Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
A ntonio parked on the side of his grandparents’ massive home and shut off his truck. Scarlett had been mostly quiet on the ride there, and he knew she was nervous. Who wouldn’t be? His family was a lot on normal days, but when there was big news shared, chaos often broke out. Antonio just wished he could promise her that no one would butt into their business. He couldn’t.
“We don’t have to go in if you don’t want to,” he said and reached across the center console for her hand. “We can go home and save the announcement for another day.”
“Thanks, but I know we need to get this over with. You have a cool family, but this is one time I wished there weren’t so many of them. There has to be at least twenty cars lining the long driveway,” she glanced out at where they were parked, “and another five over here. That’s a lot of people for Sunday brunch.”
Antonio didn’t have the heart to tell her that more might show up before the day was over. He had intentionally arrived later, hoping everyone would be too distracted with eating to notice when they walked in. All he had to do was tell a few people in the house, and the news would spread like a wildfire on a windy day.
He brought Scarlett’s hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “Ready to make a move?”
She glanced at the brick home and released a long breath. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Kids’ laughter and boisterous talking came from the backyard where there was a large jungle gym and clubhouse. He and his cousins added to the structures every year. The kids’ outdoor space could rival any public playground. The family was growing so fast with all his first cousins having kids every few years. Soon, this new generation of Jenkins would outnumber his generation.
Hand in hand, he and Scarlett entered through the front door and were greeted by the mouthwatering smell of something rich and savory. Usually his grandmother, some of his aunts, and a few of his female cousins did the bulk of the cooking for Sunday brunch. No doubt they had outdone themselves as usual.
Scarlett held on tightly as they strolled down the long hallway where tons of family photos graced the walls. Antonio headed toward the kitchen, surprised they hadn’t come in contact with anyone yet. Which meant people had already started eating. The house was so big, the family was able to spread out. To keep things civilized, his grandmother had arranged for there to be a couple of different food stations on the main and lower level.
As they reached the opening to the kitchen, loud talking and laughter flowed from the room. It sounded as if there was a party going on, and Antonio glanced down at Scarlett. He was still debating on whether they should share their news this way, but she smiled and gave a slight nod.
When they entered, there were five or six people, including his grandmother, who were hustling around the kitchen. One person was at the stove, another at the sink, and the others busied themselves with setting out food.
“You said we wouldn’t need any more fried chicken, which was why I made a turkey tenderloin,” one of his aunts was saying.
“I don’t think we’re going to have enough cornbread,” someone else said.
There were tons of food dishes on every flat surface. It looked as if family members had already dug in based on some partially empty serving dishes. Folks were probably already camped out in the basement or dining room.
“Hey, baby. Glad to see you two,” Gram said over the loud talking and headed toward them. Dressed in a colorful kaftan housedress, her customary attire for around the house, she greeted them with a smile. “Welcome back, Scarlett.” She hugged and kissed her cheek before doing the same to Antonio. “I hope you guys are hungry.”
“I am,” Antonio said, “but we have an announcement.” But the moment he opened his mouth again to speak, Bella ran into the kitchen.
“Mommy, Daddy! You’re here!” she yelled and leaped into Antonio’s arms.
It was as if the world stopped spinning. All eyes were suddenly on him. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke, and he wasn’t even sure if anyone was still breathing. No doubt they caught the “daddy” part of Bella’s greeting.
Well, here goes.
Antonio wrapped his free arm around his wife and pulled her to his side. “Scarlett and I got married yesterday.”
The silence in the room was deafening. Then everyone started speaking at once and moved in on them like a colony of bees swarming toward their new home. Antonio hated attention, and the questions being thrown at them at rapid-fire speed were exhausting. Without looking around, he could feel more people had entered the kitchen determined to find out what was going on.
“She must be pregnant.”
“Yes, our family is growing! I love it.”
“What the hell?”
“Someone should’ve warned her about this family.”
“Another cousin…”
Everyone talked at once, and Antonio sighed. Maybe he should’ve let Martina spread the word before they got there. She had offered the week before when she helped him pick out Scarlett’s ring, but he’d told her to keep her big mouth shut. Apparently, she had listened.
As if thinking about her had conjured her up, she entered the kitchen grinning. “So, I guess you guys heard the news.” Her presence and words only added to the frenzy and incited more questions.
He’d had enough, and poor Scarlett looked even more overwhelmed than before.
“Stop!” Antonio yelled, and once everyone settled down, he said, “Yes, we’re married. We got married yesterday.”
“ Married? ” The word was snapped out by someone nearby, and Scarlett stiffened against him.
Dammit. That one word had to have come from her mother. This wasn’t exactly how Scarlett had wanted Mrs. Amelia to find out. They turned slowly and faced Scarlett’s mother. The expression on the older woman’s face was a mixture of shock and disappointment, but disappointment won out.
“Mom, I can explain,” Scarlett hurried to say and pulled away from Antonio.
“Why is Grandma mad?” Bella whispered in Antonio’s ear.
Antonio moved quickly. “We can go and talk in Pop’s office down the hall,” he said of his grandfather’s office, hoping it was empty. There wasn’t a Sunday that went by when someone didn’t end up in there to hash out grievances with another family member.
Before walking out the door, he started to set Bella on her feet, but she clung to him. “I want to go too,” she said, almost pleadingly.
Antonio groaned. He still struggled with saying no to her despite Scarlett always accusing him of spoiling Bella.
“Bella, sweetie, I need your help,” Gram said from the other side of the huge center island.
Antonio could’ve kissed his grandmother. No one could resist her requests, and he bet it would be the same with Bella.
“I have these cupcakes that need pink frosting. I thought you’d probably want to frost them. Can you?”
Bella bit her lower lip, then nodded. “Okay.”
Antonio set her on her feet and whispered in her ear. “Thanks for helping Gram. I have a surprise for you later.”
A slow grin spread across her mouth, and his heart melted like usual. “You do?”
“Yes, so go help. Then after me and your mom finish talking to your grandmother, I’ll be back.”
“Okay.” She kissed his cheek and then hustled over to Gram. Antonio blew his grandmother a kiss and smiled when she winked at him.
When he reached the hallway outside of the kitchen, he found Scarlett and Mrs. Amelia in a heated discussion. They might be whispering, but it didn’t stop others from listening in. There were family members peeking out of the dining room, and no doubt there were others peeking out from somewhere nearby.
He gently grasped Scarlett’s hand and rested his hand on Mrs. Amelia’s back as he escorted them toward the front of the house to his grandfather’s office. Thankfully, no one was in there, and he ushered the women inside before closing the door.
“What is going on?” Mrs. Amelia snapped and stood in front of Scarlett. “I know you didn’t just wake up one morning and decide, oh, today I think I’ll get married. How could you not tell me?”
The hurt in her tone cut right through Antonio, and he saw it had the same effect on Scarlett. Her eyes watered, and he knew he had to do something.
“Mrs. Amelia, I asked Scarlett not—”
“Don’t,” Scarlett said just above a whisper as she swiped at her cheeks. “Antonio, don’t lie for me. Mom, it’s true. Antonio and I are married.”