AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shrugged, but my smile beamed.
“Evidently he’d been carrying the ring around for a while, wanting to get Dad’s approval before asking.”
“That’s sweet,” she sighed. “Your dad always wanted a son-in-law that asked permission first.”
With a cackle, she nudged my arm with hers.
“We just hadn’t anticipated said man to be born in the same decade as us.”
I laughed.
“He was born in the eighties,” I told her with a grin.
“Barely,” she countered, then her smile softened.
“I am so happy for you though, honey. He seems interesting. Evidently Pat has read some of his books. Isn’t that something? Sometimes things just seem so overwhelming and big, and then God gives us moments where he reminds us that it’s a small world and he knows us.”
I nodded and agreed.
“I have to admit, I didn’t say so before, but I’m glad he’s not an atheist. Lord, I don’t know what I’d do with an atheist in this family!”
“He’s not an atheist, but he’s more…agnostic? He isn’t as religious as I am,” I admitted.
“Well, that’s difficult.” Her brows dipped and scrunched together in thought. “But you were right. He doesn’t have to be a religious man to be a good man. I have to take your word on the man himself. But I look forward to learning more about him so I can be assured for myself of his character.”
“Me too,” I agreed. “We’ll be spending Christmas with his boys but…maybe you can come and stay for a night or two at his home after that? You can meet Caden and Charlie and get to know him better, without his mother around.”
Mom snorted.
“That woman. I do not envy you your new mother-in-law, honey. She’ll be a difficult one.”
“Oh, she had a lot to say about me. Owen has been on a hair trigger since she arrived. They don’t get along very well. His previous wife warned me about her when I met her.”
“You’ve talked with his ex?” Mom sounded surprised.
I nodded.
“We went on a double date with her and her boyfriend, actually.”
Mom shook her head.
“I tell you, you’ve always been a strong, independent, and peculiar-minded girl. To be honest, if this is the extent of the oddities, then I think I can handle that, especially because you’re making things right by getting married.”
“Shouldn’t’ve got into bed with the boy in the first place!” Gran Gran cut in, waving a spatula around with sweet potatoes mashed into it. “There’s an order to how things should be done. Unless you’re procreatin’, you shouldn’t be sharin’ a bed.”
I’d thought that way for so long, agreeing with the sentiment, but being with Owen…everything had changed.
It wasn’t that I didn’t still think that way, but my eyes had been opened to the fact that sex wasn’t just for procreating, it was one of the most beautiful ways of showing someone you love them. And maybe it was impulsive to give up my virginity without even vows of love exchanged, but it didn't matter. I loved him. I knew that now. I'd loved the man practically from the moment I met him.
“I know, Gran,” I said, not bothering to explore those thoughts out loud.
“You know, and yet you did it anyway,” she said. “And I’m disappointed in you for it. Pastor Abraham will be too when you go in for your marriage interviews.”
Oh Lord, I’d completely forgotten about that! Would Owen go along with that, so we could get married in the church I grew up in?
“Well,” Mom went on, ignoring Gran Gran’s comments. “I suppose you can still always come to church with us on Sundays. An hour each way isn’t too long to hear the Lord’s words.”
“Owen said he’d attend church with me,” I told her. “He said he doesn’t want to keep me from doing the things that I love, and that he’d support me in it.”
