applause. Diane gave Frank a quick high five.
Drepung was the one who led Frank and Caroline through their vows, ending with a blessing on them:
“This couple has come together at last.
There is a presence that gives the gifts.
The spirit of Tara has saved us from demons.
You are the wind. We’re dust blown into shapes.
You are the spirit. We’re intertwining hands.
You are the clarity. We’re this language that tries to say it.
You are joy. We’re all the different kinds of laughing.
When the ocean surges, don’t let me just hear it.
Let it splash inside my chest!”
Then he and the Dalai Lama stood side by side, and reached out together to join the hands of the three couples. For a moment everything was still; then with a blast on the long Tibetan horns, the party began in earnest.
“Here,” Nick said as the Quiblers prepared to leave, and he shoved an envelope into Frank’s hand. “FOG made a going-away card out of your phone log. Almost everybody signed it. Jason was out of town.”
“Thanks,” Frank said. Most of those people he had never met in person; they had been voices over the phone, or names on the sighting board. “Tell them I’ll miss them. Tell them I’ll try to get something like this started out in San Diego.”
“Will there be any animals to see out there?”
“No, not really. You’re lucky with what you have here. Out there it’s down to birds and rabbits, I’m afraid. Maybe I’ll have to arrange a breakout at the San Diego Zoo.”
Joe, nearly asleep on Charlie’s shoulder, heard the word “zoo” and rolled his head to the side.
“Tiger,” he murmured, and pounded Charlie’s chest with a single solid tap.
Charlie put his chin on the round blond head. “You’re my tiger,” he said. Joe drifted back off.
WHEN THE QUIBLERS GOT HOME they changed out of their party clothes and went out in the yard to work on the garden. At five their doorbell rang, and Frank’s friend Cutter appeared at their door, a burly black man with big scarred hands and a friendly smile. Behind him his crew were already unloading gear from their truck. The PV panels had arrived at last. Joe ran around the house to investigate,