Chapter 9 Giselle #2
Luther Vandross’s “I Can’t Wait No Longer (Let’s Do This)” blared through the room, and Papa Aaron hopped up.
“Now you’re talking. Come on, baby. Let’s show these youngsters how it’s done.
” He took Mama Yvonne by the hand and led her out to the middle of the floor, both of them rocking to the beat as they went. He swung her out and did a little spin.
Everyone stood around clapping and calling out encouragement: “Go, Papa Aaron!” and “Work it, Mama Yvonne!” Kamryn’s parents
joined them and added to the fun.
“Mom and Dad are really showing off tonight,” Tariq said, coming to stand next to Giselle and Shawn.
“Do they do this often?” Giselle asked. She recalled them dancing a couple of times during her wedding, but not like this.
Shawn nodded. “All the time. Growing up, we always had music playing in the house, especially on weekends. They’d stop in
the middle of whatever they were doing and start dancing. And if it was Luther, she’d dance and sing all night. She loves his music. As a result, so do we.”
“I plan to be the same way with Kam. As a matter of fact, we’ve already done it, with and without music.”
Shawn playfully shoved Tariq. “Man, I never thought I’d see the day when you’d fall so hard for a woman, but I’m glad you
found your one. Kamryn is cool people.”
“Thanks, big bro. Speaking of my wife-to-be-in-less-than-twenty-four-hours, it’s time for us to hit the dance floor. Can’t
let these parents outdo us. You two should do the same.” Tariq strolled off toward Kamryn.
Watching the brothers interact, as well as their family, Giselle realized she’d missed out on a whole lot growing up.
Even when her father had been present in the house, she couldn’t recall one time when she’d seen her parents behave like the elder Bradleys and Kamryn’s parents.
She searched her memory for some instance of love being demonstrated and came up blank.
Shaking herself, she turned her attention back to the dance floor.
Not only were Tariq and Kamryn there, but Austin and Taylor had joined them.
Giselle saw Vincent heading out with Kamryn’s friend, Theresa.
“Come on. Let’s go get our party on.”
Shawn led Giselle out to the floor. Soon she forgot about bad memories of her past and the irritation she’d felt earlier and
just lost herself in the rhythm of the songs and the man holding her close. Later, the dinner ended and everyone headed to
their rooms to get ready for the respective parties.
In their room, Giselle changed out of her dress and heels and into leggings and an oversized T-shirt. Kamryn had said she
wanted the vibe to be like a slumber party. “Where are you guys going to be?” she asked, coming out of the bathroom.
“We’re heading to the bar first, then we’ll probably end up in Vincent’s room, since that’s where Tariq is staying tonight.
He mentioned you ladies would be in their suite.”
“Yep. I’d better get going. I need to stop and pick up Mama Yvonne first. See you later,” Giselle said as she reached for
the bag holding the bachelorette party gift. She came up on tiptoe to kiss Shawn.
“Have fun. Oh, and tell Kamryn thanks for all the goodies. I’m looking forward to us using some of those massage oils and
body paints while we’re here.” A sexy grin kicked up the corner of his mouth.
“I’ll tell her.” She still felt a little uncomfortable but decided to do her best to go with the flow. She took the elevator
up to her in-laws’ room and knocked on the door.
“Hey, Giselle. Come on in,” Papa Aaron said. “Yvonne is just about ready. You enjoying yourself?”
“Yes. I know you were, the way y’all stayed on that dance floor.”
He chuckled. “Hey, throw on some music, and it’s me and my baby on the floor.”
She could hear the deep love in his voice.
“Hey, Giselle,” Mama Yvonne said, coming out of the bathroom wearing a stylish lounging pant set. “I’m ready to party.” She
snapped her fingers and did a little hip swerve, then picked up a gift bag from the desk.
“All right now, baby. You keep dancing like that and we’ll be sending our regrets.” Her husband slid an arm around her waist
and whispered something in her ear.
Mama Yvonne giggled. “Behave. Let’s go, Giselle.” She opened the door and turned back. “But there’s always later tonight.”
“And I can’t wait,” he said as the door closed.
Giselle let out a short bark of laughter, then clapped her hand over her mouth.
“What? You have to keep the spice and fun going in your marriage. And since Kamryn was sweet enough to leave us a little basket
of goodies and champagne, we plan to use them.”
She had no idea how to reply, so she kept her mouth shut.
Of course, she had some spice in her own marriage, but not so much of the fun.
She’d also never had these kinds of conversations with her mother regarding relationships and marriage.
The only thing her mother had been concerned with was making sure Giselle went to college for her MRS degree and “married up.” She constantly filled Giselle’s head with what a woman needed to do to keep a man—from not wearing provocative clothing, making sure the house was always spotless, and preparing his dinner every night without fail to working a nine-to-five and throwing herself behind his goals and aspirations while keeping hers on the back burner.
Yet she hadn’t seen any of that in the Bradley family.
Mama Yvonne, with her own degrees in finance and accounting, had praised both Kamryn and Taylor for their academic and career successes.
It made Giselle feel as if she didn’t really measure up, despite doing all the things her mother said a “good wife” should do.
Don’t complain. Always forgive and forget to keep the peace. His needs always come first. It’s your responsibility to keep
the house up.
The words had played in her head like a broken record for years, and she didn’t know how to make it stop or how to break the
cycle. She wanted to talk to Shawn about it, but she didn’t want to do anything to put the marriage in jeopardy. Then again,
her mother had preached all of those things, yet her father had still walked out. In some ways, Giselle felt as if she was
always waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for the day she came home and found Shawn gone. So she kept part of herself
locked away, just in case.
“Sounds like the party has already started,” Mama Yvonne said when they arrived at the suite. They could hear the faint sound
of music coming from inside the room. She knocked.
“Hey, Yvonne and Giselle,” Kamryn’s mother said when she opened the door. “Come on in and get comfortable. There are snacks
and drinks on the table over there, and you can put the gift bags here.” She gestured to a smaller round table.
“This is a nice room.”
“I said the same thing. I told Kent we’re going to have to make another trip here just to book this suite.”
Mama Yvonne nodded. “Amen, Charlene. We’re definitely going to have to come back. We should coordinate our schedules. It can be a grown folks trip.”
Mrs. Brooks hooked her arm in Mama Yvonne’s. “Girl, you ain’t said nothing but a word.”
The two older women sauntered off still talking about a return visit.
Her mother had been the complete opposite and barely cordial, as if she was afraid that Mama Yvonne would outshine her in front of her judgmental friends.
Sighing and trying to forget her own fiasco, Giselle deposited the small gift bag on the table and walked farther into the room.
Kamryn and her friend were seated on a sofa, laughing and talking. “Hey, y’all.”
“Hey, girl,” the friend said. “Giselle, right? I’m Theresa, in case you forgot.”
“Yes. Nice to meet you.” Outside of the introduction when she and Shawn had arrived, they hadn’t talked. “Are you getting
excited, Kamyrn?”
A huge grin spread across her face. “Girl, I am beyond excited. I can’t wait until six o’clock tomorrow evening. Then it’s gonna be me, Tariq, and this fabulous room.” She waved
a hand around.
“I bet,” Giselle said with a little laugh. “Where’s Taylor? I figured she’d beat us here.”
A smile played around the corners of Kamryn’s mouth. “Most likely she’s somewhere hugged up with Austin. I feel like we should