Destination Wedding

by Jacqueline J. Holness

  “In front of everyone, I wanted to thank you for being my best friends and apologize for any misunderstandings on my part. I know we got on each other’s nerves in the process, but I hope these lockets remind each of you how much we mean to each other.”

  Senalda’s announcement was the meaty main course, and her presentation served as the dessert, its sweetness almost too rich too digest. More than one woman found herself dabbing glazed eyes as the friends fused themselves in a group hug.

  After Senalda’s presentation, Priscilla guided the guests back to the scheduled events. As the congratulatory chatter continued, Jarena almost didn’t hear her cell phone ring.

  “Hello,” she said, putting her head down.

  “What you know, good J.J.?”

  “Jovan?” Jarena stood up, realizing that Mimi was nearby, and walked out of the dining room. “I haven’t heard from you in forever.”

  “What’s going on there? I heard all that noise!”

  “I don’t know if you remember my friend Senalda, but she’s getting married next month, and I’m at her bridal shower. You know women get loud when we get together. So what’s up?”

  “Yeah, I remember Senalda,” Jovan said before pausing. “That’s why I’m calling you, actually. Priscilla Preston Love asked Chula to sing at her wedding. I just wanted to let you know so you won’t be surprised.”

  “I guess, thank you, but it’s not me you should be telling,” Jarena said, attempting to keep her tone neutral after Jovan’s unsettling news. “Mimi’s the one you need to tell, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, that’s why I’m calling you. I figured you could tell her. You’re her best friend, so…”

  Whitney eyed her, so she wrapped up the conversation.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” she said as she passed Whitney and went back into the bridal shower.

  Whitney continued to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. While gazing at her reflection, she recalled her own bridal shower seven years earlier. Separating it from her wedding band on her finger, she examined her engagement ring, remembering how she used to hold her hand at a certain angle so the diamonds glinted. She lifted her hand, but then she frowned.

  “How did I miss this crack in one of my diamonds?” she said, louder than she realized.

  “What did you say?” Senalda said from outside the bathroom.

  “I’m just in here talking to myself,” Whitney said, putting her hand down next to her side and opening the door. “I’m so happy for you.”

  She hugged Senalda then, hoping she grabbed her before she saw her eyes glistening with tears.

  “I’m getting married in Puerto Rico,” Senalda said as they hugged. “I can’t wait!”

  CHAPTER 25

  December

  Destination Wedding

  MIMI TOOK HER ROLE as matron of honor seriously, so seriously that she studied the wedding program while lounging in the lobby of Jewels San Juan Hotel. Ian couldn’t make the wedding celebration because he had to work, so she hung out in the lobby as much as possible to avoid feeling alone. She nodded with approval as she read Senalda’s song selections, such as “Spend My Life With You” by Eric Benét and Tamia and “There Goes My Baby” by Usher. But she almost spit her bottled water out of her mouth when she saw Corazón Ramirez was listed as the soloist for “The Lord’s Prayer.” She was able to swallow her water by telling herself that Corazón couldn’t possibly be “Chula,” but then she heard a voice she recognized.

  “Baby, baby, walk slower. You’re pregnant, and you’re wearing heels.”

  In the herd of people heading toward the hotel’s front desk, Mimi spotted Jovan. And next to him was a very noticeably pregnant Chula, wearing a wide-brim straw hat and a strapless golden sundress while teetering on kitten heels. As Chula’s star continued to rise, Mimi noticed she had dropped her tomboy image in favor of a more feminine one. Which was probably her strategy with Jovan too: start off as his homie and friend and lure him into being her lover. Mimi fell to the carpet to stop, drop, and roll away, and she would have, except there was no way to go except toward the front desk. So instead, she perched behind a sofa, peeking above it periodically to make sure that she had really seen what she thought she had.

  Once Jovan and Chula were gone, she threw away the rest of her bottled water and headed to the hotel’s bar. All she wanted was to obliterate thoughts about Chula and about her own child with Jovan, which invaded her brain more than she would admit to anyone.

  “A Dark ’n’ Stormy, please,” Mimi said to a bartender, dropping herself onto a stool and swiveling it to face the bar.

  “If that drink doesn’t make you feel better, I can,” a man said behind her. Mimi turned her head to see who was talking.

  Damn, is this dude gonna follow me around all weekend?

  There had been an impromptu meet-and-greet for guests the night before in the hotel restaurant. Although Wendell’s best man Nathan was married, he kept looking at her the whole time, even winking at her once. But she wouldn’t have been interested, even if she wasn’t married. Another one of Wendell’s friends, Chauncy, a wiry, butterscotch-colored man with hazel eyes, was sorta interesting, but she was Married Mimi, not Single Mimi.

  But as Nathan stood in front of her, obviously wanting her attention and as she had nothing else to do other than to try to forget that one of her best friends not only invited but included the pregnant wife of the love of Mimi’s life in her wedding, she smiled.

  “Oh for real?” Mimi said, winking at him. The dark-skinned, thick, muscular man took her wink as an invitation to get closer and he whispered in her ear.

  “You so crazy,” Mimi said. As she threw her head back in an exaggerated laugh, Senalda walked by the door of the bar, stopped, and frowned.

  • • •

  Mimi didn’t care who was watching as she kissed Chauncy near the bathrooms in El Restaurante De La Playa. When he pulled her waist to him, she felt that he was as excited as she was. He was so strong, the motion caused them to fall against the wall.

  “Let’s take this to the bathroom,” he said, lifting his lips from hers for a moment. With their lips still pressed together, he guided them inside the men’s bathroom, where they locked themselves in a stall. As he yanked up her dress and unbuckled his pants, she realized what was about to happen.

  “Wait, wait,” she said breathlessly. “I can’t, I can’t. I’m married.”

  “You told me that before,” Chauncy replied. “He will never know. What happens in Puerto Rico stays in Puerto Rico, baby.”

  “But I’ll know,” she said. “I’m sorry. I can’t use you, and that’s what I’d be doin’ if we did this.”

  “Okay, okay,” he said, backing off of her.

  She pulled down her dress and pushed the stall door open. She scurried out of the men’s bathroom and entered the women’s bathroom. She attempted to calm down in front of the mirror. Her face was flushed, and her red lipstick was smeared. With cold water, she wet some paper towels, patting them on her face and wiping her mouth. Then she reached into her purse, fishing out her tube of lipstick to reapply it. Just after she started, Senalda stomped into the bathroom, followed by Jarena and Whitney. Rage, confusion, and disdain, respectively, contorted the women’s faces.

  “Just because you married someone you’re not in love with doesn’t mean that I’m going to let you make a mockery of my wedding,” Senalda snarled, glaring into Mimi’s eyes in the mirror. “Last night you and Wendell’s best man were flirting and tonight, you are kissing another one of his groomsmen. This is not a Tyler Perry movie. This is my wedding! And I didn’t plan it this way. And you are married, so act like it!”

  Mimi rolled down her tube of lipstick before responding to her diminutive accuser.

  “Why is da woman always seen as the home wrecker?” Mimi said, maneuvering her neck and throwing her long dreadlocks over her shoulders. “Wendell’s best man is married too. Did you ever think he was tryin’ to get wit me?
I don want dat man!”

  “That’s a first,” Senalda snapped.

  “What you saying?” Mimi said. She folded her arms and cocked her head to the side.

  “You’ve got a problem. I don’t care if he did approach you first. It was obvious that you did not mind his attention. So how did you end up kissing another man tonight? Did he kiss you first, or did you just trip and fall on his lips? You’re supposed to be my matron of honor and you’re acting like a hoe!”

  “Okay, okay,” Jarena said, getting between the two of them. “Y’all, we cannot do this here. People can probably hear y’all outside. Maybe we should go back to the hotel and talk about this.”

  “Talk nothing,” Senalda said. “I’ve said what I need to say except for one last thing. Whitney, will you be my matron of honor? Clearly, Mimi doesn’t respect the sanctity of marriage or give a damn about me or my wedding!”

  Mimi opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, tears fell down her cheeks as she pushed past the women and ran out of the bathroom. She rushed out of the restaurant before remembering that Senalda had betrayed her first. She turned around, marched back to the bathroom and flung the door open.

  “You don’t give a damn about me or my friendship or you wouldn’t have included Chula in your wedding!” Mimi screamed. “I thought I put Chula and Jovan behind me but instead they here for your wedding because your stank ass invited them! What kind of friend does that?”

  Senalda looked stunned. The room was silent for a few beats before Jarena spoke, her voice calm. “I didn’t want to say anything, but I did think it was wrong to include Chula in your wedding when she has caused so much trouble for Mimi,” Jarena said.

  “Don’t try to get all self-righteous now, Jarena. You knew Chula was going to be in the wedding,” Senalda said.

  “You knew?” Mimi asked, looking at Jarena.

  “I thought Senalda was going to tell you, since y’all are best friends now.”

  “And I’m tired of your self-righteous minister act, too,” Whitney said. “Especially when you were a mistress up until a few months ago.”

  “How—how —” Jarena sputtered.

  “How did I know?” Whitney said, putting her hands on her hips. “Mimi’s husband Ian used to date Barry’s wife’s older sister. And she is my line sister. And he told her. And she told Barry’s wife. So that’s how I know. And I know it all, too. I’ve been waiting for you to tell us, and you haven’t said anything!”

  “Whaaat, how did Ian know?” Jarena screeched. With nothing to offer to defend herself, she folded her arms and stewed in silence.

  • • •

  Whitney and Senalda returned to Whitney’s hotel room to find Mimi crying on Richie’s shoulder as he rubbed her back.

  “What’s going on here?” Whitney said, charging at them. “Are you trying to get with my husband too?”

  “Am I tryin’ to get with yo husband?” Mimi croaked. “This is my friend. I thought you were too.”

  “Calm down, Whitney,” Richie said. “Mimi and I both go to meetings. We are program buddies.”

  “Yeah, tell her, Senalda,” Mimi said. “You know we go to twelve-step meetings together.”

  Whitney gaped at Senalda.

  “What? You know my husband and Mimi have some kind of secret friendship going on and you didn’t bother to tell me?”

  “Well, that program is called Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous,” Senalda said, weakly. “I didn’t think it was my business to share.”

  “I mean…You know what?” Whitney shouted, throwing her hands in the air, “I just can’t. Since you’re keeping Mimi’s secrets, she needs to be your matron of honor, not me.” She stormed out of the room without saying another word.

  • • •

  The first notes of “Spend My Life With You” sounded, signaling the entrance of the matron of honor on the white runner that led to the marble gazebo in the courtyard where Senalda and Wendell would say their vows. Flanked by hanging palm trees and tropical foliage, the gazebo would shield the bride and groom and minister from the sun. Priscilla, unaware of the blowup, nudged Mimi.

  “Mimi, that is your CUE,” Priscilla said firmly. Mimi did what she was told, traveling down the aisle with the rest of the bridesmaids and groomsmen following. Wanting to honor their unique personalities, Senalda had them wear the same one-shoulder satin dress with an organza overlay, but the dresses were in different jewel tones. Mimi wore fuchsia, Jarena wore teal and Whitney wore emerald. The groomsmen wore tan suits with ivory vests and ties. Kailen, a princess in an ivory dress made of tulle with crystal accents and a sparkling tiara atop her curls, inched down the aisle with her head down. Every few steps, she stopped and released a clump of petals until she got midway down where she paused. Then, she just ran the rest of the way, stopping at her father’s leg, to everyone’s laughter.

  When Senalda appeared at the end of the aisle alongside her father, who was in a wheelchair, the three friends temporarily forgot their anger and focused on the bride. Instead of her usual pressed hairstyle, Senalda’s hair was in its natural state, full of curls. Her ivory dress featured a sweetheart neckline with thin flowered straps. The top of her dress was simple but the bottom was a cloud of ruffles that swished as she walked. Her features, often pinched with stress, were liberated by and luminous with love. Wendell’s face contorted as she got closer to him until he finally took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears sliding down his face.

  As if directed by Priscilla, the sun set behind the gazebo while the two recited their vows.

  “Today, in front of my family and my friends, I promise that I will be your woman and your wife and you will be my man and my husband,” Senalda started. “I will respect and love you and not try to change you. I promise to eat all that you will feed me. You are the one that I love, need, and want.”

  Wendell attempted to say his vows but kept wiping his face in silence until Senalda reached for his handkerchief and wiped his face clean. Then, he was ready to begin.

  “Today, in front of my family and friends, I promise to be your man and your husband, and you will be my purrrty and my wife. I will protect you and love you and not try to change you. I promise to up my bougie game. You are the one I love, need, and want.”

  Mimi, Jarena, and Whitney agreed that they had never seen Senalda look so happy and content.

  • • •

  Although the four friends were still angry with one another, the wedding ceremony went as planned. But the bad feelings bubbled over with the lubricant of champagne and other alcoholic beverages served at the open bar at the reception at El Restaurante De La Playa. After the matron-of-honor and best-man toasts, Richie, who was also one of the groomsmen, stood to give a toast. As he shot up, he nearly slipped. His locs askew, he grabbed the back of his chair to steady himself.

  “I want to say a few words to honor this happy occasion,” he said, his words slurring together. “To Senalda, my wife’s best friend, and Wendell, your new husband, I wish you all of the happiness I thought I had when I married that woman over there.” Richie pointed to Whitney and continued. “I hope the two of you know yourself better than we did or else you will end up just like us: a wife who is ashamed of her husband, and a husband who wishes he was married to a wife who accepts him for the man he truly is. This woman values being a power couple over loving her man. And I’m a man who is in love with his wife’s friend Mimi.”

  The crowd gasped in unison. Without a word, Wendell’s best man shoved Richie away from the head table and out of the room while Whitney fled in the other direction. Mimi stared down while Jarena pressed a smile to her face. Senalda sat still, not knowing what to do. It was the best and worst day of her life all at once.

  CHAPTER 26

  January

  New Year’s Day

  MIMI TRUDGED TO THE hotel lobby, suffering from a hangover of the heartbreak soaked in the spirits served at Senalda’s wedding reception. The sun, nature’s daily pro
mise of hope, was coming up on her last day on the island before flying back stateside on an afternoon flight.

  Richie was splayed out on a couch still in his wedding suit, now dirty and wrinkled. Her first impulse was to flee, but the lobby’s emptiness presented the perfect opportunity to confront him about his stunt hours earlier. And if someone happened to see them, no one could claim they were cavorting in secrecy.

  “What da hell was that?” she said, thumping him on his forehead.

  Richie’s eyes moved under closed lids before he fell to the ground with a thwack. His head on the carpet, he opened his eyes.

  “What? Mimi?” he said groggily.

  A potent mix of stale breath, dried sweat, and hard liquor confronted her, causing her to move backward even as she continued to question him.

  “We supposed to be in recovery from sex and love addiction, and then you say some shit like you did last night,” she said. “You know damn well you’re not in love wid me, and I am sho as hell not in love wid you. So why did you say what you said last night?”

  She wasn’t completely certain that Richie wasn’t in love with her. Still, after taking inventory of her own behavior over the weekend, whether or not it was provoked, she knew that she was wrong for acting out. The SLAA program had taught her to see her part in all situations. She suspected that Richie’s drunken declaration of love was simply him acting out as well, and she wondered what triggered it.

  On still-wobbly legs, Richie repositioned himself on a couch, rubbed his eyes, and replied.

  “For a while, I did think I was in love with you, Mimi,” Richie confessed as he massaged his temples. “You understand me in ways my wife refuses to, and I’m done with trying to make her understand. After I got drunk last night, I thought that if I announced I was in love with you, she would finally get it… See why I don’t drink anymore?”