My Last Day

On my last day, I woke up with a heaviness in my chest; not because I was sick or sad but because I was getting married to the man of my dreams tomorrow. I was more than excited and my heart was swollen with joy. I would not have known what to do with myself if my girls hadn’t planned a fun day out. My mother hated the idea because she said ‘last minute is always dangerous’. African mothers can be so superstitious.

The sun was out with a demonic rage by early afternoon so I thrust on a loose sun dress and coated my skin with an extra layer of Vaseline. Today was going to be a good day, my last day as it turned out, so I decided to put on my favorite sandals. They were off white with a tiny heel. I put on my engagement ring which would soon have another companion.

Peter and I met like some far-fetched love story. We first met in the library; we were both eyeing the same book and so we wound up grabbing it at the same time. He graciously let go of the book for me and I thanked him. Then we bumped into each other, quite literally, as I was exiting a coffee shop the next day. We set to talking about the book and everything else under the sun.

He left that day without taking my number but we met again at a friend’s wedding and it was there that we knew that it was fate. We were so alike and yet so different. It was unreal. He said he knew that I was his wife the day that I nearly spilled all the contents of my iced coffee on his neatly ironed shirt.

My best friend, Kara was already waiting downstairs in her Honda Civic when I got there. "What’s that weird noise?” I asked. The car made a strange sound as the tires hit the asphalt. “Oh, it’s just the tire rims. I’ll get it checked out after the wedding don’t worry” she responded.

We went over and picked my cousin, Myra and then my other friend, Ama.

The first activity on the list was a pedicure and manicure. I chose to paint my nails beige because Peter had confessed that he was obsessed with that color on me.

I knew I was desperately in love with Peter when we visited a book club together. That day I had decided to put on a light beige dress that was a little too short for my liking. We had so much fun at the book club and so we lost track of time. By the time we were walking back to my place it was almost 12 midnight. The night was so cold and my dress was so thin so he lent me his coat.

“So how does it feel – your last day as a free woman?” Kara asked.

“You make it sound like I’m going to die” I laughed.

We all laughed.

When we were done with our manis and pedis the sun was already setting and there was a light drizzle. We had a reservation to get to so we didn’t want to wait for the drizzle to stop.

The sky grew darker and darker as we drove. The rain made the road wet and the mist made it hard to see through the windshield. Kara’s jacked up tire sounded worse and I could tell from how she gripped the wheel that it was hard for her to steer. She was going at a steady 60 and suddenly the heaviness in my chest switched from joy to sheer terror.

“Slow down” I said.

It all happened so fast. One moment she was about to hit the brakes and the next moment, the tire gave way and we were spinning on the road. We flipped over once and crushed into the street light. There was glass everywhere. There was blood everywhere and everything was blurry.

I could hear Kara screaming my name. Pain shot through my whole body as I was upside down; still strapped to my seat. I thought I might be dying. I was about to close my eyes when I saw the blurry red and blue of an ambulance coming to our rescue. I heaved a sigh of relief.

The next day I was a little sore from the accident but I had made it out with some scratches and bruises. Everyone was fine except Myra who broke her leg. I felt terrible proceeding with the ceremony without her but she had said it was okay and that everything had been paid for.

My gown fit perfectly and it was everything I had hoped for. It was a ball gown that converted into a simple mermaid gown for the reception. It was about 12 noon when my father came in to take me down the aisle. I took a deep breath and took his hand.

It felt like a dream as I walked on the rose petals thrown on the marble tiles of the 50-year-old cathedral. Peter stood at the end smiling from ear to ear. I could tell from the occasional scrunching of his nose that he was holding back the tears. I chuckled. On the left I could see my mother seated, beaming form ear to ear. My father gave me a peck as he set my arm in Peter’s.

As he slipped the ring onto my finger, I noticed that I had a little wound on my ring finger. The collision must have caused the ring to scratch me. I winced a little as he slipped the ring on but once it was on, all pain was forgotten.

We skipped through the reception like a blur. The only thing I remember was our first dance. Ed Sheeran’s ‘Perfect’ played in the background as I felt Peter’s arm around my waist. I laid my head on his chest and enjoyed the smoothness of his suit. I could hear his heart beating a steady rhythm as the tiny lights from above flickered and danced around us in the night air.

“I love you” he whispered into my ear. “I love you too” I said back.

The night Peter proposed, my friends made me think it was a birthday dinner for Ama. I found it a bit odd that we were celebrating her birthday two whole weeks before the day but they had insisted that all of them would be busy afterwards so this was the only possible time.

I had walked into the restaurant to find it empty. The room was lit with several candles and there were roses everywhere with rose petals on the floor. A violinist played in the corner as Peter was on one knee in the center of a ‘will you marry me’ banner.

These thoughts flushed through my head as we arrived at the hotel room. The workers had gone above and beyond to make sure our first night was memorable. I excused myself to the bathroom and slipped on the lingerie Kara got me.

I walked out timidly. Peter stood transfixed. “You look stunning” he managed to say. There were tears in his eyes and I found it a bit odd. Perhaps I looked so good it made him emotional. “Thank you” I replied while walking over to the bed. I lay there waiting for him to come over but he still stood there.

“Won’t you come over?” I asked.

He shook his head.

I was confused. “Why?” I asked in bewilderment.

“I wish I could. You have no idea how badly I wish I could.”

I was even more confused now.

“So why don’t you?”

“Because you’re not here. You’re not real.”

“What do you mean?”

The question was sacked right out of me as my body reverted back into the mangled car lying at the side of the road. I could still hear Kara screaming my name and I could see the blur of red and blue. I saw that my ring finger still had the engagement ring on even though the finger was pointed in an absurd direction. The pain had stopped. My eyes fluttered shut as a single tear dropped. I realized that this was my last day.