Read Online Marker of Hope by Nely Cab - Free Book Online Page A

next to him. I looked up at the stairs with
apprehension. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
    “I’m nervous, too.”
    “I said scared.”
    “And just think—we’ll have to do this again
tomorrow with my parents.”
    I grunted, and he put an arm around me. I
leaned into him.
    “The funny thing is,” he said, “I’m looking
forward to it—to telling my parents, and having the world know
you’re mine forever.” He pecked my lips. “All mine.” He pecked them
again, over and over.
    I’d barely felt the tension leaving my
shoulders, when, abruptly, David pulled away from me and stood
up.
    “Good evening, Mrs. Martin,” David sounded
serene, but his face was glowing in a palette of red hues.
    “Evening, David. I wasn’t expecting to see
you in my living room,” Claire glanced at me, “making out with my
daughter on my couch.”
    “We weren’t making out,” I said.
    “Whatever.” Claire sat on an armchair, and
David took his seat on the couch next to me. “So how’ve you been,
David? You haven’t been locked away in your room for over a month,
heartbroken over Isis, have you?”
    “Mom!” I widened my eyes.
    “Because she,” Claire bobbed her head at me,
“only came out of her room yesterday. And I have to be honest—I’m
not too excited about seeing you two together again.”
    “I see,” David said. “Well, I understand you
must be concerned Isis may get hurt a second time, but I assure you
it won’t happen. She wasn’t the only one who was heartbroken.”
    “ I messed things up between David and
me,” I told Claire. “I didn’t tell you before.”
    “Yes, well, it’s not like you tell me much of
anything these days,” Claire said, which was the same thing Galilea
was upset at me for. “So why did you want me to come down here—to
applaud and cheer?”
    “No,” David said. “I wanted to speak to you
because,” David paused to take a breath, “I’m here to ask for—”
    “For my permission to,” Claire made air
quotes with her fingers, “court Isis? If it were up to me, I’d say
no—not a chance. But clearly, she’s already made her choice.”
    “I’m sorry you feel that way. But no, Mrs.
Martin, I don’t want your permission to date Isis. I’m here to ask
for her hand in marriage.”
    Claire blinked. “Excuse me?”
    “I want to marry your daughter, ma’am. I’m
asking for your consent to do so.”
    Claire glanced between David and me. She knit
her brow, and then focused her attention on me, her head cocked to
the right.
    “Are you pregnant?” she asked, and David
opened his mouth to answer. “No.” She raised her index finger at
him. “I am not talking to you, young man.”
    David nodded and sat hushed beside me.
    “Answer me, Isis.” Claire seethed. “Are. You.
Pregnant?”
    I lowered my head, looking up at her through
my eyelashes. I nodded.
    Silence—hysterical, reverberating, and
furious silence—and a stare that could melt a steel wall met my
confession. Endless seconds passed.
    “I’m sorry,” I said when I could no longer
sustain the weight of her stare. “I know how disappointed you
are.”
    “Do you?” She curled her fist and slammed it
on the chair’s arm. “Goddamn it, Isis! I gave you everything
necessary to prevent this. How many times did I warn you?” She
paused. I didn’t answer. “ How many? ” she screamed, and I
jumped.
    “Please don’t yell at her,” David said.
    Claire eyed David. “You would be wise to
refrain from telling me how to talk to my daughter right now.”
    I tugged at David’s hand and shook my head,
warning him not to say another word. David pressed his lips
together, glanced at Claire, and turned away from her in clear
aggravation. Claire stood from the chair, pacing the living room
with a hand on her hip. I found out early in life it was better to
let her have a few silent minutes to herself. When she was ready,
she would speak.
    “You two,” she rubbed her forehead with both
hands,