Page 68 of Ashes
“Hi, beautiful,” Sienna said, hugging back who I assumed was the bride based on the countless rollers in her hair and the white robe tied around her body.
The bride then turned her attention to me, her expressionchanging into a scolding one.
“You must be the husband,” she said sternly.
“Yes, I am,” I answered, extending my hand. “Jamal.”
“Kenna.” She shook it but still looked at me suspiciously.
I found myself wanting to make a good impression on her. Sienna didn’t seem to have many friends, so I assumed that whoever she chose to be part of her life was important to her. And I wanted them to accept me, despite the circumstances behind Sienna’s and my nuptials.
“I have to finish getting ready before the guests arrive in twenty minutes,” Kenna said.
“Oh, yes.” Sienna glanced at me behind her shoulder, biting on her bottom lip, a worried look on her face. She turned her attention back to her friend. “Where’s Shareef?”
“He should be in his room with his friends and his father.” Kenna seemed to understand the intention behind my wife’s question when she looked at me and added, “You can stay with him until the ceremony starts.”
“I don’t want to impose,” I said hesitantly.
“You’re not. I would tell you if you were. Come, let me show you.”
I could see why Sienna liked her so much. My hand hovered over my wife’s lower back as Kenna guided us across the ballroom to the back where she eventually turned left into a hallway. We walked a little farther down the hall until she halted in front of a wooden door and knocked softly.
“Shareef, it’s Kenna. Sienna’s husband is here with her, so only open the door when I leave.”
“Okay, baby,” a male voice replied without further questions.
Kenna looked at me again. “He won’t bite, but I can’t promise he won’t grill you with questions to make sure you’re worthy of our Sienna.”
I liked knowing Sienna had people protecting her since it seemed her family didn’t do much of that.
I simply nodded.
Sienna unexpectedly placed a hand over my chest and leaned on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear. “Will you be okay?” she asked. She leaned back on her heels and peered at me, waiting.
Her proximity made her faint floral perfume waft to my nose and I found myself wanting to infuse myself with it.
I leaned down, my lips brushing against her forehead, kissing it gently. “Yes, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” she said quietly before I watched her leave with Kenna. She glanced at me briefly over her shoulder before she rounded the corner, disappearing from my view.
“Is she gone?” the same voice from earlier called out.
“Yes.”
The door unlocked and I pushed it open, the hinges creaking inside. I squared my shoulders and stepped inside. The entire room fell silent in a hush at my arrival.
A Black man in slim black trousers and an ivory suit jacket stepped forward, his right hand extended in greeting. “You must be Jamal. I’m Shareef, Kenna’s husband, or future husband if we’re being technical. It’s nice to meet you.”
I shook it. “Nice to meet you too.”
He placed a hand over my shoulder, guiding me farther inside. I internally flinched from where his hand was placed, but I ignored it, not wanting to be rude by shrugging him off.
He closed the door behind me and I looked around the room, spotting an older gentleman to the side with four other men who seemed around the same age as the groom.
“This is my dad, my cousins Deen and Gabriel, and that right there is my best man and childhood friend Lucas,” he said, introducing me to everyone.
His father was dressed in traditional attire, while his cousins and friend were all dressed in black tuxedos with white shirts and matching bow ties.
