Page Ch. 08

"Where'd you get all that?"

"It was in the go-bag from when I was here before," she says, with a little smirk.

"Huh, I didn't know you had - wait you mean when you were a page?"

"I needed it during my first assignment."

I can feel her assessing my reaction as I stand there looking at her, trying to remember what or whom she might have been assigned. I'm certain she can't tell me, so I don't bother asking. I tell her, "We're just going to a party and everyone there will be friends."

She smiles but continues with her activities. "I'm not going to be caught off guard like that ever again; that guy might have killed you, Ryan," she says very protectively and slides the cylindrical item into a baffle in the garter.

"I guess I understand, should I take mine too?" I ask wondering where Mom has put it.

"No, you shouldn't and don't feel pressured to carry one for a while. I've got this, okay?" she says and puts the case back into the canvas go-bag that doesn't look much different than a camera bag. Then she reaches into the end pocket, pulls out another nearly identical looking gun and says, "If you absolutely need a gun, I've got a backup."

"Another Beretta?" I ask.

"Yeah, but it's newer. I like the older model. It has better trigger action and takes the suppressor."

"That little cylindrical deal was a silencer? What in the world would we -" I'm asking when I just stop.

"I suspect they're still interested in one or both of us," she intones. She's got her eyebrows raise to emphasize the seriousness of this. I wonder why they would even let us go to the event. I'm sure my face shows exactly what I'm thinking, and she answers my nonverbal question. "Because, I'll be with you and they may have other ways to keep tabs."

"You need to stay out of my head, I've got personal stuff in there," I joke.

"Besides a bazillion pictures of me?"

"Yeah, besides that."

"Well, let's get our go-bags and go," I say while pulling on my new jacket. "Before I get distracted and jump you."

"I'm just about ready, we don't want to be early," she says putting on her new jacket and gathering her bag.

I'd offer to take it for her, but she'd probably deck me if I did, so I simply follow her to the front door. Pulling it open, it's dark but the street lights make it easy to see my car. We lock the door with the keypad and head for the car. Once inside, I'm pretty sure I see a car's headlights come on and begin following.

Page glances back and says, "It's fine, they're the good guys."

---

The drive over goes without event. There are numerous cars in the parking area and as we park I can see Pages eyes kind of bugging out.

"It's quite the place isn't it?"

"This place is ridiculous," she mutters.

"It could easily pass for a small hotel or bed and breakfast," I say and get out to open her door.

We walk across the cobblestone drive to the lengthy sidewalk. We climb the brick stairs of the grand arched double doorway entrance to Gary's place and use the brass knocker on the large door on the right. Page is beside me holding my arm tightly. There's a chill in the air, that sends a shiver through her. I can hear sounds from inside, we aren't late, but there appear to be numerous people here well before us. As the heavy arched black lacquered door swings open, Gary is there welcoming us inside the large vestibule. Closing the door behind us, he and Xiao greet us.

"Hey, beard boy," he says shaking my hand hard and pulling me in for a hug.

"You seem to have had the same idea," I say, returning the slaps upon his back and looking at his thick dark beard. "You're looking great. Congratulations you two."

"Thanks dude."

Xiao is next, and I hug her tight and say softly, "You two are perfect for one another, I've been hoping you'd make this official for some time now."

"He surprised me by proposing on Christmas. He said he didn't want to forget that date," she whispers to me, as she releases me. I am surprised as well, since Gary doesn't celebrate it.

"Now who might this be?" Gary asks.

"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Page," she answers and does a little curtsy before I can blurt anything stupid out. "Your dress is beautiful, where is it from?" she asks Xiao.

While they are chatting about Xiao's beautiful silken dress, I realize we haven't even decided how we'll refer to one another. I need to pay close attention to Page's lead and not slip up in any fashion that might let the cat out of the bag.

"You're lovely and so is your dress," Xiao says to Page. "How long have you two been seeing one another?" she asks turning the conversation back to us.

I'm about to answer when Page answers again quickly, "Oh, we've known each other a while actually." She glances at me and gives me a quick wink over her shoulder.

"They were at the cabin together," Gary tells Xiao quietly.

"Ohhh," Xiao says blushing lightly. "I just love that place."

"It's similar to a place our family has in Vermont," Gary says.

"Page is thinking of hitting you up to buy it," I tease.

"I guess I could be convinced to part with it," he answers with a chuckle.

"I was mostly joking, but we're considering getting or building a place up there," Page answers. "This place is pretty fantastic, too."

"Yes, well, let me give you a tour," Gary offers. "We'll start over here with the cloak room. May I?" he asks Page, offering to take her new fur coat.

She turns and allows him to remove it. I can feel the awe they are both in as her new long winter coat comes off to reveal her beautiful form beneath her black dress, stockings and high-heel shoes. I remove my coat and hand it to his awaiting arms.

"I'll just hang these in here," he says as he walks into a small room off the vestibule. Inside the large walk-in closet, he places our coats together on wooden hangers separate from the other coats we can see.

"Next the main hall," he says leading us along a short but wide hallway that opens into the main hall.

There are several people in the room and I recognize many of them. Looking around I realize that we may actually be among the last to arrive. There is one group that is clearly Gary's family as I recognize his Dad.

"This is the main hall, it is a multipurpose room, tonight it'll be where we have our celebration."

I watch Page's eyes grow as she looks around the room which has several round tables in the middle while still having a great deal of space between them and the walls.

"Ryan, you don't have to listen to this, you and Xiao should go hang out with my parents over there, while I finish showing Page the downstairs."

"Okay, I've been looking forward to that," I say as Xiao and I leave Gary to describe the rest of this place.

I've been to his home uncountable times and stayed in some of its bedrooms. It's got about sixteen or so depending upon how you count, four large suites downstairs and the rest upstairs. Although some are rather smallish, each has its own bathroom, which was why I always thought of it as a hotel. There's a grand kitchen that any chef would feel at home in. A big library room with a study off to one side and Gary's personal office just outside the kitchen. I'm pretty sure he's got a panic room or two in this place as well.

When Xiao and I approach Mike and his wife, they both have broad smiles. I'd only seen her at Gary's and my graduation but hadn't conversed; we'd merely been introduced. She's quite beautiful and a good match for Mike, who is a tall dark-haired gentleman with very few wrinkles on his face.

"Good evening, Ryan," he says offering me his hand. "I don't think you've met my wife, Maya. She had to leave the graduation ceremony before they released everyone."

"Very nice to meet you, Maya, you look lovely this evening," I say.

"Thank you, Ryan. Joel - um - I mean Gary and Mike have told me so much about you."

"I assume these are your children as well?" I ask, noting the resemblance.

"Yes, this is our daughter, Emma, and her husband, Henry, our daughter, Judit, and our son, Marcus," Maya announces proudly.

We all exchange handshakes, greetings and pleasantries. I cannot get over how stunning Maya and her daughters are. They are all dark brunettes with strikingly light blue eyes. Maya has on a lovely long white dress which hugs her body firmly around her mid-section. It's got a royal blue belt and matching collar and hems. I am having difficulty believing she and Mike are in their mid-fifties, neither of them appears to have a gray hair on their heads. Marcus looks like a slightly younger version of Gary. Gary and Marcus both look very much like Mike with dark hair and enchanting dark blue eyes.

"They're very handsome," I offer. "Do they all live near DC?" I ask having only seen some of them at Gary's graduation and only briefly then.

"No, they've stayed closer to our home in Bristol. They're all in the Boston area," Maya offers.

"Well, our twins Liah and Ian are off at Oxford this year," Mike adds with even more pride.

"Wow, last time we spoke, you said they'd probably graduate from high school early, I had no idea they'd gone off to university already. They're only like fifteen or sixteen, right?"

"You've got an uncanny memory for details, they just turned sixteen," Mike tells me.

"They're out in the world all too soon, they grow so fast," Maya said with a smile and just a hint of some tears in her eyes.

Mike's phone is out quickly, he begins swiping at it and says, "Here they are at their graduation."

"They both look like a younger version of you two," I say, looking at them arm in arm wearing their graduation gowns. In another shot more of Gary's family members are included and I ask, "Is that Zach and Mellony?"

"Yes, along with their son David. They're all here tonight somewhere," Mike replies.

I'm about to comment I don't think I've ever seen David that dressed up, but Gary returns with Page and introduces her, "Everyone, this is Page, Ryan's - uh - wife."

Page quickly amends his somewhat uncertain statement, "Yes, we just got married."

The introductions are repeated as she meets Gary's siblings and parents. I realize that Page has gone ahead and filled Gary in a little during their tour. During the introductions, I find myself watching Maya absently but see her have a momentary look of recognition as she is shaking Page's hand. While she is admiring the engagement ring she gives me a look of approval that makes me believe she can look right into my mind. An odd feeling creeps over me as I wonder if the family resemblance between us is as striking as it is between her and her children. Our hair is completely different, but there might be clues in our facial features, although with my beard, I wouldn't think they are as easy to spot.

Mike takes my arm to pull me over for a quiet discussion as everyone chats. "That was some incident; are you both okay?" he asks quietly.

Gary moves to join us and says, "What the heck was all of that about?"

"I honestly don't know. There appear to be at least a couple of groups that have been spying on me."

"So, they kidnapped Page?" Gary continues.

"That was sort of a misunderstanding."

"I was going to ask earlier but decided to wait; when did you get married?" Gary asks.

"Oh, I thought Page told you, we just -"

"Are you three going to huddle all night talking politics and business or join us?" Maya interrupts.

I feel a great deal of relief since we hadn't discussed what we'll say or how. Maya extends her hand toward Mike with a sweating bottle of champagne that she's taken from an ice chest where a dozen more await. At the end of the table is an array of flutes to be used. Mike removes the foil from the bottle, unwinds the wire wrap and twists the cork just to the point.

Then with the finale, Mike announces, "We are here to announce the engagement of our son Joel Jeremiah Aaron to Xiao Shanque."

The cork pops out and Maya is ready with two blue crystal champagne flutes. They are filled and handed to Gary and Xiao, then clear flutes are filled for several more of the guests. I have the foil and wire off of the next bottle and hand it to Mike to open. This one is a tiny bit louder and I jump from the noise. Page notices and grabs my arm gently. I start in on the third bottle and hand it to Mike as well.

When all of the glasses are filled, Mike raises his glass to his son's. "May their marriage be as blissful as mine has been. Cheers!"

Nearly everyone attempts to cling their glasses to Gary's and Xiao's and finally take a sip. Maya disappears beneath a table for a moment and reappears with an ornate piece of silk. It appears to be wrapped around some type of object which she is suddenly raising above her head.

"Let it never be undone!" she says and throws it upon the granite floor.

A resounding shattering has me clutching Page as everyone begins clapping. Maya bends to retrieve the silk and carefully unfolds it to present it to Xiao. The shards of a ceramic dish are revealed beneath the layers of silk.

"Xiao, Gary bought both the pottery and the silk in Guangdong on his trip there, a little over a year ago. He gave these to me to hold for this very occasion and I present them to you now as a symbol of your unbreakable engagement." Xiao accepted the silk and folded it, so she could hug Maya.

With Page at my side, I shook Gary's hand, "You've been planning this a long time."

"We've been together, almost two years. I figured it was time."

"I presume you'd already explained the Tena'im to Xiao?" Page asks.

"Yeah, I didn't want her to freak out and think Mom was crazy when she broke it," he said looking at me oddly with an eyebrow raised.

"Okay, it freaked me out and I half expected it was coming," Page blurted out.

I wonder how she knew about the ceremony but didn't ask right now. There are congratulations going on all around, some music is put on in the room and space is made for couples to dance. Gary and Xiao begin dancing together and other couples join the mix.

While dancing with Page our rings clink and her face lights up with a huge smile. We chat quietly about Gary, his family and the company he keeps. She seems fairly impressed with him and thinks I've chosen my friend well. The room is packed with Gary's family and friends. I don't see many of Xiao's or frankly many people I know. We pass Zach and Mellony amongst the dancers. I tell Page that Gary and I've visited them at their place in Front Royal a few times. Eventually we bump into David, their son, with an auburn-haired date I haven't seen before. I'm registering an odd kind of recognition from her as we all exchange passing hellos.

Dave asks, "Would you mind giving me a comment about the Lieutenant Governor's special election later?"

"I guess I owe you one," I respond without giving much thought to it.

After they are out of earshot, I whisper to Page, "He's a reporter for the Post."

"I've met Dave before, but he was doing a story for his college paper about the incoming pages. I didn't know he was a friend," she whispers to my surprise.

"Well, he's Gary's cousin, he landed the spot with the Post last Spring. Those are his parents over there, Zach and Mellony," I whisper and nod in their direction. "Sometimes he hits me up for news stories, but generally when it's the three of us, we hang out, grab drinks or even sneak off to go fishing. In fact, Gary and I took David out a little over a year ago for his twenty-first birthday tavern crawl after which we made sure he got back to his apartment in town."

"Who's that with him?" she asks.

"I'm not sure. He was dating a younger blond from college last year, but I think this may be the mysterious older woman he's been telling us about lately," I say jokingly, because she probably only has a few years on him.

A slower waltz starts, and we are joined by Mike and Maya who indicate they want to swap partners with us. Page eagerly agrees and is off with Mike before I can object. Maya soon has me distracted chatting while I notice how light on her feet she is.

"You're not a bad dancer, Ryan."

"I'm not great but have had some practice at a handful of formal affairs. In fact, Gary is the one who taught me."

"This Vort is a double blessing as it is giving me an opportunity to interact with you, finally. I keep hearing all these good things about you from Gary and Mike."

We continue casually chatting throughout the dance. She's got a very personable manner, it's like talking to someone I've known a long time. She really has insight into people.

"That Page of yours is a dear," she says with her eyes sparkling. "Where did the two of you meet?" she asks coyly stunning me right to my core.

"I - uh - don't -" I stumble for words and I can feel my face reddening.

"Sorry sweetie, don't answer that; it wasn't very nice of me," she cuts me off and waits for me to recover. "I saw the resemblance between you two the moment she came over to us with Gary," she whispers.

"Oh, is it that evident?" I ask still stunned.

"I've got a little experience in this area. I suppose Gary hasn't told you."

"Told me - what?"

"Well, let's just say I understand the need for discretion."

We continue dancing as I think about what she's said in subdued silence. Mike and Page finish their dance next to us just as there is a short break in the music for the announcement that the food and refreshments are ready.

"You two make a beautiful couple," Mike and Maya say in near unison.

Page gives me a wink and takes my hand as we head to where hors d'oeuvres have been set out on a long table. Her smile makes me wonder if she's had a similar conversation with Mike, but I again hold off on asking. We each put several nice little bite-sized appetizers on a beautiful china plate with intricate gold filigree. We join Mike, Maya, Gary and Xiao at one of the half a dozen round tables. People are eating seated, while standing and still others are still dancing.

Page is sitting nearest Xiao and asks her something I don't understand, in a soft accented voice, "Nǐ huì shuō zhōng wén mā?"

"Duì."

They converse a bit in what I presume is Chinese and then laugh. Then they talk at length and I find it fascinating to listen to but had no idea that she even spoke it. There's a lot of back and forth and at the end, I can tell that Page has gotten some interesting information.

When they finish, Gary and Xiao chat quietly and then he bursts out laughing. The music volume is just loud enough that I hadn't heard what Gary and Xiao are discussing, but I expect he's asking her what they were talking about and I whisper to Page, "What was all that about?"

"Well, first I asked her if she spoke Chinese. When she said she did, I made a small joke and I said her name didn't match her body nearly as well as it did mine."

"I clearly don't understand, does her name have a meaning?"

"It's slang for small breasts."

"Ohhh, I - see and they aren't that, at all," I say glancing over at Xiao and then exchange a stupid grin with Gary and shake my head.

"Hey, eyes back over here, Mr. Levik," she teases me.

"I like yours better, Mrs. Levik," I whisper back to her.

"You better."

We spend more time dancing and drinking throughout the evening as we all await the bewitching hour. About thirty minutes before midnight, Gary switches on the sound from the event happening in Alexandria. The volume is just enough to hear, and he speaks over it, "We're going to watch the fireworks display from the First Night Alexandria celebration," he informs us. "You are all welcome to gather your coats from the cloakroom," he says heading over there to assist.

With our coats on and refilled champagne flutes, we meet Gary and Xiao out on the back patio.