Read The Other Side Of the Game for Free Online Page B

this house?”
    â€œWell, Daddy, it wouldn’t make sense to rent space. We’re already going to shell out money for a reception hall. Besides, I think getting together in an intimate setting is the whole point.”
    â€œDo you realize what a difficult position that would put me in?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œNothing,” he muttered.
    I sensed that I was onto something. “Tell me, Daddy.”
    He stroked his chin and didn’t answer.
    â€œDaddy?”
    â€œNo one in Lola Smith’s family has ever laid eyes on me. What could I possibly say to them after all this time?”
    â€œThey saw you at the funeral.”
    â€œOh, yeah. Right.” He lapsed into silence again.
    I was afraid to ask the next question but the energy in the room had become real weird. Why?
    â€œDoes mama’s family dislike you for some reason?”
    â€œProbably.”
    â€œTalk to me, Daddy!”
    â€œAbout what?”
    Now he was going to play dumb.
    â€œWhat they might be holding against you.”
    Daddy exhaled noisily. “Saundra, when your mother got pregnant with you, she expected me to marry her. She told me that. She also told her sisters that we were going to tie the knot. I’m guessing that when it didn’t happen, she was very embarrassed. I’m also guessing that they hate me for being another guy who let her down.”
    â€œThis isn’t like you, Daddy.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œIt isn’t like you to put your own interests before mine. I mean, this engagement party is about me and Yero and the children we’re going to have. It’s not about you or your discomfort. I’m very disappointed in you right now.”
    He looked like I had slapped him. “Aw, baby, I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m being selfish.”
    â€œDaddy, can I ask you something?”
    Now he looked wary. “Yes, but I’m not promising to answer.”
    â€œFair enough.”
    â€œOkay, then.”
    â€œAre you ever going to marry Evelyn?”
    He looked relieved that it wasn’t another question about Mama or her family. “No, Saundra.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œIt’s a long story.”
    I was truly bewildered. “A long story? But you two are still together. If she has done wrong, why are you still in the relationship?”
    Daddy closed his eyes, then opened them. “I’ll tell you all about it someday, but not before you graduate and get married.”
    He held up a hand for me to be quiet and then kept on talking. “Just for the record, the only thing Evelyn has ever done wrong is to bring up the idea of getting your mother’s family together in this house.”
    Not knowing what else to do, I stared at the television screen like it held the answer to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
    â€œHow do you think Asha would feel at a party like that? I mean, at least you had me to take care of all your needs. The poor girl worked two fast food jobs to keep that dinky apartment together. Lola’s people wouldn’t help her at all. If I hadn’t sent her money, she would have suffered even more. Asha probably doesn’t want to mix with them any more than I do.”
    â€œForget it, Daddy.”
    â€œAsha has always had it harder than you. I used to tell Lola that she leaned on Asha too much . . . always confiding in that girl about her troubles . . . it isn’t right to burden a young person with adult problems that they don’t know how to solve.”
    I had always known that Mama shared her problems with Asha. Maybe because Asha was the spitting image of her. Maybe because Asha was the eldest. No one would ever really know why and the conversation was beginning to depress me in a real big way.
    â€œLet’s watch the show, Daddy.”
    He patted my shoulder and sighed loudly. “I’d walk on hot coals for you, Saundra. If you want a family reunion here, just