WA 5 draft 1

Percy stood behind the rows of wooden pews in the tiny church. It was a beautiful Friday afternoon. The low autumn light was slanting in through the high stained-glass windows on the west long wall, sending patterns of gold-tinged spots of light onto the floor. On the far short wall there was a large rose window that was as deep blue as the sea. On Percy's side, there were no windows, only the simple oak double doors that were open slightly to allow a sweet-smelling autumn breeze inside. Percy sighed and rested his chin on his arms, inhaling the scent of dead leaves, books, and cheap furniture fabric. The wedding hadn't started yet, but it was very close; the guests had begun to arrive. Most of them Percy didn't even know. 

Percy sighed and entered the back room where Ethan, the groom, and Noah, his best man, where nervously preparing for the big "I do." The room was one of those sparsely-furnished and vaguely creepy "church function" rooms with white cinderblock walls, crappy folding chairs, a single faux-wooden table, and tiny windows. Percy hated being in these kinds of rooms at night. For the wedding, someone had set up a cracked full-length mirror on a tilting axis, the kind that would flip over at the slightest nudge. 

Noah spotted the ten-year-old and grinned. "Hey, little man. Don't get those clothes dirty before the wedding's over."

Percy sighed. "I'm not. When's the wedding gonna start?"

"It'll start when it starts."

Noah was always giving him answers like this. "But you always say that!"

"Hey, it's true." Noah was Ethan's elder by two years, twenty-nine (and a half) as opposed to Ethan's twenty-seven. He was also his brother. He had stuck to his little brother like glue in the past week, offering advice and moral guidance - at least that's what he said. It was all meaningless to Percy, their nephew and ring bearer. 

As Ethan nervous combed and re-combed his hair in the mirror, Noah squatted in front of Percy and brushed off the front of his sports jacket and tie. Then he spun the boy around and did the same with his back. Lastly, he pushed Percy's short, silky blond hair into place and picked up a light blue silk cushion that had been on the table. He handed it to Percy, who held it reverently like a priceless gold statuette. There were two lustrous silver rings nestled into the center like bird eggs. Percy liked his job. It made him feel important and the silk felt nice on his fingers. 

"Do not drop those," commanded Noah as he beheld his nephew. "You will be in so much hot water if you do."

Percy nodded, suddenly nervous. He swallowed drily as strains of organ music floated through the doorway. Ethan looked twice as nervous as him as he shuffled out the door with Noah behind him, grinning. Percy was left alone to make sure he got the rings to them on time.