by Zuri Day
“Thank you,” Faye said amid the laughter, filled with gratitude to have found such a wonderful family with which to belong. “Thank all of you.”
With the toast over, a gentle mayhem ensued. Dishes were passed, silverware clanged and twelve people vied for their share of the conversation.
The deep voice of David Jr., Dexter’s grandfather, cut through the din of chatter. “How are things at the clinic, Doctor?”
“Very well, Mr. Drake.”
“That new doctor working out all right?”
Faye had to laugh at the thought of her sixty-something mentor, Dr. Ian Chappelow, who’d practiced medicine for forty years, being thought of as new. “We were blessed to get Dr. Ian on such short notice. When Dr. McPherson decided against taking the position—” Faye ignored Dexter’s snort “—I was really at a loss. That Dr. Ian would spend the last year before he retired at the clinic he helped found is a godsend beyond my dreams.”
Dexter, Donald and Genevieve were especially quiet. In time Faye would know of the part they played in getting Dr. Ian to come to San Diego, along with the immeasurable assistance of Adeline Marceaux.
“You never told us about the proposal, dear,” Genevieve asked once she’d heard another second of silence wherein to slip the question. “Was Dexter’s question a creative or common one?”
“You might say common,” Faye said, enjoying the surprised faces, “considering he gave me a plastic ring.”
“What?” Genevieve’s hand went to her mouth.
“Plastic?” Dexter’s father, Donald, said with a scowl.
“Boy,” Papa Dee chided, “you were raised better than that.”
“Yes, plastic,” Faye continued. “At first. And then he gave me this one.” She held out her hand with the sparkling eternity band. Everyone approved.
“I can’t even believe y’all tripped like that. You know there’s nothing cheap about me. I’ll never give my wife anything but the best.”
“Promise?” Faye asked, exaggeratingly batting her eyes.
“Absolutely,” Dexter said, with a nod. “And not a plastic promise either. I’ll give you nothing short of a platinum promise, baby, rare and precious...just like our love.”
“Now you’re talking like you’ve got some datgum sense,” Papa Dee said, still fixed on the absurdity of any Drake man offering a woman plastic jewelry, joke or no. “Now go on and give her a good old smooch.” When Dexter hesitated, Papa Dee continued. “Go on. You got a seed growing in that there belly.” He cocked his head at Dexter. “Don’t try and act like you don’t know how.”
The wise, one-hundred-year-old patriarch had a point. He demanded that the lovebirds seal their love with a kiss. So they did.
* * * * *
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PLATINUM PROMISES
ISBN: 9781460312421
Copyright © 2013 by Lutishia Hinton
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