Till The End |Joshua Pregbaha |Fiction

The day was going as normally as it could.The sun was out, the weather was warm, and Simeon, Efe’s best friend -and groomsman-, was getting his regularly scheduled beatdown on NBA 2k. Simeon had assumed that since it was Efe’s wedding day, he would go easy on him but the reverse was the case. “You could practice 24/7 for years and you still wouldn’t be able to be able to touch my dust”, Efe joked. Simeon would usually respond with his signature “I’ll get you next time. Just watch”. But not today. Today, he took his defeats with a smile and nothing more.

They were about to start the fourth game when Segun, Efe’s best man, came barging into Efe’s room. “Are you guys seriously still playing?”, he exclaimed, “We need to get out of here soon if we want to beat Lagos traffic and get there on time”. Efe had always known Segun to be a very meticulous, punctual, and well-planned person. Perhaps that was why he was chosen over Simeon for the best man position.

“Come on man, relax. It’s his wedding day”, Simeon said.

“I would be a lot more relaxed if the both of you were fully dressed. Besides, Tosin just texted me to see if you’re ready and I don’t want to lie to your bride”

“Wait, isn’t it bad luck to know if the groom is fully dressed before the wedding?”, Simeon asked.

“That’s not a thing!”, Segun yelled, then took deep breaths to calm down as Simeon and Efe laughed.

“Oya, oya, it’s ok. Simeon let’s get dressed”, Efe stood up and immediately fell back down into his seated position, clutching his forehead.

“Woah! You okay?”, they both rushed to his side.

He shook his head, then took a deep breath. “I’m fine”, he said.

“Are you sure?”, Segun asked.

“Yeah, I am. Get those worried looks off your faces. It’s my wedding day”

“Okay”, Segun said, “Just get dressed, alright. I’m going to bring the car around”

They were dressed up and out the door quickly enough. They weren’t able to escape the ever present Lagos traffic but thanks to Segun’s planning and Simeon’s driving, they made it to the church on time. Before they entered, Efe turned to them and wrapped both of them in a group hug, “Thanks for getting me here on time”, he said to them.

“Our pleasure”, Simeon said.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”, Segun asked.

Efe corrected his posture then straightened his suit. “Yeah. Let’s do this”

They walked into the church and Efe greeted the guests as he walked up to the podium. It was a very small wedding. The only people in attendance were Tomisin -Tosin’s baby sister-, their parents, Mr and Mrs Alagba -who had been fond of Efe ever since Tosin introduced him as her best friend in secondary school-, and of course, the wedding party. Efe’s biological parents weren’t in attendance. Or maybe they were, in spirit -if you believe in that stuff. They died in a plane crash while Efe was in his second year of university, and Mr and Mrs Alagba took him and his older brother, Uvie, in as their own. Finally, Efe got to the podium and greeted Uvie, who had volunteered to officiate the wedding.

“Hey little bro. I’m so proud of you”, Uvie said, tears starting to form in his eyes.

“As the pastor, you’re the only one that’s not allowed to cry here. Have you ever seen pastors cry at weddings? No? Exactly! So, don’t start”, Efe said heartily.

“You’re right”, Uvie laughed and wiped the tears from his eyes.

Efe took his stance at the podium. Shortly after, Mr Alagba stood up and went to the back of the church. It was time. The organ started playing the Wedding March and everyone stood up to welcome the bride, ushered in by her father, and followed by her immediate younger sister and her best friend, who doubled as her bridesmaids.

Efe put his hand to his chest when he saw her, “My love”, he whispered under his breath. She had sewn the dress she was wearing in the two weeks since they got engaged. It was a rushed job but it didn’t look like it at all. She was gorgeous.

Mr Alagba walked her to the podium, then released her into the arms of her husband-to-be.

“Right then. Let’s get started, shall we?”, Uvie said as the wedding officially began.

…

“And now the vows. You wanna go first bro?”

“Yeah”, Efe laughed nervously, “Hey babe”

“Hi”, Tosin blushed

“First of all, great work on the dress, you look amazing. I, um… I remember when the doctor told me about the inoperable cancer in my brain, which meant that I had only about four months left to live. The very first thing I thought about was how I’d failed you. How I wasn’t going to be there for you like I said I would be. So, I tried to push you away to make up for my failure. But you kept coming back, always reaching for my hand. Then two weeks ago, two months after the… news, I thought I had really done it. But you came back, again. This time, you proposed. And how could I ever say no to this face?”, he cupped her face in his hand and continued, “A part of me thought that this was a bad idea. But right now, standing here, I know that my entire life has led to this. And it’s perfect”, he grabbed her hand, “You’re perfect. So, I promise you this. For the rest of my days, I’m going to love you without reservation. I’m going to hold your hand, and I’m never letting go”

Uvie cleared his throat to mask the crying sound in his voice, “Um, Tosin?”

“Dang it, I should’ve gone first”, she said, wiping her eyes. She cleared her throat, determined not to shed any more tears -at least, not for the rest of the wedding- “Efe. My baby. I’ve loved you since the day we met. When you cracked that joke about cowboys that you’re still trying to convince everyone is funny”, everyone let out a little laugh, “I love you so much. Nothing you can do will change that. I promise you, no matter what, I will be by your side until the end. Till the very end”

Efe kept his promise. So did Tosin. They never left each other’s side. Not until seven weeks after the wedding, on Efe’s death bed, when he closed his eyes one last time, and his hand went cold in Tosin’s.

Photo by Brianna Santellan on Unsplash

Bio:

Joshua is a cute weirdo that enjoys writing. He loves Jesus, yoghurt, and basketball. He pens down his thoughts on the blog he writes for (http://ofaweirdo.wordpress.com/) and he’s also confident that he’s good enough to beat anyone in NBA 2K.

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