Chapter 26
“Do I look okay?” I asked Maceo as I smoothed my hands over my dress.
Tonight, my parents and my brothers were coming over for dinner. I’d been on a mission all day to make sure everything was perfect. I’d cleaned the house from top to bottom. I had groceries and fresh flowers delivered. I’d even cooked everybody’s favorite foods to soften the mood. My nerves were on ten.
“Baby, it’s just your parents.”
“I know, but they are so mad at me right now, Maceo. They’ve been disappointed in me before, but they’ve never been this upset.”
“They are only upset because they love you, baby. It’s been a little over a week. I’m sure they’ve had time to process things, and they’ve calmed down by now.”
“What if they haven’t?” I wrapped my arms around myself, attempting to self soothe. “What if they make me choose?—”
“They won’t.” Maceo came over and pulled me into his arms. “You’re my wife. They’re your parents. There is no choosing, and they know that. Everything is going to be fine. A little rocky? Sure. But it’ll be okay.”
He cupped my face and pressed his lips to mine. I could only hope that he was right. I missed my parents. My little brothers texted or called me every day since the wedding incident, to make sure I was okay. The most surprising thing was them telling me they understood why I kept such a secret. They also made sure I knew they loved me and that they supported me.
The sound of the doorbell ringing broke our kiss and took my already fragile nerves up a notch. Maceo grabbed my hand and led me out of the bedroom and downstairs. I took a deep breath as he opened the front door. Standing there were my parents and brothers. Kilow and Damaris smiled as they stepped in first to slap hands with Maceo, then hugged me.
“Hey, sis,” Kilow said, damn near lifting me from the ground with his hug.
“Hey, baby. I missed you guys.” I kissed his cheek, then Damaris.
“We missed you too.”
“Whatchu’ got to eat?” Damaris asked, rubbing his stomach. “I’m starving.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s nothing new. Go on in the kitchen.”
He and Kilow slid around us, leaving us with my parents. I swallowed hard as I met their gazes.
“Mama. Daddy.”
I was hesitant, but I stepped up for a hug since it was the way we always greeted each other. I gave a sigh of relief when they returned the embrace.
“Y’all come on in,” Maceo said, stepping aside. “Shar’s been anxious to see you all day.”
My parents remained quiet as they stepped into the house and headed for the kitchen. I fought back tears because I hated this feeling. There wasn’t much that made me cry, but these people would get me every time. Maceo wrapped an arm around my shoulder and kissed my temple.
“I’m right here with you, love.”
“I know,” I said faintly.
He grabbed my hand and led me into the kitchen. My family had settled at the table, so we took a seat. After bowing our heads for a quick prayer, we began passing the food around. I’d made a spread of mashed potatoes, Mississippi pot roast, smothered green beans, mac and cheese, and honey butter cornbread.
“How’s school?” I asked my brothers as I tried to make light conversation.
Damaris slapped his chest with pride. “You know your boy made the principal’s list.”
I smiled. “I’m so proud of you, D. That full ride scholarship is yours.”
He popped his imaginary collar. “Well, you know. What can I say? I got the book smarts and the looks. Sorry there wasn’t enough for you, Kilow.”
Kilow playfully shoved him. “Shut up. I made the principal’s list too, Shar.”
“I’m proud of you, too, Ki. I’m gonna have to treat y’all.”
Kilow grinned. “We accept all forms of payment. Cash, Cash App, Zelle, Apple Pay, Venmo?—”
“A check or money order is good too,” Damaris added.
Maceo chuckled. “Y’all funny.”
Kilow smirked. “Deja thinks I’m hilarious.”
“Oh, you got jokes?” Maceo asked, grabbing him up in a headlock. “You better be treating my sister right, lil’ nigga.”
Kilow kissed his teeth. “That’s my baby. I’ma be a good man for her.”
Damaris rolled his eyes. “He gets one lil’ chest hair and thinks he’s a man.”
“I got more hair on my chest than you do on you ba?—”
“Kilow!” our mother scolded.
“My bad, Ma. Tell your son to leave me alone. He’s just mad because my chick is badder than his.”
“All right now,” my father said. “Women are not objects, and you shouldn’t like them for looks alone. Y’all are too young to be so serious, anyway.”
“Dad, you and Ma have been together since you were sixteen,” Damaris reminded him.
“And you got married and had three kids,” Kilow added. “Looks like being serious worked out to me. Deja would make a pretty bride, and you know I’ma be fly in my tux.”
My mother waved her hand. “Please change the subject. I’m not ready for this conversation at all. As a matter of fact, eat your food.”
My brothers laughed as they dug into their plates. An awkward silence fell on the room. I looked at Maceo, and he gave me an encouraging smile and nudged me to say something.
“So Daddy… how is work?”
“Fine.”
“Oh… Mama? How have you been?”
“I’m fine, Sharina.”
I wasn’t used to them being short with me. I was both a mama’s girl and a daddy’s girl, through and through. This shit was killing me. I felt the tears rushing to my eyes, and I didn’t want to cry in front of them. I tried to get up from the table, but Maceo gently grabbed my hand.
“No. We’re gonna address this shit right now.” He turned to my parents. “Mr. Paul, Ms. Cicely. I know y’all are upset, and you have every right to be, but I don’t like the way y’all are making my woman feel right now. She drove herself crazy trying to make sure everything was perfect for tonight. Y’all are sitting at her dinner table, damn near ignoring her, and that, respectfully, that shit is gonna stop.”
My father opened his mouth to speak, but Maceo cut him off.
“I get that you’re upset. Blame me. Take it out on me. I can handle it. Should I have said no to Shar joining me in the field? Yes. I shouldn’t have been out there without my family in the first place. That’s my mistake. I have to live with the fact that five innocent lives were lost because they were helping me with a good cause. That shit will never sit right with me.
“I’m sorry for breaking your trust in me. I promised I’d take care of your daughter, and I meant that, but I dropped the ball. If something happened to her…” He looked over at me like he couldn’t fathom that possibility. “They might as well commit me ’cause I’d burn the fucking world down about her.”
Both of my parents were quiet for a moment as they looked between us. My mother was the first to speak.
“Why, Sharina? Why would you want to get involved with something so dangerous?”
“Mommy… you remember when Salima was kidnapped?”
She sighed. “Of course I do. You cried every day until they found her.”
“You saw my tears, but do you know what that felt like for me? My best friend… my sister, was taken, and I was literally three feet away in a bathroom stall. I couldn’t do anything to help her or stop it from happening. For three days, I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. My mind was constantly flooded with every horrible thought of what could happen to her. Every day that went by, it felt like I was waiting for confirmation of her death.
“That would have killed me, Mama. If it made me feel like that, imagine how the families of the victims felt. They were never going to see their loved ones again. They were being taken, killed, and their organs were being harvested and sold to the highest bidder. That’s some sick shit.
“It started as me keeping an eye on Maceo because I was afraid of him being out there without his family. But I really grew to love helping him and the guys reunite these people with their families. I drove them to safety and made sure they ate, showered, and got a good night’s rest. That’s it. It wasn’t much, but it made me feel like I was making a bigger difference.”
My mother covered my hand with hers. “I get that, baby. You know I love Salima like she’s my own daughter. Her kidnapping tore me up too. That’s exactly why I don’t want you in anything like this. It was enough to get used to you being with Maceo. I wasn’t thrilled about it at first, and you know that. But I grew to love him, and I trusted him with you.” She pointed between her and my father. “We both did.”
“A muthafucka set off a bomb at y’all’s wedding, Maceo,” my father said. “What if it had been in y’all’s car when you left the venue? Both you and my daughter would be dead. Two sets of parents would be burying their children. Two families would be mourning your loss. I can’t do that. A child burying their parent is natural. A parent burying their children, that’s cruel. How am I supposed to look at my baby in a casket? This last loose screw would come undone because I wouldn’t rest until the person responsible was dead too. You’ll know that feeling when you have your own kid.”
I sniffled. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“It’s okay, but it’s not okay, Shar. I love you. You, your brothers, and your mama are what keep me sane. I’d fuck the world up about the four of you.”
Maceo gave a light chuckle. “I think my father understands that firsthand.”
My father smirked slightly. “I have to give it to him. The nigga put up a hell of a fight. Gave me a run for my money. I respect him for taking that shit for you.”
“You shouldn’t have fought him, Daddy,” I said.
“Maybe so. But we handled that shit like men. Like I said, we’ll be good once these people are taken care of. I need to know details, Maceo. You gon’ have to give me a play by play of what’s going on.”
Maceo nodded. “I can do that. Just… ease up on Shar, okay? My baby is a sensitive thug.”
I playfully smacked his arm. “Hush.”
My mother giggled. “She gets it from her daddy.”
My father kissed his teeth. “I ain’t sensitive.”
“Shiiii—shoot,” Damaris said. “You definitely are, Dad. You’re just aggressive with it. Like when you get mad, I swear I think you’re gonna start foaming out the mouth or something.”
“Whatever. Next topic. So when are y’all rescheduling this wedding? It better be after all this is over, although I’m not above bringing my guns out if I have to.”
I swallowed hard. “Soon,” was all I offered.
I wanted to get off the subject of the wedding before I gave myself away. Other than Deuce, Salima, and my father-in-law, nobody else knew we were already married, and I wanted to keep it that way. While I loved our private little moment, I knew how much it would mean to our families to be there… even if they were just gonna talk shit.
The mood finally picked up, and dinner went by without a hitch. My parents seemed to be in better spirits, and if they weren’t, my brothers did a great job distracting us with their jokes. When dinner was over, Maceo sent Kilow and Damaris to his game room to entertain themselves, while he and my father went out back to smoke and talk. That left me with my mother to clean up.
She sipped on a glass of wine and watched me quietly as I loaded the dishwasher. I wasn’t sure what she was looking at, but she was making me nervous.
“You okay, Ma?” I asked.
“Mm-hmm.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Something is different about you. I don’t know what, but I can feel it.”
I gave a nervous laugh. “Maybe you had a little too much wine with dinner.”
She took another sip from the glass in her hand. “Nope. That’s not it. Are you pregnant?”
“What? No. God, no. Me and Maceo aren’t having kids any time soon.”
“Hmmm. Any more secrets we should know about?”
“It wouldn’t be a secret if you knew, now would it?”
“Don’t be a smart ass. You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”
“No, Mommy.”
She set her glass down and came over to where I was at the dishwasher.
“Look at me. Look me in my eyes and tell me you aren’t hiding anything.”
I hated when she did that. She did it all the time when I was a kid, and I could never lie to her. It had been years since she invoked that detrimental stare on me, but she did it with Kilow and Damaris all the time, and they always folded. I swallowed hard as I stood up straight and looked her in the eye.
“Are you hiding something from me?” she asked.
“No, ma’am.”
She squinted as she stared at me. Her face softened as she took a step back and cupped my chin.
“Mm-hmm. It’ll come out.” Picking up her glass of wine, she headed for the back door. “I’m going to see what your father and Maceo are talking about.”
I nodded. As soon as she was on the other side of the door, I expelled a breath of relief. That was a close one.