by Tyla Walker
“Nothing special. Can’t I miss you and Dad? Your daughter wants to spend time with you, and you have to ask why.” I pretend that her question offends me. “It’s just that it is unusual for you to ask your dad and me to go over your place for dinner. You rarely visit us. You don’t even ask us if we miss James or not.”
This is why I rarely call my mom. She asks a lot of questions, and truth be told, some of her subjects are hard to answer. But I have to do this for my future. I grimace.
“Okay, Mom. Fine. I have something to tell you. But it will be a surprise, so please let’s leave it at that. I’ll tell you, but not today,” I answer with resignation in my voice.
“If you say so. We’ll see you tomorrow then, darling.” And the line turns off. I’m scared. But I have to do it. Besides, it’s just Craig. I’m not supposed to be nervous and fidgety.
Later that afternoon, I go to the grocery to buy the ingredients for dinner. It must be perfect. I have to show my dad that this engagement is real. He’s not one to give up so easily. But I have to try. At least I have to.
After I put everything in the fridge and plan the dishes I’ll be serving, I go to my room and open my closet. I choose a teal-blue dress with a V-notched neckline and a pleated skirt. This is my dress for tonight, and everything’s covered already. Everything seems to go as planned.
Damn it, I have to present my best to my parents.
Then I call Craig, I have to make sure he is still with me.
“Hey. Craig? Everything’s set with you?” I know preparation is Craig’s motto, but you can never go wrong by making sure all goes well.
“Yes, Dani. Relax. Everything will work out just fine. I’ll come in later after your parents arrive,” he replies to me. I can hear people on the other line. It seems like he’s still at work.
If there’s someone whom I can always rely on, it will be Craig. “Okay. I’ll see you then later. Bye.”
I’ve done a lot of cooking and have been all over the place. The time passes by so quickly without me noticing. I’m glad I’m able to finish everything before six pm, so I have just enough time to freshen up and put some makeup on my bare face. At seven pm, the doorbell rings. This is it.
I open the door to see my mom and dad.
“Where’s James?” asks my Mom first thing. My dad hands me the wine, and he and mom proceed to the living room.
“James is with Caroline. I ask her to take care of James for tonight,” I reply. I try hard to cover the nervousness in my voice and forcefully calm my voice. I guide them to the living room.
The doorbell rings again, and Craig graces us with his presence. He looks way good-looking. I mean, he is handsome in his suit; I admit. I might have left my mouth hanging open, so he takes my chin and closes my mouth for me.
“You’re drooling, Dani. Get over me already,” he teases.
“Whatever, Craig. Mom and Dad are here. I’ll just call them, and we’ll have dinner.” I get over to where Mom and Dad are and tell them that dinner’s ready. It’s clear that Craig’s presence surprised them.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. It’s good to see you tonight.” Mom and Dad smile at him, unsure why he is having dinner with us.
When we gather in the dining room, I take out my Dad’s favorite. It’s a Beef Wellington with toasted walnuts, pomegranate, and shallots, topped off with parmesan. I have to prepare him for mine and Craig’s news.
After dinner, Craig takes out the wine and pours a glass for all of us. I feel like it’s the right time to make the announcement, so I look at Craig, then to my parents, and break the news to them.
“Mom, Dad, Craig, and I are getting married,” I say. My worried mom stares at the both of us, then squeals in excitement.
“Finally. I have always wondered when Craig will propose to you. I’m so happy for you, darling.” She crosses the short distance between us and hugs me tightly. I can see the surprise in my Dad’s face, but he immediately takes it back and smiles at me.
“I’m happy for both of you. It’s about time you get married, Dani,” my dad says.
I know he will pretend to be happy for me, but deep down, I feel like he’s already thinking of measures to prevent the marriage. His plans to give Larry the company is not going his way.
Craig will definitely not qualify for a position in the company. He is a pharmacist, and my Dad’s company is in the field of engineering. But I do not care. I have been doing well on my own; I don’t need the company nor any help from my father.
I’m ready for it. I will be. My mom gets off me and hugs Craig too. “I know you and Dan will get married. It’s just a matter of time. I’m sure it thrills James to have a Dad now.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Johnson. I am so honored to be your daughter’s fiancée and James’s Dad. I will always take care of them.” The sincerity in Craig’s voice is clear. Well, more than anything, Craig and I are best of friends, and we have each other’s back no matter what.
“Call me, Jane. I feel so old whenever you call me Mrs. Johnson. So when’s the date?”
This will be one tough lie, but I have to stand by it. I just hope everything goes according to my plan.
Four
Craig
The dinner engagement revelation is quite a spectacle. Dani’s mom loves it, but her Dad? Not so much. He congratulated us, but I have known him for so long, I know when he doesn’t mean what he is saying; this is one of them. I always thought both her parents will approve of me as Daniella’s husband; thinking about it now, Jane always bugged me about when the two of us will date.
But now that it’s happening, it feels like a love story waiting to happen. Even if the whole thing is to keep her dad and Larry out of her future marriage plans. If she ever has one.
I mean, Dani and I grew up like siblings; doesn’t that mean they should accept this marriage? WELCOMED even? I smile and drink while I pretend I’m following whatever conversation we’re having; I’m really not following at all. I think they mentioned something marriage related since my childhood friend turned fiancé nudges me.
“So when’s the wedding, DEAR?” she smiles and steps on my foot from under the table.
“Oh, uh…” Do I really have to answer this? I ask myself.
At that moment, I feel like I’m losing my brain cells as I think about the date of this marriage scam. Six months from now? Maybe next year? Is there like an expiration date for this thing?
I think about a realistic answer, “Soon. Not too soon, but soon.”
“There you have it, mom. Soon, but not too soon,” the way she says it makes me realize how stupid my answer is.
I practically just said someday, but not today. Sorry, Dani, you caught me off-guard there; I apologize to her in my head.
“I swear you two have been a love story waiting to happen! I’m just glad the two of you finally came around. Seriously, how you guys take THIS LONG is bad as it is,” says Dani’s mom cheerfully.
“I’m not sure if this is okay,” retorts Dani’s father.
“Honey.” An irritated look comes from Dani’s mom like she’s almost glaring at her husband. “You just said that it was about time our baby girl got married.”
“I did. I am not taking that back. I’m just not sure if Craig is suitable for Daniella as a husband. They’re good as friends, fine. Like adoptive siblings, even! But married?”
He looks to me as if trying to convince me as well with what he is trying to say, “Right, Craig?”
I chuckle at that statement. “I’m not sure about that, sir.”
I can see Daniella smiling in the corner of my eyes, the smile that shows she likes my answer. Jane also likes that, because she’s grinning from ear to ear.
“What do you mean you’re not sure? You’re not sure about Dani?” It looks like Dani’s father is hoping to turn the tables around.
“Oh, I’m quite sure about marrying your daughter. What I’m not sure about is what you said about Dani and me just being friends and nothin
g more. In fact,” I say confidently while still acting innocent about all this as I hold Dani’s hand. “I will not marry anyone else. Because with Daniella, I have both my best friend, an awesome mom, and a lovely wife.”
Then I kiss her hand, and she smiles at me, squeezing my hand like she is trying to tell me she loves my answer. And that she forgives me with my earlier mishap about the damn wedding date.
“Sure.” Dani’s dad snorts and looks away.
“George!” Jane smacks her husband lightly on the shoulder before turning to her daughter and me with a smile. “Just ignore him, he’s petty.”
“PETTY?”
“Yes, dear. Now stop it. If we get uninvited to our daughter’s wedding, I will personally give your company trouble.”
He clearly doesn’t like my answer, so he just shakes his head in disappointment after getting lectured by his wife; it was priceless.
I should give Jane a gift later on for this, I think to myself while still holding my fiancé’s hand. I don’t know whether to laugh or feel hurt at her Dad’s reaction. Her dad had always liked me. However, it seems not as a son-in-law.
James has always liked me, though. I have been a part of James’ life since James was born, so it makes sense that the whole thing excites him to no end. That lucky boy is the first to know about this marriage when Dani told me yesterday; I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know or understand the real reason behind it, though.
After Jane and George left, I tell Dani that I want to stay behind and help her with cleaning up. While the two of us are doing the dishes, bring up what happened over at dinner.
“So...I don’t think your father is happy about the engagement,” I start while drying the plates beside her.
“I don’t care what he thinks about it,” she immediately responds without a second thought. “I love him, but he has no right to run MY life like I’m part of his company retirement plan.”
“Good point.” I look to her as she passes me another plate. “No regrets, though?”
“Nope.”
“Not even a tiny bit?” I ask her, making sure.
“Not even a speck of regret. Not me. You?”
For some reason, I’m not able to reply, and Daniella ends up stopping doing the dishes to look my way, concerned about me. I end up smiling to reassure her it’s nothing.
I put the plate down and turn to Daniella. “I meant what I said. I think marrying you is a win-win thing. So I too have no regrets.”
She smiles, and we finish up with the chore. I slap her soft butt, and she glares at me, asking me why I did it.
“We have to get used to pretending to be sweet, you know,” I tease and winks at her.
“Oh, yeah?” she goes behind me and smacks my butt. “Is that sweet enough, DEAR~?”
The two of us end up chasing each other around the house as we used to when we were kids, laughing and goofing around. After a while, I tell her I need to go since we still have work.
“See you bubble butt~,” I wink at her.
“Later tooshie,” she says in return.
It’s not bad for our first pet names. We’ll work on it.
Five
Daniella
Despite what transpired last night, I still have to go to work the next day. So I get up early, cook breakfast, and prepare my things for school. James gets up pretty early, too, and joins me for breakfast. Poor thing, I know it will break his heart if he finds out that my engagement with Craig is just a ruse.
He loves the man a lot. I sigh.
“Are you going to school already, Mom?” asks my little boy. He is still sleepy, but as always, he wants to see me off for school.
“Yes. Uncle Craig will be here in a while.” Just then, the doorbell rings and James gets off his stool excitedly and opens the door for Craig.
I can’t help but smile as I see them both together. They look so good. I just wish it’ll stay like this forever. Craig pinches me when he sees me spacing out.
“Thanks again for doing this, Craig. I owe you a bunch.” I kiss James goodbye and head off to the door. I wave goodbye.
“All of you have done your reading assignments, right? Therefore, my first question for today is, how will you consider Hamlet? Is Hamlet primitive and someone who lacks decorum, or is he a hero, a pure brilliant young man thrust into unfortunate circumstances?”
One of my students discusses his point of view on Hamlet when my phone beeps and a message from Caroline pops up.
“Dani, someone here’s not so thrilled with your wedding. Your father tells Larry to pursue you, like ASAP. He mentions nothing about you getting engaged with Craig.”
Damn. My father. Why does he have to butt into my life now? I have never bothered him, not even when I give birth to James. Why now?
Dad loves Craig. I know he does. He’s practically like his own son, so seeing him acting this way is really off-putting. I feel so sorry for Craig. I drag him into this mess.
Another one raises her hand, and I ask her to explain her answer too. Then I compose my reply to Caroline on her news about my fathers’ plan.
“I honestly don’t understand my Dad. Other than his irrational liking to Larry, I don’t see why I have to marry Larry. Isn’t Craig fit to be my fiancée, so much more than a husband and a father to James? He has always been there for me, and my father knows that very well. Craig understands my humor and knows my fears, my goals, and the things I love.”
I’m still lost in my thoughts when Caroline replies immediately. “You know Dani, I have always thought you and Craig look so good together. You always seem to know each other’s thoughts. You both have been through a lot already. I think you really have to think about it. And not just treat it as a hoax or a pretense.”
It comes across my mind sometimes, but I just discard the thought because it’s Craig. My best friend. That’s so weird. So I just send “LOL” to Caroline and get back to my class.
The school bell rings, signaling that it’s time for lunch. I gather my things and head off to the faculty room, where Nicole waits for me. Nicole is my closest friend at work, and ever since we become close, we’ve been almost inseparable. Like me, she also prepares her lunchbox. This is why we just usually have our lunch in the faculty room.
“How is class, Dani? Anything interesting?” It’s a routine for Nicole and me to ask each other’s day.
“Everything seems normal. Well, I’m not paying attention to class very well, since something has been bothering me lately.”
“You want to tell me about it?” Nicole always respects my privacy and asks my permission whenever we have to talk about sensitive topics. That is why I have a high regard for her.
“It’s about my Dad. He has been very controlling with me lately, not in a good way, though. He wants me to marry someone in his company, someone I don’t really know. And honestly, I don’t have plans of getting to know him either.”
“But why is he suddenly interested in your life now? He didn’t seem to bother before when you give birth to James. Why now?” replies Nicole exasperatingly.
“Right? I am having the same thoughts too. We have been in good terms for quite a long time already. I have long forgotten how he has been so angry with me at that time he found out I’m pregnant and the guy I’m dating left me.”
I suddenly recall everything that has happened to me five years ago, and how I have become right now. I have done all of it on my own. Technically, Craig was with me all those times. But even so, I have done everything without my father’s help. It’s never easy, but I have overcome it.
Craig has always been there for me. And we’ve held each other’s arms ever since we were so young. It’s as if we’re almost siblings. Maybe that’s the reason a part of me hesitates to fall in love with him. But... something in me shouts for something else.
Nicole pulls me back to reality, telling me it’s time for our next class already. As much as I love to teach, I am not in the mood right now. I have been waiting for this d
ay to end so that I can get back home. This needs thorough planning, my engagement, my father’s insistence about Larry, Craig, and James.
This might get out of hand someday. But for now, I have to do what it takes to convince my father my engagement is real.
I can do this. I know I can.
Six
Craig
“You have a very, VERY important mission today, James.”
“Sir, YES, sir!”
James salutes, and I ruffle his hair before carrying him on my shoulders and start walking to the jewelry store nearby. The adorableness in this kid is beyond comprehension as he stretches his hands to the sky.
“You know I’m marrying your mama, right, James?” I look up to him as he looks down on me with a huge grin on his face, some of his teeth are missing, and it only makes him look cuter.
“Yep! You will marry mama!” he repeats my words.
“Sure am! But I need your help to pick for her ring. You know why?” I ask him.
“Why? WHY?” he asks twice. My heart feels warm as I think how cute this kid is.
We are almost there, so I slowly put him back to the ground. James automatically links my hand with his, and I make sure to hold him tight.
“Because you’ll be my best man. Will you be my best man?”
“Yes! Yes, I will be the best man!” He laughs.
“Awesome! You’ll be THE best little man.”
“What does the best man do?”
I explain to him what he needs to do while we walk in the store. The place is pretty popular, and I’m sure the man by the counter is a superstar in disguise.
Of course, James and I aren’t here to ask for an autograph, so we go to the next available teller to help us buy the perfect ring for Daniella.
“Hi, how may I help you, two fine gentlemen?” she smiles to both of us with a polite smile.