Marriage Material

“You are too young to be living with someone!” I hear shouted from the back of the house, and I walk towards the noise.

“Are you kidding me? You and Julie were sixteen when you were sneaking out of the house and doing exactly what you’re preaching against. Don’t think I don’t know about that.”

“That’s different!” Kent fires back at Robin just as I push open the door to the kitchen.

The sight that greets me would be comical if it didn’t hurt me so much to see Robin upset. She’s standing in the middle of the kitchen going toe to toe with Kent while her other four brothers are seated at the kitchen table. Her dad is at the bar in the kitchen reading a newspaper and ignoring everyone. I’m sure with six kids in the house the man never got a moment of peace.

“Great, just the guy we were talking about,” Kent sneers, and Robin’s dad looks up from his paper.

I walk over to him and hold out my hand to introduce myself. “Mr. Honeydew, I’m Anderson. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about me.”

The old man’s eyes crinkle at the edges as he stands up from his chair and takes my hand. “That’s all I’ve been hearing about for the past couple of hours.” He looks over at his kids and smiles. “You’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest, son.”

The word son takes me by surprise and for a second I’m thrown back to a time when my dad was alive and I had someone to talk to. I don’t know if he meant it the way he said it, but if anything it was nice to hear. He claps me on the shoulder before he turns to face the room.

“Robin, I believe you have a visitor,” he says before he turns back to me. “Is that a baby I hear out there in the front room?” When I nod he smiles even bigger. “I think I’ll go see if I can pry her out of Mary Beth’s arms.” Before he walks by me he leans in close. “Don’t take any shit.”

He pats my shoulder again before he walks out of the room and leaves me alone with Robin and her five brothers.

“Dad, are you really not going to say anything?” Kent calls in surprise, but the door to the kitchen has already swung close.

“You know how he is about babies,” one of the brothers says from the table.

When I step into the room I lock eyes with Robin and she immediately relaxes and comes over to me. I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head.

“Sorry to bust up the party, but I couldn’t stand it anymore.” She looks up at me and I can see tears forming in her eyes. “Don’t cry, beautiful. I’m here now.”

“This is family business,” Kent says as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“Really?” I say, pulling Robin to my side and staring him directly in the eyes. “Because it seems like you’re the only one with your panties up your ass.” I feel Robin tense beside me and at least one of the brothers coughs to cover a laugh. “Your parents are out there in the living room right now loving on my daughter, so they don’t seem too concerned about the choices their daughter has made.”

“That’s not fair! They’re both nuts when it comes to babies,” Kent says, throwing his hands up in frustration.

“Or maybe you’re the one acting like an asshole in this situation and nothing anyone can say seems to calm you down.” I rub Robin’s back as I stand my ground. “Look, you’re Robin’s family and I know how important that is to her, but she’s not a child. She’s old enough to make her own choice, and she’s made it.” I look down at her and she looks up at me. “Right, beautiful?” She nods as she blushes.

“Just because she’s infatuated with you doesn’t mean that this is real. She’s just got some crush on you that will turn to heartbreak when you kick her out in a month.”

“I don’t know where you’ve gotten your information from, but that’s just an outright lie.” I clench my fist at my side just thinking about not having Robin with me. “I moved here to raise my daughter in a place that we could make a home. I never expected to find someone as wonderful as Robin in the process. She’s an exceptional person who is kind and loving beyond anything I’ve ever known. She’s more beautiful than any woman I’ve ever seen in my life, but she’s that way on the inside, too. The day I looked at her I knew she was the one, and to belittle that by saying I’m going to toss her aside really pisses me off.”