Free Merry Ex-Mas by Victoria Christopher Murray Page B

sincerity in her eyes and her voice made me want to apologize for everything that I'd said. My intent was never to make anyone uncomfortable.
    Before Harmony could rise all the way, though, I held up my hand. "No seriously. I just want everyone to have a good time today, so just stay here. I've got it under control." I paused and added, "But thank you," hoping that Harmony would understand that I meant no harm.
    When Harmony smiled back, I was relieved. All was well, and the conversation once again resumed at the table.
    While everyone chatted, I cleared the table. But even as I worked, the questions wouldn't leave me alone. And now, there was a new question tossed into the mix — why did I care?
    Inside the kitchen, I took my time stacking the dishes on the counter. I was about to rinse them and then put them in the dishwasher, but instead, I just paced the length of the kitchen. All of these questions rolled around in my head. They wouldn't leave me alone, and I was afraid to go back into the dining room. Because something evil was going on in there. Something had control of my tongue, and I couldn't stop my thoughts from slipping out. If I had my way, I would've just stay in the kitchen. I wouldn't leave until everyone was out of the house.
    But if I didn't get back out there soon, Brock would come looking for me and drag me back to the table to finish living our traditions.
    So, I took a couple of deep breaths, said a couple of quick prayers, and just hoped that my tongue didn't operate without my brain. I fixed a smile on my face and strutted back into the dining room in time to hear Quentin say, "Son, you got yourself a good woman there."
    Evon, who was setting out the dessert plates, smiled at Quentin; Christopher stood up and wrapped his arms around her. "Trust me, Dad, I know how blessed I am, and I can't wait to make her my wife. June can't get here fast enough."
    "Oh really, June?" Harmony said. She glanced at Quentin with a grin. "You didn't tell me that, baby." And then to everyone else, she announced. "Quentin and I are thinking about a June wedding, too."
    Oh, lawd! I groaned inside. If they wanted me to be quiet, this subject needed to be changed. So, I said, "We have sweet potato pie, a lemon cake made by my mom, and this beautiful coconut cake made by this lovely lady." I looked over at Evon. "So, tell me what you want, and I'll fill your plates."
    It worked … at least for a few minutes. The focus was on everything sweet until every plate was filled with a slice of cake or a piece of pie.
    And then, Harmony opened her mouth. "Evon, we really should coordinate about June." Then, looking at Evon and Christopher, she asked, "Do you have a date yet?"
    Christopher held Evon's hand. "The first Saturday in June. But, I would marry her tomorrow if Mom weren ’ t insisting on a big wedding."
    Evon laughed. "It's both of our moms. They won't let us get away with eloping."
    "You got that right," I said. And then I shut my mouth.
    Then, Evon said, "I didn't know you guys were getting married already."
    "Oh, yeah," Quentin chuckled, "when you get to be my age, you know what you know. No need to waste time."
    Harmony laughed. "And at my age, if I want to have children, we need to get started."
    I don't know what happened; my fork crashed to my plate and all eyes turned straight to me. "I'm sorry," I said. "But I just can't take it." I looked at Harmony. "Seriously? You want to have children with him? He's gay. " To Quentin, I said, "Tell her!"
    Quentin's eyes narrowed, and he kept his glare on me. But he spoke to my husband when he said, "Brock, would you mind if I spoke to your wife … alone?"
    My eyes shot straight to Brock, and when he nodded and said, "If it's okay with her," I wanted to punch him in his eye. Really? He was just gonna let Quentin run things in our house? The way I was thinking, if Quentin had something to say, he needed to say it to all of us since he owed everyone an explanation. But once again,