My Strange Saturday Night

My brother was acting strange.

Seated at the table for our regular Saturday dinner, my brother, Caesar, was quiet and looking at his plate. He’s been picking at his food for the past 20 minutes. Not really talking, except when asked. And even then, he would give one-word answers.

Strange, Caesar is more animated than that.

I looked around the table. Seated are my parents, my sister, Nicky, and her husband, Dylan. My boyfriend, Justin told me he’d be late because he needed to finish something in the office.

I caught Nicky’s eye. She looked at me inquisitively. I subtly turned my head towards Caesar. She frowned and shrugged.

“Hey, C? Are you okay? The mashed potatoes not good?” I asked him.

No response.

Nicky and my mom looked at me, then at Caesar.

I asked again, “C? Are you okay? Are you not hungry?”

Still, no response.

He’s just staring at the mashed potatoes as if mesmerized.

Nicky, who was seating next to him, hit his shoulder.

That seemed to snap him out of his deep thoughts.

“What?” he snapped at Nicky.

“Samantha just asked you a question, dumbass,” Nicky answered him.

“Huh?” was all my brother said.

“I asked you if you’re okay. I know my mashed potatoes are beautiful, but you have been staring at it like you want to marry it."

Caesar dropped his fork and had a look of horror on his face.

Dylan started to choke on his water.

“Sweetie, are you okay?” mom asked.

“I..uh…I need to go to the bathroom.” He suddenly said.

He hurried out of the room, without waiting for our response.

“I…um..will see if he is okay.” Dylan excused himself, also running out of the room.

My mother looked at me, I shrugged. I have no idea what is going on.

“What is up with those two?” I asked Nicky.

Nicky was looking in the direction where her husband has gone.

“Dylan has been acting weird lately. I don’t know what it is. But he’s been jumpy, and snappy. I caught him talking to someone on the phone. He promised someone that I will never find out about something. When I asked him about it, he changed the subject and left. I don’t know what is wrong with him.” Nicky confessed.

I was shocked. Dylan is devoted to my younger sister. They just celebrated their 4 year anniversary. I know that they have been planning to start a family.

“Do I need to kill him, baby girl?” asked my dad.

“You know what, Caesar’s been weird lately, too. He was looking up some things online, and whenever I come near him, he closes his laptop and pretends to do something else,” my mother added.

“Do I need to talk to that boy, Esme?” my dad asked.

Weird.

“Do you think Dylan is having an affair?” my sister, her voice, shaking.

At the same time, my mom said, “Do you think Caesar is looking at porn?”

My dad and I looked at each other.

“What!?” a shout from behind startled me.

“Affair? I am certainly not having an affair!” Dylan protested.

“Mom, I have never, ever looked at porn,” Caesar exclaimed.

“Then, what the hell is going on?” my dad asked them.

“Well, you see…” Dylan started. But my brother stopped him.

“No, D! We can’t do this. We promised. “

“Bro, my wife thinks I am having an affair. That trumps that promise. Come on, Nicky, let’s talk.”

“Wait! Dylan! Stop!” and my brother tackled our brother-in-law to the ground.

My mother shrieked. Nicky was shocked speechless.

“No, I want to tell my wife the truth. You can’t stop me. Let me go, C!” Dylan screamed.

“Hey, cut it out, you two,” my dad said, breaking them up.

This was not how I thought my Saturday night would go.

My 17-year-old brother tackling our brother-in-law to the ground is not something I thought I would see.

“Okay, the two of you, in the den. Now!” my father shouted. The two followed my father, grumbling at each other.

My mom, sister, and I looked around the dinner table.

We sat down in silence.

Finally, Nicky broke the eerie silence, “At least C is not looking at porn, mom. Now you know he is not a porn addict.”

We were laughing so hard that we were crying.

“What’s going on here?” a new voice asked.

I turned to see my boyfriend of 7 years, Justin looking at us like we’re nuts.

“C is not a porn addict,” I told him, giving him a kiss.

A pause and then he said, “That’s good to know, but what led to that conclusion? Did you catch him looking at stuff?”

“Nah, C was acting weird tonight. I asked him if he wants to marry my mashed potatoes and he bolted for the bathroom. Dylan got up and followed him, too,” I explained.

Justin gripped my hands tight.

Before I can react, Nicky interjected, “And I thought that Dylan was having an affair. But, he told us he is not. They started fighting because Dylan wanted to tell me ‘the truth’ but…”

“But, Caesar stopped him. He even tackled Dylan to the ground. I never thought he had that in him. So now, Greg is in the den with those two, trying to sort things out,” my mom finished.

Justin’s face was as white as snow.

“Babe, are you alright?” I asked him.

“Um, s-sure. Let me just uh..go to the..uh..den to see how things are going.” And just as Caesar and Dylan did, he bolted out of the dining room to the den.

“What was that?” I asked my mom and sister.

“Okay, I’ve had enough of this. Let’s see what those men are up to,” my mom said resolutely.

We followed my mother to the den where we saw our men in various states of distress.

Dad was calm, sitting down on the couch. Dylan is visibly upset, Caesar has that pleading look on his face.

Justin, on the other hand, looks like he is about to faint.

“What is going on, boys? Somebody give us answers, NOW!” my mom said forcefully.

The 4 men looked at each other.

Dylan came forward first and took Nicky’s hands, “Sweetheart, I have never been unfaithful to you. I swear. I am so sorry for snapping at you and lying. It’s just that C and J went to me the other week and well, they said they needed my help. And I couldn’t say no. I was sworn to secrecy. I wanted to tell you, but I can’t.”

“J came to me last week and asked if I can do him a favor. He said that he didn’t want anyone to know. Then, we thought that we could ask Justin for help since you know, he’s done this before. So, we did that….and….uh…” Caesar looked at Justin to continue.

Justin however, was looking at me.

“This was not how I imagined this to be. But, apparently, I cannot trust these two to keep a secret. So, here it goes,” he paused and took a deep breath.

Before taking my hands and going on one knee.

I gasped.

“Samantha Ann Harris, will you give me the honor of being my wife?”

I couldn’t speak. Of all the things that I thought would happen tonight, this was NOT one of them.

I started to realize that Justin was also behaving strangely, as well.

He was clingier, sweeter than usual.

He wasn’t jumpy or snappy. But he was more attentive. More than once I would catch him looking at me and smiling.

Like he has a secret that he can’t wait to share with me.

I smiled at him.

This may not how he planned things to happen. But for me, it was perfect.

“Yes, of course, I will marry you,” I said.

He smiled, jumped up, and kissed me hard.

I could hear my mother crying. My father, C, D, and Nicky are all cheering us on.

This is by far the best end to our regular Saturday dinner.