Page 34 of Four Aunties and a Wedding

“Ah, yes, it look fine now, but later no good, will turn red. Then swell up. Then get spots, then—”

“What?” Nathan cries. “That sounds like you need medical attention.”

“Ah, no, no, maybe just a bit swell up, anyway, you come now, we remove it, okay? Okay, bye-bye, Nathan, you good boy, so handsome.” Second Aunt grabs my hand, Ma takes the other, and the two of them practically drag me away.

Before we get to the cloister, Ma whispers, “You get rid Staphanie, she cannot come inside bedroom, you listen, okay?”

“I—okay, yeah.” I know better by now than to argue with them, especially when it’s so obvious there’s something wrong. Their sense of urgency has infected me and now my heart’s thumping and I’m pretty sure I’ll end up with pit stains on my wedding gown.

As soon as we get out of the garden, I see why Staphanie hasn’t come out with Ma and Second Aunt; Big Aunt is there, and to any passersby, it would look like she’s holding Staphanie’s hands in a kindly way. But as I get closer to them, I see that Big Aunt is gripping Staphanie’s hands so tight that her knuckles are white, and Staphanie looks like she’s torn between anger and calling out for help. They both sag with relief when they see us. Big Aunt lets go of Staphanie and she rushes over, looking furious.

“Did you tell him?” she says. “Because, I swear, if you did—”

Nathan comes striding in from the garden. He smiles when he sees us, dimples appearing in full assault. “Ah, you’re all still here. Looking good, Big Aunt. I like your dragon.” Hah, at least one of us has gotten used to the Komodo dragon. “Hey, Staphanie. Hey again, you.” His eyes soften as he steps toward me.

“No, no,” Big Aunt says. “No time for romance. Later will have time. Now no time. You go away, okay, bye-bye.”

Nathan raises his hands in a gesture of surrender and laughs. “Okay, Big Aunt. See you all at the cathedral!” He leaves the hotel, whistling as he walks through the cloister.

I turn to Staphanie. “Does he look like someone who just found out the freaking mafia is at his wedding?”

Staphanie chews on her bottom lip, glaring at Nathan’s retreating back. She exhales slowly. “I guess not. Why are the three of you down here?”

“I need fix Meddy makeup,” Second Aunt says.

Staphanie narrows her eyes. “It looks fine to me.”

“That because you not know makeup,” Second Aunt sniffs. “Her face is disaster.”

“Harsh,” I mutter.

We make our way up the stairs and Staphanie follows us all the way to the suite. How the hell am I going to stop her from going inside the bedroom? Of course, now that we’re back at the room, I belatedly realize I should’ve asked her to stay behind and take photos of Nathan on his own. Duh. Too late for that now.

Music blares from the living room, overwhelmingly loud. I notice that the bedroom door is shut. Seb and Selena look up from their phones.

“How did it go? Did he cry when he saw you? Was it the best moment ever?” Seb shouts over the music. He’s photographed enough First Look sessions to know what to expect.

“I still think it’s weird that you guys chose to see each other before the ceremony,” Selena says. “I’m a traditional girl; I want to see my future bride or groom lose their shit at the altar when they see how gorgeous I look.”

“It went well. Uh, why’s the music so loud?” I say. “Can someone turn it down, please?”

“No!” Big Aunt shouts. “Music loud is good luck.”

I narrow my eyes at her, but she’s wearing an expression that says,Seriously, do not question me.

“Okay...” Somehow, I need to try and get rid of Seb, Selena, and Staphanie. “Um, so...”

“How did Nathan look?” Seb says. “Mmm, Nathan in a tux.”

“He looked fine,” I mutter distractedly, still trying to think of how to get rid of them without causing offense. Staphanie is leaning against a wall, pretending to check her camera, but I know she’s listening to every word. Once every few moments,she steals frowning glances at Ma and Second Aunt, who are so obviously up to no good.

“He looked ‘fine’? Ugh, what is going on with you?” Seb says. Next to him, Selena frowns too, and now Staph is staring as well. Well, crap.

“I—uh. I’m just really nervous, I—”

The rest of my sentence is suddenly swallowed by a wail from Ma.

“I going to lose my daughter!” Ma cries. “Meddy getting marry and leave me to die alone!”

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