THURSDAY

It was about 6:13 am when Larissa stepped outside. Wrapped in her morning coat, she had already taken the next few days off to prepare for the celebrations, and this was a grand time to check on the work being done.

As she opened the door and moved to the compound where the ceremony was to be held, she stopped and stared in awe.

The compound looked unrecognizable. It looked like a venue fit for a colourful, glorious ceremony. From the grass carpet to the backdrop which read ‘Ed & His Diamond’ and the blown-up photos of the couple’s pre-wedding shots, nobody could deny the magnificence of Shamima’s labour with her décor guys.

“My oh my!” Larissa gasped as she walked closer to admire it. Then she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“Maa Lari!”

She smiled and stretched out her arm as an exhausted-looking Shamima, in her standard black T-shirt and leggings, approached her.

“Shamima! Come here, baby. My goodness, you’ve outdone yourself. This looks fantastic!” she gushed as she embraced Shamima. “Girl, this is fabulous!”

Shamima nodded proudly. How good it felt to have that all-night work appreciated. “Thanks, Maa Lari! It’s been tiring eh. This décor life is tiring.”

“I knoww, chale. But it’s been well worth it, with what I see. The tables for the reception will have to wait a bit, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll handle that tomorrow morning. We’ve got the tablecloths and all ready, so that will be done.”

“Magnificent! Awwww, Shamima, thank you so much! I love you, okay? I mean, I hate your school, but yeah, I totally love you!”

Shamima shook her head in amusement. An old student of Wesley Girls’, she was always the subject of trolling from Larissa, a proud Hopsan, who never failed to let her know she did not like her school. “Thanks, but, really, Maa Lari?”

“Oh really, babe. Really,” Larissa responded, a triumphant smirk on her face. “You know the drill when it comes to me and my ‘against’ agenda on your school.”

Shamima shook her head in amusement again. “I know. Ten toes deep.”

“Exactly. Ten toes deep. Now I know you need some sleep, so… you can go on to Toby’s room and sleep there. The boys are in Oscar’s room and Serwaah is with Diamond, so it’s free. When you wake up, call me, so I can get Serwaah to make you some breakfast. I’ll tell Oscar to go prepare some breakfast for your guys, okay?”

“Yes, Maa Lari. Thank you so much! Oh, and uh, one little thing.”

“Yes?”

A mischievous smirk flashed across Shamima’s face. “Can Toby come and lie next to me?”

“Sweetheart, I know you love my son too much to put his life and yours at risk, so I won’t mind you.”

Shamima laughed out loud.

***

“Yeah, so the Dubai Miracle Garden is a definite. Then Dubai Mall… oh yeah, and that tall building… ohh, I’ve forgotten the name…”

“The Burj Khalifa.”

“Aha! Yes, yes, the Burj Khalifa. And the desert safari… see, that one is a must. If we don’t go for that one, the trip all make waste. Herhhh!! The reviews squad have given me about it.”

“Me too, Ed. Me too. So that one is a necessary. A very big necessary.”

It was afternoon, and Diamond was busily talking to her husband-to-be on the phone, already making plans on where they were going during their honeymoon.

“Of course, hehehe… yes, Maa! Okay, babe, my mother’s calling. I think one of my uncles just came in. So we’ll talk later, alright?”

“Sure thing, my love. I love you.”

“I love you, my precious Diamond. Bye.”

“Bye, honey.”

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door just as Diamond placed the phone on the bed.

“Come in!” she called.

The door opened, and in came Oscar, Toby, Serwaah…

… and Anasah holding a frame wrapped in brown paper.

Diamond looked surprised. It was not every day she had all four of her younger siblings coming together to see her. “Eish! And to what do I owe this visit?” she asked.

Oscar, obviously leading the pack as the oldest of the rest, came to stand before her. “Yeah, uh, so Diamond, this is a bit of a surprise thingy that we said we’d spring this afternoon after you were done with your other rounds.

“So, from the moment Edem proposed, and we’ve been making preparations and all that, we had a discussion among ourselves and we thought that… being siblings of the bride, we certainly can’t watch our big sister make the big step to leave this house without giving her a proper send-off gift. So we’re here, basically, to give you a special token as you make the journey from a daughter in her father’s house to a woman in her husband’s house.”

With that, Oscar took out an envelope and handed it to her. “From your younger siblings to you.”

Diamond was speechless as she took the envelope. “Wow,” she gasped as she held it. She opened it to see its contents, and was stunned. “Guys! 500 dollars?”

Toby shrugged. “Dolph-Skwad is getting a lot of views on YouTube, you know, and we thought, it would be grand to gift some of the money we’re making off it to you. And with you guys spending so much on the wedding and the fact that life starts after the wedding, it’ll be good to have some dollars in hand. You know, something to start with.”

“Yeah. Maybe you can save those,” Serwaah suggested, “or use them for beautifying your home. I mean, whatever you and Edem decide on. But yeah, that’s what we decided to give to you.”

“Wow… thank you so much,” Diamond breathed.

“And here’s an additional gift for your home,” Anasah added, stepping forward to hand the wrapped frame to her. “We know you’re absolutely gonna love this.”

Diamond took it in her hands, admiring its feel for a moment before taking off the brown paper. Once it was off, she glanced at the picture and squealed excitedly. It was a picture of her favourite pre-wedding photo, where she and Edem were in evening wear; Diamond in a sky blue off-shoulder twist gown, and Edem in a dark blue tuxedo.

“Oh my God, guys! This is perfect! The way I’ve been meaning to get this one framed after the wedding!” she cried happily. “Oh, guys! Thank you, thank you so much! I’m so grateful for your thoughtfulness!”

Oscar shrugged, a pleased smile on his face. “We’re your younger siblings. It’s only right we do this, and we’re really happy to. And we wish you nothing but the best with Edem.”

“Absolutely! We can’t wait to see you become a wife. We’re so excited for you,” Anasah added.

“Aww, thank you all! I couldn’t be more blessed to have such wonderful siblings!”

***

Evening time, and the five siblings were seated in the living room, watching ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’. Diamond had suggested they spend their final evening as siblings under their dad’s roof watching one of their favourite movies.

As the credits rolled, Anasah nodded his head in satisfaction. “Nothing more satisfying than seeing that evil dude get gassed. It never gets old.”

“Honestly,” Serwaah agreed. “It’s the way he keeps shooting at Tom Cruise’s character that is funny mpo. You’ve seen the glass is bulletproof, yet you’re still shooting. Ha!”

“Opana make desperate,” Oscar mentioned. “He probably thought the bullets would eventually break through or something. But chale, tit for tat papa paa!”

“Dee?”

All the children turned at the sound of their mother’s voice as she walked into the living room.

“Yes, Maa?”

“Please follow me. Your father and I need to see you.”

“Eish!” the rest of the children chanted.

“No be small blessings incoming!” Oscar added.

Larissa shook her head. “I hope the rest of you have got your attire and other stuff ready.”

They all responded affirmatively.

“Good. Don’t stay up too long. We’ve got a very busy day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“Oh, Maa, by the way,” Serwaah asked, “you know you and I have a dance face-off tomorrow, right?”

Larissa gave her youngest child, who had a mischievous smirk on her face, one of her vintage blank looks. Then she briskly said, “Good night, kids! I love you all, okay?”

They all laughed as she and Diamond made their way out of the living room.

Diamond followed Larissa into the master bedroom. Daniel was seated on the bed, with the dressing table stool close to it.

Diamond took her seat on the stool as Larissa joined her husband on the bed.

Daniel quietly looked at his daughter for a few seconds, then smiled and looked down. Then he took a deep breath and began to speak.

“You know, I was just remembering the day you were born. From the moment your mother called me to say that her water had broken, to rushing to the hospital, then right up to the point where you came out, screaming and all. I just… remembered how beautiful that day was. When I held you in my hands. When it hit me that this young boy was now a father. Precious moment. One of the greatest moments of my life, without any doubts whatsoever.

And I dunno, but… as you came and sat down, it’s hitting me that that little baby I carried that day, is now a fully grown woman, and in a couple of hours, she’s moving from my hands to another man’s hands, and it’s… it’s just so overwhelming…”

Daniel trailed off as tears made their way out of his eyes.

“Awww, honey,” Larissa cooed as she wiped the tears off his cheeks, while Diamond sat there, in awe of the emotional state of her father. The Dolphyne kids could count the number of times they had seen Daniel cry; he never let them see his vulnerable moments that much.

So many stories about fathers getting emotional about their daughters getting married. She should have known Daniel Kwadwo Dolphyne could be one of them.

Daniel took in a deep breath and forced a smile as he sniffed. “I just want to say that… I’m delighted to see that in a matter of hours, you’re going to be a wife. And I wish nothing but the best for you. There’s so much I’ve said to you and Edem in the past couple of weeks, and I know you’ll continue to learn and understand as the days and years unfold, but… my heart is full of joy. These tears are tears of joy. So, uh, I give you my love and my blessings.”

As he nodded to his wife to indicate he had ended his emotional speech, Larissa spoke. “Honey, as I sit here, I’m just so happy to see you glowing and ready to move into this new dimension. We’re so proud of you and we can’t wait to see you step into this new life. And personally, I’m full of joy too, because… you know the family I come from has a bit of history of failed marriages. It’s affected so many of my people; even your grandparents couldn’t beat the curse, unfortunately. But by the grace of God, I can say that that generational curse is broken over my life, and as you have grown up in a home devoid of that curse, I know that it won’t touch your home. I’m just grateful that those chains are broken, and will stay broken.”

“Amen,” Diamond responded gently.

Daniel sniffed again, then took his wife’s hand and reached for Diamond’s. “Take our hands and go on your knees.”

Diamond quickly obeyed, shutting her eyes as her parents did same.

“Diamond Maakua Dolphyne, I bestow upon you the blessing of a father. As you prepare to depart from under my covering and go under that of your husband, I speak blessings over you. May joy never depart from your home! May glory never depart from your home! May peace never depart from your home! May your home with Edem always be filled with laughter and cries of joy! May your marriage carry a beauty greater than what you have seen between your mother and I, and may all who see you testify that indeed, marriage is a beautiful thing!

“And now, may everything that destroys marriages be put far away from you! May your home know nothing of infidelity! May your home know no chaos! May the word divorce never have any opportunity to make its presence known! But may understanding, patience, unity and fortitude be ever-present in your home.

“And above all, may Jesus be the center of this marriage! Baby, if there’s one thing your mother and I never took for granted, it was the fact that we needed Him in our marriage. May that reality never leave you and Edem, but may you both cling to Him with everything you’ve got! Diamond, your mother and I have been married for 29 years, and it has been a marriage full of joy. Upon you, our dear daughter, we bestow that blessing. Go forth and flourish in your marriage! May you be blessed! May Edem be blessed! And may the children you’ll bear for him be blessed. All this I say in the mighty name of Jesus!”

“Amen!” Diamond proclaimed loudly, tears streaming down her face. As she opened her eyes, Daniel and Larissa patted her hands, with her mother smiling at her.

“You are blessed, honey. This marriage will prosper and exceed what you have witnessed growing up.”

“Amen and amen!” Diamond responded again, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Thank you, thank you so much. I love you two so much, from the bottom of my heart.”

“We love you too, Diamond. We love you too.”

Man, Diamond is so blessed, isn’t she? To receive all this from her family before the big day. And about Larissa breaking that generational curse; we’re all here for that, aren’t we? Well, the traditional wedding follows. Let’s see how awesome that day turns out…