FROM THEN ON

Chapter five

The next day which was a Monday, as soon as I got to work, I went straight to Regina's office. ''Regina?'' I called out to her while knocking on her door. ''Come in!'' she called out. I opened her office door and entered. ''Ah...just the man I wanted to see,'' she said and smiled at me. ''How was Washington?'' she asked. ''It was........interesting,'' I said. ''I see. Well you did a great job reporting the ceremony. So sorry about the inconvenience caused with the flight,'' she apologised. ''It's okay, I understand,'' I said. ''Has Linda forwarded the E-mail to you yet?'' she asked. ''Uh yes. Honestly, I completely forgot about the award,'' I confessed. ''Really? How come?'' she asked. ''Let's just say that Washington opened my eyes to a lot of things,'' I said. ''I see. You can go now,'' Regina said. As I walked out of her office, I turned back and asked, ''Hey is it okay if I maybe took like a leave or a vacation around this time next month for a few weeks?'' I asked. ''Well sure just hand in your leave application ahead of time. Why the sudden decision if I may ask?'' she asked. ''I just think I need a little me time you know? I've been working a lot lately and I just need time to you know relax,'' I replied. ''So are you going out of town?'' she asked. ''Yeah maybe I'll go to Canada or maybe even visit Washington again,'' I said laughing nervously. Regina raised her eyebrows at me but before she got the chance to ask me any more questions, her phone rang and she answered it which gave me a chance to escape. After work that day and every other day until the wedding, Ryan and I always met up to do something concerning the wedding. Either we went to buy our suits or we were planning for his bachelor party or we were going to buy the rings but there was always something. So the engagement party was held two weeks later, followed by the bachelor party that weekend which was held at the bar and then the day of the wedding finally approached. When I woke up that morning, I had my bath, wore a t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants, put my suit and shoes into my car and headed to Ryan's house. Serena insisted that every guy that was participating in the wedding was to get dressed in Ryan's house and every female, in her house. As I drove into Ryan's compound, I saw him standing outside talking on the phone. I got out, picked up my suit and shoes and headed inside. I went to Ryan's room, and dropped my stuff on his bed. A few minutes later, he entered the room. ''hey man,'' he said with his eyes watery and red as if he was crying. ''hey man are you okay?'' I asked concerned. ''Uh yeah. I just can't believe I'm getting married especially to the love of my life,'' he said crying and hugging me. I hugged him back and asked, ''So what's the problem?'' ''There is no problem these are tears of joy,'' he said between sobs. ''Okay man it's alright stop crying before the other guys get here,'' I said. It took a while, but he finally stopped crying. The other guys arrived which included Ryan and Serena's dads, and the groomsmen. We got dressed and left for the church. The wedding was supposed to start at 12:00pm but as at 12:30, Serena had still not arrived. I called Ashley and she said they were on their way but Ryan was still freaking out and asking me questions like, ''What if something has happened to her?'' and ''What if she doesn't want to marry me anymore?'' I calmed him down just as Serena arrived. She processed down the aisle with her father and when her father put her hands in Ryan's, she said, ''Sorry we were late. I wanted to make sure I was looking pretty enough.'' ''Baby.....You could were a sackcloth for all I care and you'd still be the prettiest girl in the world to me,'' Ryan said. ''Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman together in holy matrimony. If anyone has a reason why these two people cannot be joined together, speak now or forever hold your peace,'' the priest said but nobody spoke up so the ceremony went on, they exchanged vows and wore their rings and then the priest asked, ''Ryan Delgato. Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?'' ''I do,'' Ryan said smiling and holding Serena's hands in his. ''And Serena Robinson, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?'' the priest asked. ''I do,'' Serena also said smiling. Then the priest announced,'' By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride!'' Everybody cheered and clapped as Ryan and Serena kissed for a long time. After that, we all headed to the reception that was held a few blocks away from the church. People danced and ate and had fun. I was sitting at the bridal party table when Ashley walked up to me and asked, ''Would you like to dance with me?'' And I thought, ''Why not? She is really pretty and smart and she is interested in me. Plus it's not like Sabrina and I are going to see each other anytime soon.'' So I said, ''Yes.'' And I held her hand as she led me to the dance floor. We danced till we got tired and then we sat down and got to know each other. We were really having fun and then, I was called to propose the toast. ''Ryan and I have been best friends since high school,'' I began. ''And I have never met a friend as dependable and trustworthy as he is. When he met Serena, he could not shut up about her. And anytime he talked about her or with her, he always had this twinkle in his eyes and that's when I knew that she was the one for him. Ryan has never looked at any other girl the way he looks at Serena and I know that nobody on this earth can make Ryan as happy as Serena makes him,'' I added. ''So, I would like to....'' I trailed off and suddenly became dumbfounded when I saw Sabrina holding a guy's hand and walking towards one of the tables. At first I thought I was hallucinating so I rubbed my eyes but she was still there. I just kept staring until Ryan walked on stage and asked me If I was okay. That's when I snapped out of my daze and remembered that I was still on stage. ''Uh so sorry ladies and gentlemen where was I?'' I asked. ''Ah yess. A toast to Mr. And Mrs. Delgato. I wish that your love will continue to grow until eternity,'' I said raising my champagne glass in the air. ''To Mr. And Mrs. Delgato,'' Everyone chorused. After I was done, I quickly put my glass on the table and walked towards Sabrina not taking my eyes off her for a second. ''Sabrina,'' I called. ''Robert, what are you doing here?'' she asked. ''I live here. Well not here as in here I meant San Francisco. Oh and I'm the best man so........ Wait what are you doing here?'' I asked her. ''Well Ashley invited us,'' she said waving at Ashley who waved back at her. ''Wait what?!'' I asked still confused. Just then, the guy who was holding her hand walked towards us and said to Sabrina, ''here you go.'' Handing her a glass of champagne. ''Thank you,'' she said accepting the glass and smiling at him. ''Robert, this is my.....boyfriend, Justin,'' she said feeling uncomfortable. I stood there speechless for a second before I opened my mouth to finally say, "Nice to meet you. I'm Robert, Sabrina's.........friend,'' I said hesitantly while shaking his hand and giving Sabrina a confused look. Sabrina knowing why I was acting the way I was acting avoided eye contact and bowed her head while rubbing her left hand with her right palm. ''Can I talk to you for a second?'' I asked her while gesturing her outside. When we stepped into the reception, I placed my hand on my eyes in frustration. ''I know this sounds unbelievable......'' she trailed off. ''Ya think?'' I scoffed. ''I have so many questions to ask I don't even know where to start,'' I continued. ''Please just let me explain,'' she said. ''Before you do, tell me the truth. Did our date mean nothing to you?'' I asked sincerely. ''Robert if it didn't mean anything I wouldn't be here trying to explain myself knowing that we planned to go our separate ways after it was over,'' she said almost in tears. ''then.....?'' I asked eager to know the truth. She walked past me and sat in one of the chairs in the reception gesturing for me to come and sit beside her. I walked towards her and sat in the empty seat beside her. ''look,'' she began. ''the night I went out with you was one of the best nights of my life. After that day, all I could think about was you and I longed to see you again but when I woke up the next morning, my mum told me that my grandmother was sick and I had to go and look after her. So I left for Canada that morning. Two weeks ago, she died and when I returned to Washington, my mum set me up with Justin who is also a Christian. I really wasn't interested but my mum kept persisting and honestly, I didn't think I would ever meet you again so I agreed. After we went on a few dates, I actually started to like him and then it became official. When my grandma was sick, Ashley travelled to Canada to take care of her....'' She said as tears rolled down her eyes. ''Wait why Ashley?'' I asked confused. ''Ashley is my cousin and since she's a doctor too, she wanted to make sure my grandma was okay. When she left, I was asked to go and take over. After her death, the family decided to bury her here because this is where she was born so my mum, Justin and I together with the rest of my family arrived here two days ago for the funeral which is in two days. Ashley decided that since we are new here and we don't really know anybody, Justin and I should come for the wedding to have fun and to take my mind off the funeral. She said she talked to Serena and she said it was okay for us to come but on our way we got lost and we were not able to make it to the ceremony,'' she said still crying. ''I am so sorry about your grandma.'' I said sympathetically. ''It's okay,'' she said wiping her tears. ''So what about you and Justin?'' I asked. ''What about us?'' she asked clueless. ''Wait a minute. Rob I really like you I do. But you don't expect me to break up with Justin because of you do you?'' she asked. I just stared into space remembering how I felt the first time I went out with Sabrina, how I struggled to keep in touch with her, how miserable I was when I thought I'd never see her again, how much she had changed me........and now she tells me this. ''Robert?! Robert are you okay?'' she asked. I looked into her eyes and said, ''Sabrina, I really really like you and since our first date I haven't been able to stop thinking about you either. I did everything I could to get your number but all attempts were futile. When I saw you today, something lit up inside of me and for a second I thought that we could finally be together. Since the day we met, you have changed me for the better and I have never felt this way about anyone before. But it seems like you don't feel the same way and I can't just be friends with you. I'm sorry....all this while I've been holding on to the fact that I might actually see you again but now that I have and I know that this wasn't meant to be, maybe now I can move on,'' I said as I re-buttoned the middle button of my suit and stood up to go back inside. ''Robert!'' Sabrina called after me. I hesitated for a second and then turned to face her and said, ''Goodbye Sabrina. '' Then I walked back into the ball room where the reception was being held. ''Everything okay?''Ryan asked when he saw me. ''Yeah I'm fine,'' I lied. ''Don't you ever learn?'' Ryan asked placing his hand over my shoulder. ''You can't lie to me. So tell me,'' Ryan added. ''Ryan I appreciate your concern but today is you and Serena's day and I am not going to ruin it with my problems,'' I said. ''Robert, you're my best bud and nothing is ever going to change that,'' Ryan replied. ''I know man but right now, your wife is sitting there alone and you need to go to her. I'll tell you what's going on tomorrow I promise,'' I said. ''Okay fine tomorrow I'm coming over to your place first thing in the morning. Well maybe not first thing in the morning I do need to spend time with my beautiful wife but I'll be there,'' Ryan said smiling and then we both burst into laughter. Honestly, I have truly never seen Ryan this happy before and I was more than happy for him.