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My brother says, "I do." And the church erupts in a chorus of cheers and clapping. The priest waits a moment and asks the same question to Lita. And when she says, "I do." The church explodes again in cheers and happiness. I can't hide the grin on my face. Even though the tension of having Alex here and not having any idea what is going on, I am grinning, and it is filling my entire soul with joy to see my brother so happy. I glance at Alex, that stupid massive smile still spread across my face, and I see him smiling back. At first, I felt a little bit relieved to see him smiling like that, but then I thought to myself that it was a wedding, and everyone was smiling. I can't read too much into it.
After the ceremony we follow the bride and groom out of the church and the guests toss rice and flower petals in the air. A bunch of it gets stuck in my hair, but I do not care.
We get pulled into the garden of the church for family photos and I can't see where Alex has disappeared to. Since the church, I have not been able to spot him in the crowd and I begin to wonder if he snuck away, regretting having come here at all. But he traveled so far to get here. Why would he do that? Even if my mother did tell him about the baby. Maybe he just traveled here out of pure anger?
The photographer asks us all to smile, and I grin towards the camera feeling my stomach twisting in knots of uncertainty.
My younger brother leans close to me and whispers, "Wasn't that guy your neighbor? The grumpy one?" He asks.
I nod. "Yes, he is not actually that grumpy," I say, shrugging my shoulders.
"Please smile." Another flash goes off and then the photographer shuffles a few of our cousins into the frame.
"What is he doing here though?" My brother asks, just as confused as I am.
"Honesty, I don't actually know," I say. And I really don't.
I don't know how he came to know I was here, and I don't know why he flew all the way out here.
I stare into the crowd, hoping to spot Alex. But I know how tall he is. If he was actually here, I would have been able to see him from a mile away.
We shift into another formation and the photographer yells for everyone to smile again. I do as I am told.
Another thirty minutes of photographs. Some with just the bride and her brides' maids, some with the cousins, some with the aunts and uncles, others with our parents, then just the siblings. The list seems to never end, and my feet are starting to burn in these heels. I am used to wearing comfortable sneakers, not these glittering gold high heels.
Finally, my mother calls for everyone to make their way towards the reception. I breathe a sigh of relief. The reception is in a hall just around the corner, so it is not a far walk, although in these shoes a couple of meters suddenly feel like a mile.
While I am walking towards the reception my head begins to spin again as nerves rush through me. What am I going to say to him? Is he even going to be there? Maybe he left, maybe it was all too intense. If he is there, what do I say though? Hello? How are you? Nice to see you here?
I sigh in frustration and the bridesmaid walking next to me says, "Hey, are you ok? You look a little flushed?"
"Oh, yes, probably too many tequila shots last night," I say to cover the obvious worry on my face and laugh to show her that I am enjoying myself.
She smiles. "Me too. It was so much fun though, wasn't it?"
I look around at all the happy faces of my family and friends. "It really is so much fun," I say, smiling softly.
We walk into the reception and the first person I lay eyes on is Alex. I want to rush over to him immediately and find out what is going on, but the crowd is cheering and clapping for the bride and groom, so I clap and stand to the side with everyone else while they walk through to the dance floor.
Finally, the process is over, and I walk towards Alex.
CHAPTER 22
ALEX
Isit in the back of the church, my eyes locked on Gabi. The relief is still running wild through me, so grateful that it is not her wedding. I guess it was silly of me to straight away assume that, but in the chaos of everything that assaulted me when I arrived at the house my main thing to be grateful for is that her mother did not for a second let go of me. Otherwise, I would have darted right out of there in shock and horror.
Don't get me wrong, I am still in shock.
Gabi's dress is the brightest yellow I have ever seen in a dress before, and truth be told it would look terrible on anyone other than her. I chuckle at the other bridesmaids whose cheeks are glowing red and clashing with the yellow glow. The hall is filled with lilies and sunflowers, and I can see the bride obviously loves yellow.
I grin at Gabi. She is fidgeting and looks uncomfortable.
Her eyes catch mine and she quickly looks away. I wonder if she is happy to see me or if she is going to be angry and yelling at me when we finally have a moment to talk. Her mother was over the moon to see me, but I think that it was most likely just her excitement for the wedding and being surrounded by her family that was tainting her reaction to me. I doubt she properly remembers who I am or knows anything about what is really going on? Unless Gabi has been talking about me? If Gabi has been talking about me then that means that she cares. But was she saying good things or bad things about me? I tense up in my seat, mulling over and over everything that has happened. Her mother did not seem angry or upset at me. Maybe she told her mom good things? Maybe she told her mom nothing and I am imagining everything in the hopes of the best outcome.
I watch the bride and groom exchange vows. I am continuously glancing across toward Gabi though who is now smiling as the priest says those important words.
"I now pronounce you man and wife." The crowd cheers and I clap with them. My stomach flip flops of excitement when I think that soon it might be Gabi and I heard those words and people might be cheering for us.
