by S L Lewis
John’s family were already slightly overwhelmed by the elaborate décor and Gabrielle’s constantly increasing demands on how much money should be spent on the wedding.
‘It’s a one time event and am I not worth it?’ she pressured John into answering as she bombarded him with more changing plans for the wedding, the weekend before the actual event.
With waiters trying to get through the crowds with tiny spicy canapés and equally stressed waitresses coming around to silently fill the empty classes, everyone was having a good time and even Renesh managed to smile as his begging seemed to be working on Shilpa.
‘How’s my emerald princess?’ my dad asked as he gave me the biggest hug.
‘I’m great dad. How’s it going with mum?’ I replied nervously.
He was beaming from ear to ear and I knew I didn’t have to worry about them anymore. ‘We’re getting there, hun and if it wasn’t for my jewel, it wouldn’t have happened, so here, let’s celebrate,’ he announced as he grabbed two glasses of champagne, from the silent waitress’s tray, and clinked the glasses.
I could never lie to my dad and he knew it.
I paused and looked down at the glass. ‘What’s wrong, Princess?’ dad asked looking increasingly worried.
The tears couldn’t be held back anymore and as soon as one escaped, they all flowed down my face.
What could I say to him? I knew he’d be happy but as we were driving to the venue, I remembered a horrible thought, I had only been in a relationship with Yatin for 3 months, however, I had only stopped sleeping with Angus a few weeks before.
What if it wasn’t Yatin’s?
The final thought made me hysterical and through embarrassment or concern my dad escorted me outside and I told him the ‘happy’ news.
Avoiding telling him my thoughts on who the father may be, he was overjoyed and vowed to help me 100%. I made him promise not to tell anyone until after the engagement and gave the excuse that I didn’t want to ruin the party and he agreed.
With more hugs and help to make me look more like Audrey Hepburn and less like Marilyn Manson, we went back into the party as a car pulled up as I didn’t want anymore family members thinking I had gone insane!
‘Where have you been?’ Yatin asked examining my face for clues. ‘We just had a father and daughter moment,’ my dad interrupted and with that he whisked me onto the dance floor with my dad dragging my mum to join us.
The dancing was hilarious and unique…to say the least!
As the alcohol flowed, there was a variety of ‘Grandad dancing’ from John’s family before getting pulled into the middle of the dance floor from some of the more fiery older auntie’s from my dad’s side and some Irish gigs from my mother’s cousins.
There was laughter, there were a few happy tears and there was anger.
This anger came in the form of Geron gate crashing the party with Charlize and a very pregnant, Elisa.
It was like a movie but in slow motion. He walked through the crowd with determination and with the pair in tow. Amelia was dancing with one of my cousins and was unaware of the drama which was coming towards her, until she saw both myself and Anya try to beat them to their target…but it was too late!
The look on her face was a mixture of shock, embarrassment and pure rage.
‘GET OUT,’ she growled as the circle around her stopped talking and concentrated on the scene that was about to unfold.
Nobody spoke or moved for fear of getting caught in the crossfire, but this didn’t stop Geron’s bravery. ‘I’m not staying long. I didn’t want to create a scene but you wouldn’t answer my calls, emails or letters,’ he pleaded. But this fell on deaf ears as Amelia was reminded of the secret he kept from her when she saw how pregnant Elisa was.
‘I didn’t answer your attempts to contact me cos you’re a lying bastard, who doesn’t deserve my time or energy,’ she spat as she tried to walk away.
Whether it was the adrenalin or sheer stupidity, he grabbed her arm, tried to kiss her and with that Amelia punched him and he ended up on the floor with a bleeding nose.
The music stopped and the crowd moved away from the boxing match to show Geron on the floor. Holding his bloody nose, Charlize tried to help him and Amelia was left shaking the pain out of her fist.
As though shocked she had punched him, she just looked at him for a minute before she tried to walk away.
‘I didn’t lie to you but I couldn’t see them in so much pain every time a donor backed out,’ he confessed which stopped Amelia.
‘Well, you are the modern day Gandhi, aren’t you? But tell me this, how are you going to be able to live your life knowing your child is being raised by these lesbians and you cannot be a proper father to it?’ she screamed back.
A stunned crowd, interested to see what would happen next, listened intently.
Geron rose to his feet and stopped Elisa from answering on his behalf.
‘I won’t deny it won’t be hard but I can’t do this without you. I know it’s a lot to ask but I need you now. I can’t cope without you,’ and with that Amelia went to attack him again, only this time Renesh managed to hold her back. ‘You coped just fine when you kept this from me for months so don’t give me this sob story now! Just get out with your freak show and never contact me again!’ she screamed with tears flowing down her face and rage in her eyes.
‘Amelia I’m so sorry this has happened but it’s not Geron’s fault, we asked him not to tell anyone until we got our heads round it ourselves. We didn’t want any extra pressure on Elisa. Please don’t blame him,’ Charlize tried to defend him but this just angered Amelia more.
‘Oh, so you didn’t want any extra pressure on her? How about extra pressure on me? My relationship? My life? You really need to leave now before more than one idiot is injured here,’ Amelia retorted.
Geron had just finished wiping the last of the blood from his nose when Charlize was going to continue with her defence; however, he held up his hand to stop her and got down on one knee to produce a beautiful, vintage looking platinum ring with a large white diamond surrounded by sapphires.
We all knew the question that was coming but with the revelation, the joy had been taken out of the gesture. With so many emotions in the air, it wasn’t surprising that when he asked her to marry him, after she had calmed down to realise he did actually love her and was trying to apologise for his huge mistake, she said, ‘no but we can talk after the party,’ and with that they arranged to meet at the flat. Renesh and Shilpa comforted her throughout the evening.
With so much drama, it was surprising that the party got back under way (I think the free bar also helped people forget the commotion earlier).
Dad was on the double brandies, mum’s dancing was becoming increasingly more flirty as she downed vodka shots with Anya and Dolph (who had arrived throughout the uproar and resolved their issues) and I was trying to forget my troubles by allowing Yatin to swing me round to every song as he became increasingly inebriated.
The time had come for the speeches and due to Gabrielle wanting the least amount of embarrassment, she had chosen a handful of family members and had given them all time limits.
It was unfortunate that they didn’t schedule the speeches before the amplified flow of alcohol but it was comical to see both John’s, and our family members, climbing onto the stage and then stumbling to the mic, to give slurred speeches that even subtitles would struggle to decipher!
The speeches were beautiful (in their unique, drunken way!) and the happy couple were overjoyed at the love they received, however, there was one person they didn’t have on the speech list but she wasn’t going to be denied her moment in the spotlight.
It was my Grandmother! (my dad’s mother)
All night she had a face that looked like she had been forced to suck 1,000 lemons and now, even with the embarrassed looks and pleas from my Grandfather not to go on the stage, she went with determination.
We all looked at each other and
silently prayed she wouldn’t ruin Gabrielle’s evening. However, our prayers went unanswered as she tapped the mic to check for maximum clarity and volume and began her toast. ‘To my beautiful Granddaughter and her fiancé. I wish you all the love and happiness in the world.’ We all gave a sigh of relief thinking this was the end of her speech but we were wrong. ‘Marriage is a hard commitment that shouldn’t be taken as a joke. You need to commit to each other through the hard times and the bad. Nowadays, it’s too easy to break up a marriage and divorce without a thought for the children or partner you are leaving. Just ask your mum and dad. Your dad left a perfectly good woman for your harlot of a mother and he never had to answer to the pain he left behind.’ With that my mother went to drag her off the stage but was stopped by my Grandfather, who was now enraged himself and tried to take the mic away from her.
Unfazed by the attempts to get her away from the stage, she grabbed the mic one last time and announced, ‘well if you won’t listen to me, listen to her,’ and pointed to the doorway.
The crowd parted to see where this woman’s rage would end and in walked a chubby woman, dressed in a white sari with a smug look on her face.
She flicked her thick, shoulder length hair out of her face and advanced to the stage.
The crowd parted the way for her and almost closed back on the young lady she brought with her.
The room was darkly lit so it was difficult to make out any more features of the pair until they got to the lightly lit stage.
Dad was furious and bellowed, ‘how dare you bring her here? You’re not a mother! You never have been! Unless everyone does what you say, you’re not happy and try to disown them! It’s always your way or the high way, isn’t it? Well guess what, Niamh knows about Shampa and so do the children and they all understand that marriage was a mistake! Just like it was a mistake to invite you here! I want you out now and don’t you ever come near me or family again and that goes for you too!’ he said pointing at Shampa looking slightly less confident on the stage next to my Grandmother.
Renesh started pushing his way through the crowd and this time he looked worried.
He came by my side and whispered he needed to speak to me immediately and it sounded urgent so I agreed and turned to try to get through the crowd.
‘STOP RIGHT THERE.’ Shampa shouted and pointed in our direction. ‘You can go in a minute but you need to hear this,’ she continued as my father was holding my mother back.
‘Don’t you dare speak to my children like that. I’ll rip your head off,’ my mother spat as she tried to get out my father’s death hold.
If he wasn’t holding her I’m not quite sure what she would have done.
Shampa was unfazed by my mother and father’s rage, as she bravely grabbed the mic and with a reassuring nod from my Grandmother she said, ‘Hello all, I am indeed Parwez’s first wife, Shampa. I wanted to come and give my congratulations to the happy couple and to give the family my present! Now, unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of money as Parwez didn’t have a lot when we divorced but look at you now? You have your own business, a common wife and some mixed-up kids, who frankly could use some morals but that’s not my problem. My only issue is my own daughter, Manisha.’
At this point, I wanted to get on the stage and rip her head off myself; however I was more concerned at Renesh’s deteriorating mental state. He was sweating, shaking and grabbing my hand to leave the hall.
‘What is wrong with you?’ I questioned but he wouldn’t answer, he just kept pulling my arm.
The woman guided her daughter to the front of the stage and instantly I understood his fear.
It was the girl from the coffee shop and Shilpa recognised her too.
With her mouth open and advancing on us like a Cheetah on its prey, Shilpa headed in our direction with tears in her eyes.
‘Did you invite her?’ she screamed at both of us.
‘No, of course not,’ I said with a heavy heart, as I was just as much in the dark about the situation as she was but unable to prove my innocence.
However, the show was not over and no matter how many guests tried to get them off the stage; they were determined to be heard.
With my grandmother standing there beaming with pride, she introduced the woman who had caused such pain for Renesh and Shilpa.
‘Isn’t she beautiful?’ she asked the crowd, directing her gaze to my father.
My Grandmother elaborated and gave the final piece to the puzzle, ‘she’s your daughter, Parwez’ to which Shilpa fainted, my father broke down in tears and Renesh was sick on the floor, before trying to help me, Anya and Amelia bring Shilpa back round.
If that wasn’t enough for Shampa, it seemed she had a glint in her eye and we knew that wasn’t the parting shot as she stepped away from my Grandmother and explained, ‘I know it’s a shock but Vilina knew all along and I thank my mother-in-law for helping me with this but there is one thing I kept from you. I know, I have been a naughty little girl but you’ll like this one. We’ll both be in your family forever, just like you wanted…Manisha is pregnant with…Renesh’s baby!’ and with that she started laughing, took her bow and attempted to leave.
My Grandmother no longer looked smug.
Instead she looked sickened with fear and disgust.
This obviously wasn’t part of the plan they had arranged and after a few minutes of being left on the stage in stunned silence, she ran after Shampa for an explanation but it was too late as she escaped into a taxi, which was waiting for her and Manisha outside.
Chapter Seven – A Beautiful Sunset?
Four months had gone by and Gabrielle’s wedding arrived, which documented a mixture of emotions.
No longer the happy lavish event she had wanted her whole life but one of John’s family begging him not to get involved in the car crash lifestyle of the Patel family, my mother and father trying to put on a united front and trying to avoid all the questions from the rest of the family and my stomach expanding in mass, and movement by the week.
The only positive aspects to come from the engagement party were that after weeks of talking through all their problems, Amelia agreed to give Geron another chance. The engagement ring is still safely in the box, however, Geron has not given up hope, but, as Amelia has stressed many times, she cannot marry him without him gaining her trust back which he understands. Elisa gave birth to a baby girl in Paris and named her Amelia, which was a shock but allowed Amelia to be involved in their new life.
Although Amelia and Geron put their engagement on hold, that didn’t stop Anya, who accepted Dolph’s proposal a month after Gabrielle’s engagement party and has now moved into his Central London Penthouse.
With her interior designers hanging on her every word and her wedding planner excited at the lack of a budget for her unique wedding, Anya was living the high life and we were helping her enjoy her new lease of life by constantly proffering our ideas as her bridesmaids and potential apartment crashers. ‘When are you gonna find out the sex of the baby?’ Amelia asked as she scanned the baby clothing shop I managed to drag her to on our lunch break.
‘I want it to be a surprise,’ I coolly responded even though I was tearing my hair out as I wanted to know the gender of the baby just like everyone else, but I agreed with Yatin not to find out until it was born.
I was going to miss my lunch dates with the girls but maternity leave was looming and after three weeks of praying for it not to come, indeed it was here. ‘I can’t believe your going. Can’t wait to see what the baby looks like,’ Sarah said as she hugged me and didn’t want to let go.
With an assortment of coloured balloons, a big silver sign wishing me well and some cheap fizzy wine and the biggest cake I’d ever seen, I was so happy that I had so many people who had finally got over my presentation saga and wanted me to come back.
As I mingled and opened my presents, I felt a hand on my shoulder and the smell of aftershave which bought back memories which I would rather forget.
Stood there in a dark grey suit, with a crisp white shirt, dark grey tie and black shoes, he smiled and guided me to my empty office.
A shiny small box emerged from behind him. ‘I heard you were having a little party and I didn’t want to come without a gift for my favourite secretary,’ he purred as he handed me the box.
As much as I wanted to throw it in the bin, I was curious, so I slowly opened it to find a solid silver rattle.
‘Thank you. You shouldn’t have,’ I replied without emotion.
After a few moments of awkward silence, he indulged in chit chat before he asked, ‘so how many months are you?
This was the question I hoped he would never ask.
‘Seven months and counting,’ I said breezily as walked towards the door to avoid his gaze.
I heard him shifting from one foot to another. ‘Wait!’ he shouted and I knew that was it.
‘Could this be my child?’ he asked worriedly.
I prayed for a smart response, something to throw him off. I even considered lying but there were so many lies I had to deal with in the past few months, I was exhausted from it all.