Page 78 of Sunday

“She’s been stressing about us not making it?” my daddy asked.

“Yeah. Told her to chill with all that.”

They both laughed, and my mother winked. What the hell was happening? Did they call a momentary truce or what?

“Everybody ready to eat?” Cedar asked and rubbed his hands together.

“Yeah.” A chorus of agreement erupted throughout the family room.

I giggled and shook my head.

“I’ll fix your plate, baby. Go ahead and take care of AJ,” Cedar pronounced before he kissed my lips and headed out of the family room. I noticed that he and my father walked side by side, following everyone else.

My mother hung back as I finished changing Aspen’s diaper.

“What was that about?” I asked as she reached her arms out for her grandson.

“Two men putting their differences aside for the girl they love.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Cedar set his pride aside and called your father.”

“How did he get his number?”

“From your phone.”

“Oh.”

“He called two months ago and had a man-to-man conversation. I didn’t get all the details, but I know there were apologies on both sides. Then he asked your father for your hand in marriage.”

“He’s never said anything to me.”

“You know how men are. They have their pride, and they want to do things their way without women getting involved because of our emotions.”

“I didn’t know that these last two months, they were cool. I noticed that at the hospital, the brief interaction they had didn’t seem tense, but simply cordial. I thought it was for the sake of me and Aspen.”

“Well, it was. Healing doesn’t happen overnight, but they’ll get there.”

I stood and wrapped my arm around my mother’s waist and rested my head on her shoulder. She shifted Aspen in her arms to cradle him with one arm while wrapping her free arm around me. She kissed my forehead and whispered, “You are truly loved, my beautiful girl.”

“And I’m thankful for all those God gave me to love.”

Cedar

I created a smorgasbord of food for the brunch to cater to all the various palates. My father, brothers-in-law, and I had taken everything outside to the tent and placed the serving dishes on the various tables. Everyone would fix their plates and then take a seat at one of the tables set up in the backyard.

Bacon, turkey bacon, chicken sausage, link sausage, Canadian ham, Belgian waffles, blueberry pancakes, home fries, hashbrowns, frittata, banana bread, quiche, jalapeno cheese grits, and a fruit platter. There was more than enough for everyone to have a couple of servings. We had arrived at my mother’s house at six this morning, and she and I had both got busy in the kitchen. It reminded me of being a little kid, when I would cook with her all the time.

Looking around at the faces all around me made me feel proud. Sunday and I had come a long way from being just roommates and from roommates to lovers. We had blended two very diverse families and groups of friends into one beautiful family who loved and protected each other, even when it created tension amongst the group.

After everyone finished eating and was just sitting or standing around talking, I looked at her father, Raymond, who held his mimosa up to me in a cheer as he chatted with my father. We might not be the best of friends, but we were men enough to put our differences aside and become amicable for the sake of Sunday and Aspen. I knew that her father didn’t hate me. I’d even go so far as to say that he understood and respected me.

I thought back to the week before I proposed. I’d swallowed my pride because I knew what I wanted to do, but I also knew what I needed to do before I took that major step. I’d gonethrough Sunday’s phone while she was asleep and gotten both her mother’s and father’s numbers. I only wanted her father’s number, but I’d grabbed her mother’s, too, just in case I couldn’t reach him.

I spoke with my dad for an hour, and I prayed before I made the call.

“Mr. Monroe, I’d like to apologize to you for my attitude and for some of the things I let come out of my mouth that day. There’s no excuse, but the way things jumped off in the heat of the moment caught me off guard. My protective instincts jumped in, and I did what I felt I needed to at the moment. I love Sunday. She’s not some random woman to me, but someone I want to love and protect forever. I also know that she’s a daddy’s girl, and she loves you, respects you, and wants you to be proud of her. So, I’m asking you to forgive me. All I want is to make Sunday happy.

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