England, Part 3: Into Derbyshire

I woke up Friday morning at my hotel room in Bath. I was a little thrown off because of a fire alarm that had gone off at 3AM, but surprisingly rested and ready for the day.

Breakfast (where I was referred to as "the American," a label that would take some getting used to), a long walk, and then I called Anya to warn her that I was on my way, packed up, checked out, and walked to the train station for that day's adventure in public transportation.

From Bath I caught one of their regular trains -- running twenty minutes behind -- to Bristol, and from Bristol to Birmingham and then I was riding into Derbyshire.

It was 2:30 in the afternoon -- 48 hours since the Admiral had dropped me off at the airport -- when I hugged Anya hello in the Derby train station.

Back out in the parking lot, I met her almost-husband Nathan and we hopped into his car and headed down the road. My first experience on British roads was probably the calmest I would have -- but it was still a jarring experience. It wasn't being on the "wrong" side of the street, and it wasn't the roundabouts -- it was the two-way roads with room for only one car. Yikes.

We made it to the house and I was almost immediately overwhelmed. People -- there were people everywhere -- and there was a lot going on. After all, the wedding was in about 22 hours; things were getting crazy fast. I was introduced to Nathan's parents, said hi to Sasha, repeated how sorry I was that Tanya wasn't there, was introduced to Anya's mother, then to Bernard, Nathan's granddad, then given a tour of the house. I could hardly collect myself long enough to figure out where the bathroom was.

Eventually, I begged Nathan's mom to let me be useful -- and I soon found myself mending a pair of the groom's brother's pants. (Trousers. Had I called them "pants" there, I would have gotten stricken looks and laughter.)

The rehearsal was that night; the groom's sister was also flying in from Sri Lanka, having been delayed by several hours already. A Swiss couple appeared somewhere in there and we were introduced -- they were friends of the groom's family; I was Anya's American friend.

The groom's brother (Dominic) appeared and was amused and apologetic about the fact that I was mending his trousers. He had been in Derby for a couple of days already; he worked in Japan and had flown back for the wedding and an extended vacation.

That made at least six countries without even trying.

At six, the house cleared in a whirlwind; the parents, the couple, Sasha, and Dominic all disappeared. The groom's mom was headed to the airport to pick up her daughter; the rest were on their way to the rehearsal. I stayed behind, started on a second pair of trousers, and helped with a salad for the next day.

Then, in a rush, people started to reappear. The couple, more family friends, and the whole wedding party except Dominic, who was stopping for pizza on his way back. Somewhere in there, the groom's sister -- Eleanor -- showed up as well, and her presence was immediately known.

I had been warned, but I still wasn't ready. She was fun, but incredibly hard to miss.

At long last, Dominic reappeared with dinner and the frenzy began.

For the next hour or so, I hung out in the kitchen with Sasha and the ushers, trading travel stories and dirt on the happy couple before the ushers kidnapped Nathan and headed out for their stag night.

The girls, however, headed off to bed. The next day was a big one.