“Two,” Sebastian clarified cheerily. “She was pregnant.”
Marnie stared at him — Sebastian shrugged.
“Well,” he conceded, “I suppose it sounds bad when I say it likethat, but Ari’s my sister. She’s something special. We held a mock baby shower on that first night. Luis designed an all-pink menu. Smoked salmon blinis followed by rare pink steak and then an unbaked strawberry cheesecake. Of course, she couldn’t actuallyeatany of the fucking stuff because of the baby, but still, she appreciated the effort. Luis has made it his life’s mission to feed her ever since.”
“So, how did she end up going from a cleaner to your business partner?” Marnie asked curiously, making mental notes for her lawyer.
“Because, you might not believe it, but under her miserable exterior and sordid life story, Ari’s quite the artist. She can take someone’s words and make them into a visual work of art. The brides love her. They can say, ‘oh, I quite fancy being married on a beach at sunset with candles flickering in the distance’ and Ari makes it happen. We were the perfect partners, in a way. Once she did her first wedding with me, she was hooked, and so Queen and Country Weddings was born. In Ari, I got a business partner, and from Ari, Luis got a guaranteed ticket into BarbieCon. Best thing for both of us.”
Marnie paused again, eyeing Sebastian warily. “I’m sorry,” she said slowly. “What do you mean, Luis got a guaranteed ticket to BarbieCon?”
“Oh,” Sebastian shrugged, “my husband collects Barbie dolls. He has around two thousand.”
Marnie’s eyes widened.
“Yeah,” he agreed, “it’s odd, but the heart wants what it wants, and his heart wants eleven and a half inches of hard vinyl.”
“Don’t we all,” Marnie remarked sardonically, taking a long puff on her cigarette. “So, how does Ari provide his ‘guaranteed ticket’ to BarbieCon?”
“Through Reine,” Sebastian explained. “You see, at certain parts of the expo, there are sections reserved for parents with children. Luis was never allowed in before, but with Reine...”
“So, let me get all this straight. You were going to get a cat, but you took on Ari, and you did so because she was good with visuals, and because she had a daughter that your husband could use to buy Barbie dolls?”
Sebastian stopped, seeming to consider Marnie’s words. “Well, when you say it like that, it sounds bad. But she’s also my sister, and we’re happy, the four of us. Things are good. And at the next BarbieCon in Japan, we’re going to take Reine to Tokyo Disney. It’ll be grand.”
Marnie stubbed out her cigarette, standing wearily. “Unless Reine’s father comes back.”
“He won’t.”
“You don’t know that.” Marnie suddenly felt exhausted, her earlier anger having mellowed out, both from the nicotine and a methodical plan coming to mind. “You know, one day my Tom might—”
“Your Tom?” Sebastian asked sharply. “Your son? What’s he got to do with this?”
Marnie paused for a beat too long, and she saw Sebastian’s eyes narrow. “Nothing,” she said breezily, trying to recover. “I was just thinking about him in the hospital. I should call him. Sasha said she was going in to sit with him, but she...” Marnie stopped. “I’m tired. I got mixed up.”
Sebastian’s eyes, bright and blue, rested on Marnie warningly. “It will be very interesting to meet your son,” he said. “I didn’t know he was a pilot until today. It wasn’t in the fact file Sasha compiled for us.”
“He’s not a pilot. Not professionally. It’s just a hobby. It was my husband’s hobby too. I call it the family curse,” Marnie explained hurriedly.
Sebastian eyed her. Marnie watched as he lit another cigarette, sitting back in his chair and taking a long drag on it. “Ari doesn’t talk much about Tom Miller, you know. But one thing she does talk about is the day she knew she loved him. It’s a sweet story, you should ask to hear it. They were on an airplane. Turns out Tom Miller was a pilot too.” Sebastian paused, exhaling smoke like a dragon in its lair. “Just like your son,” he added. “Just like your son.”
“Isn’t that a coincidence,” Marnie remarked.
“Yes. Isn’t it. How old is Tom?” Sebastian asked. “Did he ever spend time in Europe? Did he ever—”
“I’m going to bed,” Marnie announced. “You want to know about my son, check your damned fact file.”
“I’ll do that,” Sebastian replied evenly. “Right after I’ve called my husband.”
Marnie paused. “He’s on his way? With... with Reine?”
Sebastian nodded slowly. “They’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Good,” Marnie replied, before she could think twice. She watched as another look crossed Sebastian’s face.
“What was your name before you got married?” he asked, and she blinked in surprise.
“What?”
