About ten minutes after Colin had finished with the strips, she was sitting in the backseat of his fancy black car, gripping her bag like a vice, not quite believing one, that she'd fallen over in her dress on her wedding day and two, that she was on her way to a registry office to get married for the second time in her life. All of it felt unreal, as if she was on a show on Netflix.
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting at a red traffic light. Colin flicked his eyes to the rear-view mirror and raised his eyebrows. 'Everything alright in the back there? You've gone very quiet.'
'Have I?' Nina realised she had been thinking about how her life had changed. 'I didn't realise I'd gone quiet. Sorry.'
'Are you okay?'
'I am. I'm fine.’
‘Just checking you’re not concussed. You have to be careful with that.’
Nina's eyes widened. 'I didn't even think about a concussion. I think I'll be okay. I only just hit my head, it was mostly my chin that took the whack. That shouldn't give me a concussion, should it?'
Colin shook his head. 'I don't really know, but I know that they do normally check for that, don't they?'
'Do they?' Nina asked. ‘Oh gosh, imagine getting a concussion on your wedding day.'
Colin also laughed. ‘Let’s hope not. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.’
As Colin's car pulled up to the front of the registry office, Nina could see her mum, her sister, Robby, and his mum standing, chatting. She felt her heart jump out of her ribs and take a seat beside her. What was she doing here? Who even was she? How in the name of goodness had she bagged Mr Straps? Robby, in his suit and tie, took her breath away.
Nina's mum made her way towards the car as Colin pulled up, got out, and opened Nina's door. Nina's mum took one look at Nina and gasped. Then she shrieked, 'What on earth has happened, darling? What have you done to your chin? You look terrible! Awful!'
'It's nothing, Mum,' Nina hurried to reassure her, trying to downplay the drama as she stepped out of the car. 'I just had a little tumble, but I'm fine, honestly. Nothing to worry about at all.'
Her mum, however, was not easily placated. 'A tumble? And you've ended up with that on your chin? Nina, you should have been more careful! I did tell you it was a ridiculous idea to be on your own this morning. Did you listen?'
'I know, I know. It was just a bit of bad luck. Colin's been a star, though; he patched me up.' Nina smiled.
'Well, I'm just glad you're alright,' her mum finally said, though her eyes showed concern. 'Make sure you're more careful, especially today of all days!'
'I will, Mum. Let's not let this spoil the day, okay?'
Robby approached, his eyes immediately zoning in on Nina's chin. He swore. 'What's happened here then?' Robby’s tone and the look on his face were laced with concern.
Nina rolled her eyes. 'I took a bit of a dive on that mossy step out the back. It's just a scratch.'
'A dive? On today of all days?'
‘Colin's fixed me up. Good as new, almost.'
Robby leaned in and squinted. 'Well, I've got to hand it to Colin. He's done a pretty good job. But are you sure you're alright?'
'My elbow is throbbing a bit, but I'm fine. We’ll call it a battle scar. Adds to the wedding day drama, doesn't it?' Nina giggled.
Robby laughed. ‘Right, hold onto me. I'd like you in one piece if possible.'
'I'll do my best.’
Robby nodded, pulling back to look Nina in the eyes. 'You're right. Today is about us. And nothing's going to spoil it, not even a tumble.'
As they walked up the steps to the registry office Nina looked up at the old building and thanked her lucky stars that it fitted quite nicely into the vision in her head of where she’d wanted to get married. Rather than like many towns where the council buildings showed off fine examples of brutalism and sixties architecture, instead, it was a beautiful old Victorian building towering above them. She laughed as they stood by the steps and her sister gave her a small bunch of flowers. 'Well, here we go, then. This is it. Don't forget to take loads of photos.’
Her mum shook her head and tutted, 'Darling, I did tell you that you needed to get a photographer. I can’t be doing with fussing with my phone and all that. I want to enjoy myself.'
Nina kept her mouth shut and didn’t say anything. She hadn’t wanted to have a professional photographer. Just like everything else in the wedding, she’d wanted it to be simple and casual; there were no buttonholes, no photographers, no cars, and no formal reception. The only thing that was like a traditional wedding was the dress itself.
Robby squeezed her hand and whispered in her ear, 'You look absolutely beautiful. I’m so happy about today. Who would have thought, eh?'
