Page 10 of Say You Will

I forced a smile, met each of them with as steady a gaze as I could, and said, “I want to marry your son. May I have your permission?”

Silence.

Fuck.

More silence.

Had I screwed this up? Words had come out of my mouth. I’m pretty sure they had.

“Papa Lark?”

A brilliant smile filled his face. I looked at Mama, her hand covered her mouth, but I could see the happiness radiating in her eyes.

I breathed a little easier. I’d done good.

Papa Lark laughed. “Having two boys, I never thought we’d be asked for our son’s hand in marriage. You took us by surprise.”

“And it’s a wonderful surprise,” Mama added. “When are you going to propose?”

“On his birthday.”

Mama’s eyes opened wide. “At the party? Are you sure?”

Silence on my part, those damn butterflies kicking up a storm again. “I was.”

“No.” She held a hand up. “I shouldn’t have said that. It’s the perfect place to propose. You had your first date there.”

“Yeah. Opening Day of the season. Our Sox hit a grand slam.” I smirked, remembering the grand slam Ace had given me at the same time. Brownies, beer, and baseball. A game of strip-tease batting, a pitch and a catch, and my first night in Ace’s bed.

“Earth to Darren,” Papa Lark teased, leaning back as the waitress placed his plate in front of him. “Do you want anything to eat?”

I peered up at the waitress. “Poppyseed bagel, cream cheese, and lox. And a few slices of tomato.”

“Such a good Jewish boy,” Mama Lark poked, complete with Yiddish accent.