1
2012
Nox
“Thanks again for letting me use your guest room! Jenaifa would have killed me if I’d stayed in a hotel. ’We’re saving for our wedding, and you’re sleeping in a hotel? Have you gone completely mad?” Shane imitated his fiancée’s voice exaggeratedly.
Nox shook his head and started to chuckle softly. Shane had a remarkable ability to replicate his fiancée’s voice and Antillean accent with uncanny precision.
“Don’t whine, mate. You got down on your knees for her yourself!” With a deep sigh, he rose and glanced at himself in the bathroom mirror.
A pair of grey eyes stared back at him grumpily. In less than half an hour, the taxi would arrive to take him to the airport. From there, he would fly to Orlando for a wedding. Groaning, he pushes himself off the edge of the sink harder than necessary; he really doesn’t feel like going. But there was no getting out of it. A year ago, in a drunken stupor, he had solemnly promised one of his friends that he would attend his wedding. He had never anticipated that the imbecile would actually propose to a girl he was always arguing with.
Just the thought of being tied to one woman for life and living under the same roof with her was enough to make him shudder with horror! The thought of having to answer for everything gave him a spontaneous rash!
With a sense of resignation, he dons his uniform before taking a seat on the edge of his bed to fasten the laces of his immaculate polished shoes.
“Where were you going again?” His brother’s voice sounds muffled and Nox can hear him groaning.
Nox pauses to straighten his beret before answering his brother, casting himself in the reflection of the tall mirror. His uniform fits him like a glove: the trousers are pressed into sharp creases, and the jacket is adorned with medals and stripes. He looks sharp as a tack. Most of the men he knew, even his mates, enjoyed wearing the uniform, knowing that heads would turn when they walked by. Not Nox. For him, the uniform was a sign that he was good at something — just a reward for the hard work that had to be done. Then, he turns abruptly and leaves his bedroom.
When he reaches the guest room and peers around the corner, he sees Shane sitting on the edge of the guest bed. His brother is leaning forward and muttering as he tries to tie his shoelaces with one hand — in fact, it’s his entire forearm that’s in a cast.
A week ago, Shane hurt his arm while trying to save someone. He had tried to pull a woman out of a car that had skidded into the water. When he put his arm on the headrest of her seat to get more leverage, the woman’s dog, which he hadn’t noticed at first, sank its teeth into his forearm. Unfortunately for Shane, it wasn’t a small dog that had used his arm as a chew toy, but a full-grown Rottweiler. Nox was still baffled as to how that idiot could have overlooked such a large animal.
With a hint of schadenfreude, Nox watched his brother struggle with the lace of his right shoe but remained standing in the doorway, offering no help.
“I already told you on the phone, I’ve been invited to one of my men’s weddings, so you’re in luck. You have the whole flat to yourself tonight and until the afternoon of the day after tomorrow.”
Shane hummed in agreement. “Oh yeah, that’s right, you did mention that.” He raised his head slightly to look at Nox. “But, um, tell me, dear brother, could you give me a hand?”
Chuckling, Nox turned and walked to the coat rack, where his coat was hanging and his bag was waiting. “Nope. You’re perfectly capable of tying your own shoelaces, Mr Guardian Angel. Your fingers aren’t in a cast. But if it’s so difficult, why didn’t you bring your boots? A grin spreads across his face as he hears only a muttered curse as a response.
Once he has put on his coat, Nox turns around again and sees his brother sitting on the edge of the bed, still struggling with his laces. “I’m off; the taxi will be here any minute now. Don’t drink all my whisky, will you?”
A soft chuckle came from the bedroom. “I can’t promise anything, little brother! After all, you always buy the good stuff!”
Grinning broadly, Nox closed the door behind him. The taxi that was to take him to the airport was already waiting for him. With a weary sigh, he threw his duffel bag over his shoulder and walked down the stairs to the street, where the taxi driver was just opening his door to get out.
After a four-hour flight, Nox is fortunate to find a taxi without any problems to take him to his hotel. He quickly checks in, takes his bag to his room and immediately leaves again for the church where the first part of the wedding will take place.
His mood sank to rock bottom when he arrived at the church. A large group of people had already gathered outside. Everywhere he looked, he saw cheerful and excited faces, and Nox groaned inwardly. The thought of having to put on a cheerful face all day and chat amiably with everyone horrified him even more than the prospect of undergoing root canal treatment without anaesthetic.
At the entrance to the church, he saw a few of his friends, but upon spotting their girlfriends and wives, he decided to keep his distance. He had lost count of how many times the women had decided he would be a good match for a sister, cousin, or best friend. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long. After less than ten minutes, the priest who was to lead the service opened the large wooden doors, which were decorated with pastel-coloured ribbons.
To his immense relief, Nox found a seat at the very back of the church. Seated next to a group of elderly men in their eighties who spent most of the ceremony dozing, he had an excellent view of the other guests. As he was sitting at the back, and the elderly men next to him quickly fell asleep due to the monotonous voice of the priest conducting the ceremony, he was able to openly let his gaze wander over the rest of the guests.
Most of them were couples. Some of the couples had been married for years, while others had only just got together. One thing caught his attention straight away: in a lot of cases, one of the partners was flirting with someone else behind the other’s back.
As he had done so many times before, Nox considered himself fortunate to be single. Despite having sworn never to marry, if he did decide to tie the knot, he would never be able to accept infidelity.
At that moment, his gaze fell on a young couple. Behind the back of a pretty-looking red-haired lady, her partner subtly flirted with one of the bridesmaids.
Nox shook his head at such stupidity. If that redhead had been his woman, he wouldn’t have bothered flirting with anyone else — she was just too cute.
After endless sermons and ear-splitting singing, the ceremony finally ended after an hour. Nox sighed with relief when the bride and groom made their way to the exit to loud applause and cheering. Accompanied by their entourage, the couple drove to the venue for the next part of the wedding.
Upon arriving at the party venue, Nox began to relax a little. It was an old hotel that had been completely renovated, and from what he could see, it was equipped with all modern conveniences. When he finally entered the party room, a weight was literally lifted from his shoulders.
Instead of large tables where you had to sit in your designated place and where food would be served, there were festively decorated tables scattered throughout the room. Along the kitchen side, there were long tables with all kinds of food. There were cold salads, baguettes with various sauces, pasta and rice dishes, and enormous hams and spare ribs. But Nox began to cheer inwardly when he saw a huge old-fashioned bar with high stools to one side. Out of politeness, he first went to congratulate and thank the bride and groom for the invitation. Then he quickly walked to the bar, sat down on a stool at the far end — from where he had a great view of the entire floor — and relaxed.
The hours that followed were cringe-worthy. With every ‘humorous sketch’, Nox quickly downed a glass in the hope of finding it funny, which only happened once.Shane had always accused him of having no sense of humour — a claim that was now all too evident. Oh, he did have a sense of humour, but his humour was different from most people’s, being more dark and more sarcastic. He disliked corny, cheap humour, especially when it was at someone else’s expense.
Although the sketches and anecdotes did not appeal to Nox, a pretty lady with red hair did. Every time she ventured onto the dance floor — sometimes with her flirtatious boyfriend, and sometimes with one of her friends — Nox’s eyes would glide over her well-proportioned, shapely figure.
When he seated himself at the bar in the hope of making himself more or less invisible, it apparently hadn’t worked out quite that way because, from time to time, ladies who had plucked up the courage — most likely after a few drinks — asked him to dance. Two of them even suggested doing more than just dancing. Once, he was even approached by a tipsy young man who made no secret of his sexual orientation. The memory of the clammy hand on his leg made his hair stand on end again, but he declined every invitation as politely as possible.
At around one o’clock, Nox noticed that people were starting to leave. With a sigh of relief, he got up from the bar stool. He scanned the room one last time, hoping to catch a glimpse of the petite redhead, but, to his disappointment, she was nowhere to be seen. After saying goodbye to the heavily intoxicated but happy-looking bride and groom, Nox followed a few other guests out of the building.
Once outside, he took a deep breath and looked up. The night sky was clear, and the stars shone softly. Although there was a light breeze, it was pleasant nonetheless. Nox had taken off his jacket, which was adorned with medals, and hung it over his shoulder. He’d already ordered a taxi, and as he stood waiting for it at the side of the road, enjoying his cigarette, he suddenly heard an angry woman’s voice. Curious, Nox turned around and was stunned to see the red-haired woman storming out of the building, white with rage. Her face was contorted with fury, and he saw a man stumbling after her, desperately trying to fasten his trousers and pull his shirt back on.
“You’re a dirty, filthy bastard, Rico! A sneaky whoremonger! You selfish bastard!”
Then, out of the blue, she spins around to face the man, raises her hand and swings it forward.
WACK!
The sound of her hand hitting the man’s face is like a whip crack, and Nox struggles not to laugh out loud. This lady wasn’t just angry; she was furious!
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he sees a car approaching. Disappointedly, he realises it is the Uber he ordered.
Just as he turns to take one last look at the red-haired woman, he sees her charging towards him. He looks at her in surprise and raises his eyebrows, but before he can say anything, she hooks her arm around his and looks at him with large, fiery eyes.
“Do you mind if I ride with you?” she asks, her voice melodious. Although he is not in the habit of interfering in a couple’s argument, Nox can’t resist this woman. Without saying a word, he opens the back door of the taxi and steps aside to let her in.
Once she is seated, Nox closes the back door and turns to face the young man, who is desperately trying to get past him to convince the woman not to leave without him.
Without a second thought, he grabs the man by the collar of his shirt and pulls him towards him.
“Get lost, lad. She’s not interested in you right now!” Despite the man being quite drunk, the underlying threat in Nox’s voice is clear and he takes a step back.
Only once the young man is at a suitable distance does Nox walk around the taxi and get in on the other side.
Once inside, he turns to the woman. “Where would you like to be dropped off?” Nox has no idea where she needs to go, so it could be an expensive ride, but he doesn’t care at that moment. The thought of being near her for a while is making him do strange things.
A deep blush appears on her cheeks as she looks at him with her big eyes. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go with you.” Her voice sounds soft yet determined. “I never...“, she says, gesturing with her thumb towards the boy standing a few metres away from the taxi, looking at them like a beaten dog. “..to see him again. The problem is that I’ve moved in with that loser and I have nowhere else to go. So, I was hoping I could stay with you tonight.” She looks at him, almost pleading.
Nox lets his gaze wander over her flushed face. She looks sweet, and the expectant look in her beautiful eyes and her full, slightly parted lips make him feel something shift inside him.
Without taking his eyes off her, he turns to the taxi driver. “The Hyatt Hotel, please.”
