Who Gives this Bride? Read online

  He cast a steely glance at Aunt Faye and continued towards the front.

  “I’m here for Marissa Gibson.” He walked towards Alma who was still positioned at the front of the wedding party as the bride.

  Marissa stepped forward. “I’m Marissa,” her voice was little more than a whisper.

  “Marissa, I’m Josiah Carter, your father.”

  Marissa wailed out loud and stumbled towards the man. He gave Alma a quick glance and then grabbed Marissa into what would have been a bear hug if he hadn’t been so frail.

  The emotional moment had silenced everyone. They all stood as voyeurs watching the emotional reunion play out. The wedding director had the microphone up to her mouth, but for once she didn’t say a word. Justin stood awkwardly like he wanted to introduce himself, but he didn’t step forward. Everyone still seemed to be digesting his appearance. Alma felt her eyes well up, but that emotion was quickly replaced with anger. How dare he show up unannounced and show his face?

  Marissa and Josiah remained in their extended embrace until Marissa finally pulled away, eyes reddened and swollen.

  “Let’s pick up with the bride walking down the aisle with her father,” Marissa said it to everyone, but took Josiah’s hand and led him back towards the entrance. He followed along, his own eyes a matching red pair to hers.

  “Everyone back to their places,” the wedding director had found her voice again.

  Alma was the only one that stood out of place. She was no longer the bride and was now still trying to take in all that had happened in the span of about ten life altering minutes.

  “Alma, right here,” Cree motioned for her to come and stand towards the front of their angled line.

  “Music,” the wedding director queued one of Justin’s teenage cousins that had the wedding march on his iphone in lieu of the organist that would be playing tomorrow.

  She held the microphone to the iphone and Marissa stepped from the foyer with her newfound father at her side.

  She beamed and it was clear that this was the one thing she had been looking for to make her wedding day complete.

  Josiah smiled like a proud father who was happy to be at her side.

  Alma had quickly recovered from the myriad of feelings that had taken her over earlier. Now she looked skeptically at this man. It was very convenient that he had showed up. Alma wanted to know where he had been all these years. Did he live in the same city they did? Had he flown in from some remote corner of the world? Had he been at the Kentucky address Marissa had sent the letter to? Where had he been the last 30 years? What had he been doing? Why hadn’t he bothered to participate in his daughter’s life?

  As Marissa and Josiah neared the altar, Josiah made eye contact with Alma and his smile faltered just a bit. Alma noticed it and it created a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was off about him. He had something to hide and whatever it was she was afraid that it would devastate Marissa.

  She wasn’t about to let that happen.

  * * * * *

  Alma had been unsuccessful last night in convincing Marissa that her new found father shouldn’t be at her side this morning. Marissa had even shut her down and told her that if she kept talking about this issue that maybe she was the one that shouldn’t be in the wedding.

  That had truly silenced Alma. She knew then that Marissa had reached her breaking point on that topic. The only concession that she had been able to secure was that Marissa agreed that a paternity test would be good. Alma had searched online, but the only quick and dirty option she could find was a test kit from the convenience store.

  Marissa’s bachelorette party had been low key. They had gone out dancing and her friends had bought her a few celebratory drinks. Not enough to render her unconscious, but it had begun to slur her speech a bit. That’s when Marissa had announced that it was time to go home.

  “I need my beauty sleep ya’ll,” she had drawled in a southern twang that she hadn’t possessed at the beginning of the night.

  Marissa had dropped her off safe and secure at the honeymoon suite in the hotel. She had begged Alma to stay, but once Alma had ensured that she was tucked neatly into her bed she waited until the soft snores had started to rise in volume before she tiptoed out of her room. She had sent Marissa a simple text so she knew to call her when she awakened the next day.

  Marc had met Alma at the hotel at two in the morning and drove with her to the store.

  “How was the bachelor party?” Alma had asked trying to lighten the mood during the ride.

  “It was fun, but lame according to what you would expect for a traditional bachelor party. Honestly, bachelor parties for the good guys usually are. It’s the guys who might not make it down the aisle who have the raging parties with strippers and hangovers and hookups. Any man that is seriously trying to get and stay married, knows that what happens at the bachelor party always gets back to the new Mrs.”

  “So what did you guys do?” Alma had tried not to bring up what she considered to be the elephant in the room even though she had been waiting all night to talk to him about the arrival of their now infamous mystery guest.

  “They rented out this swanky movie theater that had electric reclining seats and gourmet food and somehow he got them to play old movies like Boomerang, Harlem Nights, and Pootie Tang. We just laughed, quoted all of the good lines, and ragged on each other all night. It was actually a lot of fun.”

  “Okay,” Alma had nodded.

  “Go ahead and spit it out. I know you’re dying to talk about Mr. Josiah Carter’s convenient arrival just in the nick of time.” He had smiled over at her as he drove.

  “I know right, super convenient. I mean, how does he not show up a month ago or a week ago?”

  “About a week ago,” Marc broke out snapping his fingers in a weak dance move while he drove.

  “Stop playing, I’m serious. He had to have received the invitation much earlier.”

  “Maybe he was debating if he should show up or if she really wanted to see him. I mean it could have been really awkward. It’s not like he was lost at war or something. He was a real life dead beat dad that missed thirty some years of his daughter’s life. Even if she was excited to see him, there were some other folks that were shooting daggers at him.”

  “I know, I had to ask Aunt Faye to call off her family goons. The fellas were just looking for a reason to cause a commotion.”

  “So I know that Marissa didn’t ask for the DNA test. Why are you so determined to get to the bottom of this?” He pulled into the parking lot and parked the car.

  “Like you said, it’s real convenient. You show up at the very last minute. There’s no time for a DNA test, no time to confirm, no one that can vouch for him, no time to figure out if he’s some creep that just wants to find out what’s left from mama’s insurance policy. There wasn’t even that much, but people think that if you come into any money that all of a sudden you’re rich. I’m so tired of hearing about all of these business ventures that people need a couple thousand dollars to start. I’m not the bank or some credit union that makes small business loans. If it’s not loans then it’s bail money to get someone out of jail, or they’re about to lose their house, or the baby needs diapers, or whatever. I’m so tired of newfound family members that have never said hi, hello, happy birthday, Merry Christmas, how are you, just showing up and feeling like it’s okay to use my tragedy as the impetus for their come up,” Alma’s voice began to elevate.

  Marc had placed his hand over hers in an attempt to console her, but she pulled away.

  “It’s absolutely disgusting and if this two bit, no good, beady eyed, deadbeat dad wanna be thinks that he’s going to use the one moment of happiness that we’ve had in the last few months as his come up then he’s got another thing coming,” She felt the tears burn hot on her face and buried her face in her hands as the emotions took over and she broke down into sobs.

  “Awe baby,” Marc had taken his seatbelt off and exit
ed the car. He walked around and opened her door so he could reach in, pull her up out of the seat and embrace her. His soft kisses on her cheek helped calm her a bit and the two of them just stood in the convenience store parking lot at two in the morning rocking back and forth in silence.

  “It’s okay Alma. You’ve been through a lot and I know you’re insanely protective for your sister. I think the simple fact that she agreed to let you get the DNA test is proof that she’s not as gullible as you assume she is. I think she wants to be sure too. I will tell you though,” he leaned back and looked down at Alma, “if this really is her father then you need to let her decide if she wants to accept him. You can’t make that decision for her or she’s going to end up resenting you and you don’t want that.”

  Alma had laid her head back on his chest and nodded in agreement. She knew that Marissa had found the one elusive thing that Alma would never have. She was determined to be happy for her, but not before she did her research and made sure this stranger was really who he said he was.

  * * * * *

  Josiah had been invited out to celebrate with the men at their men’s movie night, but he had declined. Now, sitting on the bed with the remote he regretted not being there. The fellas had openly received him and he knew they were probably having a good time. It would have felt good to belong, to be a part of the fraternity they had created. The only problem was that most of the men were either married or entangled with the women folk. He had never heard so many teeth sucked or seen so many eyes roll in one evening. Especially Marissa’s sister, Alma. She had given him a steely glare all night and hadn’t tried to mask it with one of the phoney smiles that the other women had managed to conjure up. She was a real piece of work and he knew that she wasn’t going to take his arrival so easily.

  He was certain that if he had gone out then each one of the men would have been on assignment to bring a tidbit of information back to the women folk so they could piece together the puzzle that he was sure that he was to them. The problem was his puzzle was missing pieces and didn’t fit together neatly like most people.

  He felt the burning in his chest and rose from the bed. He grabbed the small bag on the TV stand and made his way into the bathroom. He felt the familiar tickle in his throat and tried to clear his throat as his rummaged through his bags for his pills. He read the labels and placed each vial of pills on the sink counter until he found the right prescription. He took the paper lid off of the glass in the bathroom and filled it with water.

  He coughed into his hand and shakily opened the bottle as another cough followed, then another. The pill slipped from his fingers and landed on the floor. He grabbed a rag to cough into and bent slowly to one knee to retrieve it. He blew on the pill, quickly threw it into his mouth and chased it with a swig of water.

  Look at him. Taking pills off of a nasty motel floor. There had been a day when he wouldn’t have dreamed of such, but those pills were too expensive for him to be saddity about. He coughed into the rag again then pulled himself up using the sink counter as a brace. It was then that he saw the blood on the rag. He threw it under the sink and carried the glass of water with him back into the room.

  No, it was good that he hadn’t gone to the party. Nothing proved you weren’t cool any better than literally coughing up a lung.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Baby, you know I support whatever you want to do. I just want to make sure that this is what you want to do.” Justin’s voice was comforting and she heard the genuine concern over come across over the phone. She could almost see his furrowed brow and was tempted to FaceTime him, but they had agreed not to see each other on their wedding day until she walked down the aisle.

  Marissa looked at the roses that he had delivered to her suite this morning. When she had called to thank him he took that opportunity to have a heart to heart with her about her brand new dad that had arrived on the scene yesterday. They had texted and snatched a quick phone call before the parties had gotten up to full steam.

  Now was the first time that she’d had to talk to him without a room full of buzzing people swirling around.

  “Justin, this is what I want to do. I’m certain of it,” she got up from her bed and walked over to smell the flowers, then chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I just realized that I’m literally smelling the roses.” The two laughed at the simple joke.

  “It’s funny that with all of the people around, the family and friends and everybody, it still seems like it’s just the two of us. Not in a bad way, but like there’s a connection we share that no one else has.” This was a feeling that Marissa was feeling more today than any other day. She wasn’t sure if it was just because they were the only two people sharing the experience of getting married today, but she felt a stronger bond to Justin than she had felt even as late as last night. It startled her a bit because it felt stronger than even her bond with Marissa and the two of them were inseparable in a lot of ways.

  “I can think of another connection that we’re going to share,” Justin snarled into the phone and Marissa immediately blushed.

  “Stop it, stop being so nasty, I’m serious,” she changed her tone in an attempt to get his mind back on track.

  He laughed, but continued the conversation, “I think it’s the beginning of that process where we end up being together for so long that we can finish each other’s sentences and know each other’s thoughts with just a look. You know my mom said that even though it may seem that the only thing changing today is a piece of paper, that it will be completely different once we’re married. That we’ll be able to tell that our relationship has gone to the next level as soon as we complete our vows.”

  Justin’s mom, Justine, had talked them out of eloping when things had become stressful with the guest list and trying to figure out how to fit so much family into such a small venue. Marissa had been so ready, but Justin had told his mom. As an only child there was no way that he could elope without including his mom and dad. Marissa would have invited her sister without a doubt, but Justine had convinced them that the wedding was a process where two families merged. She had made quite the argument that the wedding was the first challenge they would face together as a couple and it actually made their relationship stronger. Justin had told his mom and dad no on several issues, Marissa had told Alma and Faye no on many more issues. It was the somewhat painful process that Justine had described as leave and cleave. Where the two of them had to push back so their wishes came through and the family had to step back and respect their decisions. Now that the much awaited wedding day was here, Marissa knew that Justine’s advice had been right. She felt like she had grown stronger during the process and her relationship with Marc had matured.

  “You’ll be able to tell the next level tonight sweet thing,” Marissa cooed into the phone and then laughed at Justin’s sharp intake of breath followed by complete silence.

  “You’re so nasty” Justin feigned disgust, quickly regaining his composure.

  “Oh no,” Marissa was still in her bathrobe when she noticed the time on the hotel clock. “I’ve got to go Justin. Alma will be here soon and I’ve still got to get dressed. I love you baby, see you soon,” the two exchanged sappy kissing noises through the phone.

  Marissa disconnected and grabbed her jeans. Justin had started the call off making sure she was certain about including Josiah. She had confided in him a secret her mom had told her about her dad before she passed away. She wasn’t sure if sharing that secret had connected them even more or not, but his concern had come through. He had questioned several times whether she wanted to go through with it. He had even offered to be the bad guy and deliver whatever news she wanted to deliver to Josiah.

  Marissa was so grateful for his concern, but she knew this was something that she needed to do. She also knew that this was something that Alma would need to know, but not today. Today was just about her being a beautiful bride and getting married.

  * * *
* *

  “You're going to have this strange man in all of your photos when you don't even know if he's really your dad?” Alma tried not to let her voice elevate in frustration at her sister, but she was so irritated that Marissa wouldn’t back down. It was like she had welcomed him wholeheartedly without an ounce of reservation.

  “I’m not asking him and I’m not talking about this anymore today,” Marissa handed the swab over to Alma with a finality. Alma tucked it in the protective film and placed it back in the kit.

  “You’re absolutely right. I’ll take care of the rest and you don’t need to worry about it anymore. This is your wedding day and all you need to do right now is be beautiful. Are you ready?” Alma grabbed her purse and Marissa slipped her tennis shoes on and picked up the box with the veil.

  “Yes, off to hair and makeup.”

  Alma took the box from Marissa and placed the test kit on top of it. Marissa had reluctantly agreed to the test, but it was up to Alma to deliver the news to Josiah and get his cooperation. She could’ve waited to get the samples another day, but she didn’t want to disturb Marissa about this once she was married. Her wedding day wasn’t much better, but Alma blamed that on Josiah. He hadn’t given her much of an option.

  “Let’s head out m’lady. Your chariot awaits.”

  They exited into the hallway, pressed the elevator button. When they emerged into the lobby they looked like two regular people, but once they climbed into the stretch limo that was waiting in the front, they had everyone’s attention.

  Marissa had insisted on having the limo for the day and Alma had to admit it was a lot of fun.

  “Are you hungry?” Marissa looked across at Alma who was stretched out on the seat in front of her.

  “I am, I forgot to grab something before I came to get you.” Alma felt the slow rumble in her belly.

  “I was running late so I just woke up and hopped in the shower. I couldn’t chance room service because sometimes they take too long. How about I call the Dancing Biscuit and place an order for pick up. We can eat in the car on the way to the hair dresser,” Marissa clapped her hands together in excitement.