the Fragment Chronicles: Katherine [Rewriting] ⊸

Chapter Seventeen : Donald Waites

Donald Waites

rebound for heath

you know the rest

2009

***

I flip the fabric upwards and try to make a knot. Note to self: Walt you can't tie a tie for shit.

I hear Uri sigh. "Come here." He says and approaches me to fix my tie. "Jesus, Walt. What is this? A constrictor knot?"

I don't reply as he fixes the monstrosity.

"You remember what you promised, right?" Uri asks me as we walk down the right staircase and into the foyer. I have my SLR in hand a plan to get some shots in before the ceremony.

"How could I forget?" I mention, fidgeting with my tailcoat that keeps hitting the back of my knees.

"I told you to order the vigilante town coat — "

"Well, sorry if I didn't want to twin at our sister's wedding." I interrupt.

I watch Uri analyze my face. "You're mad at me."

"No." I say sarcastically as we walk out of the back door and toward the gardens. When we were little, Uri and I would play tag or football, things like that. Oh the memories.

"She hurts people Walt." I hear Uri say.

"You mean she hurt you?" I can tell my words sting; I can see it all over his face. "Look, by how you and Belle have talked about her, Maia is not Katherine."

Uri tilts his head. "You're right, she's not."

A rush of relief waves over my entire body. I look around at the scenery, through the viewfinder of my Pentax K1000, where I have to marry Xenia and Zev. My eyes flit over my shoulder and I do a double take.

"What?" Uri asks as he follows my gaze that follows on Katherine.

She's in a evening dress, obviously dressed for the theme, her hair is tied back and her eyes wander the gardens before she sees us. She slightly smiles before bending her knees in a curtsy, picking up her dress.

As she starts walking towards us, Uri says, "Have fun with your date." Before strolling away, most likely looking for some place to hide.

"Hey," Katherine greets with a smile.

"Hey, you look really nice — beautiful, in fact." I stammer.

She giggles, "Thanks, you don't look too shabby yourself."

"How's the dress treatin' you?"

"Okay, I guess. The corset's really tight but I'm sure I'll lose circulation before the reception. No biggy."

I chuckle. "Is Xenia having a meltdown?"

Katherine's eyes widen. "You have no idea. Your aunt is trying to calm her down but she isn't doing too well. I had to get out there."

"Yeah, my aunt Hanna makes everything worse — she's not very good at wording her sentences properly."

"Hanna?"

"My aunt."

"Oh, maybe I got the names mixed up." She shakes her head. "Anyway, nice camera."

"This? Thanks, I've had it forever."

"Does it use film?"

I nod. "I'm not a big fan of digital, only when it's completely necessary."

"I swear I learn something new about you everyday."