Let No One Put Asunder (3)

It felt, somehow, like nothing so much as a dream. None of it quite seemed real, and whether from the swell of elation or something else, her thoughts had gone faintly hazy.

"—The word of the Lord."

"Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ."

"May the words of this Gospel wipe away our sins."

His Holiness the Pope himself was speaking of the Scriptures, and yet, if she were honest, very little of it was getting through. She was hardly accustomed to Christian worship, and with her heart in such a restless flutter she simply could not concentrate.

We're really getting married.

Yes. She really was about to marry Han Seoyeon. Ninomae Hitomi clenched a fist for no particular reason, and the dry rustle of her pure-white gloves nagged at her more than it should have.

Of course, it was not a marriage the law would recognize. Same-sex marriage remained unrecognized still, both under the domestic law of Japan and under the canon law of the Catholic Church.

But the law was not what mattered. To stand before everyone and hold the rite, and swear to become one forever. To cross a certain line and at last receive each other as wife and wife. That fact was pouring anticipation and nervous tension into Hitomi in equal measure.

Long before this day arrived, the two of them had already been as good as married—no, they had shared a love sweeter and more clinging than most married couples ever did. A wedding would hardly change that, before or after.

And still it consumed her. The weight of the word spouses was that fierce, and that heavy.

Hitomi drew a deep breath, traded a brief glance with Han Seoyeon beside her, and rose from her seat with all her strength.

Chiyo came up in the meantime, took the bouquet and set it on a nearby table, and laid both brides' gloves beside it. She also placed the rings, received beforehand, upon a dish and set the dish at the altar's side.

Then the Pope looked upon the two brides standing side by side before the altar, and smiled with quiet satisfaction.

"I have come forward to this place today not as pope, but to fulfill my office as one priest. And what is that office? I trust you all know it without my saying. Yes. Even so, I will say it plainly. I have come to celebrate the marriage of two people who love each other, and to bless it."

It was the voice of a man in his mature years, and he was not even using a microphone. It was by no means a loud voice. And yet that slightly low, dignified tone seemed to fill the whole of the hall.

Was this what it meant to stand at the head of a world-class institution for answering the anomalous? Hitomi swallowed.

"Proverbs tells us that whoever finds a wife finds a blessing, and receives favor from the Lord. And Matthew tells us that those who marry are no longer two, but one body. What God has joined together, no human being must separate."

She had met Pope Dionysius II once before, but that had been in a cramped conference room, and she had attended as an equal among Apostles of strong and singular character. It was a different thing entirely from this solemn figure celebrating the Mass.

"A couple joined by the sacrament of matrimony comes, through it, to experience the mysterious union of Christ and the Church, to experience the mystery of life, and to experience the mystery of a sacramental life lived in love for one another. Marriage is holy to that degree. And so, by the grace of this sacrament, the two of you must help each other onward in holiness throughout your married life. You must strive to bind the tie of marriage ever more deeply through a love for each other that has its source in the love of God, and you must labor to keep faith with each other in body and in heart, joining the Lord's love to human love, through fortune and misfortune alike."

So saying, the Pope lightly traced a cross over the Bible upon the altar.

"Of course, I suspect the two of you have no need of a speech like this. I have not had many occasions to see you, and yet even in the brief moments I did, I could tell how deep the love runs. I do not doubt for a moment that you will be spouses from whose eyes honey all but drips."

Somewhere among the guests a small burst of laughter escaped, then was hurriedly smothered, as if the laugher had remembered a moment too late that this, too, was still a religious rite.

The Pope, however, showed no sign of minding. He simply went on.

"And so I would like to speak now of something a little different. It is a sad story, and a hard one for the two brides."

The corners of his mouth, which had been smiling all the while, fell once more.

"Even now, marriage between people of the same sex is not easily accepted. The law of Japan is such, and the law of our Church is such as well. Legally, neither your marriage registration nor this sacrament is valid. Scripture itself, in certain verses, speaks against homosexuality."

"…"

"It is not only a matter of law. There is the gaze of society as well. The times have changed, and things have improved, and yet the eyes that look coldly upon a same-sex couple are by no means few. You will live your lives meeting those eyes. Even between an ordinary husband and wife there are quarrels and trials. How much more, then, for you, who will be bound in marriage as two women."

So it would be in ordinary society, and for Han Seoyeon, a believer of the Catholic Church, it would be truer still.

"Of course, the people gathered here will bless your marriage. Even if it seems to run counter to a verse of Scripture, these are people who know how to set the love and grace of the Lord above a mere line of text."

Many of the Catholics who had come as Han Seoyeon's guests were souls who had passed through the Valley of Indifference and confirmed their faith anew. Faith of that kind, more often than not, followed the love of the Lord as each person understood it, rather than remaining bound to the letter of Scripture.

Which meant that even a marriage between two of the same sex, if it accorded with what they believed to be the Lord's will, was something they would bless with glad hearts. They were that sort of people to begin with. That was why they had chosen to attend this wedding.

"But if you step outside this hall, there will still be more who deny your love than who affirm it. Those gathered here cannot be with you always, nor champion you at every turn. And so you must go on sheltering each other, encouraging each other, and living as spouses."

Only after he had said this did the Pope smile again.

"Ecclesiastes tells us that two are better than one. Woe to the one who falls alone, but if they are together, one will take hold of the companion and lift them up. One alone may be cold, but if two lie down together they will be warm. One alone may be overcome, but two will stand—and as a threefold cord is not easily broken, so you will be well able to endure whatever trial may come. A life that holds these words of the Lord to the heart, and upholds each other. A life that takes each other's hands and overcomes, before any hardship at all. I pray, truly, truly, that your married life will be such a life."

As he said, two women marrying was not a simple thing. Fortunately, everyone around them had supported and cheered them on, but not everyone they would meet in the life ahead would do the same.

Even so, might they overcome by their love for each other. Bearing that hope, Pope Dionysius II traced the cross once more above the Bible.

"Then… I will now ask the betrothed for their intent, before the community of the Church. These two have come together to this place today so that their will to marry may be solemnly confirmed before the Lord, in the presence of the Church, her clergy, and this community. The Lord will pour out upon these two brides an overflowing blessing of married love, and will make them abundant and steadfast, so that they may keep faith all their lives and fulfill every duty of married life. —I ask you. Han Seoyeon Margarita and Ninomae Hitomi, have you decided, under no one's coercion and of your own complete free will, to marry each other?"

At the Pope's question, Hitomi drew a light breath and opened her mouth.

"Yes. We have."

Their voices overlapped. They had practiced this part already.

And yet, though the words were ones she had certainly spoken before, saying them in this place seemed to draw something tight deep in her chest. Her heart pounded hard enough to ring ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through her head.

"Will the two of you, throughout your married life, love and honor each other all your days?"

"Yes. We will love and honor each other."

"Will the two of you love and accept the children God entrusts to you, and raise them rightly according to the teaching of Christ and the Church?"

"Yes. We will."

"Then face each other now, and take each other's hands."

The two of them turned toward one another as instructed. When their eyes met, Seoyeon was the first to offer a faint smile, and at the sight of it the corners of Hitomi's mouth lifted helplessly into a foolish little grin.

"The two of you are about to enter into the holy covenant of marriage. Declare your intent before God and before this community."

Han Seoyeon spoke first. She recited the vow crisply, not missing so much as a single particle, and she did not turn her eyes from Hitomi for an instant.

Simply hearing it seemed to fill Hitomi with joy all the way to the crown of her head. She was overflowing with the urge to run to her that very moment and pull her into an embrace, but she crushed the impulse down with everything she had and squeezed her voice up from deep inside.

"Amen."

"May the Lord Himself bless these rings, which husband and wife give and receive as a sign of love and fidelity."

"Amen."

When the Pope sprinkled holy water over the rings set upon the altar, Chiyo, serving as master of ceremonies, lifted the dish and came to stand between the two of them.

A silver ring set with a ruby. The engagement ring they had used when they proposed.

She had heard that plenty of people had a wedding band made apart from the engagement ring, but to the two of them these were far too precious to exchange for anything else, and on that point they were of one mind. What mattered was their own hearts. That the two rings were in fact the same ones was no trouble at all.

Seoyeon carefully picked up one of them, and Hitomi slowly raised her left hand and offered it out. Seoyeon took that hand lightly in her own.

"Receive this ring, which I offer in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of my love and fidelity."

It was a metal ring to begin with, and holy water still clung to it, so a coolness passed through her the moment it slid over her ring finger. But that sensation was nothing beside the thrill of joy that swept her whole body.

At that joy, teardrops rolled one after another down her cheeks.

Her throat was closing, but Hitomi forced a breath out and lifted the one ring that remained. This time it was she who caught Seoyeon's left hand and held it tight.

"Please accept this ring I give you as a sign of my love and fidelity."

Feeling the warmth that came through from Han Seoyeon's hand, she slipped the ring onto that ring finger. Beneath the lights, the ruby caught the glow and threw back a small, beautiful light.

Applause broke from the guests a moment later. It was probably not what the rubrics of the sacrament called for… but whether they had been carried off by the mood, or had simply set blessing above form, the people of the Church clapped with all their hearts as well.

"Congratulations, Hitomi. You too, Shion."

Senjoji Chiyo, who had come back through the applause to return their gloves and the bouquet, whispered it low enough that only the two of them could hear. When Hitomi looked at her, visibly moved, Chiyo answered with her usual smile, a little seductive and more than a little mischievous.

Then she hurried back to the lectern and brought her mouth to the microphone.

At those words, Han Seoyeon and Hitomi bowed their heads as well, still holding each other's hands tight, and gently closed their eyes.

"Dear brothers and sisters, God in His love has joined Han Seoyeon Margarita and Ninomae Hitomi as spouses. Let us pray for this newly wed couple, that the Lord Himself may bestow blessing and grace upon them— Lord, grant health of body and soul to Han Seoyeon Margarita and Ninomae Hitomi, who in this place have entered the covenant of marriage."

"Lord, hear our prayer."

"Lord, as You made holy the wedding at Cana in Galilee, bless this marriage as well."

"Lord, hear our prayer."

"Lord, grant this newly wed couple perfect love and peace, and make them Christians worthy of respect."

"Lord, hear our prayer."

"Let us pray for all married couples. May the Holy Spirit pour out anew upon every couple here the grace of the sacrament of matrimony."

"Lord, hear our prayer."

"Almighty and eternal God, our Father, loving Lord… look kindly upon this newly wed couple. Let them receive Your grace and live joined together in love, and when this earthly life is ended, grant them the joy of eternal happiness at Your side. We ask this through Christ our Lord."

"Amen."

"…Amen."

Ninomae Hitomi was still no Christian, and yet she added the word all the same, murmuring it almost under her breath. If meeting this person, and loving her, and being bound as one in this place beneath everyone's blessing was the will of God, then she thought a hundred offerings of thanks would not be enough.

And she hoped the days ahead might go on being happy, just as they were now.

The wedding of Han Seoyeon and Ninomae Hitomi ran quite long, for although the place was a wedding hall, the rite had taken the form of a nuptial Mass.

The solemn air had held from beginning to end, which may have been why it felt even longer. Strictly speaking, the mood was far lighter than that of an ordinary nuptial Mass, but Natsugahara Hina, who had never once set foot in a church, had no way of knowing the difference.

Even so… the moment the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two who had bound themselves as spouses kissed each other was truly beautiful. Beautiful enough that she found herself thinking it had been worth coming all this way, if only to bless that scene.

Nor had the whole of it been solemn from start to finish. …To be specific, Hyakurenno Yuri, entrusted with the wedding song, was the culprit.

She had never imagined Yuri would sing that kind of viral earworm up there. It was Ninomae's song—that is, Mary Tepes's—and the lyrics did nothing but sing of love from one end to the other, but still… Natsugahara privately concluded that she simply could not keep up with that woman's free-spiritedness.

At any rate, even a wedding like this one was drawing toward its close.

The two of them, standing before the dais, turned to look at each other, and Hitomi broke into a brilliant smile as she gathered the bouquet against her chest.

And then she threw it.

"Ah?!"

…Anyone at all, hearing that voice, would have known at once that something had gone wrong.

Whether she had lost her balance or not, Hitomi ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠staggered for a single instant. Her arm was linked with Han Seoyeon's for the procession, so she did not fall—but the bouquet had already left her hand.

With a soft rush it shot up into the air and sailed a considerable distance. She had plainly failed to gauge her own strength.

Cast into the empty air, the bouquet flew a very long way. People often decided in advance who was meant to catch it, or so she had heard. Had that been the case, the chosen one would surely have been waiting in the front row—and there could hardly have been a more complete disaster.

And the bouquet, after traveling through the air for quite some time—

Thump.

"…Eh?"

Every gaze that had followed its arc gathered, as if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by nature, upon the one person who had caught it in her arms.

Hic. From Natsugahara Hina's throat came a sound exactly that small, and that sweet.