Page 16 of D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

“Why would you ask me that?”

“Look at you,” she quipped gesturing at me. “Estas pálido.”

At that, I busted out laughing. “Wow, Mami. You decided to marry a light-skinned Tejano and now you want to complain ’cause I came out his color. I’m offended.”

Shocked, she let her mouth fall open. Her grip tightened on the bag of decorations and for a second I thought she was going to swing it at me, but instead, she spun around, facing the back corner of the yard where my father and brother stood.

“Oye, Reynaldo!”

Instantly, the grin melted off of my face and I took off in the opposite direction as she headed toward my father, complaining about me in rapid-fire Spanish. It was all fun and games until Mami went snitching to Papi. As easygoing as he was, he didn’t play about his wife. I had vivid memories of hearing his favorite phrase “Ella fue mía primero y será mía cuando te vayas” as a child whenever one of us complained about our parents’ constant displays of affection.

Just as I stepped into the living room via the side door that led to the backyard, the doorbell rang. I jogged over and opened it to reveal a crowd of my family. Mami’s sisters, Tía Michelle and Tía Christine, entered first, giving me hugs, fingering my locs, and telling me how good I looked as they passed me and headed for the door I’d just entered through. Several of my cousins followed, laughing and making jokes as they carried gifts and balloons out to the backyard. Mis tíos brought up the rear, lugging large pans of deliciously aromatic, marinated meat as they dropped kisses on my cheek in greeting.

The baby shower was set to start in an hour, with Kiana and her boyfriend scheduled to arrive shortly after. I’d asked D’Vaughn to come at twelve thirty so that her presence wouldn’t distract from my sister’s attention. Checking my watch, I made a quick trip to the bathroom down the hall, returning minutes later to find Rhea letting more people in. A wicked grin came across her face when she spotted me. After directing everyone toward the backyard, she folded her arms and leveled me with a knowing look.

“You know Papi’s gonna get on that ass, right?”

Groaning, I plopped down onto the sofa and covered my eyes with my hand. “I already know. Mami knows I was joking. She just wanted to tell on some-damn-body.”

“Should’ve just told her what was up. Instead you wanna pump-fake, knowing Mami don’t play that colorism mess. You set yourself up with that one.”

Rolling my eyes, I gave Rhea a sidelong glance. “You know damn well I can’t say a word about you-know-what.”

“Well, yeah. I know that much. I’m talking about a simple mention that you want to introduce her to someone. It would set the stage nicely.”

“That’s the point, bro. I can’t ‘set the stage.’ It’s in the contract that I can’t even hint at something going on. Not one peep is allowed until the big reveal. All of this has to be a complete surprise.”

“Damn,” she breathed, tilting her head to the side and staring off into space. I nodded because my sentiments exactly. Yeah, I’d signed up for this, but that didn’t make the shit any less nerve-wracking. One of the few weights lifted off of my shoulder was the fact that none of my family had to be on television if they didn’t want to. Although everyone would be filmed during the six weeks, once filming wrapped, each person who had camera time would be presented with a waiver, and if they declined to sign it, they’d be edited out.

There was a firm knock on the door and my pulse skyrocketed. It was D’Vaughn. I didn’t know for sure, but I knew. Glancing at Rhea, I curled my lip at the amused gleam in her eyes.

“Good luck,” she sang before jumping up and heading out to the backyard.

Standing, I brushed my hands down the front of my shorts and tugged on the hem of my shirt to smooth out the wrinkles. It was another hot day and I, thankfully, owned enough short-sets to last me until the summer solstice. Crossing the room, I quickly brushed my fingers over my eyebrows and checked my teeth in the long mirror on the wall before pulling open the door with a smile on my face.

D’Vaughn stood before me holding a vase of fresh flowers in one hand and two gift bags in the other. Felix stood behind her and to her left on the other side of the porch railing. The camera on his shoulder was angled so that he had a clear shot of both of our faces.

“What’s up?” I greeted, immediately reaching to relieve D’Vaughn of the bags before pulling her into a quick hug. “Did you find it okay?”

“Yeah,” she admitted with a nod. “You gave great directions, so thanks for that.”

A car door slammed out near the street. D’Vaughn glanced over her shoulder, and I followed her gaze to where my father’s youngest brother was crossing the street and heading our way. Returning my attention back to D’Vaughn, I grinned.

“That’s what’s up. Hey, I wanted to talk to you before we go in. Is that cool?”

She turned back to me, brows lifted, and dipped her chin. “Yeah, of course.”

I guided her away from the door and into a corner of the porch which was sectioned off by a brick enclosure that my father had built by hand with the help of his brothers. I set the bags on the wooden bench just as my uncle stepped onto the porch.

“Hola, Tío,” I called with a tip of my chin.

“Buenas tardes.” Mateo Zavala swung his light-brown eyes from me to D’Vaughn, taking in our body language, before shooting me a wink. “¿Tuya?”

Bruh. I busted out laughing. As the youngest of my aunts and uncles, Mateo was only ten years older than me, and had a similar taste in women. We learned from Raul’s mistakes that if we didn’t want Mateo to walk off with our dates, we had to stake our claim early and publicly.

“Sí.”

Chuckling, he pursed his lips, an impressed gleam in his eye. Turning to D’Vaughn, he spoke in English. “Good afternoon, gorgeous.”