Page 66 of Five Gold Rings
‘Are you seeing this?’ I ask. ‘Or are Miriam’s sausage rolls making me hallucinate?’
‘Nah, I see it.’
It’s not just a man with a sheep. It’s a line of children wearing white smocks, tinsel halos and wings, another man with an afro and a crown wearing purple satin pyjamas, a life-sized star in gold leggings and someone who has the unfortunate honour of being a palm tree.
‘I think we follow that star then it’ll take us to the church?’ I joke.
Eve smiles and we park up and follow the throng of people to a red brick building and church, unassuming in stature but buzzing with light, music and farmyard animals. As we walk through the doors, we are greeted by a huge crowd of people in school nativity mode, and I have flashbacks of being an angel, wearing a re-purposed pillowcase as a costume. Kids run about in this simple church hall, with its shiny parquet floors, folding tables and paper tablecloths, a dubious looking fake Christmas tree in the corner that certainly hasn’t been updated since the eighties. But the people, the calypso music, the wonderful chorus of smells of food and alcohol float through the air, putting a great big grin on my face. To see all the families around adds some earthy antidote to the normal excess of Christmas.
‘Eve? From the jewellers’?’ a voice says, and a man comes up to us in the sharpest of suits, a red tie and buttonhole completing the look. He embraces Eve tightly and looks over to me.
Eve gestures towards me and does the introductions. ‘Mr Day. Yes, it is. This is Joe, also from the shop.’
‘Please, I am Emmanuel. I bloody hope you’ve got a ring for me?’ he asks.
‘I do,’ Eve replies.
‘I believe that’s Faith’s line,’ he jokes and Eve hands him the box. He opens it and beams – no nerves, no worry etched on his face. Just a look like a kid waiting for his Christmas Day.
‘You are both amazing to get this here today.’
‘We’re just sorry we couldn’t get it to you earlier,’ I say.
‘It’s cool, the Caspars kept me in the loop. Are you going somewhere?’ he says, looking at our outfits. ‘Please stay. My family like a party so there’s a pre-show, an after party – there’s a lot of food.’
‘Oh no, we…’ I try to say, but he shakes his head and interrupts.
‘Nah, I insist. Mama, come here,’ he calls to a lady standing nearby. ‘Remember I said we went to that amazing ring shop? They got Faith’s ring engraved and look at this bling.’
A woman in a brightly coloured festive kaftan of sorts comes over. ‘You’re joking,’ she says in a lilting West Indian accent. ‘That is some ring.’
‘And these lovely people are from the jewellers’ and hand delivered it here. This is my mum, Joy.’
Emmanuel’s mother glances over at me and I can’t quite tell if it’s a look of disdain or misguided lust or judgement of the fact that I’m completely overdressed for a church hall wedding.
‘It’s nice to meet you both,’ she says warmly. ‘Emmanuel, have you seen your cousin?’
‘Felix? No.’
‘We’ve had an absolute nightmare. We were supposed to have a nativity scene and the boy showed up stoned. At Christmas. Can you believe the disrespect? Now I’ve got to find someone to be Joseph.’
Eve laughs and Joy looks at her strangely, wondering what part of that conversation is funny. ‘Oh,’ Eve says, backtracking. ‘It’s just… His name is Joe. You’re a Joseph, right?’
I put a hand in the air. Joseph is the name on my formal documents. Joy checks me out again, her eyes narrowing.
‘Mum, don’t you dare… I’m so sorry about her…’ He turns back to his mother. ‘They’re here to deliver a ring, not be part of your circus.’
She casts him a look. ‘We are here to celebrate the coming of the baby Jesus…’
‘And here’s me thinking we were here to see me get wed,’ he complains.
‘Hush now,’ she says, putting a finger to her lips to silence her son.
‘How are you with babies, Joseph?’ she asks me. Eve bites her lip, looking at me. We know what this lady is asking. I have to do this, don’t I? We’re in a church.
‘I’m OK? I have nieces and nephews?’
‘Then maybe you’ve been sent to me from God Himself,’ she asks, putting her hands to the air in praise.