Chapter 2

Stephen glanced down at his wristwatch and realized that his bride, Susan, was already forty-five minutes late. He glanced at the other pew and saw the worry on his mother's face. His father had a sullen look on his face now. Stephen swallowed hard as his anxiety grew.

He glanced around now, looking for specific familiar faces, and that was when he realized that none of the bride's immediate family were even in the church. He became more nervous now and suddenly, his tie felt too tight and he couldn't breathe properly.

He dipped his index finger behind the tie and adjusted it so that he could have some breathing space in hopes that it will also help him relax a bit. His best man, Jerry, was nowhere to be found. Stephen presumed that Jerry had probably gone out of the church to make some important calls to his bride's family on his behalf and he anticipated a positive response from Jerry when he returned.

Soon, the murmurings grew louder and the people no longer bothered about hiding their impatience and displeasure. Some were already fanning themselves with the wedding booklets as they shared their displeasure and assumptions amongst one another.

Stephen saw his mother turn back on her seat to calm her personal guests whom she had personally invited and had bought and sewn expensive hollandaise materials from her to wear in order to stand out from the others. Then he saw his mother turn to look at him then gestured with her hands to ask what was taking his bride so long but Stephen only shook his head to show her that he also had no idea what was going on. His other friend, Rufus, who was summoned by the impatient priest, got up now and walked to the altar to explain things to him and also beg him to exercise a little patience.

Stephen thought of going out now to handle things by himself since he couldn't figure out what was taking Jerry so long, but he couldn't even stand up because he felt so embarrassed. He began to sweat now. Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, he clenched his fist and blew air through it to calm his nerves. He glanced at his wristwatch again and much to his chagrin, he realized that only two minutes were left to make his bride an hour late.

Stephen swallowed hard yet again and leaned his back against the seat. Soon, he looked to the side and saw a woman get up with a frown on her face as she made her way through the pew, pulling her seven-year-old behind her and it was obvious that she was going back home. Like her, most of the guests were also tired of waiting, and before Stephen could blink, three more people got up from different angles of the church and left.

Where was Susan and what was taking her so long? Was she okay? Did she oversleep or did her makeup artist disappoint her? Stephen pondered. Just then, Stephen suddenly sat up in dread now. What if she has been involved in an accident? What if she was sick? What if something bad had happened to her at home? But if something had gone wrong, a member of the family would have called to inform them.

Anxious to know what was going on, Stephen finally summoned the courage to get up, and without meeting anyone's eyes to avoid being called and questioned, he briskly strode through the aisle and he could feel three of his men-in-suit following him. When he finally reached outside, he glanced around, looking for his friend then he saw him standing outside the church's premises, talking to someone.