Swapping Places Chapter 23

Read Chapter 22 here.

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Seth decided to do a little digging by himself. He went to the place where he knew he’d get all the answers: Facebook. He first went to Delphine’s page and saw several photos of her and her twin sister. Wow. A perfect double. How didn’t he know about it? He knew that even if he asked, she would say, ‘You never asked; it never came up.’ He made a mental note to ask in a passing comment if his next girl was a twin or not.

He then went on to Daphne Coleman’s page. She had also shared photos with Delphine but had most photos with other friends, both male and female. He checked their Instagram pages next. Delphine’s account was private; Daphne’s wasn’t. No surprise there. Judging from the pictures, he could tell Daphne was more outgoing than Delphine. They did look alike but their personalities told them apart. He heaved a sigh.

Delphine said she wasn’t the one who tried to lure him to bed. Could it be Daphne? Was she capable of hurting her sister that way? He tried to recall the time he spent with ‘Delphine’ that fateful night. She was good company and drank more than she normally did. Was it her? Did Delphine know about this? Was it a game they played, swapping boyfriends? Had Kobby also fallen victim to their game? Had Delphine ever posed as Daphne and hung out with Kobby? Did he notice? Was he disturbed by it or did he enjoy it? He stared at Delphine’s profile photo. He traced her face with his fingers.

He had the uneasy feeling that he had met Daphne…more than once. He remembered meeting her for the first time. She was sweet like Delphine but also a little hyper. Which was which? He buried his face in his palms and sighed. Why was he even stressing himself over this? It wasn’t like there was any chance for him and Delphine to get back together. But the curious part of him wanted to get to the bottom of it. He wanted to know for sure if the woman he accused Delphine to be was truly her or not. A gnawing feeling told him she wasn’t.

*

Daphne’s big day was fast approaching and there was a lot to be done. Tasha was going to be the maid of honor as their mother insisted that Delphine could not stand with her sister. But between the two of them, they knew Tasha was only going to be a ‘figure.’ As much as Daphne loved to share her big day with her friend, there wasn’t anyone she trusted more to take care of her than her sister.

Doreen was more than excited about her daughter’s upcoming nuptials. She couldn’t stop talking about how she had felt days before getting married to their father. George couldn’t help but also share how it had felt like for him, going to be ‘tied down’ to one woman for the rest of his life. The twins listened to them with genuine interest and they laughed together about the cold feet they both felt at the time.

“Marriage is a good thing; it’s great when you are with the right person. It is not an easy road but it is fulfilling. It has its own way of stripping you of self-interest and making you put the interests of others before yours; that is your husband and later your children. I know there are so much talk of feminism and gender equality now but I advise you to acknowledge him as the head of the family and respect him as such. You won’t lose yourself when you do that. He is going to be head and you, the neck. You can make him see things your way without fighting him. It would take wisdom and experience to master the skill. As long as I live, I’ll continue to pray for you and your husband and if you need any help at all, don’t hesitate to come see me. You two are all I have and it is my duty to ensure I do the best I can to see you succeed,” Doreen said.

“Thanks mum. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Daphne said tearfully as she hugged her. Doreen rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. Delphine leaned on her sister and her mother rubbed her back too. As much as she was excited about marrying her daughter off, a part of her was nervous about being separated from her baby girl. She could still remember the first time she held her in her arms. How time flew.

*

It was Daph’s traditional marriage ceremony. Delphine helped her put on her heels as the makeup artist did her magic on Daphne’s face. Tasha took photos and selfies and kept telling Daphne how beautiful she looked. An elderly woman entered the room and said it was time for Daphne to come outside. Delphine helped her sister to get up. Daphne put on a sad face.

“How I wish…” Del stopped her by placing her index finger on her lips.

“I’ll be close by; I promise. This is your day, my ‘big sister by minutes’ so enjoy yourself. Whenever you need me, I’ll be right there.” They hugged. Del kissed her cheek.

“Let’s go, Panyin!” Daphne got in line with the bridal train and went outside. Delphine went around the house from the back and watched her sister. When Daphne was seated beside a calm and fresh looking Kobby, Daphne’s eyes darted out in search for her sister. A wave caught her eye. She smiled. Del smiled back.

Daphne’s heart missed a beat when she saw Seth. What was he doing here? Wasn’t it over between him and Del? Or did he want a second chance? The brief moment they shared a stare sent chills down her back. Why did she feel uneasy about him about there?

“Honey, did you invite Seth over? You know he and Del have broken up,” she said.

“Where is he? No, I didn’t. I’m surprised he came. Maybe he’s here to see Del.”
“Uh huh.”

Daphne entered the house after the rites were performed to go change into another dress.

“Do you know he’s here? Have you seen him?” Daphne asked.

“Who?”
“Your ex; or are you two thinking of working things out?”
“You mean, Seth? What is he doing here? I haven’t spoken to him since that day.”
“Maybe he’s here to make amends. Are you up for it?”
“No; there’s no point wasting each other’s time. Maybe I should go tell him to leave.”
“No, don’t do that. I want your friends to feel at home with me. You could officially introduce us.”
“Yeah right.”

“I mean it, Del. I don’t want us to be awkward around each other because of you-know-what.”
“Well, we are over now and he has no business knowing anyone related to me.”
“Wow…you do break up hard, girl.” Del chuckled. They both faced the mirror as Del zipped Daph up.

“You look beautiful,” Del said, holding her sister by the shoulders. Daph pulled her Del’s arms around her.

“So do you.”

The mother walked in.

“Everything all right in here?” They turned.

“Yes, mum. Just realized I’d be living away from my sister for the first time,” Daph said.

“Oh don’t worry, she’ll be fine and so will you.” She hugged them both. They heard the people outside shout in excitement when the song changed.

“I guess it’s time for you to dance with your husband,” Doreen said. Daphne held her sister’s hand.

“Come with me.”
“In a bit. Need to use the washroom.”
“All right. Don’t make me come look for you.”
“I won’t.” Daphne left the room with their mother.

 

Seth watched the couple dancing with keen eyes. He still couldn’t believe the lady in kente wasn’t Delphine. The smile on her face, her mannerisms, everything. His gaze moved from them when he saw her double standing at the entrance of the house, smiling at the couple. He sighed. That was Delphine. Should he approach her and say hi? Nah, that would be awkward. He would talk with her after having a word with her sister.

Soon, the dance ended the couple began chatting with the guests. Seth followed Daphne with his eyes and moved in her direction from a distance. This was his chance.

“Thanks for coming. I hope you can make it tomorrow,” Daphne said.

“Of course; I won’t miss it for anything.” They hugged and the lady walked away.

“Hello, Daphne.” She turned. She almost startled seeing Seth right behind her. Her eyes darted in search of Del but she couldn’t be found.

“Hi. Um…you look familiar. Have we met?”
“I’m Seth, Delphine’s…”
“Oh yeah, my sister’s ex. Thanks for passing by. Have you seen Del already?”
“No, not yet.”
“Maybe I should call her for you…”
“Never mind, I’ll find her myself. Just wanted to clarify something.”
“Sure.”
“Have we met before?”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you by any chance met up with me under the guise of being Delphine?” He asked straightforwardly.
“Why on earth would I do that?” Oh gosh, where was Del?!
“Because an incident happened and a few minutes later Del called and it seemed she was clueless about that incident. That was before I knew she was a twin.”
“Well, I have no idea what that incident is. You two are no longer together so maybe you should move on. My sister has. Now if you would excuse me.”
“It was a Wednesday afternoon when you called that you wanted to hang out. We met, had some drinks and you drank quite a lot. You suggested we go to my place and we did. You wanted us to go to bed and I respectfully declined because you were tipsy. You got angry and left. Now I can’t help but wonder, why would anyone try to hurt her sister that way?”
“Listen, I don’t…”
“What’s going on here?” Kobby asked. They both turned their faces to look at him.

“Congratulations, buddy. I was asking your new wife a question. You remember the disturbing incident I told you about? About Del wanting me to sleep with her and getting angry when I didn’t only for her to call me later saying she was at work all day? Little did I know Del had a twin sister who looks just like her.”
Kobby turned a cold stare towards Daphne. She swallowed. She wished the earth would swallow her up that moment.

“I have no idea what he’s talking about, Kobby. I’ve never met him before.”
“Is that so?” Delphine’s words rang in Kobby’s ears, ‘You seem to forget I’m a twin.’

“Did you ever pose like Del to see Seth? You know I wouldn’t be surprised because of my experience,” Kobby said. Seth raised a brow. So it was their thing.
“Never. You have to believe me. I don’t know why he thinks I could do that. Please, we just had our traditional marriage ceremony. Don’t let him ruin this moment for us,” Daphne pleaded.

“I wish you all the best, Kobby. I’m not sure if you are marrying the right woman though. Good luck,” Seth said with one last look at Daphne and walked away.

“He must be angry that Del broke up with him and came up with this ridiculous story to spread his grief. I would never do that. Why hang out with someone else when I have you?”
Kobby watched her closely as she spoke. That incident had bothered him and Del’s comment at the time was puzzling but he had let it slide. But now, it all seemed to make sense. Was he getting married to the wrong twin?

“Honey?” Daphne touched his upper arm, her new ring glistening in the sunlight.

“Maybe we should ask Del.” Her smile vanished.

“What? You don’t believe me?”
“I want to but I really want to clear this up. Our future together might depend on it.”

“But…” He had turned and started walking away. Oh no, where was her phone? With Del. Oh no! She had to make sure she found her first.

(c) Josephine Amoako 2017

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