Page 67 of Love Unlimited

There was one thing, though, that Zhong was suddenly sure of. Hey, do you want to come to Mei-Lin’s wedding with me?

As your plus-one? Dustin looked confused.

No. As part of my family. All four of us. You know Mei-Lin, too, so you can have your own invitation.

That won’t be intruding?

Zhong shook his head. I don’t know how much of a traditional ceremony there’s going to be, and if there’s a tea ceremony that will just be for family. But you’d definitely be welcome for the parade, lunch, and games.

Hang on, there’s a parade? Dustin asked.

The parade is for the groom’s family to get the bride, so we would just cheer and take pictures. The games are only for the groom. He has to prove that he’s worthy of Mei-Lin, but it’s all in fun. Although, Zhong considered, since Mei-Lin’s fiancé isn’t Chinese, I don’t know how much of the traditions they’ll be following.

All of them, if I know your mother.

Zhong rolled his eyes. Seriously.

Well, since there’s a parade and lunch, I’d love to come, Dustin joked. Seriously, though. I would be honored to see Mei-Lin get married and be your emotional support if your family is weird about Ash.

They’ll be polite in person. And they might be weird about Lena, too. Ugh. I should ask both of them first if they’re willing to put up with it. Maybe this is a terrible idea.

No, it isn’t. Dustin looked determined. If you want your… well, our family, he gestured around the backyard, to meet the rest of your family, we’re going to support you. We’ll stay in a hotel, and slip away when we don’t need to be there. Maybe we can even do something fun if we all take off for a few days.

Camping? Zhong asked, his index fingers and pinkies forming a tent. Can we go camping? That would be amazing.

Yes! That sounds perfect. We’ll drive down, attend the wedding for the day, and go camping.

Lena appeared at Dustin’s side. Did someone just mention camping?

Yeah, Dustin told her. We’ve just been invited to Zhong’s sister’s wedding, and we thought we could make it a trip. Maybe stay out there for a few days.

When is it?

Labor Day weekend.

Oh, perfect! I have three days of prep the week before, and then one more day after before the school year starts.

Ash snuck up under Zhong’s arm. We need more hot dogs for the kids. And what are we talking about?

Lena looked around. Her back was to the crowd as she signed. The Daddies are taking us camping.

They were the Daddies now? And they were a family. Something was melting in Zhong’s chest.

Ash applauded, fingers twinkling in the air. When? I need to set my schedule in advance.

Labor Day weekend, Zhong explained. But that’s only part of it. I was wondering if you’d like to come to my sister’s wedding with me. Well, all four of us.

Ash shrugged. Sure.

My parents might be… Zhong sighed. It was difficult to describe exactly how they might be. They wouldn’t say anything rude to anyone’s face. It was more that he’d hear about it behind closed doors. He didn’t want Ash to be a disappointment to anyone. Ash didn’t deserve it, and he didn’t deserve it either.

On the flip side, if they loved Ash, they’d start pressuring Zhong immediately about a wedding date. That wasn’t something he was even close to thinking about. Especially not while he was figuring out his first time dating someone and what exactly it meant to be Dustin’s family and how Lena fit into the whole picture. .

You already told me, Ash promised him. It’ll be OK. And I’d love to meet them. I’m sure they’ll be so busy with your sister that they won’t even have time to think about us.

That was probably true. Or at least he could hope. Thank you, he told them sincerely.

Hot dogs? Ash asked.