Chapter 14
“N ext, we’re going to have your two families get to know each other a little better,” Daisy said.
“Lemme get another drink first.” Orion walked over to the bar rather than wait for the bar to come to him.
Mark took the opportunity to check in with his most important party guest. Leaning across the space between the couches, he lowered his voice and asked, “How you doin’, sweetheart?”
She smiled. “I’m good.”
His eyes roamed her body in a way that felt obscene. “Yeah, you look good.”
And Sunny didn’t mind obscene at all. “Thank you,” she purred. “I—“
“That little boy makes a mean Manhattan!” Orion announced as he walked between Mark and Sunny. “He don’t look twenty-one, though. You out here cuttin’ corners, boss?”
Mark sat back, stretching his legs out in front of him, his posture relaxed. “Nah,” he said, still fixated on Sunny. “I’m thorough in everything I do.”
Her cheeks heated as she turned her attention to the bottom of her glass.
“Time for two truths and a lie!”
Everyone settled back into their seats, eager to play the game now that the ice had been broken.
“We’ll start with our bride,” Daisy said.
With a silly smile, Brooklyn read from her card. “I got banned from Starbucks. I’ve never been in trouble with the law. And I was valedictorian of my high school class.”
Mark frowned at that. “I know number three is true. Two better be true. So number one is the lie.”
Dav and Brooklyn looked at each other.
“I told you not to put that one,” he said, laughing. “Now you gotta confess.”
“Hold up.” Mark took a sip, feeling loose. “I know my baby girl ain’t been in trouble with the law.”
“Oh, snap,” Vince blurted. “I remember when you got arrested.”
Sunny’s mouth dropped open at the very idea that prissy, bougie little Brooklyn had done anything to warrant an arrest.
Dav shook his head as Brooklyn shifted in her seat.
“I got arrested for trespassing,” she finally said.
“Trespassing where?”
“Me and my girls wanted to do an impromptu photo shoot for Carmen’s Instagram, and we couldn’t think of anywhere to go. Samara suggested we get all dressed up and go to the grand ballroom at the Elysian. It was locked, so we kinda…broke in.”
Everyone’s watchful eyes stayed trained on Mark as he took a large gulp of his drink.
“Well,” he said quietly. “I’m learning a lot about you today, young lady.”
“Daddy, don’t be mad.”
He smiled. “I ain’t even mad, Brookie. I’m amused. I always thought you didn’t know how to have fun.”
Brooklyn’s eyes narrowed. “How many drinks have you had?”
“Stay outta grown folks’ business,” he said with a wink. “As for your prison stint, I guess as long as no damage was done, it’s cool.”
Brooklyn looked at Davion, who shrugged.
“Father of the bride,” Daisy called. “Let’s hear from you.”
Mark picked up his card. “Alright. Let’s see. I’ve operated on a celebrity. I broke my leg playing football. And I’ve only been in love once.”
Brooklyn frowned. “Daddy…you’ve been in love more than once?”
“Does that bother you?”
“Not at all. It makes me curious. Who was it?”
The alcohol had dulled his senses so much, he’d lost the wherewithal to be discreet. His eyes moved immediately to Sunny, only in his mind, she was Cici, and they were alone in this room, young and carefree and still hopeful for a future that felt like happily ever after. But he wasn’t so drunk he forgot where he was, so he averted his eyes quickly before it became obvious.
“I met her in college,” he said quietly. “I thought she was the one, but…circumstances transpired.”
Brooklyn’s eyes grew wide. “What circumstances?”
“We don’t need to get into it—“
“We’re getting to know each other, Dad,” Daisy urged. “This is good.”
Mark disagreed with that assessment, but fuck it.
“In a nutshell, I went to law school across the country, and she didn’t wanna leave school early.”
“Damn, Pop. But you’re not even a lawyer.”
Mark shot Drew a look. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
“Do you ever regret that?”
Mark shot another fleeting glance at Sunny before answering his daughter.
“I try not to live my life with regrets. But it does weigh on me that I lost her. And I think…if I ever saw her again, I wouldn’t let her get away from me this time.”
Thick silence settled around them until Vince finally spoke.
“Dang, Pop,” he said, awestruck. “What she look like? Describe her. She must have been bad.”
“Shut up, Vince,” Mark said to raucous laughter.
But Sunny’s laughter got caught behind the lump in her throat.
She’d been that girl, and his take on the end of their relationship was not only reductive, but agonizing to hear.
“Okay, mother of the groom, let’s hear yours.”
Sunny blinked rapidly as everyone stared at her, waiting for her to read from her card.
“Lowkey, I feel like we’re not even playing the game, we’re just tellin’ all our business,” Mishon said, finally speaking up. “I mean, I’m not mad at it. Just saying.”
Daisy chuckled. “We all know each other a little better though, right?”
Orion sat up a little straighter in anticipation of Sunny’s answers, fully certain at least one would pertain to him. He was the only man who’d ever gotten into Sunny’s head. He was her first, after all. That sticks with a woman.
“Alright, here are mine,” Sunny began. “I’ve never missed a flight in my life. In undergrad, I jumped in the quad fountain naked. And I’ve been to every continent except Antarctica.”
“Hold up.” Davion looked at his father. “The first one gotta be the lie, because y’all missed the flight to my graduation.”
All eyes went to Sunny. While everyone else had questions in their eyes, Mark’s shone with amusement. He remembered that day in the quad like it had happened yesterday.
“Mama, you were wildin’ like that in college?” Amari asked in disgust.
“Wait.” Orion scooted to the edge of the couch and braced his arms on his thighs. “I don’t remember that. You telling me I wasn’t the first one to get a peek at the good stuff?”
“Aye, ease up on that,” Davion warned. “That shit ain’t funny.”
“Watch your mouth!” Orion snapped.
“Watch yours when you’re talkin’ about my mama.”
“I’m talkin’ about my wife.”
“ Ex ,” Davion snapped.
A staring match ensued until Daisy cleared her throat. “Sunny, that’s…um, very interesting. Was this a dare?”
“Of course,” she lied. “Just college stuff. No big deal.”
It was actually a bet she lost. Her friends all knew she’d never bet against their horrible team, not with Kez as a wide receiver. Sure enough, he won the stats race, but the team lost.
“Man, I swear, y’all better be glad there was no social media back then,” Drew said. “Y’all were worse than us.”
Sunny shrugged. “No face, no case.”
“Ewwww,” Sylvan whined. “You went to Freaknik, didn’t you?”
Mark burst out laughing, signaling for another glass. “Y’all youngins think you’re the first generation to do anything .”
The Dixon boys sat with their faces balled up, working through the realization that their mother had once been a… teenager .
“Alright,” Daisy said. “Moving right along. Davion, I think I skipped you.”
His jaw clenched. “I’m good.”
“Babe, you have to.”
Davion looked at his fiancée, sighing his resignation. He couldn’t tell her no even if he tried.
“Fine. Only because you want me to.” He picked up his card. “I once accidentally facetimed my mom while I was…busy doing things.”
Sunny fake gagged. “I blocked that out as soon as it happened,” she said, her lips curling in disgust. “You just had to remind me.”
Davion smiled. “Alright, well, my mama gave that one away. Number two, I once played ball with Michael Jordan. And three, I don’t wannabe like either one of my parents.”
“Oh,” Orion scoffed. “Three is the lie, that’s for damn sure.”
Silence ensued.
A beat.
Two.
Three.
Even the seagulls outside seemed to hush in anticipation.
Brooklyn broke the silence, forcing a levity that didn’t quite fit. “Babe, that was super obvious. At least try to make it interesting.”
Davion shrugged. “I think it’s interesting.”
“Nah, it was obvious,” Orion said.
“Maybe. But not for the reason you think.”
Father and son stared each other down, no blinking, no retreat. Mark watched it unfold, detached, but interested. Not his kid, not his drama.
“Truth is, I love my mama,” Davion said. “I hope I can be half the person she is when I’m her age.” He finally tore his eyes away from his father. “Hopefully that cleared it up for y’all.”
The silence that followed was even heavier this time. Orion’s face was tight, his jaw clenched as he sat still in his spot on the couch. He set his glass down and turned to look at Sunny like she could explain what just happened. Or maybe so she could fix it.
She opened her mouth. “Davion—“
Mark shook his head at her, just once. Firm. Calm. A silent directive. Don’t step in. Just let it be.
Sunny blinked, caught off guard, but she didn’t speak again.
Brooklyn frowned at the scene she’d just witnessed. The subtle shake of her father’s head. The way Sunny quieted down immediately. Her eyes flicked between them, her breath catching in her chest.
“Whose turn is it?” Davion said, sitting up a little straighter now.
“Uh…I—we…” Daisy stammered, trying to think fast.
“Hold on.” Orion scooted to the edge of the couch, his elbows on his knees. “Do we need to go somewhere and handle this?”
“Ain’t nothin’ to handle,” Davion snapped. “I’m good. My mama’s good. Wifey is good. You the only one in the room with a problem.”
Orion’s eyes narrowed. “Watch your mouth.”
“Why? It’s just a game. Right Daisy?”
She opened her mouth, but Davion cut her off.
“Two truths and a lie. Or in your case, Pop, zero truth and a whole gang of lies.”
“Oh, it’s a game, huh?” Orion’s voice sharpened, taking on an edge, the kind that made Sunny sit up straighter, shoulders tight. She was on high alert now.
“Cool,” he said. “You wanna play? Let’s play.” He pointed a finger at Davion. “Memory game. Who remembers me working my ass off and spending every goddamn dime I had trying to provide for this family?”
Dav rolled his eyes, while Sylvan and Amari looked like they’d rather be anywhere else.
“I wasn’t perfect,” Orion continued. “But I was there.”
“You want a cookie?” Dav shook his head. “ There is where you were supposed to be. You don’t get credit for that.”
“Your ungrateful ass had a good life. I’m half the reason for that.”
“Did my mama have a good life? Or was she miserable?”
Sunny stared down at the floor.
“You don’t get to cheat on my mama and think you just gon’ carry on like nothing happened.”
Daisy cleared her throat. “Maybe we should—“
“I’m done,” Dav said, jumping to his feet.
Orion stood, too, his fists clenched.
Mark went to his feet next—quiet, but imposing, his presence a reminder that he wasn’t about to let shit get out of control in his house.
Sunny reached for Davion’s sleeve, exhaling sharply when he snatched his arm away. Orion grabbed his glass and downed the rest of his whiskey before following. Brooklyn looked over at Sunny, the two sharing something silent—sympathy perhaps—before she got up to go check on her fiancé.
Just before rounding the corner, Brooklyn looked back, catching another moment she couldn’t make sense of…her father speaking softly to Sunny in that velvety murmur she used to hear through her bedroom walls when she was little. Sunny stared up at him with her head tilted slightly, her eyes soft and almost…reverent.
Brooklyn’s stomach flipped. She looked at the others in the room, wondering why none of them were paying attention. She wanted to yell at them all, “ARE YALL SEEING THIS?!?!” but that would make it real.
They looked like lovers.
But that was impossible. Her dad was handsome and all, but not even he could make a woman fall in love in two days.
She didn’t know what this was, but whatever it was, she knew one thing for sure.
She wasn’t ready to face it.