Brides and Brothers by Anneka R. Walker

Chapter 9

Camille

Camille ended a call with Daisha and stared at her phone. What were Daisha and Amy up to? They’d requested she come over ASAP for a discussion. That word made her feel like a kid in trouble. Shoving her phone into her back pocket, she left her apartment and walked the short distance to her neighbors’ door. She let herself in and stared at all six roommates gathered in the family room. “What is this, a girl scout meeting? Please tell me there are cookies.”

No one said anything. Daisha seemed to take that as an initiative to speak first. “I guess you could call this a sort of meeting.”

Camille almost laughed. Almost. “Seriously, what is this all about?”

Amy sat and patted the spot next to her on the couch, and Camille joined her. “We’re all concerned about how quickly you and Aiden are taking things,” Amy said. “I know I asked you to be nice, but I didn’t mean this nice.”

Camille’s first thought was to be defensive, but as she searched the faces around her, she was touched. Four of them she had known for only a few weeks. Macey and Raina had instantly become dear friends. Sage and Emma she didn’t know well, but they appeared eager to be there for her too.

“You’re all very sweet, but there’s nothing to be concerned about.”

Daisha put her hands together, and took on a patient, motherly tone. “Camille, if I were to tell you after two weeks of dating that I’d decided to get married, you’d flip! There isn’t any cause to rush things. Why is Aiden in such a hurry?”

“This was a mutual decision,” Camille said, hoping for them to understand. No one needed to know that her housing contract had been the catalyst for the proposal, because what mattered was their commitment to each other.

Emma cleared her throat, and all eyes flew to the quiet girl—eager to hear what she would say. “I know you’re aware of my breakup. It was awful. I would hate for you to have to go through that if things don’t work out.”

Silence followed Emma’s comment. She pushed her glasses up higher on her nose but didn’t bother moving her thin strawberry-blonde hair from hiding half her face. Sage reached over and put her arm around her friend.

“I love that you can share your experience to help others, Emma,” Camille said. “I hope nothing like that happens to Aiden and me.” What else could she say? She stared at their solemn faces and sighed. “Is time your only objection? I still have a few months until the wedding to get to know Aiden better.”

No one responded.

Macey squirmed, and the inner teacher in Camille called out to her. “Do you have something you wanted to add, Macey?”

“Nothing except . . . be prayerful.”

Now, this was a comment she could respond to. “I feel perfectly comfortable telling you all that I haven’t felt this good about a decision since the day I decided to get baptized.”

Macey seemed relieved, as did Amy. Raina was smiling, probably because they were discussing love. But Daisha, Emma, and Sage still looked unconvinced.

The discussion fell flat after Camille’s response. Emma jumped up and insisted they stay for rice pudding she had in the oven. Thankfully, the discussion moved on from Camille, and the tension in the room slowly fizzled out. They talked for over an hour about their favorite online workouts, voted for the worst class on campus, and ate far too much. Camille was about to call it a night and head back to her apartment when her phone buzzed. Daisha tentatively put her hand out to stop Camille from answering.

“What’s wrong?” Camille asked.

“Will you go on a walk with me before you talk to Aiden?”

A quick glance at her phone confirmed one missed call from Aiden. “I’m sure whatever he has to say can wait a few more minutes.”

Daisha’s sigh was filled with relief. “Thanks.” She linked arms with Camille, and together they made their way out of the apartment complex toward campus. They walked quietly until Daisha was ready to talk. “You and I have been friends for a long time. It’s going to be different after you’re married.”

“You’re right. I’ll finally get to cook for one person instead of an apartment of girls. Better yet, live with one person. It sounds dreamy.”

Daisha lightly punched her arm. “It sounds like true love.”

Camille sighed. The L-word hadn’t exactly been a part of the proposal. “It feels like it.”

Daisha pushed her bottom lip out in a pout. “We’ll never see each other anymore.”

Camille hugged her friend’s arm. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to room together again.”

“At least you’re happy,” Daisha said. “I’ve never seen you glow like this before. Everyone at church yesterday was staring. You and Aiden should’ve just stood behind the pulpit and waved since no one was paying attention to anything else.”

“That was because Raina told half the congregation we got engaged after two weeks. Of course they stared.”

She and Daisha sat down on a backless bench outside the campus library. It was dark now, and the clear sky showcased a half moon and a million bright stars.

“I feel like there’s no way you and Aiden can be feeling anything but infatuation at this point,” Daisha said.

“I was definitely infatuated with him when I was a teenager,” Camille said. Daisha had known about her crush then, although not the extent of it. “It feels different now. But I don’t think anyone really knows everything about the person they marry. One thing I’ve learned about faith is God gives us just enough information and trusts us to make the right decisions.”

“What helped you decide, then?” Daisha asked.

“For starters, everyone who knows Aiden seems to spout his virtues. He attends church, has an established career, takes care of himself, and owns his own home. He’s attractive. I trust him when we talk about personal things, and we communicate really well. I’m telling you I’ll never find a guy like this anywhere else. I can’t believe he wants to marry me!”

Daisha’s brow raised. “Does he walk on water too?”

Camille rolled her eyes. “I’ll ask when I finally call him back.”

Daisha laughed, then let her head fall back and sighed. “I wish my relationship felt as black and white.”

After a nudge from Camille, they both started walking back to their complex. “Do you feel better about things now?”

“Yes,” Daisha said, “but don’t be surprised if it takes your whole engagement for me to reconcile myself to the idea. Your mother doesn’t make herself available to advise you on things, so maybe that’s why I feel so protective.”

“I get that. You’re a true friend to be honest with me.” Camille gazed at the stars, wishing for a way to make Daisha understand how Aiden was doing this all for her. Camille hugged herself. It shook her to have her friends question her decision to marry Aiden, but she had to trust that she was doing the right thing.