THE STAND IN BRIDE

I was starting to lose my patience. I gritted my teeth in irritation, a habit I was trying hard to stop. 'Very unladylike', Jackie will always tell me.

Slowly, my eyes scanned through the carpeted lobby of the Elyse and Patterson mansion down to the grand staircase.

Each frame on the wall represents a past president of the company.

"Where on earth could he be?" I muttered thirty minutes down the line, yet there was no sign of him or my parents.

I wanted the day to be done so bad. Marrying my sister's husband is not an anticipated event in my life, but my parents have insisted on it as it's the only way to save the company from going under. They used their blood, sweat and tears to get me to accept this wedding.

I remember my father walking into my room just the night after Jackie's burial, drunk and unstable.

"You need to keep Mac company tonight and console him for the loss". He drawled.

"Dad, Mac is not a baby that needs a nanny to put him to sleep".

"I know" my dad responded. "But we are family, and family takes care of their own".

"Jackie has just been buried, Dad. I am hurting so much, too. I lost my younger sister to an avoidable accident; her corpse was never recovered from the fire, and you are telling me to keep the cause of the accident company? Why dad? Is the grief affecting your thinking?

"Be mindful of what you say, Lilian. The police confirmed it was an accident." My father responded.

"But the same police confirmed the presence of alcohol in his blood. Besides, I am surprised that you are not concerned about the fact that till now, your daughter's corpse has not been recovered.

What we buried was mere ashes. There is no way they could not have recovered anything of hers from the site of the accident, but I can see that you and your wife have decided to believe what suits you."

My dad shifted his position, looking everywhere else but at me.

"You judge me wrongly, Lillian."

"No, Dad," I continued. "If Mac hadn't drunk, Jackie would still be alive today. Have you forgotten that already?"

"No, Lillian, I have not forgotten. Listen, you need to understand that every great empire was built on sacrifices. Lilian, I am pleading with you to make one for your family." My father begged, piercing his gaze at me.

I stood still, speechless, staring at the man I have called father for the past twenty-three years. My heart melted; I could no longer recognize him.

No more words were spoken. My father quietly walked out of the room without uttering another word.

I rested my back on the closed door and gradually slipped to the floor. My legs gave way to the weight of pain in my heart. I let the tears flow.

I didn't just cry for Jackie; I cried for my late mum; I cried for all the years I had been treated as a stranger in my own home while my mum's best friend and her daughter took over everything that was rightfully mine. I cried for the life I was about to face.

***AFTER A WHILE***