The Rehearsal

L’HISTOIRE

The day before the wedding, the shrine is quiet and smells of cedar. Both families have come to watch. The priest, an old man with a very calm voice, walks Ben and Yui through every step. Where to stand, when to bow, how to hold the sake cup. Miss Morita follows with a clipboard, and puts Sota in charge of the rings. Ben has read everything about Shinto weddings, and it shows. The priest is impressed. Yui is less impressed by his bowing. In the afternoon, at the old house with the garden, the maples have turned red, and Ben brings the sixty name cards he finished at two in the morning. His speech is still a secret. This is the conversation you'll be able to say by the end of the lesson.