Before I Do...

I sat perfectly still as I waited for the veil to be properly adjusted covering my already made up face, my mind was in a whirl. It wasn’t just about everything being perfect and right during the ceremony and the reception, it was the sudden doubts, doubts that like long, wintry fingers, have taken hold of my heart and were slowly squeezing out the warmth of the love I had for my fiancé Tony. To think it all started as a joke at my bridal shower, Tinu ever the dare devil and organizer had stood up, after shushing everyone, she had ceremoniously reached into her clutch and brought out the slim sheet of paper, “okay Jules” she said turning to me, her mischievous eyes dancing in her smooth, oval face, “before you walk down the aisle, we must be sure that you have beyond any reasonable doubt, lived and partied hard, like a true babe!” I cocked my head suspiciously, I knew Tinu too well to take her serious, “and you have a checklist to prove I have?” I asked skeptically, “I have something better than a checklist!” she declared as my other eight friends laughed along, Tinu was always the heart of the party, the first in our group to do anything daring! “okay” I replied playing along, “read it to me!” I said amidst applause and cheers from the other girls, we were all slightly tipsy, all except for Bose, our designated driver and the only one in our group that really took her faith in Christ seriously enough not to ever drink, or smoke when we experimented and never had sex, why does she put up with us? She piously replied once that we were her cross to bear, so she tagged along to keep us in check, or take us home when we were too wasted to care. “Can we just eat cake and go home? Tomorrow is the wedding remember?” she said now as Tinu unfolded the paper, pressing her index finger to her lips to silence Bose, “These” she proclaimed dramatically raising the sheet of paper up like a testament, “are actions a true babe would have taken before she retires to say the words I DO” she looked around coyly, she had us all and she knew it, “they are ten in number and I read” by now most of us were fidgeting, “sex on the beach!” she declared as we all exhaled laughing, it was just a joke after all, even Bose managed a close lipped smile, “been there done that, too much hype!” Clara yelled, “Too much sand, Gosh!” Louisa quipped as she high-fived Clara, my heart swelled looking at them all, my friends, we all have been together through trying times, and here we were, still forging ahead, “tequila shots!” “check!” we all shouted laughing, Tinu knew how to liven up a gathering, she paused now and looked at each one of us, “kiss a girl!” she shouted, at first we looked at each other puzzled, then Clara got up walked to me and planted a wet one on my lips, “check!” she screamed as others hooted. I was too stunned to react, Tinu high-fived her and continued, “make out with a stranger” we all started to laugh, “Check, Check!” they all yelled, I smiled, making out with a stranger was what got us here. I had gotten drunk because I failed my bar exams and as I danced on the dance floor, Tony had walked up to me and started dancing with me, I had other ideas on my mind and we ended up in his car groping and making out, but he stopped me when I reached for his zipper, “I usually don’t do this” he said lamely, I frowned at him, “that’s supposed to be my line!” I said slurring my words, he firmly pushed me away, “you’re too drunk to make any decision, let’s call it a night” he ended up taking me home and the rest is history. I shook a finger at them all smiling, I wasn’t proud of that day, still, you can’t fault the result of my drunkenness, “okay moving on!” Tinu said rolling her eyes, “throw a white party” We all nodded, my last year’s birthday party was an all white party. “okay, that’s five down, it gets really tricky from here on” she said as she cleared her throat dramatically, “own a black book” we all snorted, “Ipads!” someone shouted, “iphones!” someone else yelled, “okay okay, so it’s a little outdated” we all settled back, “had a ménage a trios” she said looking around, some of my friends frowned, “what’s that?” Clara asked, her tiny face scrunched up, Tinu glanced at me and we both looked away, “that’s when you have more than one person on the bed, a threesome” Bose shook her head disapprovingly; “that is not a joke anymore, that’s a sin!” But our look didn’t escape Louisa, “you guys have done it!” she exclaimed looking from me to Tinu, “okay, check! It was our first year in college and the guy was hot and we were in an adventurous mood!” Tinu replied as I covered my face with my palms ashamed, it was all Tinu’s idea and back then I did everything she did to impress her. “Wow!” Clara exclaimed shaking her head, “now I have to find someone to do a threesome with me!” we all laughed and the tension cleared, Tinu continued, “affair with a married man” to this there were cries of “several!” as I modestly replied, “speak for yourselves bitches!” “Okay guys, number nine on the list, is own a pet!” she proclaimed, “are you serious?” I asked, “Check! I have matador!” I said referring to my nine month old bullmastiff. “And finally, the dreaded number ten, make love to your ex one last time!” there was lots of exclamations and guffaws. They all knew my ex happened to be Tony’s best man, we both decided not to tell him we dated back in London; I shook my head now, “well tough luck, I’m not a babe then, cos that’s not gonna happen!” Tinu hissed shaking her head, “so you will let something this trivial mar you?” “Yes!” I screamed as Bose got up and took the sheet from Tinu, she tore it up, “enough! Let’s enjoy ourselves and call it a night!” Everyone drank up and soon we were all heading for the exit. We were all booked in the same hotel since they were my bridesmaids, so we crammed ourselves into Tony’s SUV that I borrowed for the night and Bose drove us back to the quiet hotel in Lekki. We bade each other goodnight and headed for our rooms. We were paired up and Tinu, who was also my maid of honor, shared a room with me. As we got into bed she raised herself on an elbow and asked again, “what’s the big deal?” I waved her off as I tried to muster sleep, “Tinu please, the bridal shower is over, let’s just get some sleep okay?” she snorted, hissed and pounded her pillow before she settled in, and just when I was dozing off, I heard a quiet knock on the door. I frowned and turned to look at Tinu, she seemed to be fast asleep already, I grumbled as I put on my robe and stumbled to the door, I eased it open trying not to wake Tinu up, it was Caleb standing there! Caleb and I met one rainy day in London, I had just joined my mum and my step dad there and still had grandma’s admonitions and Christian upbringing running like a mantra through my mind, we dated for four months before I finally introduced him to my parents, they liked him immediately, “hi” he whispered now, leaning on the door, his tall lanky frame both lean and soft at the same time, I smelt his cologne and drew back into the room, “what do you want?” I asked a little too harshly, I didn’t want him to know what being this close was doing to me, “I just wanted to make sure you were okay” he answered quietly, I looked up at him, at a loss of what to say, looking back into the room, I stepped out and eased the door close, “Caleb you know you shouldn’t be checking on me” I admonished, he sighed heavily, nodding in agreement, “I know, I’m sorry, I just wanted one last peek at what I’m never getting again” he sounded so sad! It was my turn to sigh, “we’ve been through this before Kay” I shook my head now as images of us together obstructed my vision, “we can’t be seen together alone, please!” I stressed, he nodded again and turned to leave, “have a blissful marriage Julia” he leaned down and gathered me into his arms, it felt so good and I relaxed for just a second as his lips brushed mine, then I heard the elevator ping and open directly opposite us on the hallway, and Tony and my wedding planner Isokhe stumbled out, kissing and hands tearing at each other’s clothes. We all froze like deers caught in headlights. Then I turned and stumbled back into my room, heart pounding and hands shaking, what just happened? I asked myself as I crawled back into bed and threw the coverlet over my head. What do I do? Confront Tony? Confess that I dated his best friend? What do I do, before I say ‘I Do’?.........To Be Continued.........

So folks, what should Julia do? Marry Tony without a confrontation? or confront him and probably call off the wedding? send your replies as comments,thanks!