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“Oh, okay. What’s their shtick?”
“They’ll be jealous. My brothers don’t reflect Big Mike’s family, okay? Have you seen all those beautiful boys? They come from Roberta. My kids are handsome and big like Mike’s kids. Me and my brothers, bowwow.”
“Oh, shut up,” Lila said, bursting in laughter. “You’re gorgeous and you know it.”
“I have my moments. Now that my hair has grown back, I don’t feel like such a dork.”
“You never looked like a dork, Charlie. Anyway, do your other brothers have wives?”
“They do, both are on their second families, and each wife has what seems like four kids under the age of six. Everyone’s family is growing, and soon mine will, too.”
“Let’s not get carried away. I’m worried I’ll have trouble getting pregnant. I’m over thirty and have been on the pill for fifteen years. That sounds like a recipe for disaster.”
“Don’t start worrying about that now, okay? Oh God, here comes Big Mike bearing down on us.”
“Hey, baby brother and his woman,” he yelled.
“Drunk, too,” Charlie muttered.
Stumbling a little bit, Mike led the way into the cavernous living room. The first thing Lila noticed was the beautiful tree, which towered over them, reaching almost to the top of the twelve-foot-high ceiling. They would definitely stop to get a tree on the way home.
The chaos of new guest arriving at the house with a sea of unfamiliar faces occupied them until Lila zeroed in on Devon, who came right over.
“Yay!” he cried. “I’m glad you came. When I got here, I didn’t see Charlie, so I said to Big Mike, why isn’t your brother here? He said Charlie never comes to the family gatherings, but I insisted they invite you guys.”
“Thanks, Devon, I knew I could count on you,” she mumbled sarcastically.
“The story going around is that you’re serious about each other; then you need to meet the family. Trust me, they’ll take up any cause of yours just because you’re Charlie’s girl.”
Family members who didn’t know her, like Charlie’s other brothers and their wives, seemed genuinely interested in getting to know her.
Big Mike’s son Joey’s girlfriend, Candy, grabbed her hand and whispered, “Thank God, we have been praying for a decent woman for Charlie after the beast left.” She giggled, raising her eyebrows. “Roberta will be groveling at your feet.”
While Candy whispered family secrets to Lila, the rest of the family gathered around them, and it wasn’t until the silence got Lila’s attention that Candy stopped talking and, smiling, took a step away from her, making room for Charlie to slide in next to her.
“What’s wrong?” Lila asked.
And then when Charlie dropped to his knee, reaching into his shirt pocket and pulling out a small black velvet box, she got it—the proposal at the zoo was just a ruse to make sure she was going to say yes and not embarrass him in front of his family.
“Oh, Charlie,” she sobbed, ugly crying, so that the family moved in closer, the aws and ohs coming in a wave, and a few giggles.
“Will you marry me?” he asked, flipping open the box.
Within was a beautiful emerald-cut diamond, classic and elegant. “Just like you,” Charlie said.
“Yes, of course I’ll marry you,” she replied, taking a tissue from Roberta, who was also happily weeping, and the rest of the family crowded around the couple, giving their congratulations.
