May 12, 1978

Keith, KJ, Sky and me all walked into Emmett's average size apartment, Mrs. Mathews following right behind us. KJ held his little's smaller hand tightly but gently in his own as they walked in front of me. We all followed Emmett into the apartment and waited for him as he closed the door and entered in behind us. He greeted each of us individually, even KJ and Sky, then led us to the living room of his apartment.

Emmett and Keilah had been getting more and more serious about their feelings for each other during the last few months. She would always come talk to me, or go and talk to her mother, or even one of the other girls that were always around. She'd always find one of them, or one of her girlfriends from past school years or her job that she'd always talk to about Emmett and how they were doing. She would talk to me and her mother mostly, then of course, a few of her other blood relatives. Then there were even days that she'd call me, her mother, or even Emmett's mother and she'd drag us all out to a café or something. When she did, she'd tell us about any future plans the two had talked about.

They really were a cute couple, I won't lie. They weren't perfect- but no couple is perfect.

Emmett had invited us all over to his apartment, but hadn't told us the exact reason why. He told us that there was something important that he wanted to talk to us all about, without Keilah or his parents present. He said that whatever he wanted to talk to us about, he'd already discussed with his parents. He wanted to talk to each family alone, so I guessed that it had to be really important- and probably involved Keilah. I'd be a liar if I said that I wasn't a bit tense or nervous about what he wanted to talk about, considering that she wasn't with us, and how serious they'd gotten in their relationship recently.

Emmett had cooked dinner before we all had arrived, with the help from his wonderful mother. We all sat down together at his table to eat. As we ate, we all just talked, not about anything in particular just yet, just like and current events and such. It was nice. At some points, even KJ and Sky would get partly involved in the conversation- as much as they could, considering they probably had no idea what we were talking about at some points.

After dinner, Mrs. Mathews volunteered to make coffee. Everyone except me took- thee was something about drinking coffee after dinner for dessert that I still didn't quite understand. To be honest, I probably will never understand it, and probably most people who do it don't understand it either. We all sat in the living room, KJ and Sky playing on the couch together between me and Keith.

"So what'd you wanna talk to us about?" Keith asked curiously.

Emmett seemed to grow a bit nervous at the question. "Well," he began and cleared his throat a bit, "The three of you all know how much I love and respect Keilah."

"I can see where this is going," Mrs. Mathews mumbled from beside me with a smile on her face.

Emmett was still a bit nervous. "I wanted to get your permission, as a family, to ask Keilah to marry me."

I saw Mrs. Matthews smile from beside me, obviously happy that he wanted to ask to marry Keilah. She was happy for the two for two reasons most likely; one: he had actually asked permission to marry her and, two: her daughter officially had the possibility of getting married soon and even giving her more grandchildren. She gave an amazed and excited look at him, then let out a chuckle that reminded me of a young private school girl that I'd seen at a sports game once when I was younger.

I looked at Keith, who just looked shocked. It occurred to me that he may have been a bit shocked at the sudden thought of Keilah getting married. That was understandable, considering he'd been her "father figure" and the man of the house since she was two and he was ten. And even if their father had stayed, I know that he'd still be shocked cause he's still her older brother. It was a natural and normal reaction, especially in their position.

Me? I was excited, too- but I'm just an in law. I don't think I had the full value of a vote in this case.

"You want to marry my daughter?" Mrs. Mathews asked with an eager smile.

Emmett let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah," he answered with an embarrassed smile, "I really love her a lot."

"I think it's great," I smiled reassuringly, "I always had a good feeling 'bout you two. Ever since Keilah first told me 'bout you."

Emmett gave a grateful smile. "Thanks, Rain. That really means a lot."

I gave another smile before look at Keith. "You've been strangely quiet, babe."

Keith looked up at me suddenly. "I have?" he asked dumbly, "Sorry."

Mrs. Mathews and I shared a look. "Can I talk to you?" I asked Keith urgently.

Keith looked at me again and quickly nodded. The two of us got up from our spots on the couch, telling KJ and Sky to stay put. The two of us walked to the bathroom of the apartment- yes, the bathroom, don't ask- shutting the door behind us. I stood facing him, my arms crossed over my chest, my back toward the door. I tried to give a neutral look, which I think came out more of annoyed and expectant look, while he looked at me with slight confusion.

"What's up?" Keith asked.

"What're your thoughts on Emmett askin' Keilah to marry him?" I asked neutrally.

He seemed to get tense. "Well, uh… I don't really know…"

"It's not cause he's black and she's white, I'm hoping?"

"No, of course not. But… it's Keilah! She can't get married! She's only twenty-three!

"I was nineteen when we got married," I tried to reason, "I KJ was born when I was twenty-two."

"Well, yeah," Keith agreed softly, "But you're not my little sister!"

So that's what it is, I thought. "Babe, she's an adult now, no matter how you look at it. Yes, she's always going to be your little sister, but she's an adult. And it's not like Emmett is some Curly or Tim Shepard type, or any of their old outfit. He's a great guy that she deserves to be with. Like I said, she's an adult and can make her own decisions. And another thing: they are both so brave. They've discussed marriage before, so it's not like this is some sudden thing. They're ready for this."

"People won't be nice to them 'bout this."

"They've been together a little over two years now, I think they know what they'd have to deal with. You need to accept the fact that she's not the little baby girl you took charge over when your dad left, and that's she's a responsible young woman. And she's not stupid. Both her and Emmett know what times are like and what they've been. And one last thing, I think you should feel honored that your little sister has a boyfriend as respectful as him who wants to marry her and who I know she wants to marry, and is erspectiful enough to everyone who loves him and her to confirm with all of us about it."

After thinking for a moment, he sighed in defeat. "You're right," he caved.

I smirked playfully. "Of course I am, I'm your wife."

The two of us then left the bathroom and went back to the living room. Mrs. Mathews gave us both questioning looks, and we both nodded in confirmation that everything was ok. KJ and Sky had now moved to the carpet on the floor and glanced up at us. Sky got up and cautiously walked over the Keith, who picked her up and set her on his lap. KJ walked over to me, sat down next to me and leaned against my side. I wrapped my arm around his small body and pulled him closer to me, and he leaned his head down on my lap.

"Everyone alright?" Mrs. Mathews asked.

"We're alright," I confirmed.

Keith took a deep breath then looked at Emmett. "I think it's great you wanna marry Keilah," he saidn genuinely.

Emmett looked at me, and I winked. He smiled knowingly and looked back at Keith. "Thank you," he smiled.

I apologize for the four week long wait for an update, rather than two week. But I've had a lot of schoolwork these last few weeks, since I just started my senior year. The job I was going to get also feel through, and I didn't start- in fact, I quit my first week, but if you were me and knew all the details, you'd understand why. And it wasn't like I decided on a whim to quit, I got opinions from people who know me well and are very important to me.

Anyway, I don't know if I will update in two weeks or four weeks again. My life is kinda hectic at the moment- good hectic- so I'm a bit overwhelmed at the present time. I'm also trying to finish a few stories and start a new one, and try to write something on Episode Interactive (don't judge me) and try to finish a book I'd been writing to get published, plus I volunteered to make story covers for a website that is for writers. So yeah. Not to mention I'll be applying to colleges soon- plus my 17th birthday is this month (September) so yeah.

Most likely it'll be in another four weeks.

Also, before I finish- Rest in Peace, Gene Wilder. My two favorite roles of yours were as Willy Wonka in the amazing "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and as Dr Frankenstein in the hilarious "Young Frankenstein". You were a comic genius, a genius of your trade, and a true legend. Your death is grieved by people of all ages and generations, creating some of the best films in comic and film history. Thank you for all you've done throughout the years, and thank you for all the laughs. June 11, 1933 to August 29, 2016.

Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, and peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=