Page 35 of D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

D’Niesha’s mouth fell open while Darren’s eyebrows shot up.

“Are you serious?!” D’Niesha screeched. “Oh my gosh!”

Nodding, D’Vaughn offered them a small smile. “Yep. Seriously.”

D’Niesha squealed and hugged D’Vaughn again. “I had no idea you were even dating but congratulations!”

“Nobody knew, Niesha,” Darren quipped, giving the younger woman a sidelong glance. “Don’t give a half-assed congratulations.”

Frowning, D’Niesha glared at her brother. “I didn’t mean it like that.” Turning to D’Vaughn, she widened her eyes. “I swear, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s all good, Niesha. You really didn’t know so I didn’t take it as shade.”

“Thank you,” she said, a smug grin on her face when she glanced back at Darren. “The food smells good and I’m starving. I’m gonna go find Mama and see if we can eat.”

Once she disappeared down a hall, Darren wrapped D’Vaughn in a tight bear hug.

“Finally,” he whispered into her hair. “Now I can stop pretending I don’t know nothing.”

My brows shot toward my hairline as D’Vaughn giggled and pushed him away.

“Boy, shut up.”

“You knew too?” I thought no one but her best friend had known.

Darren shot D’Vaughn a questioning glance.

“Cinta,” she replied, to which he nodded.

“Ah. Well, yeah. I definitely knew. I actually walked in on her making out with some girl in...what was that? Seventh grade?”

“Tenth grade, fool! You were in seventh.”

He nodded, a grin on his face, and he reminisced. “That’s right.” Sliding a sly look my way, he chuckled. “I used to pretend to go out on dates in high school and Mama would make Vaughn go as chaperone, not realizing that the date and the girl were for Vaughn.”

He cracked up, clutching his stomach as he leaned back and laughed. D’Vaughn rolled her eyes but there was an amused tilt to her lips that said she found the memories amusing as well. As they laughed, D’Niesha poked her head into the living room.

“Dinner’s ready.”

Darren headed to the bathroom while D’Vaughn and I followed her sister into the kitchen. Several pots covered the stove and there was a stack of plates on the counter. A quick glance around the small space told me that Ms. Miller was elsewhere.

“Are we waiting for your mom?”

D’Niesha shook her head as she grabbed a plate and began to load it up with wares from the pots. “Mama’s already in the dining room. I’m fixing her plate and once we all have our food then we can all join her.” She finished up and left the kitchen.

D’Vaughn stepped up to the stove and grabbed a plate. When I started to do the same, she swatted my hand before grabbing a serving spoon.

“I got you, baby,” she crooned, leaning toward me playfully. “Let me make your plate like a good wifey.”

Grinning, I stepped back, posting up against the counter as I watched her. Twice now I was “baby” where I’d gone the entire day before never hearing that come out of her mouth. Logic said that it was for the sake of her family, but I couldn’t help but believe that the main reason it sounded so good sliding past her lips was because she said it without thinking. D’Niesha came back a moment later, glanced between me and her sister before coming to stand next to me. Her arms were folded in front of her but then she dropped them at her side and picked at invisible lint from her skirt. After she glanced at me for the third time, I figured she had something she wanted to say.

“What’s up?” I asked, drawing D’Vaughn’s attention.

“So,” D’Niesha began, perking up with the excitement of whatever was on the tip of her tongue, “what are your pronouns?”

“She, her...” I slid a sly gaze over to D’Vaughn, who was peering at us from over her shoulder, slotted spoon full of collard greens hanging over the plate in her hand. “...And daddy, when D’Vaughn is feeling especially nasty.” My fiancée did not disappoint, sucking in an audible breath as she dropped the slotted spoon back into the tall pot and spun around quickly.

“Kris!” she hissed. “You can’t talk like that in my mama’s house!”