"Damon's escorting wewe to the wedding?" Jenna repeated loudly as I helped her fasten the long line of tiny pearl buttons along the back of her dress.
"Yes," I alisema defensively. This had to be the longest morning of the longest siku ever.
"And Stefan is away doing what, exactly?" She was asking too many questions. What could I say? I couldn't tell her the truth.
"It's a long story, but he can't be here," I alisema vaguely, hoping that it would pass as a satisfactory explanation. "It was a last dakika change of plan which couldn't be helped, and he feels awful about it, but luckily, Damon alisema he would step in; which is great because where else would I find another partner?" I smiled as winningly as I could to onyesha I had everything under control, but she didn't smile back.
"Be careful Elena."
"What do wewe mean?" I asked, trying to sound unperturbed as I concentrated on the buttons.
"Getting involved with two guys is asking for trouble, but if they're brothers, then that really is bad news," she replied seriously.
"It's not like that," I tried to laugh it off. "I'm not involved with Damon. He's doing me a favour. wewe know he doesn't like social events and activities."
Jenna smiled a little. "Have wewe ever seen that movie with Brad Pitt in it, 'Legends Of The Fall'?"
"No. Why?"
"It's a very epic, very long story, but it's basically about three brothers who share an unbreakable bond until the youngest brother brings his fiance nyumbani from college." Jenna turned from side to side in front of her full-length mirror.
"And his other brothers fall in upendo with her too?" I guessed.
"Eventually," Jenna nodded.
I made a face. "What happens?"
"Well - " Jenna adjusted her tiara slightly. "Samuel, the youngest brother, dies when he goes off to fight in the First World War and it changes everything." She smiled slightly. "You should watch it sometime, it's a good movie - and not because it stars Brad."
"Jenna, I'm not going to do anything stupid, OK? Stefan is my boyfriend, Damon happens to be his brother, and I just want us all to be Marafiki and get along with each other." It wasn't the whole story, but at least it was the truth.
"I'm just warning wewe because I care about you," was all she said.
Fortunately, the moment was broken kwa Jeremy yelling up the stairs that the car had arrived to take us to the church, which ensued in a major panic because we weren't ready. At least, I wasn't.
Jenna didn't seem to mind. She was having her picture taken at the foot of the staircase and in the doorway. I think that your wedding siku is as close as a woman can get to experiencing her very own red carpet moment.
"OK, I think I'm done," I announced breathlessly as I tried to get my clutch bag to shut. It was stuffed to bursting point with as much as I could cram inside. Five zaidi camera shots later and we were sitting uncomfortably in the car. Jenna's dress took up most of the space. I pulled out my phone and considered calling Stefan, then I realised that if he was stalking a would-be predator somewhere, he wouldn't appreciate a phone call. He probably had his phone switched off anyway, so there was no point in checking up on him.
"Are wewe alright?" Jenna asked me.
"I'm fine." I had to rearrange the contents of my mfuko wa fedha, mfuko three times to fit my phone in.
"You seem kind of nervous, that's all," Jenna observed.
"Well, I'm not." I smoothed the folds of my dress down and tried to sit still.
"Good. I'm glad to hear it. I'm the one who's getting married," she remarked.
"You don't seem nervous at all," I told her.
She smiled at me. "When wewe upendo someone wewe want to be with for the rest of your life, forever can't start soon enough."
As we pulled to a stop in front of the church, pretty much the first person I saw was Damon. He was hard to miss. He definitely stood out from the crowd - in a good way.
I tried to calm the butterflies that were doing a tango in my stomach; it was ridiculous. Jenna was right, I had no reason to be nervous. It was just - I had not anticipated that this would happen at all. I didn't know what to expect. I was going to spend the rest of the siku - and presumably most of the evening (until midnight anyway), with him. That was much longer than any date. And all our family and Marafiki would be there to witness it.
I mentally cursed Stefan for running off and abandoning me like this. When he got home, he was going to get an earful.
As Damon took my hand to help me out the car, I got a flash of deja-vu: I'm descending the stairs at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant and he's waiting at the bottom, looking up at me. I shook the memory from my head. The only way I would remain unscathed and unbroken from this siku was if I avoided dancing with Damon at the reception at all costs. Because Jenna was right. Being in upendo with two brothers was bad news, and nothing good could possibly come of it: especially when even your very best attempts at staying away from one of them was doomed to failure no matter what wewe did.
Look out for Part 5
"Yes," I alisema defensively. This had to be the longest morning of the longest siku ever.
"And Stefan is away doing what, exactly?" She was asking too many questions. What could I say? I couldn't tell her the truth.
"It's a long story, but he can't be here," I alisema vaguely, hoping that it would pass as a satisfactory explanation. "It was a last dakika change of plan which couldn't be helped, and he feels awful about it, but luckily, Damon alisema he would step in; which is great because where else would I find another partner?" I smiled as winningly as I could to onyesha I had everything under control, but she didn't smile back.
"Be careful Elena."
"What do wewe mean?" I asked, trying to sound unperturbed as I concentrated on the buttons.
"Getting involved with two guys is asking for trouble, but if they're brothers, then that really is bad news," she replied seriously.
"It's not like that," I tried to laugh it off. "I'm not involved with Damon. He's doing me a favour. wewe know he doesn't like social events and activities."
Jenna smiled a little. "Have wewe ever seen that movie with Brad Pitt in it, 'Legends Of The Fall'?"
"No. Why?"
"It's a very epic, very long story, but it's basically about three brothers who share an unbreakable bond until the youngest brother brings his fiance nyumbani from college." Jenna turned from side to side in front of her full-length mirror.
"And his other brothers fall in upendo with her too?" I guessed.
"Eventually," Jenna nodded.
I made a face. "What happens?"
"Well - " Jenna adjusted her tiara slightly. "Samuel, the youngest brother, dies when he goes off to fight in the First World War and it changes everything." She smiled slightly. "You should watch it sometime, it's a good movie - and not because it stars Brad."
"Jenna, I'm not going to do anything stupid, OK? Stefan is my boyfriend, Damon happens to be his brother, and I just want us all to be Marafiki and get along with each other." It wasn't the whole story, but at least it was the truth.
"I'm just warning wewe because I care about you," was all she said.
Fortunately, the moment was broken kwa Jeremy yelling up the stairs that the car had arrived to take us to the church, which ensued in a major panic because we weren't ready. At least, I wasn't.
Jenna didn't seem to mind. She was having her picture taken at the foot of the staircase and in the doorway. I think that your wedding siku is as close as a woman can get to experiencing her very own red carpet moment.
"OK, I think I'm done," I announced breathlessly as I tried to get my clutch bag to shut. It was stuffed to bursting point with as much as I could cram inside. Five zaidi camera shots later and we were sitting uncomfortably in the car. Jenna's dress took up most of the space. I pulled out my phone and considered calling Stefan, then I realised that if he was stalking a would-be predator somewhere, he wouldn't appreciate a phone call. He probably had his phone switched off anyway, so there was no point in checking up on him.
"Are wewe alright?" Jenna asked me.
"I'm fine." I had to rearrange the contents of my mfuko wa fedha, mfuko three times to fit my phone in.
"You seem kind of nervous, that's all," Jenna observed.
"Well, I'm not." I smoothed the folds of my dress down and tried to sit still.
"Good. I'm glad to hear it. I'm the one who's getting married," she remarked.
"You don't seem nervous at all," I told her.
She smiled at me. "When wewe upendo someone wewe want to be with for the rest of your life, forever can't start soon enough."
As we pulled to a stop in front of the church, pretty much the first person I saw was Damon. He was hard to miss. He definitely stood out from the crowd - in a good way.
I tried to calm the butterflies that were doing a tango in my stomach; it was ridiculous. Jenna was right, I had no reason to be nervous. It was just - I had not anticipated that this would happen at all. I didn't know what to expect. I was going to spend the rest of the siku - and presumably most of the evening (until midnight anyway), with him. That was much longer than any date. And all our family and Marafiki would be there to witness it.
I mentally cursed Stefan for running off and abandoning me like this. When he got home, he was going to get an earful.
As Damon took my hand to help me out the car, I got a flash of deja-vu: I'm descending the stairs at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant and he's waiting at the bottom, looking up at me. I shook the memory from my head. The only way I would remain unscathed and unbroken from this siku was if I avoided dancing with Damon at the reception at all costs. Because Jenna was right. Being in upendo with two brothers was bad news, and nothing good could possibly come of it: especially when even your very best attempts at staying away from one of them was doomed to failure no matter what wewe did.
Look out for Part 5
