“I don’t think this fits,” I said. I had the green dress over my head and partly down my body but now I was trapped inside, arms and all. I feared I might never get out.

“It’s perfect!” Mrs Wang said. She pulled it down over my stomach and bum, all the way to the floor. My feet were trapped together at the bottom; they could inch forward about 10 centimetres at a time. It would take me at least a day to cross the room in the dress. “You look exactly like a beautiful blade of fresh spring grass.”

That was all fine and good but grass is never required to walk.

The groomsmen came into the room. They wore shirts the exact colour of green of the trap I was in and jackets the colour of mud.

“Yes! Yes!” Mrs Wang was so pleased with herself. “Now, get your partners. Stand holding hands. We need to practise our routines!”

I looked at Gideon who stood leaning against the wall on the other side of the room. He might has well have been in Hong Kong. I watched the other bridesmaids shuffle toward their respective partners and I wondered how they managed. If they could do it so could I! I stepped forward as far as the dress would allow, and brought my other foot forward. I did it again and again, looking down at my feet. When I looked up I was nearly where I’d started, though now completely exhausted.

In frustration I tried to move my feet quickly. But just as I got a bit of rhythm going something went wrong and I could feel myself tilting and falling toward the floor – but then someone caught me.

“First day with the new feet?” Gideon asked, smiling as he held me in his arms.

“It’s this stupid dress!” I said in frustration.

He took my hand and carefully led me toward the others. “It might be stupid, but you look lovely in it.”

Breathe, I told myself. Breathe. It was only a compliment. People did not routinely die when someone paid them a compliment. Get yourself together. You are Lola Molefi: Private Investigator. You have a diploma from Ronnie Ron’s Detective School. You’re a woman who excels under pressure. You are not a silly schoolgirl – so snap out of it!

It worked! I managed the entire fitting and dance lesson without another incident. Of course I didn’t speak, nodding my head where I could, even when it was not quite appropriate, but I got through it and that was all that was important.

*****

I was finally out of the dress and able to move around, checking on the wedding preparations. The cow had arrived and most of the people were helping at the back. I spotted a woman malingering near the tent. There was something about her that seemed odd. I approached her. What we didn’t need, in addition to all of the other problems, were odd people malingering around.

“Hello,” I said.

“Hello.” She was not offering anything.

“Can I help you?”

“No, not really.”

“We’re preparing for a wedding,” I said.

“Yes, I know.” She was not making it easy.

“Maybe you could go and come back when the wedding is actually happening,” I offered.

“No.” She really was stubborn. She had a hard face that looked as if it had once been quite pretty. I suspected she’d had a tough life so far. But still that didn’t mean she could hang around a wedding with no purpose.

“No? But I’m the maid of honour, I must insist.”

“I’m here with Mike, one of the groomsmen. He told me to wait here.”

“Well, why didn’t you say that straight away? We might have saved a lot of time.” I walked off, leaving her to her wait.

“Lola!” Bonang cried excitedly, running up to me. “My mother has brought a traditional doctor to clear the curse. You need to come.”

I followed Bonang not knowing what to expect. I found her mother with an elderly man who looked very much like my own grandfather, in a suit jacket he bought in the 1980s but had kept in pristine condition, and a battered porkpie hat with a grey ribbon around it. He sat on a chair and a small crowd had gathered around him. As I neared I saw he’d thrown his bones on a leather mat rolled out on the ground and was interpreting what he saw for the crowd. Bonang pushed to the front, pulling me behind her.

“This curse is strong, but not all-powerful. If I’m allowed to put protection around the venue, I think we will have a successful wedding,” the old man said and a relieved sigh escaped from both mother and daughter. “But it must be done in secret. Everyone will have to leave.”

“Leave? But we have far too much to do, that will not be possible,” Jomo’s mother said. “You’ll have to find another way.”

Bonang attempted to speak up, but I stopped her by touching her arm and giving her a wink. “Yes, of course, MmagoJomo, you go back to work and we will work out a plan around you.”

“Finally you are stepping up and doing your job correctly, Miss Maid-Of-Honour. In my day we would not have conducted a wedding in this manner,” she said. But she was satisfied that she had got her way, and went back to supervising the pots.

I immediately ushered everyone out of the garden and turned to Jomo. “When we’re all gone, tell your mother there is a problem with the flowers at the florists and Mrs Wang needs her help. Take her there immediately.”

I went out of the gate with the traditional doctor and hid to the side. We waited there until everyone had left. After a few minutes, Jomo came out with his mother.

“I really don’t know what this wedding would be like without me,” she said. She looked around. “Where is everyone?”

“They’re around,” Jomo said.

“Probably hiding to dodge work. We must hurry; nothing will get done while I’m gone.”

When the car pulled away, I said to the traditional doctor, “It’s fine now. I’ll guard the gate to make sure no one troubles you.”

I watched the old man make his way inside carrying his leather pouch of medicines and charms. I doubted it would improve anything, but at least Bonang and her mother would be satisfied.

***

Tell us what you think: Do you know people like Jomo’s mother? Do you think Lola dealt with her well?