“To be continued,” Colin said.
“Yes.” Her mother winked. “To be continued. And if it’s okay, I believe I need to sit between you and Colin for lunch so I can get to know him.”
“It’s okay with me,” Colin said.
“Of course,” Brooklyn said, but wasn’t really ready for her to get to know Colin all that well, when they hadn’t even talked about dating or a long-term future.
Colin offered his hand to help Brooklyn up, and the four of them started for the food table. Brooklyn had gained a bit of strength in her legs again, but eating would help chase the remaining weakness away. She would need all of her strength for her part in the afternoon’s program that eight-year-old Jessie, Reid’s biological daughter, and seven-year-old Ella, his stepdaughter, had planned.
She introduced her parents to people as they passed them and when they got in line for food. They filled their plates with casseroles, salads, fruit, coleslaw, and more before getting a burger from Reid at the grill. Colin then led them all to a tablewith his brother and their mom, who were already seated on the long bench. He introduced them to her parents.
“You have a very special daughter.” Sandy moved her cane so Colin could sit next to her. “She’s been helping with my health issues, and I couldn’t ask for a better companion.”
Brooklyn’s mom beamed. “It all started with her baby dolls. No pretend mother ever took better care of her babies.”
Sandy smiled. “Something you miss out on when you have boys.”
“Mom just doesn’t want to embarrass Dev here.” Colin grinned. “He loved his baby doll.”
Dev socked him. “I did love Luis, and I’m proud of it.”
“And let’s not forget that Luis was a hand-me-down from you, Colin,” their mom said with a smile. “And he was well loved by then.”
“Yeah, well, he was more like a stuffed toy than a doll.”
Brooklyn loved how her big, tough guy wouldn’t admit to loving a doll when he was little.
Colin also introduced her parents to Russ and his wife Sydney, along with her teenage sister, Nikki, who sat across from them. Sydney glowed with happiness, but Nikki’s frown and slumped posture said she wasn’t all that eager to be there. Still, the sisters resembled each other, but Sydney had blond hair while Nikki had dyed hers a wild shade of blue.
Chatter and laughter filled the afternoon as people ate and got to know each other until Jessie and Ella, wearing matching pink party dresses, climbed up on a makeshift stage. A large, colorful banner fluttered in the breeze where they’d strung it across the back, and it read, ‘First Annual Father’s Day Celebration.’
Jessie grabbed a karaoke microphone. “Attention. Attention. We’re going to start our program. Each kid—well, me and Ella together cause we only get one song—chose a Christian song thatwas a hit the year our dads were born, and we’re gonna sing it. Sorry. We didn’t realize when we decided to do this that some are really old and a little bit lame.” She rolled her eyes.
The others laughed.
“How adorable.” Brooklyn’s mom leaned over to whisper. “Reminds me of Father’s Day banquets we used to have at church when I was young. The kids always did a program. I wonder why we ever stopped having them.”
Brooklyn suspected it was just a sign of the times when kids were too busy to do one more activity, but she didn’t say that. She squeezed her mama’s hand. “Sounds nice.”
People quieted down and gave the girls their attention.
“Dad, we love you,” Jessie said, looking at Reid. “And we wanted to go first. I mean, it was our idea to do this and it should be fair that we start, but it’s getting close to naptime, so we’re going to start with the youngest.” She gave a pointed look at Ryan’s wife, Mia, who was holding their seven-month-old son, Austin.
Mia flipped her mousy brown hair, still holding hints of a former black dye, over her shoulder. She got up, kissed a surprised Ryan on the head, and took the baby to sit with her in a chair on the stage. “Sydney, you should be up here, and I really shouldn’t be going first, but I guess we can wait until the baby’s born.”
“Five months down and counting.” Russ beamed at his wife and put his arm around Zach, his six-year-old son from a previous marriage. “Then we’ll have Mini Me II.”
Zach looked confused but still beamed up at his dad with pride.
The crowd laughed, then settled down.
“I first want to apologize for my lack of singing voice, but Austin loves his daddy, and I wanted to be sure he knew it.” She locked gazes with Ryan, and the air was fairly charged withelectricity between them. The same electricity that sparked in Brooklyn when she looked at Colin.
“Hey,” Reid called out. “Cool the looks. This program is only approved for G-rated content.”
Another outburst from the crowd, and Russ socked Reid in the arm.
“So, if Austin could choose a song to dedicate to his daddy from the year he was born, it would beIn a Father’s Heart,by Kathy Troccoli.”
