Last night I got a text from Xavier that he wanted to tell his family about our engagement. I was scared that everyone will think it was too soon but Xavier said Austin and Kelly already knew and that they were happy for us. He wanted to tell everyone today and his parents had invited their family over for lunch. Since we didn't have to be there until 12 pm, I got ready first and then started reciting all the details about our relationship. Today was Sunday, May 10 which means that it's a little less than two months since we have been "dating". Xavier and I both decided that the day we signed our contract, March 30, would be considered our "first date".
Since we were going to have lunch with the Diamonds at 12 and then go to the club around 9 pm I decided to just change my outfit for the club. For the lunch, I settled on wearing a light pink top with dark blue jeans and I did a ponytail and wore some makeup as well. At 11:25 Xavier texted me saying that he was on his way. When he arrived, he sent me a text and I grabbed my purse and headed out to his car.
At the Diamond's residence, there were a lot of people there. I didn't expect it to be a big gathering but apparently, Xavier's uncles, aunts, and cousins were also there. When we walked in, he introduced me to everyone and everyone was really sweet. After we settled in, lunch was being served so we all were seated in the dining room which had an extremely long table that could seat up to 30 people but there were 29 of us. Everyone had conversations going on and sometimes people would converse with everyone. One of Xavier's aunts, Aunt Jane, who was Mrs. Diamond's older sister, always asked me questions whether it was about my culture, education, or career. She also had an unimpressed look on her face whenever I spoke, so I noted that she just doesn't like me. Afterward, we all headed outside to hang around and enjoy the weather. Xavier and I sat under the shade along with Natalie, Austin, and two of their cousins- Ricky and May. They were twins who were 19 years old; their parents were Mr. Diamond's younger brother's kids. Ever since we stepped outside, Xavier held onto my hand, which was comforting, especially after Aunt Jane's interrogation. We were all talking and lounging around when I decided to mentally quiz myself on each family member. I wanted to make sure I knew who each person was and how they were related to Xavier. It seems as if I was on a good track because everyone that was here today was immediate family.
Terrance Diamond (Xavier's paternal grandfather)
David Diamond (Xavier's dad) & Becca Diamond (Xavier's mom)
Austin & Kelly Diamond
Natalie (^ their daughter)
Xavier Diamond
Jerry Diamond (^ younger brother) & Melissa Diamond (^his wife)
Ricky (son) and May (Daughter) (^ their kids)
Max and Julie Green (Xavier's maternal grandparents)
Jane Green (Xavier's mom's older sister)
Marilyn (^ her daughter)
Josh (Jane's son) & Tenisha (Josh's wife)
Owen (^their son)
Blake & Diana (Xavier's mom's younger brother and his wife)
Blake Jr./Junior (^ their son) & Carol (Blake's wife)
Barron (^their son) Bailey (^ their daughter)
Sabrina (^ their daughter) & Daniel (Sabrina's husband)
Troy (^ their son)
Destiny
There were a lot of names to go over but I think I did pretty well. I may have taken a while to go over names because Xavier was saying my name while rubbing circles on my hand as a way to get my attention.
"Are you ready to make the announcement?" He asked.
"Oh right, yeah I'm ready when you are"
"And just remember not to let anyone get to you. My aunts can be very opinionated especially Aunt Jane as you experienced, so just stay calm and go with our story. I'll be right there with you and hopefully, they don't make you do too much talking."
I gave him a smile as he stood up and I got up as well.
"Um, Skylar and I have an announcement to make. So if everyone can come here for a few minutes so we can tell you guys this exciting news."
Slowly everyone made their way to the shaded patio area where we were standing. Kelly and Austin didn't mention anything to me about the engagement even though Xavier said they already knew, which I was grateful for because it may have drawn attention or someone might have overheard. When everyone was gathered near us Xavier cleared his throat before speaking. The entire time he held my hand which also helped hide the ring when there were people around us a lot.
"So Skylar and I have known each other for a little while and we began dating a couple of months ago. Although some of you have already met her and know her while this is the first time some of you are meeting her. We've gotten really close and know that we make each other very happy. That is why I proposed to Skylar Friday night and we're officially getting married."
There was silence for a couple of seconds but then a range of emotions poured out from everyone. Almost at the same time, some were congratulating us while others looked concerned and asked if we were sure about this. Almost all of the females there asked to see my ring and complimented me on how gorgeous it was while also praising Xavier for having great taste. Granddad was the first one to come up to us and hug us both.
"Congratulations you two! I always thought you two looked good together and I can't wait for the wedding! Welcome to the family Skylar." Granddad said when he pulled away from the hug.
Natalie ran up to us and hugged us both. "I already knew you guys were getting married! Uncle Xavier told me and I also knew he liked you, Skylar. He used to always stare at you with hearts in his eyes whenever you were with me and he was over too! His crush on you was so obvious! I can't wait to call you my Aunt Skylar!"
I looked over at Xavier with a smile while he shook his head at Natalie and denied having a crush on me. Austin and Kelly hugged us too and Natalie held onto my hand as everyone else came up to us. Mr. Diamond congratulated us but he had a serious tone. I could tell he wasn't too happy with this. Aunt Jane and Aunt Diana were apparently known to be straightforward and judgy. Mrs. Diamond and her brother, Uncle Blake, weren't known to be the gossipy type, especially in front of people, but Mrs. Diamond's sister and sister-in-law enjoyed putting down everyone else's family.
"Oh, I'm so glad you said you two were getting married because for a moment I thought you were going to say that she was pregnant. And I would not allow a child out of wedlock to be born in this family," said Aunt Jane.
"Oh my goodness! Congrats you two but are you sure you want to go through with this? You barely know this girl Xavier, and on top of that, we've only met her today. Make sure she's not in it for your money, although I wouldn't be surprised if she was. Girls these days will do anything." added in Aunt Diana.
"You're right Diana. Girls are so slutty these days. They get all these plastic surgeries and then wear revealing clothes to trap men. But I'm sure you didn't get any work done to yourself because your blemishes are still showing, you aren't skinny, and honestly, I don't think you could afford it. Just make sure she isn't trapping you, Xavier. She may be sleeping with you but that doesn't mean she isn't sleeping with other guys."
"Yes, Xavier dear. Don't fall for these types of girls. They have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves so be careful. You should have found someone like Carol. Junior is so happy with her and she's an amazing daughter-in-law, mother, and wife. What about that other girlfriend of yours? The tall, thin, blonde-haired model? I think her name was Haley, she was so beautiful and sweet and up to our standards too!"
Their comments really hurt me and it also didn't help that they spoke about me as if I wasn't even there. I could tell Xavier was mad because his grip on my hand was getting tighter and his face was getting a bit red. I didn't want to make a scene so I tried really hard to hold in my tears but it was difficult so I just looked down, hoping no one would notice the tears falling.
"That's enough Aunt Jane and Aunt Diana! How dare you talk about my fiancee like that? She's not even close to what you assume she is, you don't even know her and you're already making disgusting remarks about her. She's perfect to me and that's all that I care about. I love her and she loves me, I don't need your approval on her!" Xavier snapped at them. Everyone stopped their side conversations and looked in our direction. Junior, Carol, Sabrina, Tenisha, Marilyn, Melissa, and Mr. and Mrs. Diamond approached us. Junior, Carol, and Tenisha began scolding Aunt Diana while Marilyn and Mrs. Diamond pulled Aunt Jane away and scolded her. Mr. Diamond and Sabrina were trying to comfort me and telling me to ignore them while Melissa told Xavier to calm down and ignore them as well. At some point, Xavier's anger got the best of him and he told his parents that we were leaving and he pulled me back into the house and then out the front door. We could hear Mrs. Diamond telling us to stay but Xavier said we'll stop by another day and we continued until we reached his car.
Inside his car, I attempted to wipe my tears with the back of my hand while trying not to mess up my makeup. I'm sure Xavier knew I was crying but I still tried to hide it.
"Hey, don't worry about them. They always do this and think they can get away with it. Don't listen to them, they're stupid and have no clue what they're talking about." Xavier said as he cupped my face. He wiped a few tears off my face with his thumb and repeatedly whispered that everything is going to be okay. At this point, it was 3:30 pm so Xavier said that he'll drop me off at my place. I offered earlier for him to get ready for the club at my apartment, to which he agreed, so we headed back home to start getting ready for the club. We arrived at my apartment and I asked Xavier if he would take his shoes off before walking around but I apologized and said it was the "culture" in me to not wear shoes in the house. He complied and took my hand once more, turning me to look at him.
"Are you okay?" He asked as one hand was holding mine and the other was around my waist.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I've just never had anyone say those things to my face before."
"I'm sorry this happened to you. I never should have let it go that far and I also can't believe my family and I have put up with this for so many years. But I promise, they won't say anything to you ever again. I'll make sure NO ONE says anything to you."
"Thank you, that means a lot. And don't apologize, it wasn't your fault."
We stood there just looking into each other's eyes and I saw Xavier leaning in a bit and tilting his head to the side. I would love to kiss him but that would go against our contract and I also don't want him to be doing this out of pity for me. I know he wouldn't take advantage of me but a part of me thinks he only wants to kiss me to make me feel better. So even though I wanted to kiss him badly, I cleared my throat and took a step back.
"um, so I think we can begin getting ready. You can go ahead and use the bathroom and get ready first. Let me know if there's anything you need."
"Oh um, thank you. I'll be quick."
With that, he went inside the bathroom while I walked to my room to fix up my hair a bit. I decided to leave it in the ponytail but needed to fix some loose strands and brush through it again. When Xavier walked out of the bathroom, he had changed into a pair of black jeans and a black short-sleeved shirt that hugged his arms and shoulders perfectly. He combed his hair too, but it still had that carefree and messy look. He said that he put his clothes in a bag and is going to put them in his car. I took my clothes inside the bathroom next and changed into them after I took off my makeup and washed my face. I'm a huge germophobe and clean freak but since I didn't do anything at the Diamond residence, I still felt clean enough to just change into a different outfit for tonight instead of taking another shower. But I for sure will be taking a shower after the club. For tonight, I settled on wearing black jeans with a long-sleeve black shirt that had thin gold chains along the arms. I walked back into my room to do my makeup to find Xavier sitting on my bed on his phone. We kept a light conversation until I was completely ready and it was time to head out.