Soldier's Choice by Morgan Blaze

her into a bear hug. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”
    “Hey, Mama Davis,” she said with a laugh. “It’s been like a week.”
    “Well, we’ve just been so busy around here that it seems like forever.” She smiled and ushered her inside, closing the door behind her. “Come on in,” she said. “Sydney’s been watching for you, but she got distracted a few minutes ago.”
    Luka followed her toward the living room, where most of the noise was coming from. “So what do you think about this development with Cam?” she said.
    “Oh, I’m thrilled.” Marnie waved a hand in the air, like she was shouting hallelujah. “Don’t even get me started on those rotten Lowells, but I can’t say how happy I am that she’s not moving to New York City.” She gave a dramatic shudder.
    “Me, too.” Luka had been crushed when Syd told her that Tommy had a job way up there. She really had to work at pretending she was happy for her—and she’d been not-so-secretly relieved when it was over.
    Twenty or so females of varying ages occupied the living room. Luka knew a few of them from school, and a few more were Sydney’s cousins. Most looked familiar, but so did everyone in Covendale. They all sat or stood where they could see the big-screen television showing what looked like a really old home video. Something outdoors, with a lot of people milling around and mugging at the camera. Then the shot cut to a girl in a white wedding dress, getting ready to toss the bouquet.
    She recognized the bride.
    “I knew you were crying,” she said, nudging Marnie. “That’s your wedding.”
    Marnie grinned. “Yes, Bill managed to transfer the old tape onto a DVD and had it cleaned up. You’re all just lucky we didn’t put the honeymoon videos on here.”
    “What, we don’t get to see the sexy times?”
    She laughed. “Not right now. There are children here.”
    On the screen, an incredibly young Marnie threw the bouquet over her shoulder. The camera moved to the crowd, where a girl in a bright blue dress shouldered people out of the way like a linebacker, then scrambled onto a chair and made a leaping catch, clutching the bouquet to her chest like a life preserver.
    “Oh my God,” someone in the living room said. “That’s my mom. ”
    Everyone broke into peals of laughter.
    As the video moved into more wandering crowd shots, Sydney popped her head over the couch and spotted Luka. She grinned and scrambled to her feet, rushing over for a hug. “Finally, the party can start,” she said. “How are you doing? I got more pie, in case we need it.”
    “I’m fine. Really.” She stepped back and smiled. “Still the blushing bride,” she said. “Funny, you look a lot more radiant than you ever did with what’s-his-name.”
    “I feel so much better.” Syd grinned and grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s run for the kitchen while no one’s looking. I’ve got stuff for Mudslides.”
    “You’re on.”
    They snuck out of the living room, giggling like idiots. “You remember that time we drank half a bottle of Dad’s Scotch?” Sydney said. “We were…God, like seven or eight.”
    “Eight,” Luka said. “It was the weekend after my birthday. We’d been wearing those stupid paper crowns from the party all week.”
    “That’s right! We were being queens and we wanted tea, but I wasn’t allowed to use the stove.” Syd smirked and shook her head. “Well, it was tea-colored.”
    “Your mom freaked out so bad. It’s the only time I remember her yelling at your dad. She kept saying something about poisoning us with his Glenlivet obsession—only for the longest time I thought she said ‘Glen’s ribbit’ and your dad was obsessed with frogs.”
    “Oh my God. Glen’s ribbit!”
    By the time they reached the kitchen, both of them were laughing so hard they had to lean on each other to keep from falling. They calmed down a little and Luka slid into a chair at the island counter, while Syd headed for the