Somebody Else's Man

by Daaimah S. Poole

  “Nikki, hurry up. Your mom is telling people they shouldn’t even be here. She’s starting with Tia and Ms. Pam. She is even bothering Mercedes,” Reshaun told me.

  “Oh, no. What is she saying?”

  “I can’t keep up with all the insults. There were so many. Let me see…Oh! She said that Dre’s mom should have got Botox before the wedding. And what kind of woman wears black to a wedding? Uhm, it was actually kind of funny because Dre’s mom came back at her and said she can wear whatever the hell she wants to wear to her son’s wedding. And then your mom said it wasn’t her son’s wedding. It was her daughter’s wedding and that Dre’s mom wasn’t running this shit. Then your mom turned on me. She said that I should have lost weight and Mercedes better put some concealer over her tattoo,” Reshaun said, laughing hard.

  “Oh, God. No. More drama. I can’t take no more.”

  “Well, hurry up and get here. Before it go down.”

  “Keep Lolo and Ms. Pam apart. I’m on my way.” Meanwhile, as soon as I hung up from Reshaun, I called my mom.

  “Mom, how you going to insult my future mother-in-law?”

  “I call it like I see it. She need a shot of Botox under her eyes, and her daughter, that little one got a big ole ugly-ass snake going down her back. Just ghetto!”

  “Mom, leave Mercedes alone.”

  “If somebody doesn’t say anything, your wedding pictures will be a mess.”

  “You not paying for my pictures, Mom, so don’t worry about it.”

  “I hired my own photographer and he will be there. And I don’t want to see that mess in pictures that I’m going to be looking at for the rest of my life.”

  “Mom, I’m going to see you in a few.” I hung up.

  By the time I got to the suite, my mom had stopped insulting everyone. But her victims were still looking wounded. I apologized and pulled my mother out the room. Reshaun followed and closed the door for me.

  “Mom, please calm down. You can’t talk to people any kind of way.”

  “All I said was the damn truth.”

  “Mom, it doesn’t matter. Either calm down, relax, or leave, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  She blinked and shifted from one foot to the other, making it clear that she was offended. “So you choosing those people over me?”

  “No, but Mom, you really need to stop it.”

  “If you don’t want my help then I’m leaving.” I looked at her like…Leave!” She glared at me and then went into the room, grabbed her purse, and stormed down the hallway. I thought about chasing her, but I had to let her know who was in charge. She needed to realize whose wedding this is.

  “Dra-Ma,” Tia laughed as I came back in the room where everyone was gathered. I came in and gave each person a hug.

  “I just want everybody to be themselves. This is my wedding. All the pictures and everything are going to turn out fine. It is going to be a relaxed wedding.”

  Lolo did get over herself. She came back to the suite after a couple of hours and behaved as if nothing had ever happened. We had cocktails and a late dinner at the T.G.I.F. next door to our hotel. Dre was somewhere having his bachelor party. Syeed promised me he wouldn’t let it get too crazy. Reshaun asked me if I wanted to go over there and check on him.

  “Nah, I’m secure.” What happened before was in the past and I trusted that we were good. If I had any doubt that we weren’t ready or strong enough, I would have cancelled or postponed the wedding. It was back like old times. Me, Tia, and Reshaun were having a good time reminiscing, but something was troubling Tia. I asked her what was wrong and she said it was her first time away from the baby and she missed her. She stepped in the hallway, called and checked on her daughter, and then she was back to acting like herself.

  On the day of my wedding, I awoke at six in the morning. I had seven hours until I was Mrs. Dondre Hill, and surprisingly I wasn’t scared or nervous. With everything that had happened I just wanted to get it over with. And I was not trying to be a Bridezilla. I didn’t want to be frantic, rushing around acting crazy, and cussing people out. I wanted to be the opposite of all of that. From our room, we could see the city skyline and the Art Museum of Philadelphia on the horizon. It was just beautiful, and shaping up to be the best day of my life.

  “Good morning, bride. Are you ready?” Reshaun sang as she knocked twice on my door, cracking it open.

  “Yes, I’m ready. I’m sitting here asking myself, is this real?”

  “It’s real. What time is Alex coming?”

  “Around ten.”

  “What are you going to do for the rest of the day?”

  “I got a massage scheduled for all of us, then we can get the finishing touches on our hair.”

  “Here you are. I wanted to give you this,” she said as she handed me a gift bag.

  “What’s in here?” I opened the bag and there were Mr. and Mrs. light yellow, embroidered towels and matching robes.

  “Thank you. These are pretty. I am going to put these in our bathroom.”

  Tia walked into the room. “Don’t leave me out—I have something for you too!” She handed it to me and I pulled out a mint-colored box and pulled out a silver wedding frame.

  “Oh, Tia. This is beautiful. Thank you so much. Both of y’all. Thank you for being here.” We sat and talked and ordered room service.

  At six in the morning it seemed like we had the entire day. But after breakfast and our massages, time started flying by. It was ten before I knew it. Then Alex arrived with his makeup and hair tool belt on his hip, screaming, “Divas, who is going first? Let’s get started.” He set up a makeshift station in the living-room area of the suite. He did Mercedes’ hair and makeup first and then moved on to Lolo. Right after Alex got there, the photographer arrived and he began taking pictures of everything. At that very moment, I began feeling a little something in the bottom of my stomach. All this time I wasn’t nervous, but now I was. Something came over me. I knew Dre was the right man, it wasn’t that. I think I just couldn’t believe all of this was for me. All these people, all this preparation. It made me scared, because nobody ever made a fuss over me. Now everything was all about me. I escaped the madness by going into the bathroom and taking a shower. Then I just sat on the toilet seat and looked at pictures of me and Dre that were in my cell phone. Dre called and we started talking on the phone like it was a normal day. I shared with him everything that had happened and he told me to relax.

  “I can’t wait for this all to be over and we are on the plane. All I want to do is be alone and in love with my baby.”

  “Aw, Dre. That’s so sweet.”

  “So, I’ll see you when you are walking down the aisle and all this is over. I love you.”

  “Baby, I love you too!” Hearing his voice made me calm down. I could do this. I was ready. I was building my confidence meter up. It was almost energized until somebody knocked on the door.

  “Nicole, come on and get in your dress before you are late for your own wedding,” Lolo yelled.

  “I got an hour, Mom. And I’m getting my hair and makeup done before I put on my dress.”

  “No, you don’t have an hour; it’s already twelve. You’re going to put the dress on first and drape a sheet or something around you, and then you are going to get your makeup done while I get dressed,” she said in a firm, no-nonsense tone.

  It didn’t seem like I had been in the bathroom that long, but I really had less than an hour to get ready.

  “Okay, here I come. Hand me my overnight bag.”

  Lolo handed me my bag. I put on my underwear, stockings, deodorant, and perfume. Then she passed me my dress. I stepped into it. She came in the bathroom and zipped it up and the sides began drooping.

  “My dress doesn’t fit.”

  “Let me see,” Lolo said as she tried to make my dress stay up. As soon as she pulled it up it slid right back down.

  “I can’t believe this. I just got fitted a week ago.”

  Ms. Pam
came in and took one look at the situation and said, “We going to have to pin you up. How did you lose so much weight? Call down to the front desk,” she ordered Lolo. I couldn’t believe my mom was taking orders from somebody. But I guess she was scared my drooping dress would mess up the pictures her photographer was going to take. Minutes later, the bellman was at the door.

  Ms. Pam got on her knees as Lolo took the pins and they cinched the inch of extra material together under my arm and down the seam of the dress. After they were done you couldn’t tell they’d had to make those last-minute adjustments.

  “I don’t know how you going to get out of that dress, but it doesn’t matter. You look so pretty,” Ms. Pam said as everyone came in and admired me.

  “You do look beautiful. Now, go get your makeup done,” Lolo said as she pushed me to Alex.

  Once I was seated and Alex was doing my hair and makeup, everyone went back to their suites and scrambled to get dressed.

  Thirty minutes later, Alex put the finishing strokes on my makeup. My head was full of perfect, loose spiral curls. The final piece was when he pinned my gold-and-white tiara veil on my head.

  He looked at me and said, “I knew you were a diva. Hey, diva, you look gorgeous.”

  I thanked him and took one fast look at myself and headed for the door. It was time to go. My mom rounded everyone up and we huddled into the elevator. The limo bus was waiting for us. We boarded and all took a seat. The limo bus was spacious and nice. It had gray leather interior and ceiling lights. I felt like a princess and finally began to calm down and enjoy the moment. The hard part was over. All I had to do now was show up.

  Ms. Pam was wearing a tight, black wrap dress. My mom had on a ginger-brown suit. Tia, Mercedes, and Reshaun looked stunning in their gold, strapless bridesmaid dresses. I looked over and Lolo was talking with Ms. Pam. They had finally gotten over their differences. Reshaun was taking pictures and I was just taking in the moment. Everything was perfect until Tia moved over to my side and whispered, “Don’t go through with this.”

  I looked at her, shook my head, and said, “Huh?”

  Then she repeated herself and said, “Don’t go through with this.”

  “Don’t start this again, Tia,” I said as I looked out the window, hoping nobody else noticed what was going on. I ignored her. I hoped that would make her shut the hell up. But instead of stopping, she kept whispering in my ear that I was making a mistake. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to become upset, so I got up and went and sat next to my mom. I knew Tia didn’t have the heart to say out loud the things she was whispering.

  But I was so wrong. She actually got out of her seat and stood up on the bus and yelled, “Nicole, don’t ignore me. You know I’m telling the truth.”

  “Tia, sit down, you are tripping,” I said.

  “No, we have been friends for too long for me to let this go down.”

  “Let what go down? Please, Tia. Look, I love you like my sister, but enough is enough. We already had this conversation. Whatever you say right now is not going to change my mind about Dre. Everybody on this bus knows what happened. If you’re my friend, get over it. I love him.” At this point I didn’t care who heard or knew about what was going on. Everybody in that limo cared about me and loved me.

  “So if everybody on the bus already know what happened, how come everybody is letting you marry him?” Tia was shouting like a crazy woman. I was trying my best to stay calm and not go off on her ass. I could picture us fighting and her ruining my dress, and trying to pull out my hair.

  “Stop trying to make a scene. Why you feel like you want to embarrass me in front of my mother and my mother-in-law? What can you really say, Tia? Why are you worried about why I am marrying him? I love him, he loves me. That’s all you need to know. My marriage doesn’t have anything to do with you. Why are you taking it all personal and shit? You the only one on this bus who got a problem with it.”

  “I just want to know why you want to marry a man after finding out all that you now know. He is no good, Nicole. He was still trying to get back with Jocelyn while he was with you.”

  “Says who? You? I don’t believe you, Tia. I know Dre is ready to commit to me today. If I’m willing to accept that then you should be able to accept it too.”

  “Well, I don’t think it is right,” Tia said defiantly, standing her ground. “Did your fiancé tell you that he ate my pussy? Oh, yeah…I already told you that he got me pregnant and none of that matters to you. So, you tell me, Nikki…how can you think about marrying someone your best friend has been with?”

  I stared at Tia with my fists balled up, but I refused to resort to violence on my wedding day, so I calmed myself down and spoke softly. “I’m starting to question if you are my friend at all.”

  “She is not your friend. Nicole, I warned you about this jealous hater-ass bitch,” Lolo said, lunging for Tia. It took a quick reaction from everybody to hold her back.

  Tia stepped back a little, but continued running her mouth. “He is only marrying you to get back at her.”

  “That’s not true,” Mercedes said, jumping in. Everybody was slowly starting to react to Tia. I knew all I had to do was say the word and everyone on the bus would have pounced on this dumb bitch.

  “Tia, I forgave you for everything you did to me. I have tried to make this friendship work, but your happiness is not going to come before mine. For once in your life, are you going to think about someone else beside yourself? This is not about you, it is all about me.”

  “I am thinking about someone else. I’m thinking about you. I want you to be happy, Nicole, but he is all wrong. Is this really the man you want to wake up to every morning for the rest of your life?”

  “Yes, he is. Listen, you know what? I’m getting married today. This is the last time I’m going to tell you. I’m done with you and all your shit. We are not the same anymore. You changed. I’m the bride and it’s my day. You are not going to ruin it.” I turned and yelled to the driver, “Stop this bus now!” He didn’t slow down quick enough so I screamed, “Right now!”

  The bus stopped suddenly and the doors flew open and the driver looked back at me through his rearview mirror. I didn’t care about anything now. I was ready to kill Tia.

  “Tia, get off this fucking bus right now. I’m marrying Dre.” You could hear a pin drop. Everybody was being quiet. Surprisingly, my mom didn’t utter a single sound. I think everyone was in a state of shock. No one expected me to throw Tia off the bus like that.

  “Where am I supposed to go?” she asked, trying to sound pitiful.

  “I don’t know, but you getting the hell off of this bus.”

  With her head hung low, she stepped off the bus. I looked away. I really couldn’t bear to watch her being ejected off the bus. As soon as she stepped off, the driver closed the doors and pulled off. I held back my tears and peeked out the limo window, looking at Tia wearing her gold bridesmaid gown and standing on the side of the road. As soon as we drove away, she called my phone. I didn’t answer. She had already shown that she intended to ruin my day. I couldn’t deal with her anymore, ever.

  We made it to the banquet hall five minutes before the ceremony began. We all lined up and took our places for the biggest event of my life to begin. I stood at the entrance of the hall. I could see Dre in the distance. Cameras started flashing and everyone stood up. I began my approach to the altar. I stepped delicately on the blush-colored aisle runner that was lined with white rose petals. I was trying to live in the moment, concentrating on not falling as I floated down the aisle. On my way down, I saw all my friends and family. I wanted to speak to everyone, but I kept my head up, looking forward.

  At the altar Dre, Syeed, and Brandon were standing to the left, each dressed in a black suit, with a gold-and-white vest and tie. I turned to my right and Reshaun and Mercedes were smiling back at me. I couldn’t even focus on Tia not being there. I refused to cry. I just grabbed Dre’s hand as the minister began the ceremo
ny. He said a brief intoduction and then said, “Now the couple will say the vows that they have written for each other.”

  Dre faced me, grabbed my hand, and said, “Nicole, I think I loved you ever since the first time I laid eyes on you and you got smart with me at the gas station. But I saw past the attitude and saw a great woman that I wanted to get to know. And once I got to know you, I couldn’t be without you. Nikki, you are the one and only person I want to spend my life with. You challenge me and love me. I have never been so happy. For the rest of my life, I want to wake up and make you happy and be a great husband to you until we are old and gray. I promise to take care of you and never let anyone come between us and I will always put you first.” As Dre spoke and looked into my eyes, I believed every word he said. I was proud of the good job he’d done in writing his vows. I still couldn’t believe I was marrying Dre, even though we were in the middle of our wedding ceremony. He was in front of me, professing his love in front of all our friends and family. He really loved me and I was about to start tearing up. Instead, I said the vows I wrote to him.

  “Dondre. Dre. I love you. You have brought happiness, peace, and love into my life. I take you to be my husband and I will be your wife. I will love and cherish you each day that I live. I will stand by you in good times and bad and I will even love you when you eat dessert for dinner.” There were chuckles in the audience. People who knew Dre well and were familiar with his love of dessert, laughed the loudest.

  After we said our vows, the minister continued with the ceremony. Then we kissed and lit one white unity candle, signifying our oneness. We were pronounced husband and wife. Dre lifted my veil and kissed me. We turned, hand in hand, and walked up the aisle. I tried not to cry, but I couldn’t hold back that single tear that escaped my eye. It was so emotional. Everyone was cheering and clapping. My mom and Ernest, the entire Hill family, Reshaun and Michael, Maritza and Vincent. And my sister, Candice, was there with Nana. It was bittersweet. I had everything I could have ever dreamed of in life. My husband, my friends, and all my family. It was exactly how I pictured it, except Tia wasn’t there. But you can’t have everything. Nobody gets five out of five, even Tia said that herself. I can’t see Tia ever being my friend again. I’ve lost her friendship forever, but I gained Dre. Though it hurts, I am happier to be Dre’s wife than Tia’s friend. I’m no longer dating somebody else’s man. I have a man of my own and it feels like heaven.