Suffice to say, Matilda did not stay at Alton's house after that. Ursula and Mal had come over to see what was wrong. Matilda had swatted their concerns away with, "What are you talking about? Nothing happened. But I have to leave, yeah? I'm not feeling well."

Matilda reasoned that Alton was still Sebastian's brother and he did not want a fight between his friend and his family. After she had calmed herself down in the toilet, she realized she had nothing to be upset about.

It was just words. They don't mean anything.

Still, she had found she couldn't sleep that night and instead spent the whole time recounting Mal and Phil's engagement party, where she had first met Alton.

Things had gotten a little out of hand that night.

Phil's side of the family were all legacy politicians, high profile lawyers or snobby academics who could afford to study all their life since they didn't need a job. Mal's side of the family were contractors, small grocery store owners and blue collar workers.

The stark contrast between the two families was noticeable right from the start. The people from Phil's side looked glamorous and expensive even from afar; champagne gold, beige or white, over the top gowns specially made for the occasion (and never to be worn again), flawless, natural looking makeup, sleek suits and slim bodies the expensive jewelry.

Mal's side of the family by comparison looked worn and downtrodden in their overused formal wear of mismatched pinks, greens and yellows that covered saggy bodies, with faces painted in cheap, unnatural looking makeup and plain printed dresses. Many of them seemed lost in the cloud of the Swarovski glint and Gucci glamor. Even their attitudes were different. Phil's side of the family all had straight spines, graceful movements and restrained speech. Mal's family were all slouches, relaxed postures and rambunctious laughter.

These people had nothing in common. Bringing them together in one party hall of the highly exclusive High Table Country Club and forcing them to mingle, ended up being a bit of a disaster.

Mal's uncle Gerard got into a fight with one of Phil's cousins Jeremy over the fact that some big corporation was building a toxic plant in his district and Jeremy had been the congressman who allowed it to happen. One of the little girls from Mal's side got into a fist fight with one of the boys from Phil's side over whether girls could be just as tough as boys or not. Then their mothers got into a fight over "proper upbringing", as one of them put it.

And this was before Matilda had arrived.

"Tilly! Ursula! It's a disaster," Mal had cried.

"Okay, calm down." Ursula told her, "I will go deal with whatever that is over there," she was talking about the mothers who were still having a shouting match.

"I'll go deal with Gerard." Matilda had said. She had an easier time separating Gerard and Jeremy—with her resounding, loud voice declaring "Shut up! Both of you are equally toxic to every space you occupy!"—than Ursula had calming down the mothers whose children, ironically, had by this point become friends and were discussing the errors of their elders.

Mal's mother, who had no choice but to circulate, smiled in relief when she spotted Matilda.

"Oh Matilda! Thank God!" The woman gave Matilda a warm hug. "Finally someone I can talk to. I can't make heads of tails with these people! One of them asked me whether I choose my vacation homes depending on how sunny it is. I didn't know what to say! Mal told me not to embarrass her but I feel no matter what I do, I come off as a silly hillbilly." The woman shook her head and Matilda laughed.

"Not at all Mrs. A. You're doing fine. They're just people. You'll get used to it." Matilda assured her and they made their way to Mal's father who was gorging down on a plate piled with hors d'oeuvres. The man greeted Matilda with a mouthful smile and she waved back. She grabbed a flute of champagne as a waiter whizzed by and placed it in front of the man.

"I think you'll need this." She gave him the glass, hoping he wouldn't choke on anything. Despite Mr. Audley's infamous appetite, he managed to remain thin as a rake.

"Get away from me!" there was a scuffle at the bar where a couple of men from Phil's side of the family (judging by their sleek suits) were trying to grab someone who was clearly very drunk. Most likely from Mal's side of the family, given how rumpled his suit looked.

Matilda gave an exasperated sigh and went over.

"Lemme handle this," she said to the well-dressed men who put their hands up in defeat.

"Sir? Are you okay?" She said to the blonde, slender man who reeked of alcohol. His face was red from drinking so much.

"I ab tomany faainne." He mumbled nonsense.

"Okay." Matilda put her arm on his back, "Let's get you some air."

The man could barely stand and Matilda had to put his arm around her to give him support. She worried he might grope her but he was too busy holding the bottle of wine in his other arm, cradling it as if it was something precious.

They came outside the party hall and Matilda walked him to a tree nearby. The manicured landscape of the Country Club looked like something out of a fairytale. Old oak trees holding decades of history, a body of water running through the fresh cut grasslands, covered by a small bridge.

The party hall was a regency style building with a white stucco façade. Warm light form inside spilled outside. From here no one could tell that the mixed sounds and clinking of cutlery was anything but a jovial gathering.

The man sat on the ground, staring at some blank space. His hair was messy, he was drunk out of his mind and too disheveled to belong to either side of the family.

"What's your name?" Matilda asked.

"Wry-wee."

"Ryan?"

"Wry-lee!"

"Riley?"

"Yeah." He nodded exaggeratedly.

"Well, Riley," she sat beside him, "why'd you get so shitfaced? Don't you know this is an engagement party?"

"Beclurb my winf leff ne."

"Try saying that in English."

"My waife lefeb me!" My wife left me.

"Oh... shit. I'm sorry man" Matilda said sympathetically, patting his back.

His eyes seemed hollow as he looked at her. He slouched forward, resting his face on his knees, hugging his legs.

"Who're yew?"

"I'm Matilda. Nice to meet you." They shook hands.

"Hi. Mattie. I'm Riley." He said. 

Matilda smiled. "You know. I've always preferred to be called Mattie."

"Yeah?"

"No one ever calls me that. Everybody always calls me Tilly or Tilda."

"Well you don't look like a Tilly." He said to Matilda who was clad in a sharp looking black lace dress and red lipstick. He gave her a once over, "You look like an Agnes."

Matilda raised a brow, smiling, "An Agnes?"

"Yeah. You're like a witch or something. Agnes the witch."

True, if it were Halloween and if she had a pointy hat, then it wouldn't be a far-fetched idea.

"Well I am a witch, Riley." Matilda said, chuckling.

"A very pretty witch." He gazed at her.

"Why thank you." She gazed back but only in mirth.

And then Riley proceeded to puke. Not on her, he had the presence of mind to face the other way, but it smelled nauseous, nonetheless. Matilda rubbed his back with a spell to make him feel better. Something her mother had taught her.

"Here," she handed him a handkerchief that she pulled out of thin air in a flare of blue sparks.

"Thanks." He said and leaned against the tree.

"You good?"

"No. I want my wife back." He looked at her desperately, as if she could make that happen.

"Sorry Riley. There's no spell to undo a breakup."

He nodded sadly and hung his head. Matilda thought it best to leave him alone so she went back inside.

She did not see Riley later at the engagement party but then again, she was busy introducing herself to rest of the bridal party and Mal's family.

After the engagement party there had been a long lull, after which Matilda found herself running all over the place for the bridal shower and the bachelorette party (the events of which have been sworn into secrecy).

Matilda had forgotten all about Riley. He had become just one of the many people Matilda had helped out. But she saw him again, at the wedding.

The wedding had been amazing, Mal wore a designer gown from some French brand, Phil was kept away from all forms of hair cutting supplies. The bridesmaids, including Matilda wore pink. Matilda hated pink. She looked out of place in it. Her khol rimmed eyes, severe make up and permanent scowl clashed with the gentle color.

On the day of the wedding she had only run into Alton once, when she was looking for Mal's father who had suddenly gone missing, causing a panic.

"What's going on?" He had asked her after he had seen the entire wedding party running around the wedding hall.

"Oh! It's you!" Matilda said. Riley seemed to be better, more conscious at least. But his eyes were still hollow and his face seemed thin, saggy, as if he hadn't eaten properly in a while and had lost weight because of it. His mouth was a thin serious line.

"We met at the engagement party?" She reminded. Riley blinked, trying to remember. A blush of embarrassment spread on his cheeks.

"I don't remember that party all too much."

"Yeah. I figured, given how drunk you were." She said kindly. He cleared his throat in discomfort.

"Sorry, I have to run. I'm looking for Mr. Audley. I don't suppose you've seen him?"

"The bride's father is missing?"

"Yeah. Have you seen him?"

"No."

"Okay. I have to go then."

Matilda couldn't use the locator spell back then because she had nothing of Mal's father to track him with and it felt strange to ask, "Can you give me something that belonged to him?"

Sebastian had later discovered the old man passed out drunk in a broom closet. He had been so nervous about Mal getting married that he had finished a whole bottle of vodka in one go. It had been embarrassing to have him wobble all the way up the aisle with Mal steadying him but no wedding could have been considered complete without the obligatory last minute problems.

After the vows had been said, kisses exchanged and the bouquet thrown (right in Ursula's face), the wedding had moved onto the reception.

The food was delicious and the atmosphere was filled with the shimmering glow of true love that only Matilda could see. The tension between the clashing families had been put aside for the time being and everyone was laughing, eating, dancing; having a good time. Then the DJ then called everyone to the dance floor.

By all aspects, Matilda was not a good dancer. The maximum she could achieve was jumping up and down and make it look like she meant to move like that. Which is what she had been doing when the DJ had been playing an upbeat dance number. She had been with Ursula and Eric but then the music slowed and Eric and Ursula got lost in each other's eyes and suddenly everyone around her was paired up except for her.

Matilda had to shuffle around awkwardly, trying to find her way back to the tables. She shrugged the embarrassment off and thought about how lucky she was that no one had asked her to dance, otherwise she would have been forced into this archaic ritual that vilified single people.

Plus, her dancing would only embarrass everyone involved so it was best that she had to sit with Mal's mother and listen to her drone on about how she will miss her daughter now that she will be busy starting her own life and won't have time for their daily calls.

Matilda had watched Mal and Phil dance together, their glow so thick she could barely make out their faces. She had chosen to go outside at the moment, enjoy a moment's peace.

After everyone had gone home and Mal and Phil had gone back to their rooms for the night, Matilda had gone back to the hotel grounds and teleported herself inside the reception hall, which was now devoid of all decorations and tables. Matilda had considered herself lucky that Mal hadn't gone for the beach wedding she had initially planned. Teleportation was not possible in the sand, a discovery she had made at a different wedding where she had attempted the same tradition she was trying to carry out now.

The moon was high and shone in through the wide windows of the hall casting a while, ethereal rectangle in the hall. Matilda stood in the middle of the dance floor, her jacket draped from one arm that also held her high heels.

She began to sway as light music began to sound from nowhere particular. A glittering, warm light spread across the room and suddenly the entire reception was back, the dancing people, the twinkling lights, the noise, the music and a young dark haired man who was Matilda's best friend tapped her on the shoulder and took her in his arms and they began to dance slowly, in what Matilda hoped was slow dancing. His redheaded date had ditched him, she imagined, and he had realized that there was no one else he would ever—

"Do you hear music?" Someone's voice came from outside and suddenly the illusion was gone, leaving her limp jacket in the place of her dancing partner. She quickly gathered her things and teleported out of there before anyone discovered her.

"Nah, man." The worker said to the other. "I didn't hear anything."