Just as Sonia’s dad promised, he arrived two days later with a trailer hitched to the back of his truck. They had just pulled the ham out of the oven when her dad and Wanda pulled up. Her dad had a key, yet he still knocked. Sonia was so happy to see both her dad and Wanda that she almost forgot how nervous she was about the dinner and how they planned to break the news about their plans to stay together.

The beautiful Wanda immediately dropped all her bags in the foyer and came rushing inside. She embraced both Andre and Sonia at the same time.

"Oh, I've missed you two so much," she exclaimed, pulling back from the hug to look them over. Then she put her palm against Andre's cheek and said, "My boy. What have you been up to?"

"Workin'. That's pretty much it," Andre replied.

Andre favored his mother. They had the same flawless perfect skin. Wanda's tone was about three shades darker than her son's. They had the same smile—one that lit up the room whenever they were happy. For four years, Wanda had been like a mother to her. She actually told people that she had two moms.

Sonia's dad and Andre exchanged handshakes and a few greetings.

"It smells so good in here," Wanda said. "What's cookin'?"

"We baked a ham and made a bunch of sides to go along with it. A mix of both yours and dad's favorites. Mac and cheese. Fried cabbage. Corn bread. Peach pie. Food that calls for a very long nap afterward, which I'm sure you and dad need after that drive," Sonia said.

Wanda turned around and grinned at Sonia's dad. "See? We raised 'em right. No one went hungry here during the blizzard, that's for sure."

He placed his hand at the small of Wanda's back, just like he did when they were first dating. "Yeah, I can see that," he said.

Sonia was glad that her dad was happy, but the predicament they were in was uncomfortable. She was thinking of ways to bring up the issue at the dinner table. She wasn't even sure anymore if the dinner table was the best place to bring up the issue. Maybe she'd tell them tomorrow.

"Why don't you get settled in and then we can eat," Andre suggested, rubbing his belly. "We didn't sleep in the second master bedroom at all, so that one's ready for the taking. If another room is needed, I can sleep out on the couch."

"So, where'd you sleep?" Sonia's dad asked out of the blue.

"Where'd I sleep?" Andre frowned. "In the guest bedroom."

"With my daughter? Did y'all sleep together in the same bed?"

"Oh…" Andre breathed outward at the same time Sonia gasped in shock.

"How'd you know?" Sonia asked.

Wanda put her hand on her dad's chest. "Not now, Bentley. Let's just get cleaned up and get ready for dinner. Sonia, your father already knows that you and Andre are together. Blame that on me. I couldn't keep the secret obviously. Andre mentioned something to me last week and I suspected it and I asked him outright yesterday before we left. He wouldn't say anything, but I know my boy. He wouldn't lie to his momma either."

Sonia turned to Andre and sighed. "Well, then that cat's already out of the bag."

"That's all you can say? The cat's out of the bag?" Dad exclaimed, his frustration coming through loud and clear.

"Dad, if you're going to turn this into a back and forth arguing match, I'd rather sit it out. The secret is out. All I want you to do is accept that I'm an adult and I want who I want," Sonia replied.

"Let's sit down here. We need to get this straightened out now. I couldn't believe it when Wanda told me on the way in here. I knew you two liked to go on walks through the woods when you were here, but I was shocked about this," her dad said.

When they were all seated on the couch, he sighed heavily and then asked, "Sonia? Do you understand what this means?"

"Yes, Dad. I do. I've liked Andre for quite some time now. A very long time."

"When?" he asked. "How long have you two been…having sex? Since before we left the first time? On your supposed walks through the woods?"

"No." Andre shook his head. "I'm not like that. I had plans to wait for Sonia."

"It just happened over the past week," Sonia added.

"Do you think that makes it okay? Lusting after her? Waiting to have sex with a young girl?"

"Dad!" Sonia said. "That's not how it happened. Andre never forced me. He never lusted after me. He was the one who suggested that I stop flirting with him until I was legal. I didn't. I kept teasing him. I was the one lusting if you want the truth. Like I said, I…I was attracted to Andre."

Dad held up his hand. "This is too much for me to deal with. I just need some time to think."

"Dad, this isn't going to go away. I love Andre. I know how some people might talk about us being brother and sister, but they can mind their business. We're not even blood related. And Andre and I know the truth."

"Yeah, I know about him being a shifter and all that. That's why I said, this is too much. I'm not saying you two getting together is wrong. It happened. You love each other. I understand. What I'm gonna need help with is understanding this shifter part about you. I've never been welcomed into that community," Dad said.

"How do you know you’ve never been welcomed?" Andre asked.

"Well, I don't know any shifters by name. You're the first."

"They're not gonna run out into the middle of the road declaring themselves to you," Andre said. "That's not how we do it. Who knows? Maybe some of your business friends around here are shifters. We aren't any different. I'm just a man. You don't have to learn it all now. We'll take it one day at time. How's that sound?"

"Alright, but hurt my daughter and you're dead. Is that a deal?"

"I wouldn't even think about hurting Sonia. Not ever."

Her dad held out his hand, and he and Andre shook on it.

"We've got a long road ahead of us, son."

With the heavy burden of how her dad would respond to their secret lifted off her shoulders, Sonia could finally revel in the fact that the people she loved the most were all under the same roof together, making amends and sorting out their issues. Just like families are supposed to do.