A Question of Marriage Read Online Free PDF Page B

Payton was greeted with the smell of freshly baked bread and other delicious aromas. Making her way through the living room to the kitchen, she found her mother standing in front of the stove, stirring a pot in the newly renovated kitchen.
    “Hey Mom,”
    Aoleon Marshall turned around, seeing her daughter, her face lit up. She was a slim, petite woman, with a short pixie haircut, creamy caramel skin, green eyes with silver rims and a pert nose. She was wearing a navy blue pant suit, underneath a floral print apron. Payton always thought her mother was beautiful.
    “Hey baby, what are you doing here, everything okay?”
    “Yeah, where’s daddy?”
    “He’s out in the garage; you know your father and his projects.”
    Swallowing the lump in her throat, trying to quell the nervousness in her stomach Payton spoke.
    “I have some news.”
    “What is it?”
    Before Payton could reveal her secret , the back door opened and her father appeared, Marshall Hollister was five foot eight, solidly built, with cocoa brown skin, dark brown eyes and graying black hair, he kept in a military crew cut. A retired NYPD detective, he kept himself in excellent shape running five miles daily.
    “Well , look whose here,”
    “Hi D addy,”
    “Marsh, Payton stopped by to give us some news.”
    “What is it baby?” Her father asked, opening the refrigerator removing a bottle of water; twisting off the cap, taking a healthy sip before placing the container on the granite counter top.”
    “I’m engaged.”
    “Oh congratulations,” her mother beamed. “Let me see the ring.
    “I wasn’t aw are you and Trent reconciled.” her father said, referring to her ex fiancé.
    “We haven’t , I’m marrying Jordan.”
    “Have you lost your mind?”
    “Daddy, I’m not a kid anymore. This is what I want.”
    “Since when have the two of you become romantically involved? T he last thing I’d heard, he was dating some movie star.”
    “Well he isn’t .”
    Marshall Hollister stared at his daughter , as if he were looking for something. “Are you pregnant?”
    Payton rolled her eyes. “No daddy, I’m not pregnant.”
    “Then why are you marrying him?”
    “I love him.”
    “I highly doubt he feels the same way, what’s really going on?”
    Payton avoided looking into her father’s eyes because he could always tell when she wasn’t being truthful.
    “Nothing,” Payton hedged. “I just thought I’d deliver the news personally.”
    Before her father could say anything more, her mother spoke. “Marsh, let’s be happy for our daughter, this is what she wants and we should support her decision.”
    Her father grunted, then nodded. “Fine, congratulations,” he said reluctantly. “So when’s the wedding?”
    “In three months ,”
    “Three months, are you sure you aren’t pregnant?”
    “Marsh,” Aoleon scolded her husband. “Leave Payton alone, are you staying for dinner?”
    Payton was reluctant to accept the invitation. She really didn’t want to continue the Spanish Inquisition, she would have to endure at the hands of her father. However, not wanting to disappoint her mother, she reluctantly accepted the invitation.
    Later, d uring the drive back into the city, Payton’s thoughts went to her parents especially her father. She knew she’d disappointed him again. He wasn’t happy with her decision to marry Jordan, but accepted it none the less. It was just like when she’d announced she was becoming a Journalist; he’d hoped she would follow in his footsteps and join the force; when she hadn’t, their once close relationship changed. Feeling guilty for lying to her parents, she almost blurted out the truth but her mother’s constant probing about the wedding, kept her confession at bay.
    One thing’s for certain , once the truth comes out the fragile state of their relationship will be forever severed. Knowing her father, she highly doubted he’ll forgive her for withholding the truth.

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