After all the vows were made in front of the goddess, the most important part of the wedding ceremony was concluded.
Standing in front of the kneeling couple, Ba Susan passed two red thick papers over to Calista and Orson.
These thick papers were something that the government or the department which dealt with marriages, divorces, births and deaths had formalized and allowed every city, town or village to have.
They were the marriage certificates that were issued by either the village chief, the councilors or the mayors, depending on the place where the individuals getting married were living.
In fact, these certificates came in three pieces. Two pieces for the married couple and one piece which would be used to register the marriage in the system. And that would be the job of the village chief once the ceremony had been officiated.
Calista accepted the certificate with an excited heart. As someone who once got married over a decade ago and received the same certificate, everything just felt surreal.
It was only after accepting the certificate that reality finally sank in.
'I just remarried and my current husband isn't aware of my first marriage!'
On the other hand, Orson accepted the certificate as well, a faint smile on his face and his thoughts unknown to the surrounding people.
"With the handover of the certificates to you. All you need to do now is put your signatures or your handprints and the process will be done!" Ba Susan smilingly informed the two recently married people still kneeling in front of him.
Calista flashed a smile at Ba Susan and replied, "We will do so, Uncle. And thank you very much for doing this for us!" feeling very grateful for the trust he had in her to hold a ceremony without asking too much.
Ba Susan looked at the young woman who once caused so many waves when she appeared over ten years ago and smiled at her affectionately.
In their eyes, probably she was a jinx and a vixen. But to him and his family, the people who knew her better and had been with her, interacting with her for five years, they all knew that she wasn't like what people said.
She was a good girl. One who was too lazy to explain herself and loved hiding in her shell like a turtle if it meant avoiding trouble.
He wasn't sure where Calista's second husband came from and what he did before. But his trust in Calista was enough to accept everything that came with her.
He just hoped as she looked at her smiling foolishly like a woman in love that she would be happy and this time around, she wouldn't be unfortunate and become a second-time widow.
No woman deserves to go through that, especially when she is so young. She deserves to be happy and live long without getting cursed every single day.
"You are welcome. I want to see you happy and I hope that he will make you happy. Cherish you and treat you the best!" Ba Susan expressed himself as he looked at Calista first before looking at Orson, who was paying great attention to what he was saying.
Orson, upon hearing that the words were somehow directed to him, raised his head to look at Ba Susan before solemnly swearing, "I promise to take care of her and cherish her to the best of my capabilities."
When he heard that, Ba Susan heaved with relief. Although there was no mention of love, he was still relieved to hear him promising that.
A lot of marriages didn't happen because the people in question loved each other. In most cases, a matchmaker would come to propose marriage and if the two families click, the marriage would follow.
In cases like that, where was it written down that the two people married were in love with each other?
Rather, they marry first and fall for each other later. Or they find a middle ground and find ways to coexist together as they form a family. It was as simple as that.
"That's good. That's good!" he exclaimed twice with a smile on her face.
With the two having their certificates, the two no longer had to kneel in front of the elder, so they rose up from the ground and Orson helped Calista so that she wouldn't stumble and lose face.
The first thing the couple did after rising to their feet was to sign the certificates plus the one which Ba Susan would be using.
After finishing that, it was finally time for the banquet to start.
Calista didn't bother to change out of her clothes, since she loved the outfit and she wanted to wear it a bit longer to make sure that she imprinted in her mind and soul that she was no longer a widow but a married woman again.
"Aunt, please start serving the food. I need to light up the lamps. It's getting a bit dark!" Calista politely said to Ma Susan as the women were preparing the table.
Ma Susan raised her head to look at Calista and responded, "Um. Leave it to me and just do your thing!" agreeing to her.
Seeing that Ma Susan had everything covered, Calista didn't linger around for much longer but left for the treehouse where instead of gathering the lamps as she was supposed to do, she went to the bedroom where she busied herself in beautifying further the bedroom for the special night.
After a while, she left the bedroom and headed downstairs where she picked the lamps and went outside to join others.
The food was all served, and the table looked very abundant with all the dishes that had been served.
As it was starting to get darker, Calista lit all the lamps to provide that much-needed light, so that everyone would just enjoy themselves without fearing the dark.
"I haven't had so many dishes like this in a very long time!" Susan exclaimed happily as she looked at the food on the table.
Calista smiled as she looked at her friend, who was a foodie at times and said, "Eat to your heart's content. Your big sis is feeling very generous tonight!"
Susan turned her head to look at Calista before giving her a wink and said teasingly, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. This little sister will not stop until my stomach bursts!"
"That would be good!"
With the table filled with laughter and chattering, the ten of them jovially ate the food, which was beautifully cooked and full of flavors, most of them had never tested before.
Crouching on a mat near Calista was Whitey, who had also attended the whole wedding ceremony and was now treating himself to a plate full of different meat.
Orson, seeing the spoiled kitten, who was supposed to be drinking milk rather than eating such flavorful meat, couldn't help but have a few thoughts in his mind.
'With this kind of spoiling. She will make a great mother!' he mused.