Page 279 of The Daddy Box Set

There was an awkward silence. I was expecting a few of these. Mostly because I figured my parents would ask something uncomfortable or even grill Justin and me about our relationship. They were bound to want details that neither of us could provide. I hoped it would not come down to that.

I wondered if I should pull Justin to the side so we could discuss details to tell them in case questions came up, but I ultimately decided it was a little too late for that.

“So, Justin, what do you do?” my dad asked, and I could tell he was testing Justin. He was scrutinizing him, and it made me wonder if it had to do with the look he gave me earlier. He was analyzing the situation, which was something he was very good at, and I hoped he wouldn’t catch on to our little game.

“I’m an MMA fighter currently, and a retired Marine.”

My dad seemed to perk up when he mentioned he was a retired marine.

“How long were you in the service?” he asked.

“Four years active duty and four years inactive,” he said.

“Did you have to go to war?” my dad asked.

“I did a tour in Iraq, but it was brief, and there wasn’t much going on. I was going to re-enlist, but when my wife passed away, I had to figure out a different means of income so I could raise Margie on my own.”

“Wow, I’m so sorry for your loss,” my mom said and then looked at me.

“Well, thank you for your service,” my dad said and stood up to shake Justin’s hand again. “You like sports?”

“I love sports,” Justin said.

They started talking, and my mom turned to me.

“I like him,” she said, making sure to lower her voice. “He sure is handsome. How long have you guys been together? And why were you hiding him from me?”

I laughed. “I wanted to make sure things were going in the right direction before I had him meet you guys,” I said. “I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”

“My daddy loves Anna,” Margie said. She had been standing next to us, obviously listening to our conversation. I didn’t quite know what to say.

“You are absolutely adorable, you know that?” my mom said, leaning down to Margie.

“Thank you,” Margie said. I sensed a shyness in her voice.

“Did you bring any toys?” my mom said to her.

Margie shook her head.

“Well, let’s go see if I have something in my purse.” My mom and Margie went over to her purse where I watched her pull out a pink stuffed bear.

“This is for you,” my mom said.

Margie’s eyes lit up. “Thank you so much!” The two of them started talking about the animal, and I went back into the kitchen to finish up dinner.

“Need any help?” Ally asked me.

“Sure.” I handed her the bowl of salad. “Mix this up and set it on the table, please. There are three different dressings in the door to the refrigerator.”

“Okay,” Ally said and started mixing the salad. “Things seem to be going well here.”

“Yeah, hopefully they don’t catch on though.” I grimaced at the thought.

“You guys look like a real family already,” Ally said to me as I stirred the food around on the stove.

; I laughed. “I think so too,” I said.