Adedayo watched from the third seat row where he sat in front. Rose walked down the aisle. Her wedding dress, a perfect angel white sequined mermaid dress with a long trail behind. Her smile was wide. Her teeth shone like pearls behind her veil. The red roses in her hands compensated her overall regardless of it not being real. His gaze followed her until she stood by the side of her husband-to-be and they fell while he gulped down.

The pastor began the sermon and soon, they were exchanging vows and rings. Adedayo took in a rather deep uncomfortable breath at the sight of it. One might say this was a clear torture of himself but somehow, he didn't see it that way. Rose had invited him to her wedding with good intentions in mind. It would be evil of him to tear the invitation card and sit home while cursing her union with another man.

The reception venue was a few walks from the church. Rose and her husband danced to a slow song on the dance floor and everyone watched in awe. Adedayo opened the bottle of water in front of him and gulped down some of it. His gaze fell on the couple again. He hated this feeling. Why wouldn't it stop? He should be over her by now. Wasn't that how it worked? Acceptance was the key to moving on. Fine. He has accepted it all. The brewing fire in him should've quenched by this time.

Joy, who had her arms crossed below her chest, leaned forward, her head turned to him whilst gradually leaning closer so his face was in her view. Once, he'd sighted her face, looked away and returned his gaze to her right away. "Is... Is something wrong?'

Her lashes battered a few times before she spoke. "You like the bride, don't you?"

Dayo looked away from her, gulping and evidently jittery for a moment. "What? ... please, be careful with your words."

"Hmm... So, you do like her." She concluded and leaned back into her seat.

Adedayo drew in a deep breath and looked at Joy. He wished she wouldn't say that out loud where anyone could hear her.

"Did she dump you for him?"

"No. We were never in a relationship. Please, let's stop talking about this." Dayo told her in a low voice.

She delicately rubbed her chin. "I think I understand. Two things. It's either you told her how you felt and she ignored you or you didn't tell her at all."

Dayo barely made eye contact with her. "How do you know such things? I thought you have amnesia."

She scoffed. "I have lost memories, not lost sense of reasoning." She drew her seat closer. "Tell me, why didn't you tell her how you felt."

He looked at her strangely and her gaze only exposed her anticipation for his reply. To be honest, he never imagined her as the talking type at all. In fact, he could see she was finding comfort with being around him and was slowly coming out of her shell. That, he was happy about. Now, he would just prefer it if she remained as quiet as when he'd first met her.

Adedayo stood on his feet. "I'll get us something to eat."

She leaned back into her chair, narrowing her eyes at him and disliking his way of ignoring her question. Yes, she was curious. Somehow, she needs to understand and know him better but he was good at preventing that from happening. It made her wonder how long he has been this way. How many years of practice did it take him to become perfect in it?

A woman leaned closer from across the table. "You're his plus one, aren't you?"

Joy raised her brows in confusion. "Sorry?"

The woman's eyes widened a little, hoping for her to catch on quickly. For a moment, Joy's eyes shifted to Dayo who stood in front of the buffet area.

"Oh, yes. I guess so."

The forty something year old lady's smile was wide on her face.

"Dayo won't introduce us so we'll do so ourselves." She stated and the others at the table nodded to her words. The fact was, Joy herself hadn't paid close attention to the people who were at the table with her. Her attention and observance had fallen on Adedayo. It was safe to say that wasn't a waste of time.

The woman stretched out her hand to Joy for a handshake. "I am Mrs. Akiniola."

"Joy." She replied as she accepted the handshake. She was in one of the aseobi material, specifically the one worn by some of older women at the wedding. Her make up was obvious an expert had gone nowhere close to her face. Joy wished she'd eased up a little on the pink lipstick. Her weave was a black pixie cut style.

"Babatunde Oladimeji but you can call me Mr. Tunde." The man next to her said while stretching out his hand to her for a handshake. He was in a suit of a darker shade of gray with no tie around his neck. When he smiled, Joy could see his left central incisor had a small chip at the bottom. He didn't seem any more than forty something years of age.

"Sarah." The thirty something year old woman next to Mr. Tunde stated. Her water wave wig was more than her petite framed face. Joy accepted her handshake.

"I'm Mrs. Obianuju Ezekiel." The next spoke. Though her age was close to Mrs. Akiniola's, she didn't wear the same material and Joy wondered if it was because she might not be close to the bride. Never mind, she accepted her handshake.

"And I'm David." The last spoke and Joy accepted his handshake with a smile. His complexion was fairer than the rest and though short, his muscles threatened to bulge out of his shirt. Joy believed he had to be the youngest among all of them at the table.

"We all teach at the same school as Adedayo." Mrs. Akiniola told her.

Joy nodded in understanding; grateful she'd cleared that up.

"Forgive me but you're very beautiful. Simple is perfection." David said, his eyes giving away his flirtatious intentions and Joy struggled with smiling to his words.

"David, she's taken."

Joy raised her brows to Mrs. Akiniola's words.

"Right? You and Dayo are an item."

Her words were a mixture of query and declaration. The look in their eyes was a clear expectation for her to confirm their thoughts and suspicion. Joy couldn't help but wonder why every of Dayo's friends or acquaintances kept pairing her up with him. For all they knew, she could be his sister or distant relative. They were all eager to confirm the fact that he does have someone in his life after all. It made her wonder how long and how much they'd gossiped about him. From her vague understanding of Dayo, he barely let her get a sniff of his personal life. They must be deep in curiosity as to what was going on in his life. She thought about letting them know the truth or better yet, let them wallow a bit more in their curious state.

Adedayo kept a plate of food in front of Joy. On it was a spoon full of Jollof and fried rice, moi-moi, coleslaw and fried chicken. At the sight of the food, Joy's mouth watered. She wasn't aware of her hunger until now and as far as her memory went, this was the best-looking meal she has seen.

"Thank you." She appreciated when he took his seat and set his plate in front of him.

Adedayo felt their gaze on him and when he met their eyes, they looked away, although not at once. He knew they'd been communicating with Joy. Once, he'd looked back from where he stood in front of the buffet area and saw them shaking hands. He should have introduced them to Joy but his mind had been occupied with his thoughts and feelings. It was never his initial plan to bring Joy along with him to this event. Earlier, while he was about leaving the house, the puppy's sad look on her face tugged at his good side and he ended up asking her to tag along. Her attire wasn't fancy but she made do with what she had and didn't care very much for otherwise.

Adedayo stared at the new couple. They sat in the center of a beautifully decorated space, headed in front, away from the guests. Their smiles never diminished. He lowered his eyes to the small wrapped box in his hands. Everyone had been showering the couple with various gifts. He wondered when would be the right time for him to handover his gift to Rose. Did he think of the fact that maybe, it might seem off seeing as it wasn't for both her and her husband? Sure, he did. But he'd gotten her this gift a long time ago before she announced her engagement and wedding. This was his last act of sending her off.

Joy noticed the gift in his hands. She rolled her lips in and looked away, hesitant to say anything.

"I can help you give that to her." She spoke in the end. Dayo raised his head, hiding away the gift by covering it with both hands. He didn't look at her till after what felt like a minute.

Joy's smile was simple and warm. An act for him to understand she was being sincere about wanting to help. Adedayo's gaze was rather blank and she couldn't tell if he was going to accept her help or not. When she was close to losing faith that he would let her help, he stretched his hand to her with the gift in it.

"Thank you." He appreciated it while she accepted the box from him. Those words made her feel like for the first time, she was somehow living up to repaying her debt with him. Joy felt good about it. It might not be much but he was letting her in.

Joy took in a deep breath before she stood up from her seat and walked her way to the front where the couple sat. To Rose, she was a stranger but Joy was determined to do the needful. Joy stood by her side, her back bent a little so her lips were closer to Rose's ear in order for her words to get into her ear clear enough.

Adedayo watched Joy and Rose. He could see Joy's lips moving but he couldn't tell what she was saying. Next, she handed the gift to Rose who collected it while her smile diminished from its initial brighter state. Rose's eyes met Adedayo who on strange reflex, looked away at first then returned his eyes to her. Rose smiled at him. It was different from the ones she'd ever shown him. This felt like there was a sentimental meaning behind it. Adedayo smiled back. His heart finally felt at ease. Then, he released a sigh of relief. For the first time in a while, he truly believed he was going to be okay.

When Joy returned to her seat, Adedayo's gaze was on her. He smiled, one that expressed his gratitude without words and she smiled back. "She said thank you." Joy repeated Rose's words and Adedayo nodded in understanding before he looked one more time at the happy couple. He could see Rose holding tightly to his gift in her hand and he was grateful for that.

Asoebi - A uniform dress or material traditionally worn mostly during an ceremonies to show cooperation