When I entered my parent’s home, for a moment I thought I had entered the wrong flat. Sitting at the dinner table on the far side of the room was Sergeant King, albeit in civilian clothes. Seated at the head of the table beside him was a man who was obviously his father since they shared the same large, muscular frame and facial features. On the senior King’s left sat two women who had their backs to me – one with greying hair and the other brown.
My initial reaction to this scene was one of stunned confusion, but upon observing my father and younger sister sitting at the opposite end of the dinner table – which had been extended to seat ten – my world collapsed about me. The only logical conclusion I could reach from this unlikely scene was that the girl my father had chosen to be my wife was Sergeant King’s sister!
With a flash of revelation, I realised why King had let me off with just a verbal warning today. He couldn’t have come home and told his father that he had locked up his sister’s husband-to-be, now could he?
“Come in, Ethan,” Father said as he rose to his feet to welcome me.
The others stood and my father introduced everyone. The sergeant's father, Aiden King, shook my hand with a vise-like grip that almost crushed mine. Sergeant King himself – Liam – studied me with a rather disturbing intensity as his handshake crushed the few bones in my hand that had survived his father's grip. I could not even begin to imagine what thoughts were going through his head right now, as surely I was the last person in Newhome he wanted as a brother-in-law. Mrs King, who glanced at me briefly as she gently shook my hand, was nearly as tall as I.
My bride to be, Sienna, was introduced last, and although in her mid teens, had already reached her mother’s height. She had a strikingly beautiful face – thankfully with her mother’s looks – long brown hair, and a slim figure, which like mine, had not yet filled out.
The introductions over, I sat on my father’s right, opposite Younger Sister, while my mother and older sister brought in the pumpkin soup entrees in fine-China soup bowls.
As we sipped slowly on pumpkin soup made as only my mother could make it, Mr. King Senior began his attack. "Your father has told me much about you, Ethan, but I would like to hear from you too. Tell me, what do you consider to be the most important things in life?"
I shot my father a piercing glare – he had obviously been communicating with Aiden King for some time, so what was with the mere ten-minute warning he gave me? Did he think I would have gone AWOL if he had given me advance warning? If I were honest with myself, that’s probably exactly what I would have done.
"Family," I replied. "Family is the most important thing, with friends coming a close second. And not to use them or take advantage of them, but to give generously as well as receive. To put their needs and concerns equal or above my own."
"A respectable answer," Aiden replied, though I got the clear impression it wasn’t the one he sought. "You are on a metals foraging team, correct?"
"That's right, Sir. That's been my vocation since leaving school.”
“I believe it is in that capacity that you have met my son,” Mr. King Senior replied.
“That's correct, Sir. Sergeant – I mean – Liam, is in command of the Custodian squad assigned to protect my foraging team.”
"It's lieutenant now, actually. Liam's valour against the Skel who ambushed those two cars from Hamamachi earned him a promotion and a service medal," he boasted.
"Is that right?" I glanced over at Liam, who met my gaze squarely, almost daring me to contradict his father. I wondered what story he had given his superiors when he made his report. Of course, I couldn't exactly be angry or resentful for his lies and commendation. Those lies were the very thing that saved my teammates and I from receiving a prison sentence for having illegal weapons. And for ignoring his direct orders.
Completely missing the sarcasm in my voice, King Senior continued proudly. "My son's goal is to achieve the rank of major so that he and his wife can live in North End. After that he will continue his ascent through the ranks until he becomes a general."
King had a wife? I found that thought rather unsettling. I hope the poor woman was as tough as nails. Imagine waking up next to him every morning?
“What are your plans for the future, Son?”
I ain’t your son, I wanted to snap back, but aware of my father’s iron gaze fixed upon me, I answered civilly. “Just the dreams of teenager, Sir,” I answered vaguely, since I couldn't exactly tell him about my plans for the future. I only wanted to help my younger sister regain her health and then run away during a foraging trip and never return. Dreams I would have to forsake if I married Sienna King.
A swift kick under the table from my father informed me that I had given the wrong answer, so I tried harder. “Honestly, I guess my plans are to get married, have kids, and raise them to be responsible, productive citizens.”
King Senior was frowning, as was Liam. Still the wrong answer. What did they want me to say?
“Come on, Son, don't be modest. Foraging is obviously a stepping-stone you are using towards your future career. Tell us what it is."
I could shoot my father for not letting me prepare for this, for how could I possibly answer that question without lying? I decided to veer the conversation off on a tangent. "Well Sir, as you probably guessed, foragers have a whole host of job opportunities available to them, especially in the manufacturing industry. Before I go into all that, may I ask Sienna some questions?”
“Very well,” King Senior said, although he was clearly annoyed by my blatant attempt at dodging his questions.
“Thank you, Sir,” I said, and turned to Sienna. “What do you expect from a husband, Sienna?” I asked, too lost to think of anything else to say. The truth was that Sienna was not the kind of girl to cause interesting questions to spring effortlessly to mind. On the other hand, I couldn't help but think of all the questions I could ask Nanako. How long would she stay in Newhome? How old was she? Where had she learned to cook and where did she pick up her broad Aussie accent? Moreover, I wanted to know why she was interested in me and why she was crying on the roof that night.
"Sienna is looking for a reliable, dependable husband with a…” her father began.
I held up my hand, rudely cutting him off. “If you don’t mind, Sir, can Sienna answer the question please?”
King Senior glared, but nodded his consent all the same. And this time I ignored the painful kick I received from my father. I wondered how many bruises my leg would sport by the evening’s end.
Sienna spoke haltingly at first and then with more confidence as she went on. “My goal – my dream, is to live in North End. What I want in a husband – in you – is for you to work your way to the top of your profession as quickly as you can, change to a more challenging vocation, work your way to the top as before, and keep doing this until a door opens for you to get a job in North End.”
Was this to be my future? To marry into the King family to a beautiful yet manipulative and controlling wife, whose only purpose in marriage was to use it – to use me – as her ticket into North End? North End, the very place I had been avoiding my whole life?
I could already tell I would never be good enough for her, and for the first time I resented the custom of father's choosing their sons' wives. I didn't want this.
I wondered how things were done in Hamamachi. Would Nanako’s father choose her husband? I wished my father had arranged for Nanako to be my wife instead of Sienna. Unfortunately, such thoughts were vain imaginings, and I knew it.
"Is everything alright, Ethan?"
I realised I had zoned out while Sienna was speaking to me, staring blankly into space as she droned on. Great, what did this mean for our marriage to come? "My apologies, I've had a pretty stressful day." Thoughts of Leigh, shocked and terrified, filled my mind, along with the image of Nanako's despondent face when I drove away without receiving her homemade obento lunch.
Sienna nodded in understanding, and then glanced at my father and her brother before continuing. “When your father contacted us with this marriage proposal, he said you have great intelligence and potential and that there is nothing you could not do if you set your mind to it. My brother, having met you, is of the same opinion.”
I didn’t see that compliment coming. Had I done the impossible and impressed Lieutenant King on the day we rescued the Japanese? I sent a fleeting look in his direction, which he returned with an unfathomable expression. I found it hard to believe that after his put downs and derisive looks, he was willing to have me as a member of his family.
At this point my mother and older sister brought in the main course – roast chicken with oven baked turnips, potato and carrots, and garnished with a side salad. She had spared no expense to impress the King family.
After the meal, my father and Mr. King Senior conversed at length, with some input from Liam. I found it difficult to focus on what they were saying and did not get involved unless spoken to directly.
The King family bade us farewell, and then my father and I accompanied them to the door. It was decided our families would dine together again tomorrow night, to finalise the wedding plans. Now that Sienna was eighteen, Mr. King Senior wanted her to marry within two months.