Zelda couldn’t quite resist a grin; almost everyone in the room knew the circumstances of their first marriage—not necessari
ly in intimate detail, but enough to know that it had been a matter of convenience.
Rasheed wove a spell over the small crowd nonetheless, telling them the miracle of Zayed and Zelda’s discovery of one another, that a marriage that had begun as a matter of simple union to solve two problems had become a union of love.
“And now, with both of them interested only in affirming their love for one another, I ask you to listen to their vows.” Rasheed nodded slightly to Zelda. Since nothing about their vow renewal was legally official, and they were already settled from the point of view of the government, she and Zayed had written their own vows.
“I pledge myself to you,” Zelda began, giving Zayed’s hands a quick squeeze. “I pledge myself to be your wife and companion, to take care of you even when you annoy me, to teach you to stay open even in your sadness. I promise to stand with you by night and by day, and to do everything I can to improve your life beyond what money can buy. I pledge never to run away unless you’re by my side.”
Zayed smiled at that last promise, and a snicker went up through the room as the significance—or some of it, at least—occurred to the guests.
“I pledge myself to you, Zelda,” the Sheikh began, at Rasheed’s cue. “I pledge myself to be your husband and equal, to provide for you and care for you even if you take impulsive risks, to encourage you to always face your fears. I swear I will stand with you, and protect you, night and day, and to do everything I can to give you the life that you deserve.” Zayed paused and Zelda saw him briefly glance at the audience. “I pledge to always go after you if you run away.”
A murmur, composed half of soft respectful laughter and half of jealous admiration, rippled through the assembled guests.
Rasheed continued the ceremony, similar to but not as involved as the first one they had been through to make them husband and wife. He called upon the guests to confirm that they approved of the couple’s vows, and called up Hadya and Tarek, who held the two rings, to present them.
Zayed put the ring on Zelda’s finger, and she saw that he had gotten the jewelers to add a new coil of metal to the original woven band: silver to mingle with the platinum and gold. Zelda put a similar ring on Zayed’s finger, and the two of them kissed to seal their union, to cheers from their assembled audience.
The ceremony over, Zayed and Zelda joined their friends, who moved away from the chairs towards the other end of the banquet hall, where the hotel’s servers had set up a bar and a few platters of food, with more coming out of the kitchen. It would not be the same huge feast that they’d served for their first wedding, and Zelda grinned to herself as the guests began to see that the “traditional” wedding foods were all absent, replaced by items she had suggested and taught the kitchen to make.
She’d started to become just the slightest bit homesick for Miami in the month before their vowel renewal, and as Zelda and Zayed had planned, she had taken over the menu, and put in the things that she loved: Cuban-style roast pork made an appearance, as did seafood harvested halfway across the world. Zelda had put her individual stamp on each of the items served at the reception, and as she circulated amongst the guests she had the pleasure of telling them that they could indeed enjoy some of the delicacies again, by staying at one of her husband’s hotels and ordering them off of the room service menu.
The reception for their vow renewal was not nearly as drawn-out as the first one had been, and after a couple of hours, Zelda and Zayed left the hotel banquet hall, stopping at home just long enough to change out of their finery before getting into the limo to head to the airport at the opposite edge of the city.
“I think we pulled that off rather well,” Zayed said as they settled into the plush seats, holding each other close.
“It was definitely way less stressful than the first time,” Zelda admitted, resting her head on his shoulder.
Zayed chuckled, his arm tightening slightly around her waist. “And this time, we’re going to have a real, true honeymoon,” he told her.
Zelda smirked, glancing up at his face. “I didn’t hear you complaining about the first one,” she grinned.
“I wasn’t complaining—but you have to admit that a month away, in a private villa in Hawaii, is a much better deal than a week spent under the watchful eyes of servants we don’t know.”
Zelda nodded, accepting that counterpoint. “A month in Hawaii,” she said, wondering. She shook her head, smiling. She seemed to be smiling all the time these days.
“You know, our vow renewal has created a trend,” Zayed told her. “Wealthy women all over Murindhi are insisting that if they do not get a vow renewal within three months of their wedding, they are barely married.”
Zelda laughed out loud at that, shaking her head in disbelief. She kissed her husband lightly on the lips before settling against his side once more. “We did it right this time,” she said softly. “No matter what other people think, we know the truth, and we’re going to stay together, always.”
Zayed gave her hand a squeeze; they were approaching the airport. Zayed had arranged for a private jet to take them on their long trek, and Zelda was more than ready to enjoy it, and everything else that came with her marriage to the Sheikh.
“This time, yes,” he said, brushing his lips against her temple. “This marriage is for good.”
The End