A Love Bargain

004: The wedding

Pearl

It wouldn't be a stretch if I said I am a nine, I would have said a ten but some of y'all might think I'm pompous. I had always gotten comments like, ''God took his time when he made you'' and yeah, that was what it looked like to me.

Standing right in front of the mirror, I smiled as I stared at myself, admiring the dress I had on. It looked like it was made just for my body.

I liked what I was seeing.

The week had flown by and I was so occupied all through it, that I had to make a new dress for myself at the last minute. With the number of dresses in my closet, one might wonder why I needed a new one but this was not just any wedding, it was going to be a wedding with most of my family members from my father's side present. It was going to be a mini family fashion show and as a designer, there wasn't a way I would be caught looking less than I deserved.

The burnt orange colour, armless mermaid lace gown I had on, was simple but stylish. I had a pair of black heels on, matching the mini bag in my hand. The new twenty-six-inch hair I bought was perfectly laid on my head. I was ready for the wedding/family gathering.

It was already one in the afternoon and the church service must have ended, not like I planned to attend since I had so much work to do from morning till when I had to prepare for the wedding reception.

I took a final glance at myself in the mirror before I sauntered to my bed, and grabbed my phone. I turned to my side table and grabbed my car key which was placed on it. I walked out of my two-bedroom apartment which I moved into three years ago for a fresh start after the breakup. It was on the second floor of the building so I made my way down.

My heels clicked against the floor as I walked down the stairs, getting to the ground floor, I made my way to the parking lot. I halted beside my car, pushed the car door open and lowered into the car seat. I strapped my seat belt on and drove out of my apartment block. Straight onto the road, I made my way to the hotel where the wedding reception was to be held. It was a five-star hotel and the venue halls were very expensive. I wondered where Peter, my cousin got the money to rent it but then, he was a doctor and they made good money.

As I drove by, I took note of so many people and cars that were all up on the road. The hotels I drove by had people gathered around or trooping in and out of them. That was normal because Saturdays were for weddings and parties in this part of the world. Thank God there was no traffic.

After a roughly twenty-minute drive, I arrived at the hotel which had Phillips Hotel and suites written boldly at the top of the luxurious building. I wheeled my car into the hotel premises and already, I could see so many familiar faces. Some of them were distant uncles, cousins and the rest of them, all gathered in groups. I guess I was just in time as the party was about to begin. At a slow speed, I drove to the parking lot and turned off my car engine. I slightly turned my rearview mirror as I drew my neck up, making sure my make-up was still intact. After touching up my face, I pushed the door open and stepped down from the car.

I pushed the door close and opened the back door, where I reached for the wedding gift I brought with me. Where I'm from, we never went to a wedding empty-handed, it was either a household gift or a fat envelope but I came with the former. I carried the set of expensive and beautifully wrapped dinnerware that I bought them, out from the car. I hoped that they would love it after they unravel it because I spent a good amount of money on it. After making sure my car door was properly locked, I walked in the direction of the venue.

As I made my way to the reception hall, I waved at a few familiar faces I could recognise. Some of them came from different cities just to celebrate Peter's wedding. The music got louder as I inched closer to the venue. I took in a deep breath and then exhaled in preparation for the meet and greet. I was ready to face all types of family members, the crazy ones, the cool ones and even the aunties who would be mad at me because I had forgotten who they were. Those types always whined about how they baby-seated me when I was a baby and because of that, I owed them instant recognition.