"Ah, very good Richard, thank you. I should hope that we catch at least the whiff of a patient today, eh gentlemen?" Dr. Winston chortled happily, and Dr. Vorst joined in, though more out of politeness and less of general humor. Dr. Lanway just sighed and began filing papers at her desk.

"By the way, Christopher," Dr. Winston said suddenly, "congratulations on your upcoming marriage. I just read it in the paper today, why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"It slipped my mind." Christine said honestly. Really, she had been rather busy with work and had been trying to not think about the wedding or her future bride. 

"Slipped your mind? My dear man, don't let your fiancée catch wind of that! Surely your lovely wife to be sees this as the most important day of her life! You must be sensitive to the needs of a woman if you're going to marry one."

Christine sighed again and nodded, trying to make believe that she didn't take offense to those words. She knew for certain that not all women spent their days fantasizing about their wedding days. Some actually had more important things to do. It was just silly, silly women who spent their days dreaming of romance.

Dr. Lanway filed through her papers, also hoping that they could have someone come in that needed treatment. But with the growing popularity of the Yydan-core surgery, people were beginning to treat psychology as an unnecessary science, and it was dying just as quickly as it had started.

"How ridiculous that these people think the Second Heart could get rid of everyone's problems." She muttered, putting everything neatly into place.

"Now, now Christopher, why are you so glum? It's only a week until your wedding day; you should be overjoyed to wed such a sweet and prosperous girl like Miss Edel."

At this Christine said back to her boss, "Prosperous she may be, beautiful she may be, but sweet she is not. She is annoying and silly and not at all what I'm looking for in a wife."

"Then, dear boy, why in the world did you decide to marry her?" Dr. Winston asked incredulously.

"It was her aunt's idea, and I went along with it because it was you who hinted that I was in need of a wife in the first place!" Dr. Lanway took a few calming breaths and sat back down at her desk.

“Well, I didn’t mean for you or the girl to be unhappy,” Dr. Winston said sullenly, “After all, marriage should be joyful- the happy bonding between two people under the eye of society."

"Not to mention whatever gods might be watching," Dr. Vorst happily supplied, "but all of that aside, you shouldn't be cursing your good fortune, Christopher. There's many a man who would kill to marry one of the Edel girls, be sure you're not murdered in your sleep before the wedding."

"That’s very funny, Dr. Vorst. Now, the both of you, I am quite content with my circumstances, I only wish that Miss Edel were a little more...intellectually inclined. That is all." She looked between the both of them, and for a short while no one said anything. Then Dr. Winston cut through the silence and said,

"Well, you know what they say about young lovers- that opposites attract each other. Think about it lad, you're a man of science and facts, and you don't take well to things outside of that. Now, Miss Edel, being a woman, will be drawn to beauty, both the beauty of herself and the environment she's in. She also will seem fixed on details of what we men see as trifles. But heed her well, dear man, because in her seeming fragility and weakness of mind, there is a vast store of practices in the subtle arts. Manipulation and ruin await a man who does not respect his wife, but a sweet and caring partner you'll surely have if you only treat her with kindness."

"'Fragility and weakness of mind'? You speak as though women were intellectual inferiors to men." Christine said, barely sustaining her voice so as not to growl at the man in charge of the practice.

"Ah, Christopher, if only you could've heard the discussions that were had at the last Academic's Ball. There was a fellow doctor of psychology there, a Dr. Hamford it was, who had written a book about the differences between men and women.

"The thing about women is, Christopher, that they are forces to be reckoned with if not under proper guidance. They deserve to be treated well, of course, as all creatures do, but there's no denying that in terms of strength or intelligence, there are simple physical characteristics that make it so that man was to be the superior of the two. Consider the thought processes of each, the average head sizes, physical tests of strength and speed. Consider also that women are content to serve a kind husband- it is because it is their place in life, so long as the husband isn't cruel to her. Being cruel to one's wife is, in my opinion, the worst offense a man can conceive."

All of this Christine bore with her teeth grit and her mouth clenched shut. Her hands were perfectly still at her sides. 

"I still think," she said coolly, "that there hasn't been enough research done on the subject, and that this Dr. Hamford should consider actually talking to women and seeing how content they are serving their husbands when there's a much wider world out there for them."

"Well, now you're just being silly dear boy! Dr. Hamford is a very respected man, and for you to just say that there is something lacking in his work, just a year out of school yourself, the nerve!" He laughed as he said this, and wiped his eye with a handkerchief. "Women are far too emotional and illogical to be doing the work of men. Besides, if the woman was gone from the house, who would be there to watch over it? Not to mention the children."

"As you say, sir." Dr. Lanway said finally, ending the conversation there.

For the rest of the day she wondered if Lenora would be content to be nothing but a wife. She later concluded that so long as she kept giving Lenora the much sought-after kisses, she would be content to do anything.

In the Edel household, Lenora was having her own anxieties over the wedding. While she enjoyed the dress fitting somewhat, she found herself not all that interested in the planning of the decorations and the guest list, let alone what precise shade of white the table cloths should be. She left that to the critical eye of her aunt and instead locked herself in her room for days on end, or so it felt. She tried to imagine her married life, and think about what she should prepare to do in order to be seen as a good wife. She had never been quite clear on what a wife was supposed to do- only that they were social, affectionate, obedient, and had a tendency to spend their husband's money. But Lenora did not really want anything, nor did she have any connections with which to gossip over trivialities. Or just talk to. In this way, Dr. Lanway was to be her whole world, and she could be said to just be moving from one prison of boredom and luxury to another.

Ah, but life with Dr. Lanway might not be so interesting, though life with Christine would surely be something to look forward to. She fantasized sharing kisses with her every day. She dreamed that on their wedding night, they would kiss all night long. Then, Lenora pondered; why not see if she could go further than kissing? Kissing was wonderful, after all, but what about those dirty, pleasurable things she found in books that she hid under her dress and smuggled from the more downtrodden bookstores? For the longest time, they seemed like fanciful words on a page, but now she realized that her own wedding night, a time supposedly filled with passionate coupling, was merely a few days away. But nevertheless, Christine would never consent to that. She was too prudish, too terrified of Lenora to think about something like that.

But perhaps some subtle persuasion could do the trick. After all, if Christine thought it was her own idea, she'd surely go along with it. And what's more, Lenora wouldn't have to worry about not pleasing her soon to be husband, because Christine would be just as inexperienced, just as nervous and ready to move into what she considered the best part of marriage.

Before the wedding, it was decided that Susannah was to be the Maid of Honor and Dr. Vorst the Best Man, and for the exact same reason: neither Lenora nor Christine knew of anyone better to ask, if anyone at all. And when they learned that they had earned such high positions in the wedding, though they could only guess that it was by default, they were both overjoyed to be helping with the celebration. Dr. Winston was of course invited, along with the more distant factions of the Edel family. Christine claimed to have no living family members, and so her only wedding guests were academics from around Cloginsmire.

The day of the wedding was warm and sunny, and the garden that Madame Edel picked for the wedding and reception couldn't have been more picturesque. The color scheme seemed to be of very light pinks with plenty of pretty white decorations. Away from the guests, altar, and groom, Lenora was being prepared to become Mrs. Lanway.

Susannah was dressed in a pretty pink bride's maid gown, which went perfectly with her yellow hair. Her loveliness was second only to Lenora, who had been up all day with hairdressers and beauticians to look like nothing short of an earth bound goddess. Her ebony hair was piled neatly on her head with sparkling ornaments, and her dress was tailored so as to flow gracefully however she moved. 

"Oh, my dear cousin," Susannah sighed, "you are a vision of loveliness. Dr. Lanway will be so amazed to see you."

Lenora smiled and looked down at her bouquet of pink roses. She held them up to her nose to sniff, and was pleased by the aroma they gave off. She couldn't have imagined a better day to get married. It was like something out of a romance book.

But she longed to catch sight of Dr. Lanway. While she was waiting for the ceremony to begin, she asked Susannah to take a look at how everyone was doing.

"He looks so very nervous!" She reported, "He's fidgeting with everything and is rocking on his feet. Yydan bless him, he looks like such a wreck!"

"If he's worried now, I wonder how he'll be saying his vows? I can only hope he doesn't have a nervous stutter." Lenora laughed and twirled about in her dress,

"Now, now," Susannah said, "stop that, and let's attach your veil and train. I think they're about to start the procession."

"We're about to start," Christine said to nobody in particular, "I hope this goes through without too much of a hassle."

"You're about to get married and all you can think about is the hassle?" Dr. Vorst said, clapping her on the shoulder. "You need to think of other things; the beauty of the scenery, the anticipation of seeing your bride, and not to mention," he said with a sly grin, "that which all men look forward to."

Christine flushed crimson at the mention of such things.

"Dr. Vorst, you're being vulgar."

"But you do know how it all works, right? Or shall I have to give you a brief but practical and very important biology lesson?"

The official, a priest of Yydan, walked up to them and said,

"We're about to start, we're asking that everyone takes their places, the bridal procession is about to begin."

When the guests were seated and everyone was hushed, the orchestra began to play. Lovely music permeated the gardens, and Susannah walked out before her cousin. Everyone turned to admire her loveliness, and then stood up as Lenora began to walk down the aisle.