Chapter 18 #3
‘And if someone asks what you do, erm …’ I trailed off awkwardly. I hadn’t thought about how to finish the sentence. The air grew tense again.
‘Don’t worry. I’ll talk about my day job,’ Theo eventually said, scoffing loudly. ‘I’ll try not to embarrass you.’
It was like my heart sank into my stomach and just stayed there, heavy and unmoving. I didn’t say a word for the rest of the drive to the church. Once we arrived, I quickly took Theo to the side.
‘So um, just some last-minute things. We definitely need to talk after this; there are some things I really need to say to you, so if you aren’t busy tomorrow, it would be great if you could come back to mine for a few minutes so we can chat?
Also, my Aunt Gladys is nosy and a little handsy – I’ll point her out to you, but if she comes up to you and compliments your cheeks – cover your bum. ’
At this, Theo roared with laughter. ‘Hey, I’m used to that kind of behaviour from older women, but I hear you! And for sure, we can talk after this. That’ll be nice.’
‘OK, amazing. I’m not sure how much you’re used to being around African families, but mine can be loud, so fair warning.’
‘Cassie, I’ll be fine, don’t worry. My only job today is making you look good and making sure you’re comfortable, OK?’ Theo rubbed the small of my back and I vibrated. If only he were mine, for real.
I took a deep breath, took Theo’s hand and opened the double doors of the church. It was about time to get this show on the road.
As I walked into the church, with Theo in tow, I felt every eye in the venue on us.
And it felt spectacular. As we walked up to find our place on the bride’s side of the pew, I could see the faces of nearly every woman in my peripheral vision crane their necks to take a gawk at the hottie whose hand was in mine.
This must have been what it felt like to be the popular kid at school.
I caught a glance at Sade and Kofi in the corner – they looked so stunning as a couple – and dragged Theo to formally introduce him.
‘Kofi, Sade … meet Theo!’ I said shakily, looking from both Theo to Sade and Kofi, trying to decipher their body language. Sade let out a huge grin and went in to give Theo a bear hug, much to my relief.
‘Sade, I’ve heard so many amazing things about you – it’s lovely to finally meet you!’ exclaimed Theo, before going on to give Kofi a handshake and a half-hug. ‘What’s going on bro? Good to meet you!’
Sade took both of us in, her face beaming. ‘I’ve been wanting to meet you for ages; it’s so good to bloody meet you at last—’ in the corner of my eye, I could see a couple of aunties in the pew giving us the side-eye, which Sade caught onto as well ‘—but we’ll catch up at the reception, yeah?’
I was delighted. One obstacle down, the rest of the day to go!
I indicated to Theo where we would be sitting – my plan was to quickly go into the back room of the church to hype my mother up before gathering my bouquet.
She had tried to insist on having no bridesmaids, but me and Bianca managed to eventually change her mind.
Femi was standing near the altar, looking dapper as anything, chatting with the minister.
As the guests were still pouring in, I quickly walked up and gave Femi a hug.
As I turned back towards the pew, I noticed a couple of the female family members on Femi’s side staring at Theo pointedly.
Further down the pews, I noticed one guest – a woman sitting near the aisle seat with her bag on the seat next to her, as if saving the seat for someone.
She had blonde dreadlocks and looked vaguely familiar.
She was staring at me and Theo pointedly, her face cold and unapproachable.
Where did I recognise her from? I offered a friendly smile, but was met with a side-eye in response.
Strange. I looked over at Theo, who had already begun engaging in conversation with Steven, who was cradling my nephew in his arms while trying to pontificate over last night’s football results.
Knowing he was in safe hands with Steven, I ran into the back room and saw my mum and Bianca, who both looked like visions.
My mother has always been beautiful, but today she looked exquisite; Bianca had done an incredible job on her hair and make-up.
‘Oh Mum! I’m not gonna cry but, you look sensational. I’m so, so happy for you!’ I beamed, giving her an air hug to avoid transferring any make-up onto her dress. ‘Thank you so much for this, Bianca – you look incredible too!’
‘Awww shucks, thanks, sis!’ Bianca said, gushing. ‘I’m gonna grab my flowers and I’ll meet you by the main doors in about five minutes yeah? It’s five to eleven.’
‘No problem, my love, will see you in five,’ I said, still staring at my mum, who was preening in the mirror.
‘Oh Cassie, I’m so happy. So so happy!’ Mum gushed, struggling not to cry. ‘As much as I’m ready to marry Femi, I’m also hungry, so I’m ready for this part to be over if I’m being honest. Your auntie Gladys made jollof rice. That’s what I’m excited for.’
‘I actually can’t stand you, woman,’ I laughed, picking up my plastic floral bouquet. ‘You’re going to absolutely smash it out there, I’ll you in a sec outside the main doors!’
I walked back outside to the main church, greeting the guests and making sure the logistics were in place before we got this show on the road.
I noticed that the blonde-haired woman was still staring at me.
Wanting to nip it all in the bud, I made my way towards her – a megawatt smile in tow – in the hopes to greet and introduce myself to her.
Despite her frown, she was very beautiful, and I still couldn’t place where I’d seen her before.
‘Hi there! Thank you so much for coming today,’ I said, grinning brightly as I held out my hand. ‘My name’s Cassie, I’m the daughter of the bride – how do you know the groom?’
The woman peered up at me, her eyes almost turning into slits. After an uncomfortable few seconds, she replied, ‘I know who you are; I recognise you from your photo, but thanks for confirming. Me and Femi work together.’
Photo? What the hell was she on about? And how did she know me?
I raised my eyebrows in response and made my way to sit down briefly on the empty seat next to her, but she suddenly tapped her hand onto her handbag, blocking my path.
‘My husband’s just parking the car, he’ll be here in a second,’ she said, her voice low and guarded.
‘Um, OK,’ I replied, confused. ‘May I ask where you saw a photo of me? Funnily enough, you look familiar to me too, but I can’t remember where we’ve met – maybe one of Femi’s house gatherings?’
The woman squinted again, sizing me up and down. What was her problem? Finally, she spoke:
‘No, we don’t know each other, but you know my husband, I believe. And I recognised you from your LinkedIn picture, actually.’
I stared at her blankly, still utterly confused. Were we friends on LinkedIn?
‘My LinkedIn—’ I began, but the church doors swung open and whatever words were about to follow died immediately in my throat.
I snapped upright and stared at the man making his way down the aisle.
The man saw me, and froze. His mouth opened in disbelief, before he flicked his gaze to the woman who I assumed was his wife – the blonde dreadlocked woman.
‘Jeff?’ I breathed, barely audible, my feet cemented to the floor.
Jeff’s face was a mess of panic and recognition. His eyes ricocheted between me and the woman I now realised was Veronica – his wife. The same Veronica I’d found on Facebook.
‘Cassandra … hi. What are you doing here?’ His voice cracked as he tugged a handkerchief from his pocket, blotting his forehead with trembling hands. He sank down beside Veronica, who watched us both with a taut, unreadable expression, her lips pressed into a razor-thin line.
I prayed desperately that she wouldn’t make a scene. Not here. Not today.
‘This is my mum’s wedding,’ I said shortly, wanting more than anything to go back and sit next to Theo.
I glanced behind me and saw Kofi staring at us, his mouth forming a perfect ‘O’ before mouthing to me ‘what the fuck??’ I rolled my eyes quickly and returned to the awkward scene in front of me.
Veronica had recognised me from my LinkedIn photo, meaning that she’d probably seen the messages exchanged between Jeff and I, hence her current demeanour towards me. Shit.
Jeff started to crack his knuckles, looking perplexed.
‘Oh wow, I wasn’t aware! It’s a … a small world, isn’t it?
’ He laughed nervously. Veronica stared at him grimly, before cutting her teeth at him loudly and turning to me again.
‘I’m sure we can talk at the reception,’ she murmured, her gaze sliding over my shoulder to Theo with a pensive sort of curiosity.
The entire encounter was bizarre, but I forced myself to shelve it until after the ceremony.
Weddings always save their juiciest plot twists for the reception anyway … right?
‘Right,’ I replied shakily. ‘Well, bye.’ And I strolled over briefly towards Kofi and Sade, with Kofi beckoning me to sit down so he could get the tea.
‘What the hell is Jeff doing here? Please don’t tell me you actually invited him? Why is his wife staring at you like that?’ Kofi whispered excitedly. I looked behind me briefly and saw Jeff and Veronica quietly exchanging heated words.
‘What? No! Apparently his wife works with Femi; that’s how she was invited. Also, I can’t get into it now, and I didn’t wanna tell you guys at the time, but there was a time when Jeff tried to make a move on me and I rebuffed him – but we’ll talk about all that after the wedding yeah?’
Kofi and Sade’s mouths opened and closed in quick succession like goldfish. I peeked up ahead at Theo, who was still happily chatting to some of my family members, oblivious to the drama that was happening behind him.