‘Yes please,’ I whisper.
‘She needs to speak to Seth first,’ Dad interjects.
Mum bites her lip and nods.
I wish Mum wasn’t so meek. I want her to tell my dad that he’s wrong. That what I need now is to leave this crowded church and clear my head. Instead, she squeezes my arm and says nothing.
‘Seth’ is still waiting for an explanation along with everyone else, looking at me as though I’ve got two heads.
My hands are trembling so much that I drop my bouquet and clutch at my fingers, trying to still them. The beautiful arrangement falls to the floor. I spent hours selecting the perfect design, going back and forth on my decision, wanting something simple yet striking. My single friends were all so excited about lining up to catch the bouquet. I don’t bother bending to retrieve it, and no one else attempts to rescue it. I don’t suppose there’s much point anyway. Not now I realise that I absolutely cannot marry this stranger.
‘Are you going to tell me what’s wrong, Alice?’ the stranger asks. ‘Have you changed your mind?’
Fear and anger mix in my gut. How dare this man talk to me as though he knows me. As though he’s my fiancé.
‘Alice,’ my dad says, warningly. ‘Can you answer him? He deserves an explanation. We all do.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I reply, ‘but where’s Seth? That’s not him.’
My words are met with a moment’s confused silence.
‘Of course it is,’ Dad replies. ‘Alice, what’s going on? Have you been drinking?’
‘No. I’ve never seen this man before. How can you even think it’s Seth? He doesn’t look like him, he doesn’t sound like him ...’ My voice is getting higher in pitch. ‘Where’s my fiancé? Why isn’t he here?’ My heart is pounding. Am I trapped inside some realistic nightmare? ‘Where’s my phone? I need to call him, find out where he is.’
‘I think she’s having some kind of anxiety attack,’ my mum says. ‘She’s overwhelmed. Don’t worry, Seth, she’ll be fine in a minute. We’ll go outside for some fresh air. Get this straightened out.’
‘Let me take a look at her,’ he replies, taking another step closer. ‘Alice, it’s okay, it’s me, Seth, your fiancé. Remember, I’m also a doctor. Let’s go somewhere private and sort this out.’ He looks around. ‘Maybe we can go into the vestry.’
‘No!’ I cringe away from him. I can’t explain the panic I feel at the thought of this strange man coming anywhere near me. ‘I don’t know what you’re doing here, but you need to tell us who you are and where Seth is.’
‘Alice!’ my parents cry in unison.
‘Please,’ I beg them. ‘How can you not see it’s not Seth? I don’t know who this person is, but he’s not my fiancé. I’m supposed to be getting married! Where is he? Mum, do you know where my phone is?’
She nods. ‘I think it’s in the back room. Do you want it?’
‘Please.’ A sliver of hope rushes through me. If I can just call Seth, then maybe this will all be straightened out.
‘She’s hysterical,’ Dad says. ‘Maybe she needs something to help her calm down. Seth, please just take a look at her, will you?’
He shakes his head. ‘You heard her. She doesn’t want me anywhere near. I don’t want to make things worse. I’ll fetch my parents over, maybe she’ll talk to Mum.’
Both Seth’s parents are doctors. I wonder if it’s actually them here today, or if they too will be strangers. I hope I recognise them and that they’ll agree with me that this is not their son.
He finally does as I ask and backs away, turning and striding down the aisle where he’s approached by a man and a woman who I don’t recognise. My heart sinks. The way they’re fussing over him makes me think they might be his parents. But they’re notmySeth’s parents. Are they in on it too? Whateveritis. Some weird conspiracy? A sick joke?
I breathe a little easier now he’s moved away from me. Everyone else is pretending not to stare my way. It’s mortifying. I wish Mum and Dad would just tell all our guests to leave instead of having them all here gawking.
How has the day of my dreams turned into such a fiasco? It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. Instead, it’s becoming the most unsettling, horrible, nightmarish experience I’ve ever had. And, unless I can find the real Seth, I’m pretty sure it’s only going to get worse.
Chapter Four
I honestly don’t believe it. This is beyond my wildest imaginings of what I thought might happen. As I watch her face – her confusion and speechlessness – I almost laugh out loud. But of course I can’t do that. I have to show shock and distress like everyone else in the church. I have to turn and ask in a whisper what’s going on. To seem concerned and confused.
It feels like I’m having an actual out-of-body experience. She’s scared. Terrified. And the worse the situation gets, the more elated I become. Joy and relief bubble up inside me like a bath bomb in a water fountain. Flooding my body with endorphins. I love that word. It makes me think of dolphins leaping in the ocean, chirping and squeaking with big grins on their faces. I bite my lip to keep the grin off my own face.
I gaze down at the church floor and try to think of something sad. Something terrible that will show in my expression.