Cause I'm Five Minutes Older

And here I find myself in ZAGS holding Mikhail’s hands in front of an official. With our families watching us and our witnesses smiling. I squeezed Mikhail’s fingers he grinned at me.
“Mikhail do you take Abigail to be your wife?” The official asks. Mikhail looks still into my eyes and replies. “Abigail do you take Mikhail to be your husband?”
“Yes.” I whisper I do under my breath. I couldn’t help being a little American. The next second Mikhail was slipping a warm ring on to my right ring finger. I started the same with his and we were beaming at each other before he pulled me closer into his arms and kissed me. I felt all of my feelings pour into him. The flow stanched as he pulled from me. The official motioned us to sign the registry. Semyon signed on the witness line under Mikhail before handing the pen to Danielle for her to sign. Everyone cheered and I was handed flowers, a champagne bottle was opened. We were congratulated. But as soon as all the raucous of happiness ended Mikhail and I were token our separate ways because to his parents we weren’t married until tomorrow when the church ceremony was completed. So for the second night in a row we were to sleep in separate beds. It was lonely with out him last night I thought climbing into one of the many huge black SUVs. Dani and Katy joined me on either side. Lina, Vera, and Ane sat across from us. They and my parents would sleep at Mikhail and my apartment tonight. I sighed and chatted to my guests in variants of English and Russian, but my thoughts were miles away in the outskirts of Moscow. In bed that night it finally hit me. I’m no longer Abigail Jonas. I am Abigail Brianne Zhenechka, the wife of Mikhail Alekseiovich Zhenechka, an artist.

I stood behind her admiring her beauty before wrapping my arms around her and kissing her neck. She jumped startled and some of her team rushed in. I hid behind her. They were the first two groups I was supposed to get past. They took the bait and talked about how I was doing better then they thought I would. Then they noticed me and their eyes got wide.
“Cheater!” They called. Truth is the person they had asked questions to was Abbi’s brother Joe disguised as me. I laughed and took Abbi and the full length trench coat covering her white dress into my arms and kissed her. After all she is my wife.

The doors opened at the back of the church and I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I walked up the isle with my father at my arm. My heart leaping from my chest. I couldn’t help, but grin because there he was. Mikhail. His face shone light onto mine. He was glowing. He smiled so big. So excited. For me. We stopped at the front, I looked at my daddy. He smiled weakly and kissed my cheek.
“Are you sure you’re ready?” He whispered. I nodded. “I just wish I had more time with my little girl.” I kissed his cheek.
“I’ll be okay, daddy.” He looked at Mikhail and handed him my hand.
“Good luck.” He quietly said to Mikhail. Mikhail almost laughed. We took the stairs up and stood in front of the priest. We kneel as the priest give us lit candles to sit in our left hands for the rest of the ceremony. The burning flames, our spiritual willingness to receive God's blessings. The priest joins my right hand with Mikhail’s while praying for the marriage. Then he starts reciting blessings and Bible passages. He makes the sign of the cross while holding our rings declaring our betrothal. The priest presses the mine and Mikhail’s forehead three times each. Then we smile as Nick exchanges the rings between our fingers three times smiling, especially at me, signifying that our weakness is one. He leaves the rings on the third finger of our right hands. Nick returns to us with ornate crowns of orange blossom tucked into beautiful metal working looking like a wreath of gold and crimson joined together by a white ribbon. He hands them to the priest who places the crowns on our heads. Nick swaps the crowns between our heads three times. The priest pushed his glasses up him nose and reads additional Bible passages before holding the Common cup between us. Three sips of wine for me and three for Mikhail. We then stand, the choir starts to sing, and the priest and Nick lead us three times around the altar on which a Bible and cross rest. In this we take our first steps as a married couple. And then to close the priest recites parting blessings upon us, the newlyweds.
To Mikhail he says, "Be thou magnified O Bridegroom, as Abraham, and blessed as Isaac and multiply as Jacob. Walk in peace and work in righteousness, as the commandments of God."
“I, Mikhail, take you, Abigail, as my wedded wife and I promise you love, honor, and respect; to be faithful to you, and not to forsake you until death do us part. So help me God, one in the Holy Trinity, and all the Saints." Mikhail squeezes my hand and smiles bigger. The priest looks now to me.
"And thou O Bride, be though magnified as Sarah, glad as Rebecca and multiply like unto Rachel, rejoicing in thine own husband, fulfilling the conditions of the law, for so it is well pleasing unto God."
“I, Abigail, take you, Mikhail, as my wedded husband and I promise you love, honor, and respect; to be faithful to you, and not to forsake you until death do us part. So help me God, one in the Holy Trinity, and all the Saints."
And with the final words are exclaimed from the priest Mikhail sweeps me into his arms. His lips pressed lovingly to me as "Na zisete!" echoed through the church and everyone cheered. A kaleidoscope of English and Russian. And as he pulled away he kissed me again. We turned to our guests and smiled before walking down the aisle together holding each other. We climb into the limousine and wait for Nick, Joe, Kevin, Dani, Ekaterina, and Callina to join us for a tour of the historic sites of the city, taking pictures and drinking champagne while we go. We visit the Red Square, Grave of the Unknown Soldier and Sparrow Hills near Moscow State University.
We arrive at the reception and people are already drinking. Our parents offer us the loaf of bread. We both take a bite of the bread and Mikhail takes the largest bite, so he will be the head of the family. Loud cries of “gor'ko” erupt from every guest and we must kiss for as long as possible. All the guests count “1, 2, 3… 15…. 20.” The longer we can kiss for, the stronger our union will be. They count for ever because Mikhail and I have been practicing. We go so long they tell us the wine is too sweet and we need to stop kissing for awhile. Two toddlers, one is Mikhail’s littlest sister Stephania, were put in the center of the room, one in blue and the other dressed in pink. The guests will \offer sums of money to whichever toddler they choose. The toddler who receives the most money determines the sex of our first child.
We all take our seats. The first toast is for Mikhail and I, the new couple. Nick announces the toast, and then Mikhail’s parents have their say. Nick says the toast itself:
"Za molodykh!" For the newlyweds! They all drink until someone yells “gor’ko”. This happens after almost every following toast keeping Mikhail and I busy. Semyon and Danielle, the witnesses, read jokes and poems, and sometimes Semyon asks questions to make fun Mikhail and I. Then people have time to eat and talk, periodically a guest gets up and announces a toast. Giving their gift to us after the “gor‘ko” cries are finished. After everyone is finished with toasts it’s time to dance. First dance is for Mikhail and I.
We come together in each other’s arms and dance. We kiss a lot and don’t let go of each other. Are eyes watching each other close. Then everyone starts dancing. Someone starts to talk to Mikhail and he turns away. Joe and Semyon take me by the arms and hide me in the coat closet. I wonder when Mikhail will notice I disappeared. I hear his voice ask Semyon if he’s seen me. And Semyon of course says no, but Mikhail requests for them to let him check the closet. Joe sighs and tells him that he’d have to pay them. The door opens and Mikhail takes me back to the wedding.
We dance and drink until I have to sit down to take a breath. Ekaterina comes over and talks to me, a distraction for Ane to steal my shoe. I go to Mikhail and report to him that his little sister stole my shoe. So he goes to find her and must pay ransom for the shoe.
The music stops when the main course is served, but starts again after and the fun continues for another few hours. When I and my shoe are stolen multiple times. I see Joe and Ekaterina dancing at one point both obviously drunk. Eventually the wedding ends with all the single women in a crowd and me tossing my bouquet over my head to them. Mikhail leads me to the waiting car and we are driven to our home. We are kissing the whole ride in the elevator. At the door Mikhail pulls me into his arms and carries me across the threshold and then into our bedroom.

Love carries you to places you never thought you’d be. Every second leading up to when you find that someone is preparing you for that beginning. All the good things and all the bad ones take you. Pulling you to the second you find the one that will forever have a hold on your heart. I always thought I would be by the side of my twin brother. My other half. We came into this world together. Only five minutes apart. Everything shared since then. And now we will live thousands of miles apart. But all my life I was wrong about one thing. Nick isn’t the other half of my heart. Mikhail is.