Homecoming

Jesica opened the door of the living room in her Belgravia house, switched on the light, and was met by the excited chorus of the assembled crowd that had patiently been waiting in the darkness.

The room was festooned with balloons and bunting decoration.

"Surprise, Surprise! Welcome home, Will and Jessica. You must be exhausted after your prolonged honeymoon."

Their post-nuptial vacation had lasted twelve months and the reference to its length made Jessica think.

“Is it really a year since I got married? It seems only yesterday that Will and I exchanged vows and tied the knot”, she reflected.

They had intended to have a simple, private ceremony at their nearest registry office, with no fanfare, but  Jeremy, Jessica's adoptive father,  who had assumed parental responsibility of the child at the age of three after her mother's death, had other ideas.

The traditional venue that all the members of his family had always used, was the popular Old Marylebone Town Hall and that was where the wedding took place.

That had been followed by a sumptuous banquet at the Chesterfield Mayfair and a large gathering of relatives and friends, everything courtesy of the wealthy parent whom Jessica called Uncle Jeremy.

It was also he who had paid for the couple's round-the-world trip.

They had gone to Canada to visit Will's brother Joe and, on the way back, to Carthage, Hammamet and Nabul in Tunisia,` which brought back memories for Jessica, happy and sad, of a brief liaison with Ali, a local boy recruited by ISIS and killed during a firefight with the Security Forces.

The voyage had not been entirely for pleasure.
The last stop  before returning to London had been in Sharm El-Sheikh, where Will, who was part of the Diplomatic Service, had been summoned to an impromptu meeting.

That suggested future frequent absences from the marital home, but Jessica was used to the situation as her husband once belonged to a branch of the Secret Service.

The break had been a pleasant interlude but young Jessica was glad to come back to her family and friends and finally understood the meaning of 'Home Sweet Home'.

© Luigi Pagano 2025