Page 130 of Maceo

I nodded. “He does.”

“And Devin?”

“He knows.”

She sighed. “Out with it, Maceo.”

I grabbed Shar’s hand and surveyed the room before I spoke.

“Well… you all know what happened a few weeks back on our wedding day. Shar and I decided we didn’t want to wait to replan a wedding, especially not knowing the outcome of everything. So… we got married.”

I held up our hands so they could see our wedding bands.

Our siblings were the first to jump to their feet to hug and congratulate us. They didn’t care that they hadn’t been a part ofthe ceremony. They were simply happy for us. Our parents sat there staring at us blankly.

“Say something…” Shar said quietly.

Ms. Cicely looked at her husband and held out her hand. “Cough it up. I told you they eloped.”

“I didn’t think they would actually do it,” Mr. Paul said, reaching for his wallet.

My mother laughed. “Oh, please! Secrets have apparently become very on brand for both of them.”

Alec nodded in agreement. “I mean, with the way they rushed that wedding, I kind of figured it would happen.”

“Hold up,” I said, interrupting their banter. “You telling me, y’all knew?”

My mother rolled her eyes. “Boy, we’re your parents. We might not know everything you do, but some shit is predictable. I should go clock your ho ass daddy in his mouth for not telling me sooner.”

“So you guys aren’t mad?” Shar asked.

“Mad? No. Disappointed that we couldn’t share the moment with you two? Yes.”

Mr. Paul nodded. “I mean, I wanted to give my only daughter away. That’s a moment I can’t get back.”

“We plan to have a real wedding, Daddy. We were just…Iwas afraid the moment might get taken away after everything that happened. It was my idea to still go through with getting married that night. If things had taken a turn for the worst, I didn’t want to leave this world without saying I married the love of my life.”

She peered up at me and smiled. Leaning down, I pecked her lips.

“Now that it’s over, we can plan a proper ceremony,” I said.

Mrs. Cicely palmed her head. “That means going through the motions of you finding another dress.”

My mother groaned in agreement. “Oh God.”

“Don’t tell me you were out here being a bridezilla,” I said to Shar.

“I wasn’t even that bad!” she protested. “This time, I think it’s just gonna be me and Mom. She’s the only person who kept me level-headed.”

“Can I come to your bachelorette party?” Deja asked.

A loud round of ‘no’ came from the adults.

“You ain’t about to be out here with Shar and her girls, acting a fool,” I said.

Shar giggled. “Give it a few years, pud. Then we can hang out and party.”

“You’ll be old with a bunch of kids by then,” Deja mumbled. “Who wants to be the old lady in the club?”

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