《The Substitute Bride Saga》


 Prologue

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 "Wake up" call

    A persistent ringing sound woke Carol up from her deep sleep, and she groaned pitifully, blindly grabbing the spare pillow on her bed and covering her head with it in the hope that it would block the sound from disturbing her. She had slept very late last night and needed to get as much sleep as she could get before her alarm went off at six. The pillow succeeded in blocking out most of the sound, and Carol was about drifting off to sleep when her other phone started ringing too, and this one was right beside her on the bed. To make matters worse, this one''s volume was much louder than the other one''s own so she could not ignore it, even if she wanted to.


    "Who the fuck calls someone at 2 in the morning for chrissakes?" She wondered to herself as she sat up, but in her heart, she already knew who it was. A quick glance at her phone, which had stopped ringing but started ringing as she picked it up again confirmed what she had guessed. It was Victoria calling. Carol was tempted to ignore the call, but she knew it was better to just pick up once and for all and find out what her sister wanted. If she ignored the call, Victoria would only blow up her phone with more calls and if she turned it off, her dear sister would call their parents to cry on their shoulders and they would be at Carol''s house no matter the time of the night to express their anger at her ignoring their dear daughter.


    Sighing, Carol answered the phone, but before she could even say one word, Victoria''s loud screech filled her ear, so loud that she had to hold the phone away from her ear until her sister stopped screaming.


    "Hello, Victoria."


    "Oh my God! You''re not going to believe what just happened!" Victoria screeched excitedly into the phone, and Carol could almost visualize her bouncing on her toes. It seemed that Victoria failed to realize that she was now twenty-seven years old and no longer a teenager or a five-year-old girl.


    "Really?" Carol drawled sarcastically. "This really important thing could not wait until morning? Do you have any freaking idea what the time is? I was sleeping for chrissakes. Some of us have to work, you know."


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    "Oh, right. Well, as I said, it''s really important and I bet you will be green with envy when you hear what it is."


    "Alright, bye. I''m turning off my phone now."


    "Wait! I got engaged. That''s what! I''m getting married to this super-rich guy and I won''t ever have to lift a finger to work in my life again." Victoria exclaimed over the phone happily.


    "Excuse me? You got what?"


    "Engaged. You know, that thing whereby a man gets down on one knee, opens a box, and asks you to marry him? Yeah, that one. Oh my God! It was the most romantic thing ever."


    "Um...congratulations?"


    "Yeah. Thanks. You''ll be my chief bridesmaid, of course. Don''t worry, there''s nothing for you to be ashamed of that your younger sister is getting married before you. We''re only 8 months apart in age, after all."


    "Who on earth are you getting married to? You were just ranting to me the other day about how dumb Joe was and now you''re marrying him?" Carol asked, wondering if her sister''s brain cells were working at all.


    "Oh no. I could never marry that blithering idiot. I''m getting married to this very rich guy..."


    "Yes, you said that before. How did you meet him and how long have you known him?"


    "Oh. I met him two weeks ago when I went on a vacation. You remember when I went to France? Anyway, we''re heads over heels in love now and he wants to get married to me. Can you believe that? I''m so happy."


    "You want to marry someone you met two weeks ago and barely know? I must say you''ve done a lot of stupid and dumb things over the years, but this takes the cake. Do mom and dad know? What do you think they''ll have to say about this?"


    "Oh. They''re very happy for me. You know that they let me have whatever it is I want and my happiness is their priority. I thought that you''ll be happy for me too. But I''m not surprised. You''ve always been a jealous cat. Anyway, the wedding is next week and all my friends are busy, so I''ll need someone to go shopping for wedding things with me. That''s why I''m calling you."


    "That''s so sweet of you. I''m not interested in doing that. I have my own life to live and work to do, you know. Oh, and one last tip...when next you need a favor of such magnitude from me, it would be in your best interest not to wake me up at 2 in the morning to ask for it." Carol yelled and cut the call, sure that her sister was drunk or high or something of that nature. The last person in the world who wanted marriage was Victoria. She turned off her phone, got up to pee, and went back to sleep so that she could wake up in time for work.

 The unwanted intervention

    By the time it was noon that day, Carol was dead tired and totally swamped with work, so much that she could not even afford to take a lunch break. To worsen situations, the bakery where she worked was unusually busy today, with customers streaming in and out and hardly giving the workers any breathing space. Deciding that she was going to take a break even if it was for five minutes to gobble something down, considering that she had not had anything to eat that morning, she quickly headed out of the bakery. No sooner had she stepped out of the bakery than she sighted Victoria, armed with both their parents and heading towards her.


    Carol sent a short prayer of thanks upward that she had decided to step out of the bakery when she did, otherwise she knew that they would have made a scene right in there in front of the customers and everyone else. Her sister was wearing a smug grin while her parents, especially her mother, wore the somber and disappointed look that she had come to know so well.


    "If you''re here to rant about how I must attend the wedding, you need not bother. I''ll be there." Carol said without preamble.


    "Is that any way to greet your parents? Besides are you not going to welcome us?" Her mother asked, raising a perfectly arched brow and adopting a superior look. Her father came over to give her a peck on the cheek and then stood aside.


    "Well, I would if this was my house, but this is my workplace and after your antics got me fired from the last place I worked, you will understand why I''m not exactly rushing to let you in here. I can give you the key if you want to go to my house though."


    "You should mind the way you speak to us. No parent deserves to be spoken to in that tone. Besides, your cubicle won''t contain us. We''re lodging in the finest hotel here, courtesy of Victoria''s fianc¨¦e. What a refined gentleman. Now if only you would bring home a gentleman too... Victoria has done so well for herself." Her mother said. As usual, her father stood quietly while he allowed her mother to talk.


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    "Mom. Tell her that she has to come with me for my shopping for the wedding. Tell her." Victoria cut in, sounding for all the world like a spoilt brat. With the way she sounded, one would not know that she was a twenty seven year old.


    "Oh yes. I wonder why that even has to be a problem. Carol, you''re going to go with your sister to shop for things for her wedding. I don''t get what all the song and dance is about."


    "When do you plan on going for it and what sort of whirlwind romance is this?" Carol asked, totally fed up with the whole thing.


    "Well, it''s not exactly a whirlwind romance. Two weeks is more than enough time to get to know someone, especially when that person is very rich and handsome. I should know, after all, I was ready to get married to your father after only 10 days of meeting him."


    "Oh, so you''re truly both in support of the marriage?" Carol asked, looking from one parent to the other. Her father looked away and fidgeted uneasily, while her mother put on a defensive look. From the look of things, there was something that they were not telling her. Their happiness seemed forced, as though they were trying their best to be happy regardless of the circumstances and not let anything get to them.


    "What is it? What are you guys hiding?"


    "Hiding? Why on earth would you think that we are hiding anything?" Her mother retorted, her cheeks turning red as she finally averted her gaze. Victoria merely glared at Carol and fluffed her hair, a habit which Carol detested.


    "Oh, my God! Are you pregnant for this man? Is that the reason you''re agreeing to this whirlwind marriage?"


    "Well, there is that, but there is also the fact that we''re in love too, plus he is also very rich. Don''t be so stupid. I''m not pregnant. We''re just in love, something you wouldn''t know about." Victoria said, practically swooning.


    "When do you plan to go shopping? I don''t see why I must go with you, but I guess I have no choice." Carol asked, glancing at her watch and noting that she had spent far more than the five minutes that she had originally intended to spend, yet she had not even gotten anything to eat.


    "Well, considering that the wedding is coming up so fast, you''ll have to be with her for the rest of the week, preferably from now. So, go and gather up your things and let''s go."

 Heading home

    "I''m not going to go anywhere. I have work to do and I''m going to go back in there. You''re all going to leave now and go back to wherever you''re staying. You can''t just spring something like this on me and expect me to drop everything I''m doing to go shopping with you. I''ll take Friday off so that I can be home for the wedding on Saturday, but as for anything other than that, please count me out." Carol said, and walked back into the restaurant, praying inwardly that they would not follow her and leaving them gaping at her in something akin to shock. It wasn''t every day that she was bold enough to stand up to them, but she had to admit that it was extremely satisfying to do so.


    "You''re such an ingrate and a terrible sister!" Belinda shouted after her daughter, before flouncing off in anger, with her other daughter and husband in tow.


    ***


    Carol did not hear much from her parents and sister after they left in a huff that Tuesday. They refused to pick up her calls, but her mother kept reminding her to travel over latest Friday morning so that she could be there before the big day. Carol was still not sure about the whole thing, but it was not in her place to tell her sister what to do with her life, after all, she was an adult and could make her decisions herself. Not that Victoria gave a rat''s ass about what her sister thought in any aspect of life, least of all her love life.


    Carol took the morning flight and landed in the town in which her parents lived before eleven in the morning. She took a cab to her parent''s house and was totally shocked by all the hustle and bustle that met her when she got there. Considering the way this wedding was going to be rushed, she had not expected this much preparation. The whole place was agog with activities and people were milling around, including relatives that Carol had not seen in ages and would have honestly not wanted to see.


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    "There you are Carol pie." One of her aunties, her father''s elder sister crooned and advanced towards her with arms outstretched for a hug and kiss before she could hasten away. Carol groaned inwardly as soon as she saw her. This woman was such a handful and Carol tried her best to avoid her whenever she could.


    "Aunt Alice! How are you doing?" Carol exclaimed, feigning excitement and accepting the kiss on both cheeks a little reluctantly. The woman was overbearing and very talkative, so Carol did her best to avoid her any time their paths crossed.


    "I''m doing as well as can be, dear. Now, you can imagine my surprise when I heard that your beautiful sister was getting married. It is a taboo, I tell you, for the younger one to get married before the elder one, but well, these things happen now and then. You must not let it get to you, love."


    "Aunt Alice, I''m sorry, but I really need to go fin..."


    "Ah, yes. I know all about it. After all, I did get married before dear Sarah, my sister, God rest her sweet soul. I guess you can say I''m a nice person because I did not mind that she got real mad at me for getting married before her. No, I didn''t. She was a real bitch about it too, but she did come around in the end. Now, I hope you will not put your beautiful sister through what I went through in the hands of my dear departed sister."


    Carol rolled her eyes, resisted the overwhelming urge to give the woman a piece of her mind, and nodded humbly. This was exactly why she always tried to avoid this woman. She could not wait for this weekend to be over.


    "Yes, aunt. Now, if you''ll excuse me, I really need to go find my mother and my sister."


    "Oh, wait. I haven''t told you about..."


    "Yeah, see you later," Carol said and beat a hasty retreat as though she did not hear the woman''s last words. Since she did not know the majority of the people who were milling about, it was easy to escape into the house without having to greet too much. As shy as she was, she always found it a herculean task to socialize with many people, especially people whom she did not talk to on a regular basis.


    Carol found her mother in the living room, holding court with a bunch of women around her. She looked the part of the proud mother-in-law and was gesticulating wildly as she told her adoring audience about the numerous expensive gifts that her son-in-law to be had bestowed on her.