It's Only Love (The Matthews Family)

Chapter One

My name is Victor

It was Saturday afternoon and my brother, Stevie and I were in the room that we used to share when we were kids. We were there getting ready to go to our cousin Paul’s wedding. After five, sometimes volatile years together, he was marrying Vanessa. I was his best man and Stevie, as well as two of our cousins were groomsmen. I was dressed and ready, relaxing on my old bed while he was in the mirror putting on his bow tie.

“Look at my two men,” my sister Rhonda said when she walked in the room.

It was the first time that the three of us have been together in—wow—almost three years. I got up from the bed before she told me to.

“You both look so handsome,” she said smiling and looking at the both of us in our charcoal grey suits.

“And you look beautiful,” I said as she walked up to Stevie.

“I can do that, Rhonda,” Stevie said as she adjusted his bow tie.

“I know,” she said, but she didn’t stop until the tie was just right.

Rhonda couldn’t help herself; she’s been taking care of my brother and me since I can remember.

“I’m just so happy to see you two; for all of us to be together. Even if it’s just for the day,” she said and cut her eyes at Stevie. “Since one of us has to leave tomorrow. But it’s so good to see you two.” Rhonda held out her arms and we shared what we called our circle.

“All we got is each other,” she said softly the way she used to.

“That’s all we ever needed,” Stevie said.

I never knew my father and I was five years old when my mother met a man and she moved away to DC. After that, Rhonda pretty much raised us.

“I can’t believe you kids still do that,” our Uncle Don said coming in the door, interrupting our moment. We broke our circle. “You know I always wondered what you were saying to each other.”

“Some things you were meant to wonder about,” Rhonda said and kissed him on the cheek.

“We haven’t told you in all these years, no reason to believe that we’d tell you now,” I said as I followed Rhonda past him and out of the room.

Uncle Don shook his head. “You got something smart to say too?”

“No, sir. There’s nothing else to be said,” I heard Stevie say.

The three of us rode together to the church. On the way there, we talked a little about Uncle Don. Him and our Aunt Michelle have three children; Paul, who’s getting married today, and his sisters, Maggie and Angie.

“Uncle Don is a good father,” Stevie commented. “Not only to his kids, but to us too.

“I’m sure both of you will be great fathers one day,” Rhonda said.