A Week Before Forever
1001 Words
For the first time in what felt like months, Ada had absolutely nothing to do.
She stared suspiciously around the living room.
"This feels wrong."
Her mother looked up from peeling vegetables.
"What feels wrong?"
"I've been sitting down for almost fifteen minutes."
"So?"
"So... nobody has called me."
Her mother laughed.
"Enjoy the peace while it lasts."
Ada nodded thoughtfully.
"I don't trust it."
Almost on cue...
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Ada threw both hands into the air.
"There it is!"
Her mother burst into laughter.
"I told you not to celebrate too early."
Ada hurried to the gate.
The moment she opened it, she blinked.
Dara stood there.
Behind her...
Femi was bent over like a man carrying the weight of the world.
Shopping bags hung from both arms.
Another bag was balanced awkwardly on his shoulder.
One tiny gift bag was somehow clenched between his teeth.
Ada gasped.
"...Are you moving in?"
Femi couldn't answer.
He simply shook his head dramatically.
Dara rescued the bag from his mouth.
"He insisted he could carry everything."
"I..." Femi took a deep breath.
"...was young."
"You said that five minutes ago."
"I've aged since then."
Ada laughed so hard she had to hold the gate for support.
"Please come inside before you collapse."
The second Femi stepped into the living room, he let every single bag fall to the floor.
They landed with a loud thud.
"I'm free!"
He stretched both arms toward the ceiling.
"I can feel my shoulders again!"
Dara folded her arms.
"Drama king."
"I almost died."
"You carried shopping bags."
"They were emotional shopping bags."
Ada laughed so hard that tears gathered in her eyes.
"What exactly did you buy?"
Dara started unpacking.
Gift boxes.
Candles.
Ribbon.
Thank-you cards.
A guest book.
Decorations.
Tiny jars of honey for wedding souvenirs.
Femi picked one up.
"...It's jam."
"It's honey," Dara corrected.
"It looks like jam."
"You also thought oregano was green tea."
"I was going through a phase."
"You were twenty-six."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Just then, Ada's father walked into the room carrying his newspaper.
He stopped.
Looked at the mountain of bags.
Looked at Femi.
Then looked back at the bags.
"...Are we opening a supermarket?"
Femi pointed proudly at the pile.
"No, sir."
"A small shopping mall."
Even Ada's father laughed.
Ada picked up one of the small wooden decorations.
It read:
Mr. & Mrs.
She smiled without realizing it.
Dara noticed immediately.
"Oh..."
"What?"
"Look at your face."
"What about it?"
"That's the smile."
"What smile?"
"The 'I'm getting married in a week' smile."
Ada frowned.
"A week?"
Her mother looked up.
"You didn't realize?"
She walked over to the calendar hanging beside the dining room.
With a red marker, she tapped the circled date.
"Seven days."
The room became unusually quiet.
Even Femi stopped eating the biscuits he had mysteriously found somewhere.
Ada stared at the calendar.
Seven days.
Just seven.
She looked around the room.
The wedding favours were here.
The invitations had all been delivered.
The cake had been ordered.
The dress was hanging safely in its garment bag.
The rings were locked away.
Everything was ready.
Almost.
Femi broke the silence.
"So..."
Everyone looked at him.
"...does this mean I only have seven more days to learn how to dance?"
Dara laughed.
"You've had months!"
"I was hoping talent would find me."
"It didn't."
"I noticed."
The room exploded with laughter again, and somehow, the nervousness disappeared.
For that moment, there was no pressure.
No endless checklists.
No wedding chaos.
Just four friends, one loving family...
...and seven days until forever.
The laughter had barely settled when the front door opened again.
"Ada!"
She turned at the familiar voice.
For a second, she simply stared.
Then her face lit up.
"Chika!"
She hurried across the room and threw her arms around her younger brother.
"You're back!"
Chika laughed as he hugged her tightly.
"I missed you too, Sis."
She stepped back and looked him over.
"I thought school wasn't closing until next week."
"It wasn't."
He grinned.
"I begged for permission to leave early from school."
Ada raised an eyebrow.
"You did?"
"I wasn't about to miss my big sister's wedding."
"Aww."
She pulled him into another quick hug.
"I've missed you."
"I know."
Dara smiled from where she stood.
"Look who's finally home from school."
Femi walked over and shook Chika's hand.
"My brother."
"My brother."
"So..." Ada said, looking from Chika to the medium-sized carton he was dragging behind him. "Did you come home just for the wedding..."
She pointed at the box.
"...or is that your luggage?"
Chika scratched the back of his head.
"Neither."
Everyone looked at him curiously.
He tapped the carton with a grin.
"Delivery."
Ada frowned.
"Delivery?"
"For the wedding."
Before anyone could ask another question, Chika reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded receipt.
"The delivery van broke down two streets away."
Femi blinked.
"So..."
"They asked if someone from the house could help carry a few boxes from school."
"A few?" Dara repeated suspiciously.
Almost as if on cue...
Knock! Knock!
Chika laughed.
"That'll be the rest."
Femi slowly looked toward the door.
"I don't like the sound of 'the rest.'"
Chika opened the door.
Two delivery men stood outside, each balancing large cartons in their arms.
"Good evening," one of them said. "We've brought the remaining wedding supplies."
Femi closed his eyes dramatically.
"There are remaining supplies?"
Ada burst into laughter.
"Oh, Femi."
"I thought we'd reached the end."
The delivery men smiled as they carried the cartons inside, stacking them neatly beside the first one.
Ada read the labels aloud.
"Wedding favours..."
"Candles..."
"Photo booth props..."
She looked at Dara.
"...We bought photo booth props?"
Dara smiled innocently.
"They were on sale."
Femi rubbed his forehead.
"I have a feeling this wedding is going to be remembered for a very long time."
"And we haven't even reached the wedding day yet."
The room filled with laughter once again.
- Writer
