Page 41 of Father of the Bride

“We’re getting to know each other, Dad,” Daisy urged. “This is good.”

Mark disagreed with that assessment, but fuck it.

“In a nutshell, I went to law school across the country, and she didn’t wanna leave school early.”

“Damn, Pop. But you’re not even a lawyer.”

Mark shot Drew a look. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

“Do you ever regret that?”

Mark shot another fleeting glance at Sunny before answering his daughter.

“I try not to live my life with regrets. But it does weigh on me that I lost her. And I think…if I ever saw her again, I wouldn’t let her get away from me this time.”

Thick silence settled around them until Vince finally spoke.

“Dang, Pop,” he said, awestruck. “What she look like? Describe her. She must have been bad.”

“Shut up, Vince,” Mark said to raucous laughter.

But Sunny’s laughter got caught behind the lump in her throat.

She’d been that girl, and his take on the end of their relationship was not only reductive, but agonizing to hear.

“Okay, mother of the groom, let’s hear yours.”

Sunny blinked rapidly as everyone stared at her, waiting for her to read from her card.

“Lowkey, I feel like we’re not even playing the game, we’re just tellin’ all our business,” Mishon said, finally speaking up. “I mean, I’m not mad at it. Just saying.”

Daisy chuckled. “We all know each other a little better though, right?”

Orion sat up a little straighter in anticipation of Sunny’s answers, fully certain at least one would pertain to him. He was the only man who’d ever gotten into Sunny’s head. He was her first, after all. That sticks with a woman.

“Alright, here are mine,” Sunny began. “I’ve never missed a flight in my life. In undergrad, I jumped in the quad fountain naked. And I’ve been to every continent except Antarctica.”

“Hold up.” Davion looked at his father. “The first one gotta be the lie, because y’all missed the flight to my graduation.”

All eyes went to Sunny. While everyone else had questions in their eyes, Mark’s shone with amusement. He remembered that day in the quad like it had happened yesterday.

“Mama, you were wildin’ like that in college?” Amari asked in disgust.

“Wait.” Orion scooted to the edge of the couch and braced his arms on his thighs. “I don’t remember that. You telling me I wasn’t the first one to get a peek at the good stuff?”

“Aye, ease up on that,” Davion warned. “That shit ain’t funny.”

“Watch your mouth!” Orion snapped.

“Watch yours when you’re talkin’ about my mama.”

“I’m talkin’ about my wife.”

“Ex,” Davion snapped.

A staring match ensued until Daisy cleared her throat. “Sunny, that’s…um, very interesting. Was this a dare?”

“Of course,” she lied. “Just college stuff. No big deal.”

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