There was silence for a beat.
“Sold!” The hostess clapped her hands.
“Put it under my number.” I lifted my sign and she nodded.
“Okay! Got it! Put it under fifteen thirty-nine.”
“Congratulations on your bag, sweetheart.” My father winked at Jiselle.
She beamed.
“I’ve got half on it,” she whispered.
“Jiselle,” I chuckled. “I’m not taking your money. I promise, I’d planned to donate an obscene amount of money regardless. At least now we get to take something home for it.”
She leaned in and I kissed her lips then her forehead before we faced forward. I nursed my drink while they auctioned another bag, two antique watches, five paintings, and a vacation to Greece.
Once they finished, dessert was passed out and the final few games of bingo were called.
After winners were announced, everyone stood and said their goodbyes.
“We should take a group picture,” my mom said immediately.
I looked at Jiselle. She looked at me.
“Okay. Sure.”
“I just need to check my hair and makeup first.” She pushed away from the table. “Jiselle, do you want to come with me?”
“Of course.” She pushed away from the table and I stood to help her to her feet.
She and my mother walked off together, my mom linking her arm through Jiselle’s and my father and I said our goodbyes before heading to claim Jiselle’s new purse.
“So, it’s safe to assume things are serious,” he said.
“Pretty safe.”
“And you know her well?”
“Enough.”
He nodded. “I’m happy for you and want you to know we’d love to have you both over for dinner sometime.”
“I’ll pitch it to her.” I looked in the direction of the ladies room then back at my dad. “She’s the one.”
“The one?”
“Yeah. I’m positive. That’s your daughter-in-law.”
“Then, definitely make sure you come over.”
“There’s two of them,” I blurted. “Two people I care about and plan on spending my life with.”
“Do they know about each other?”
“Yeah. We all hang out.”
“Well, congratulations.” He hit me on the back and chuckled. “How you got two women to agree to that is news to me, but if it’s working, good for you.”