The reception was not beautiful, but the food was abundant, and everyone seemed to relax in the church basement. The deejay that Chul had hired cracked jokes between playing top forty music. There was nothing lovely about the basement—the wedding lilies hardly covered the smell of insecticide and kimchi soup from prior communal church meals. Basketball hoops were stationed at opposite sides of the large room, which also served as a gymnasium. Chul and Tina danced to a Whitney Houston song, and at Joseph’s request, the father-daughter dance was skipped, but Chul danced with his mother to “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Chul’s parents danced well, and remained on the dance floor, as did his sisters.
Casey had been seated with Sabine and Isaac, Ella and Ted, and Unu. Dr. Shim, who was supposed to be sitting with Joseph and Leah, had migrated to their table to chat with Unu. Sabine and Isaac left shortly after dinner, because Sabine had a migraine. As she’d expected, throughout the evening Casey was peppered with questions by several Korean parishioners as to when she’d marry and would Unu be the lucky fellow. There was no polite answer to this, so Casey was relieved when Tina told her that she had to pee.
There was no way Tina could negotiate the crinoline-and-hoop skirt beneath her wedding dress by herself. Tina and Chul had agreed on no bridesmaids or groomsmen, but as her sister, Casey had hosted a bridal shower at Sabine’s apartment, gone to choose her wedding clothes at Kleinfeld’s, and helped her to get dressed today, and now, they joked, she had the bridal bathroom duties.
They headed toward the bathroom behind the sanctuary on the main floor because it was large and private. Tina was irrepressibly happy and in her blissful state didn’t notice that Casey was quiet.
After Tina finished her business, Casey held on to the hem of Tina’s skirt because there was a large puddle of water near the sink.
“Wow. You’re married.”
“I know! Isn’t it crazy?” Tina replied, turning from her own reflection, then seeing her sister’s thoughtful face. “Hey, you okay?”
“I’m good.”
Tina nodded, feeling foolish for being so giddy. She was ashamed of her happiness. It might have been difficult for her sister to deal with all these Koreans asking her questions about marriage and such when Unu had said he’d never marry again. It occurred to her that she was being inconsiderate. But she couldn’t imagine getting married without Casey being there.
“Thanks for getting the flowers before. Can you believe I forgot them? What a moron!” Tina hit her head dramatically.
“You’re allowed to forget things, Dr. Han.”
Tina nodded, noticing how her sister’s face could be so beautiful when it softened. “I’m really glad you’re here. It means a lot to me.”
Casey looked at her sister. “I wouldn’t have missed it. I’m really happy for you. Chul seems like a terrific guy.”
“I love him so much. He’s a very good person. You know?”
“His mother, however. . .” Casey rolled her eyes.
“Oh, she’s not so bad. Dad said she’s a yuh-oo.”
“Yeah, he nailed that one.” Casey laughed. “Can you believe the shitty presents yesterday?” She laughed again. “What did Dad say about them? Probably nothing.”
“They didn’t say a word,” Tina replied. She exhaled loudly. “I felt so bad for—”
“Fuck ’em. They’re snobs and cheapskates. Did you notice how flat-chested that mother is? I was feeling rather full-figured in comparison.” Casey stuck out her 34B chest.
“Chul’s not like that.” Tina giggled.
“He’s chesty?” Casey winked.
“No.” Tina made her “little sister worried” face. “He’s very generous. I haven’t talked to him about it. I don’t even know if I will. But I think he felt bad about the disparity between the gifts—” She looked at her hands and noticed her wedding band and engagement ring.
“They’re just tight, I guess.” Casey checked her reflection in the mirror, tucking the stray hairs into her updo.
“But what’s funny is that they’re not tight,” Tina said, trying not to say the obvious thing.
“They think we’re shit because we’re poor. They thought they didn’t need to go through the trouble—”
Tina said nothing. Casey always said what she saw, but it wasn’t as if everyone wanted to hear it.
“Makes you want to be rich, doesn’t it?” Casey pulled out her compact and powdered Tina’s nose.