The Beach Wedding

by Dorothy Koomson

  Of course he doesn’t. Coward that he is.

  ‘I need someone to start at the beginning and tell me exactly what is going on,’ Ellen eventually says. ‘I will not be held responsible if someone doesn’t start talking.’

  ‘Twenty-four years ago,’ I say, ‘I was meant to get married on the beach here. During the wedding, a little boy was washed out to sea and my husband-to-be, his best man and a couple of members of staff ran into the water to rescue him. The boy was saved, but my husband-to-be was killed.’

  ‘Oh my, that is awful. I’m so sorry,’ she says. ‘But what has this got to do with anything, particularly why I have been up all night with my crying son?’

  ‘I was meant to be marrying Drew. Sorry, Andrew.’

  Ellen’s eyes widen in shock. ‘How can that be? I met him twenty-four years ago,’ she says. ‘First of all at that quaint little village market, and then he came to visit me at my hotel. A couple of days after that, he moved hotels and checked in at the same place where I was staying. He said he couldn’t stand to be away from me.’

  ‘And you were the most beautiful woman he had ever met – your destiny was shaped by the stars?’ I ask.

  ‘He said all those things to you too?’ Ellen replies.

  I nod.

  ‘You’re making it sound calculated,’ Drew says. ‘It wasn’t like that. Not at all. I loved you.’ He looks at me when he says this. ‘I love you.’ He looks at Ellen when he says that. ‘Those words are the only way I can express myself.’

  ‘Are we supposed to forget that you faked your own death to get out of marrying Tessa?’ Jake adds. ‘Or that, apparently, I tried to kill you?’

  ‘And I don’t understand about me paying someone to break into this place?’ Ellen adds. ‘The first time I heard of Bussu Bay was when Marvin said he was getting married here. I told him and Nia that I had been to Ghana once. That I’d met Andrew there. But I’d never heard of this place. I was surprised how close it was to that hotel I stayed in.’

  ‘You mean, when Drew managed to survive Jake’s murder attempt at sea, you didn’t take him in at your hotel and let him hide out in your room? And you didn’t then plot to get his passport back by paying a couple of local boys to turn over the place?’ I say. I knew it was nonsense, but Drew always had a way of planting that little seed of doubt in my mind.

  ‘I wouldn’t even know where to start with something like that!’ Ellen replies. ‘I was here on a modelling assignment. I met Andrew the one morning I ventured out to the market. The rest of the time I spent at the hotel. So shoot me, I like being near a pool, I like my drinks served cold and I like reclining on a sun lounger.

  ‘Drew joined me at the hotel after a couple of days. Although, thinking about it now, I do remember him saying he’d left his passport behind so he had to go back to his original hotel. I did think it odd that he had a bonfire on the beach a couple of nights later. And he borrowed money to change his plane ticket, so he could get the same flight home as me.’

  Oh my God. ‘You broke in here, didn’t you?’ I say to Drew. ‘You stole all our ID and you burned it. You trapped us here. You made our nightmare worse, just so you could get close to Ellen.’

  ‘It took weeks to sort that mess out,’ Jake says. ‘New passports and tickets and cancelling cards. You did that to us? Just so you could go off with another woman.’

  ‘It wasn’t like that,’ Drew insists. ‘I felt trapped. It was all happening so fast. I was so young and I was being forced to get married.’

  ‘Drew, I didn’t want to get married. It was all you talked about, right from when we met. You gave me that terrible choice – either we got married and had a baby, or you would leave me. I was so in love with you back then that I went along with it. I didn’t want any of it.’

  ‘He told me that you were threatening to dump him if he didn’t marry you,’ Jake states. ‘That was why I stepped aside – you wanted to marry him.’

  ‘He told me that he’d never wanted to marry anyone before,’ Ellen tells us. ‘We married within two months of getting home.’

  ‘Because I love you,’ Drew protests.

  ‘I seriously doubt that,’ Jake says. ‘I’m guessing Ellen’s family are rich? Like you thought Tessa’s family were rich because they’d built a hotel?’

  ‘What?’ Ellen and I ask at the same time.

  ‘You like money, don’t you, Drew?’ Jake says. ‘You especially like women with money or access to family money.’

  ‘You know nothing about me,’ Drew tells Jake.

  Jake laughs. ‘What’s to know? You’re a liar. My guess is that when Nia and Marvin said where they were getting married and that her mum owned the place, you realised Nia was Tessa’s daughter. You couldn’t get out of coming to the wedding, so you came up with some story about me trying to kill you. Hoping that would convince Tessa to keep it quiet to protect you both.’

  ‘You know nothing about it,’ Drew spits.

  ‘It’s so obvious: you met Ellen and realised she was from money, and decided to get out of marrying Tessa. What was the original plan, eh, Drew? Disappear into the bush one night, never to be heard from again? You must have been over the moon when that boy ended up in the sea and it gave you a chance to disappear. I bet you didn’t even try to save him; you just went off in that direction and then headed off when we were all distracted.’

  ‘Shut up,’ Drew replies.

  ‘What I don’t get is how you thought you’d get away with it now we’re all together here?’ Jake says. ‘Did you really think you’d be able to keep us all apart? Didn’t you think we’d talk about it? This is all so Drew. You think the world will let you get away with anything and everything. And it does for a while. But not for ever. Never for ever.’

  ‘Just shut up,’ Drew repeats.

  Ellen, who has been silent, cuts in: ‘What has any of this got to do with why my son is so upset? I mean, it’s all shocking and everything for everyone here, but the important person in all of this is my son. Why is Marvin so distraught?’

  ‘I was pregnant when I was meant to be getting married,’ I say to her. She can join up the dots from there.

  ‘So what? I was pregnant too, when I …’ Her voice trails away when the realisation hits her. ‘Nia is your daughter?’ Ellen asks Drew.

  He does not reply; he simply continues to lean against the doorway.

  ‘Yes, Nia is his daughter. Which means …’

  ‘Does Marvin know this?’ Ellen demands. ‘Is this why he was so distressed?’ She stands up. ‘My poor baby. I must go to him.’

  Drew points a finger at Ellen, then jabs it towards her chair. ‘Sit down. No one’s going anywhere until we work out how we’re going to manage this mess.’

  ‘I’m going to my son – he needs me,’ Ellen replies.

  ‘Ellen, so help me, I’ll—’

  ‘You’ll what, Andrew?’ she says, turning on him. ‘You’ll stop living off my father’s money? You’ll go out into the real world, and try to find another job where everyone around you has to keep correcting your mistakes without complaining because you’re married to the boss’s daughter? You’ll give up your nice little sports car? You’ll move out of our house and spend years fighting me in court for access to my money? What will you do exactly, Andrew?’

  He says nothing now that she has shown him quite clearly how much she rules things. That is why he speaks to her differently – she is in control of their relationship. She is in control because she can take away his luxury lifestyle whenever she wants and he knows that. ‘Andrew, my son will always come before anyone on this Earth, including you.’

  Drew lowers his head for a moment.

  ‘And, please note, I said “my” son. Have you never noticed that I always say “my son”?’

  ‘What does that mean?’ Drew asks.

  ‘I was pregnant when we met.’

  Drew shakes his head. ‘No you weren’t.’

  ‘Yes, I was. I was in that market that day to
find some ginger to help with morning sickness. One of the maids at the hotel told me it would help because I seemed to develop it from day one. I was having an affair with the photographer from the shoot. But he was married and wanted nothing to do with me. Then you showed up. You were my type, and I knew you would never be able to tell the difference. You weren’t interested in anything other than getting away from Ghana. And, after that, you weren’t interested in anything but my family’s money. Which was perfect for me, really, because I could do whatever I wanted without any interference from you.’

  My heart leaps in my chest. It’s OK. Nia and Marvin aren’t related. They aren’t brother and sister.

  ‘It’s not true,’ Drew says.

  ‘Oh yes it is,’ Ellen replies. ‘Marvin is not your son. Which means he is not Nia’s brother. Which means they can get married as planned.’

  ‘Oh thank you!’ I cry, jumping to my feet. ‘I have to tell Nia. Thank you so much!’

  ‘My pleasure,’ she replies. ‘Oh, and Andrew, you had better find somewhere else to sleep. I do not want to see your face again for the next few days.’

  13

  Now

  I have tucked up Nia and Marvin in the Honeymoon Suite, so they can get a full day’s sleep to make up for last night. The moment they were both told the good news Marvin came flying into the main part of the resort and they almost leapt into each other’s arms outside my bedroom.

  Ellen and I watched our children sobbing and holding each other like they’d never let the other one go ever again. I knew Marvin would have a lot of questions for his mother about his biological father, but, at that moment, nothing else mattered to him or Nia.

  I wanted to ask Ellen what she would do next – whether she would stay with Drew, or if things were over for them – but I held my tongue. Whatever Ellen did next, I had a feeling she was going to be perfectly fine.

  I have given the staff the rest of the day off, and I have no idea where Drew has gone. I climb into bed, waiting for Jake to appear. When he doesn’t after an hour or so, I go to find him. He’s sitting in the same place where he sat earlier. He doesn’t look like he’s moved all night or morning.

  ‘I think we should all just write off today and start again tomorrow,’ I say to him. ‘Are you coming to bed?’

  ‘Do you want me to?’ He doesn’t look at me as he speaks, simply continues to stare at the ocean.

  ‘Of course I do,’ I reply.

  ‘I don’t think that’s true. I don’t think you’ve ever really wanted me, and something Drew told you gave you the perfect excuse to shut me out.’

  I cover my face with my hands for a few seconds. ‘It wasn’t so much what he said. It was just … I didn’t understand why you started fighting him straight away, that’s all. He was your best friend and you didn’t seem relieved he was alive; you were just angry and you attacked him.’

  ‘I was relieved. When you told me on the phone I was very relieved and happy, but on the drive back I had time to think. And I realised this was typical Drew. He was my best mate, but he’s a spineless coward. Always has been. He would always go for the easiest route, would avoid anything that meant hard work or facing up to his actions.

  ‘He has put us through hell for more than twenty years, and Nia has grown up without a father all because he was too much of a coward to just finish with you. Because that was what this was all about. He found someone he thought was better, but couldn’t dump you in a normal way. No, he has to go through all that crap at the wedding. By the time I got here I was so angry I couldn’t control myself.’

  ‘But that’s just it, Jake, you are one of the kindest, most gentle men I know – except where Drew is involved. When it’s about Drew, you’re telling me you fought him over me, you tell me you’ll kill him if he hurts me. That’s a part of you I don’t understand. You’re not violent. You’re not crazy. And you’re not even particularly jealous, until it comes to Drew and me. Drew told me you were obsessive. That you’ve been obsessive about other women in the past. It scared me, to be honest.’

  ‘I’m not obsessive. But I just couldn’t stand the thought of him treating you like he treated his other girlfriends. Not when I loved you so much.’

  ‘But you didn’t know me.’

  ‘I know, but in twenty-odd years, I haven’t stopped loving you, have I?’

  ‘True.’

  ‘And Drew knew that you were special because … Tessa, you’re the only woman I’ve been with.’

  ‘What? That’s not true. You had girlfriends before me.’

  ‘I did, but I never went beyond a few kisses with any of them. I always wanted to wait until I got married before I lost my virginity. I know most men aren’t like that, but it was important to me. Always had been. Then I met you and I … I changed my mind. Stupidly, I told Drew all about you. He knew how I felt about you, but he’d also heard all about your parents building a hotel and he thought you came from money, so he went for you. Which is why I wasn’t going to let him hurt you. If I’d kept my mouth shut, hadn’t told him about your parents’ hotel, he probably wouldn’t have targeted you in the way he did.’

  ‘So you don’t think he ever loved me?’

  ‘As much as someone like him can fall in love, yeah, I think he did. You certainly loved him.’

  ‘And I loved you, as well.’ There, said it. Said it, mean it.

  Jake stares at me warily.

  ‘I love you,’ I repeat. ‘And you were wrong – Nia did have a father growing up. You. You are, and always have been, the best father for her.’

  ‘Thank you,’ he says quietly.

  ‘And I was wondering,’ I begin. ‘I was wondering if … if you would marry me in a few days’ time? Down on the beach, around about the time our daughter does it?’

  He blinks at me. ‘Are you sure?’ he replies.

  ‘Yes,’ I say. ‘Absolutely sure.’

  14

  Now

  ‘And he didn’t even ask her,’ my mother says to my father as I walk past her down our makeshift aisle. ‘She had to ask him. What kind of nonsense is that?’

  I grin at my mother’s outrage that I am finally doing what she wanted me to do, but it’s still not right. Jake and I drove up to Accra to tell them about Drew – they were both horrified at first, then relieved. Then angry and so, so hurt. None of us can really understand why he did it, but my dad’s final words on the subject were: ‘If I see him, I will set the dogs on him.’

  Nia beams at me when I arrive to stand next to her. Jake is beside me and Marvin beside Nia. The wedding has been delayed a couple of days so Jake’s friends and family from England and the Bahamas could fly over to watch us get married. It’s going to be an incredible party.

  While the congregation finishes the first hymn, Nia leans towards me and whispers: ‘This is the best present you could ever have given me, Mum. It’s what I’ve wanted for the longest time.’

  ‘I know,’ I reply.

  ‘Thank you,’ she says. ‘Now all you have to do is work out how to get me a brother or sister.’

  THE END

  Acknowledgements

  I’m so grateful to the many people that have helped to make this Quick Reads stories happen.

  Thank you to:

  the people at my publishers including but not only: Susan, Viola and Cass;

  my lovely agents: Ant and James;

  the team at Quick Reads & the Reading Agency, including but not only: Fanny, Louise and David;

  you, the reader. Thank you for buying this book and supporting literacy.

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