It has been two years since I left the company and moved to Singapore for work. I was able to keep in touch with most of my friends from that office, largely thanks to the booming industry of messaging applications.
Due to adjusting to the new lifestyle working in a different country, as well as trying to save as much money as possible, I wasn’t able to go back to my home country at all since first leaving it for work. But it was now time to go back. After all, it was Vivien’s wedding.
* * * * *
“Jude!” Shirley called out to me as I approached her table in the restaurant. She was with June and Richard, two more friends from the same office. We had decided to carpool together going to Vivien’s church wedding. Parking space was unsure in that church area, so we figured we'd just go in one car. As Shirley had the largest car, she was our designated driver.
“Welcome back! How’s Singapore?” Shirley asked, as we quickly got down to the usual catch-ups over our lunch.
“So, are you going to object to the wedding?” June asked, obviously in a joking manner.
“Of course not, I’m happy for them.”
Honestly, I really was. A good friend is getting married to someone she loves. What’s not to be happy about?
* * * * *
The traditional way of how weddings are done in my country is for the bride to literally walk down the aisle as the final part of the procession. It was, of course, the same with Vivien’s wedding. And since my friends couldn’t refuse to put in one last teasing on my behalf, they got me positioned closest to the central aisle in our pew. So I had a really good view of Vivien walking down the aisle.
And it was indeed a surreal experience. There is just this certain way they make weddings to be so magnificent, so magical. It is as though everything is so beautiful in this world. And everything was indeed beautiful in that moment in time: that moment when Vivien walked down the aisle, passing by everyone to meet her husband.
I was not the best man like what you would have seen in those commercials. Thankfully I wasn’t. And there really was no reason for me to be so. Everything was right at that moment. That was how things were meant to be. That was how things were meant to be ever since.
* * * * *
“Hey Jude!”
Weddings are always a busy time for the couple to be married. From pre-ceremony preparations and down until the post-ceremony reception, both the groom and bride would often be swamped with things to do and pictures to take. So it was expected that we never really got to talk to Vivien at all during the wedding until the reception was over.
The end of the reception usually marked the time when the married couple would send off the guests, thanking them for making time to be with them on their joyous occasion. It was also the only time guests would be able to mingle with any of the newlyweds. And hence we, Vivien’s friends from work, got our opportunity to talk to her later that night.
Everyone got their own turn to talk to Vivien. Hugs were exchanged, and well wishes were said. I’m not much of a hugger, so I really didn’t know how that would work out. But seeing as everyone was doing it, I guess I should just follow suit.
“Hey Jude!”
Vivien and I had a quick hug. “I’m so glad you were able to make it!” she said.
That was the first time I hugged Vivien. That was also the last time I’ll ever hug her.
