The wedding
Colin and Sophie stepped out of the church and into the bright light of the sunny rays that greeted them on their wedding day. Posing on the wide stairs in front of the church, large, happy grins were on both their faces as their families and friends clapped.
They looked around as they began descending the old steps, flashes and cheers greeting them.
Then the confetti rained down, engulfed them and their guests.
Neither of them took much notice at first, but they did notice the unfamiliar face of a man in his mid-fifties, grey and balding.
He was dressed in a casual shirt and baggy trousers.
Reaching for his pocket, he then threw confetti, along with the invited guests, over the happy couple and the rest of the guests too.
The reception
The couple were welcoming everyone into the hall, introducing each other as Mr and Mrs Colin and Sophie Smith as they did.
Colin noticed him first. "Darling, the guy behind your Aunt Sadie, who is he"?
"I don't know. I saw him at the church. I thought you knew him," Sophie whispered.
They continued to greet the guests, and as the guy got closer to them, he waited patiently in line.
"Hello," the couple spoke questionably to the man.
"Hello, great to see you both again," the man said.
"That's nice, but who are you, and what are you doing here? This is my wife's special day."
"You invited me," the man said as he let some of the guests pass by.
"I invited you?" Colin suddenly felt confused.
"Yes, to show there was no hard feeling, and that you were comfortable with Sophie's past," the man whispered like it was a secret.
"Sophie's past," he repeated, his confusion and disorientation coming faster.
Sophie speedily put her arm on Colin to steady herself; obviously, she was feeling the same symptoms as her new groom. "Yes, Sophie and I were once engaged," Iain said, happy now to have the couple's ear without the guests so close by.
"You're thirty years or so older than her," Colin said with surprise.
"And I've never met you before," Sophie exclaimed as she blinked, trying to clear her light brain freeze.
"You're just slightly confused, Let me explain," Colin offered politely. He stepped closer to the couple, happy that all guests had now filed into the room and past the strange scene of them talking. Colin didn't know why, but he was sure the guy should not be there. "I'm Iain. I was Sophie's lover less than six months ago. She was deeply in love with me and heartbroken when I finished our relationship. She even went through a phase of stalking me until I left the country. She had no idea why I finished it,"Â Iain said with a sly little smile.
"Why did you end our relationship"? Sophie was now looking directly at him.
Colin looked from his wife to the man.
"Not enough passion in the bedroom, my dear Sophie. That's why you and Colin are a perfect match, because he can't get it up," Iain said as he diverted his eyes towards Colin's groin.
"I'm very active in the bedroom," protested Colin.
"No, you're confused, dear boy. Sophie is active, but not very passionate. You struggle with getting hard. You both have made a commitment to accept it, but Sophie here is very, very frustrated by it all." Iain said as he rubbed bother their shoulders.
Sophie's body language changed. She turned slightly away from Colin and moved half a step away.
"Colin, you invited me. I guess to try and show people that Sophie's feelings for me don't threaten you," he said as he noticed the distance between Colin and Sophie grown, and the distance between himself and Sophie shrink.
"I'm not. Sophie and I are married and happy. You had your chance and blew it," Colin said in a stern attempt.
"I know I did. I'm here only because you invited me. I wanted to wish you both well," Iain said as he shook Colin's hand before stepping forward to kiss Sophie. His thin, cold-looking lips lingered on her soft, smooth skin. Her hands moved to his arms and she held him.
"Congratulations, I hope you both will be very happy or as happy as a frustrated wife can be," Colin offered before walking past them and into the hall, Sophie's grip on his shirt, not letting go until he virtually pulled himself free.
She watched him as he entered the hall and began to chat with a group of ladies that had her mother in it. "Why didn't you tell me you invited him?" Sophie was angry with her husband.
"I just wanted to show him what he missed and to show you I'm not threatened." He said as he kissed her.
Sophie smiled; she kissed him back, and they made their way into the hall.
Speeches
Sophie had struggled to take her gaze away from her old flame, sitting at the closest table to theirs. intently Iain chatted at the table. Sophie noticed that the whole table seemed to value every word he spoke. They were hanging onto his every word.
Iain would often look up at her and raise his glass or smile; she felt herself giddy every time he did, and she would look away and blush. It then suddenly hit her; could she make him jealous, and, if she could, would that mean he still loved her? Sophie moved her hand to Colin's arm. She waited till he looked over again and pulled Colin's arm from the table. She shuffled into him as best she could with the ruffled wedding dress restricting her movements. She pressed her face to his and kissed her new husband.
Colin, surprised by her kiss, allowed her to sit on his lap and continued kissing Sophie.
Sophie broke from the kiss, pulling the strapless dress back up, as it had slightly ridden down with her movement. Sophie looked from her new groom. She felt a sudden rush as the seen Iain was looking on intently.
Sophie's mind processed and invented a past. If only she had managed to see him during her stalking him phase, after he broke off the romance, she could have convinced him he still loved her. She could have shown him her newfound passion for him. Sophie was suddenly brought round from her constructed fantasy with the tapping of a wine glass to signal the start.
Colin's brother stood. "Hello everyone, I'm Colin's brother, Eric, and the best man. Well, in truth, the best man is sitting close to me. I'm sure you all agree he's a top bloke, so I'm going to ask you all to raise your glasses for the best man.... IAIN."
There was no surprise when the whole room stood and toasted the party member. Iain accepted the plaudits and sipped his wine. Eric rambled a bit and told a few embarrassing stories about Colin before Sophie's dad wished the couple all the best, Sophie's dad then went on to mention Iain and that he was personally disappointed that he was not his son-in-law, He jokingly warned Iain away from his own wife, Sophie's mother, who was now blushing.
The first dance
The dance floor was cleared, and the guests who had come back into the room were drinking. Colin led Sophie onto the middle of the dance floor; he held her tight as she limply put her arms around him. Their chosen first song filled the hall, and the couple began to dance. Colin turned Sophie around the floor, and she looked around the whole room for Iain.
She found him after a quick moment of panic; he was chatting with her two cousins and two best pals who were all flirting. Pain hit; her family and friends were betraying her. They knew how he felt about her and how she felt about him.
The girls laughed at his every joke as they dreamily watched him, and then he looked up at her, and his eyes caught hers again. He winked; her heart pounded, and she couldn't hold back the smile. The first song finished, and the couple were separated by others looking for a dance. Colin's brother had asked Sophie to dance; they slowly waltzed round.
"Cutting in!" A Voice came from behind. Sophie knew who it was, instantly. "No problems, Iain," Eric said. As Eric stepped away from Sophie.