I stood still as I watched my father's wedding. The service had been short but sweet, and their vows meaningful, but my mind had been far drifting from the wedding where my father married his new husband, Nicolas. I didn't want to be there. Hell, I didn't want it to happen. My dad had known Nicholas for all of three months, and here they were, getting hitched. I still couldn't process the events of the past four months.
It had started when my mother walked in on my father getting fucked by our older neighbor, Rickie. She'd moved out immediately afterwards, and a clean, simple divorce followed. It helped that my parents had been renting the house, and the only they shared was the car, which had been sold. I'm 18, so my parents decided that I could live wherever I wanted. I drift around. I just text both of my parents before deciding where to stay, and neither of them really mind. They were both thinking of other things, I guess.
My dad met Nicholas during the divorce, and they started going out. I like Nicholas, but he makes me uncomfortable for a handful of reasons. The first is how he and my dad just met. My dad says it's because Nicholas is Catholic, which is a pretty obvious code for saying that they want to fuck. Then, it makes me uncomfortable how young Nicholas is. He hasn't told me his age, but if I had to guess, I'd say he's around thirty. My dad is forty six, which means he's closer in age to me than he is to his husband. FInally, Nicholas flirts with anyone, myself included. My dad knows he does, he admits that Nicholas is a flirt.
Throughout the entire wedding, I felt odd. I couldn't focus on the ceremony, and my gaze drifted to the small crowd. They were mostly there to be polite, I was sure. They couldn't support my dad cheating on his wife with a man, then marrying another man two thirds his age only four months after the divorce, could they? A few mutual friends of my dad and mom were there, although my mom was definitely not attending. Strangely, though, I kept thinking I spotted my mom's new boyfriend, Hunter, in the crowd. Maybe I was imagining it.
Finally, the ceremony was over.There wasn't a reception, just a period after the wedding, where people could greet my dad and Nicholas and congratulate them. They were having guests take pictures of them on their phones, because they were too cheap to hire a photographer. This wedding really was just about sex.
Nicholas waved me over. "Derrick! We need you in at least one of these photos," he called across the room.
I begrudgingly trailed over to join them. My dad pulled me in front of him, and Nicholas rested a hand on his shoulder. A few pictures were taken, and someone I didn't know, probably a friend of Nicholas, handed Nicholas his phone.
"We look good," Nicholas commented, showing me the picture.
We did not look good. Nicholas looked good, his black suit fitting him perfectly, his tan skin glowing, his dark hair in place. My dad looked kind of comical. He worked in construction, and I normally saw him in steel-toed boots, jeans, and worn out shirts. In a suit, his brown beard trimmed and his hair less messy, he looked out of place. And I looked uncomfortable. I'd grown a few inches and put on a little muscle since I'd last worn that suit, so it didn't fit quite right, and the look on my face displayed that I didn't want to be there. My blond hair looked good, at least.
"Yeah, we do look good," I lied.
"You pull off this look well," Nicholas continued. He leaned in, whispering in my ear, "You're such a sexy young man," before giving me a playful nudge.
This left me more uncomfortable, but strangely warm. It was weird, and I simply didn't say anything.
"Anthony, are we ready to head to the house? The moving truck should be there with my furniture soon," Nicholas said to my father. The crowd was thinning, but it would be rude to leave before the guests.
We waited a few minutes longer, until a man walked up. It was Hunter, my mom's new boyfriend. I was right, he had been there. He was dressed in a suit, his dark brown hair slicked back. He was dressed respectfully, like any other guest. But why was he there?
"Hello, Anthony," he said calmly, quietly. "I'm Jenna's boyfriend, Hunter. I'm going to take Derrick back to Jenna's place."
My dad looked up at him, then at me, before shrugging at me, letting me know it was my call. "Nice to meet you," he said, extending a hand.