A little while later Marshall was driving Regina and Ernelle to the party at the house of Regina’s parents. When they pulled up and got out, Marshall couldn’t help but feel nervous. Never had he been welcomed into the family of any of his girlfriends. The conversation had lasted exactly one line, “Get out of my house and stay away from my daughter.”

“Now like I said, my mother, she’s not too thrilled, but that’s because I’m divorced, she doesn’t like anyone but Mario, same goes with my father, not like I count his opinion as being worth anything.” Regina said before they got to the side of the house. She waited until the van, loaded with the members of D-12, Dre, Fifty and Ace showed up and piled out and up the sidewalk.

“Hey Reggie!” Proof said jovially.

“What’s up guys? You’re in for a real treat, my family throws the best parties.” Regina said as she lead them around the side of the house. They could hear the music blasting from behind the fence and when they emerged on the other side, they all stood shocked.

The huge yard was full of people, at least fifty people were milling around and talking.

“Uh, about how much is this your immediate family?” Kon asked.

“All of them.” Regina grinned.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Marshall said, feeling his stomach knot in about seventy extra knots.

“Marshall, you’ll be fine, I promise.” Regina said squeezing his hand and leading him forward. A minute later she was spotted by a female relative.

“Adios mio! Regina! Todos, Regina esta aqui!” she shouted flinging her arms around Regina.

“What was that?” Bizarre asked.

“Spanish,” Regina replied, and then quickly babbled something in another language as another group of people rushed over. There was a rush of words that no one understood before Regina yelled,

“English! Please, we have guests!”

“Ay bendito! Regina, you can’t even speak Spanish with your family, chica, not good!” a woman said with a shake of her head.

“I can, but it’s rude to do so when people can’t understand,” Regina laughed. She motioned to the guys to follow her, dragging Marshall by the hand. Slowly Regina introduced the guys to her family and the family to the guys.

“So wait a minute, you’re Spanish?” Marshall asked, “Contini sounds more of an Italian name.”

“Right you are, I am half Italian, half Spanish,” Regina replied proudly. “What kind?” he asked.

“Spanish. My grandparents were from Barcelona.”

“That explains it,” Bizarre nodded.

“All right, you guys go and enjoy yourselves, we have the best Spanish and Italian food all around, music and plenty of single cousins of mine,” Regina added with a grin.

“Okay, come on fellas, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the crowd,” Ernelle said grabbing Fifty by the arm and leading the way to the other end of the yard.

“You didn’t say you had this much family,” Marshall said as he looked around.

“Well I do, and now, I want you to meet my mom,” Regina replied squeezing his hand and dragging him over to another group of people. They looked at Regina and Marshall with surprised glances as she broke into the circle and said.

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet my guy, Marshall. Marshall this is my mom, Edith, my dad Sangio, and my aunts Gina, Eliana, Rosa and Sara.” Regina said all this with a smile on his face and Marshall nodded, not sure of what to say. Sangio looked Marshall up and down with his nose twitching. He gave a snort and quickly walked away. Regina ignored this and turned her attention to her mother.

“So this is the man,” she said with a particular air of distrust.

“Yes mom, this is him, Marshall,” Regina replied, edging her attitude a little to warn her mother.

“Nice to meet you Marshall, so tell me, you consider him your boyfriend, or are you just shacking up with this one?” Edith asked looking from Marshall to her daughter.

“Okay, you’ve met, see you later mom,” Regina called over her shoulder as she pulled Marshall away.

“I didn’t expect any less from her,” Regina mumbled.

“I’m used to it, don’t worry about it Regina,” Marshall tried as she pulled him over to a pair of older people sitting at a table. When they saw her they called out and waved her over to them.

“Nieta! Ven aqui, ven aqui!”

“Abuela! Abuelo! Hola, como estas!” Regina replied hugging first the woman and then the man.

“Marshall, these are my grandparents, the Spanish side, my mother’s parents. This is Margrita and Jesus. Abuelos, eso es my novio, se llama Marshall,” Regina said motioning to each person.

“Oh, tu novio, muy guapo Reginita. Muy, ven, ven, sientate, sientate!” Margrita said pulling out a chair beside her.

“What did you just say?” Marshall asked.

“Oh you don’t speak Spanish, I’m sorry, I forget sometimes,” Margrita apologized.

“No that’s okay, but what did you guys say?” he asked as he sat down beside Regina.

“She said you were very handsome,” Jesus added with a laugh and holding his hand out to shake Marshall’s. He put his hand out and gave a hardy handshake.

“Nice to meet you Jesus,” Marshall replied with a laugh.

“Well he is! I’m not going to lie!” Margrita said loudly.

“So what do you do Marshall?” Jesus asked.

“I rap,” he replied.

“Rap?” Jesus asked confused. Regina rattled something off in Spanish and Jesus nodded his head.

“Ah yes, the Eminem character, Regina has often spoke of you. The real reason she started that Rap and Hip Hop Association.” Jesus said with the pride of his granddaughter glowing on his face. Regina laughed and shook her head.

“What, can’t I be proud of my favorite grandchild? She never wants any credit for anything she does! But tell me Marshall, your parents must be proud of you,” Jesus asked.

“Not really, I don’t talk to my mother much, and my father, he was never in the picture.” Marshall replied.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Well, then Regina can share her grandparents with you, we’ll be proud of you too,” Margrita said with a grin. Marshall’s cheeks heated slightly, this was embarrassing.

“Uh, that’s okay, you don’t have to do that,” Marshall said uncomfortably.

“Oh nonsense! You just consider yourself one of the family. Eh Contini! Get your ass over here and meet Regina’s new boyfriend!” Jesus called over his shoulder. An older Italian man with a woman, presumably his wife, ambled over.

“What do you want you old timer, oh Regina! Mi bella farfalla!” the man said as he saw Regina and gave her a hug. The woman did the same and took seats at the table.

“And who is this!” the woman asked.

“Marshall these are Regina’s other grandparents, the Contini’s, Gloria and Salvador. This is Marshall, Regina’s new boyfriend,” Jesus explained.

“Well how do you do, nice to meet you Marshall,” Salvador said as he put out a hand. They shook and Marshall thanked him.

“Yeah, Salvador and Gloria co-own a restaurant with Jesus and Margrita. That’s how my parents met,” Regina added, patting Marshall’s knee. She was glad he was getting along so well with her grandparents, though she had always been assured they would accept him, they were always a much better judge of character than her parents.

“Really? What kind of restaurant?” Marshall asked.

“A Spanish and Italian restaurant. A little casual place, Contini and Piedra, only a few blocks away.” Gloria explained.

“That’s awesome, I’ll have to bring the crew by and check it out sometime,” Marshall said with a genuine smile.

Regina sat back and watched while Marshall conversed with her grandparents. Everyone getting along and enjoying each other’s company. She was so happy that they liked him. Happy that they approved of him.

“Reggie!” a little voice yelled. Regina turned in her seat to see a little girl running towards her. Marshall smiled as he saw the carbon copy of Regina come running full tilt at the table and fling her arms around Regina’s neck.

“Mariposa! I missed you!” Regina said pulling the little girl in her lap.

“Mommy said you have a new boyfriend, is he cute?” she asked.

“Well he’s sitting right there, why don’t you tell me?” Regina said, wrapping her arms around the little girl’s waist and smiling at her. She turned and looked him with a pair of blue eyes that reminded him shockingly of Hailie. He had a sudden pang, and he missed his little girl so much it hurt. After a minute of looking at him she turned back to Regina and said,

“Yeah, he’s cute,” the entire table erupted into laughter at this.

“Marshall, this is,” Regina started, still laughing, but the little girl hopped off her lap and stood proudly before him.

“My name is Catalina Sophia Contini, I’m Regina’s little sister, I’m nine years old,” she said holding out her hand. Marshall laughed and held out his hand.

“It is very nice to meet you, I’m Marshall,” he replied shaking the little girl’s hand before she jumped back onto Regina’s lap.

“You better watch out Regina, as soon as the word gets out that you’re here, the whole brigade is gonna come looking for you,” Jesus warned.

“So this is Catalina, Regina has told me so much about you,” Marshall said with a smile. He remembered the glowing terms in which Regina had spoken about her little sister.

“She has?” Catalina asked.

“She did. She told me how you are Spelling Bee Champ, and how much you love to dance,” Marshall started. Regina was floored that he remembered all the little things she’d told him about her little sister. It amazed her.

“Do you have any children Marshall?” Margrita asked.

“Yes, a little girl, same age as Catalina, her name’s Hailie,” Marshall replied pulling a photo from his wallet and handing it to Margrita.

“Oh she’s a doll!” Margrita exclaimed.

“And she’s got me wrapped around her little finger,” Marshall said as he swelled proudly. Regina knew there was only one thing is this world he would ever take credit for and that was his daughter. He loved her more than life itself and he felt that was the only thing he’d ever done right. Regina saw the pain in his eyes, seeing Catalina reminded him of his own daughter and how much he missed her. While she was in school and he recording, he couldn’t do much. It wasn’t like he could share Hailie with Kim that much while he was on the other side of the country. He settled on calling her almost four times a week, at the same time, right before bed so that he could sing her to sleep.

“She is a sweet heart,” Jesus added as he passed the picture to Gloria and Salvador.

“Oh you must bring her to the restaurant for us to meet her sometime,” Gloria said as she handed the picture to Marshall.

“I wish I could. She’s in Detroit with her mom right now. I don’t get to see her much with the recording and touring in such.” Marshall replied sadly.

“Can I see?” Catalina asked. “Huh? Oh sure,” Marshall replied, handing the picture to Catalina.

“She looks just like you,” Catalina with a grin as she handed the picture back to him. He looked at the picture before putting it back in his wallet.

“It’s a shame you don’t get to see her that often,” Gloria said with a sigh. Marshall nodded again and tried not to think about her.

“Uh oh, I think you’ve been spotted,” Jesus said as he looked back across the yard towards the house. Regina just had enough time to turn her head to see a large group of children zooming towards her, all yelling her name and different things in either Spanish or Italian. They hit her like a ton of bricks, all trying to get to her at once.

“Come play with us!” they all called.

“Think I can leave you for a few minutes?” Regina asked Marshall as another of her cousins crawled into her lap.

“Sure, I’ll be fine,” Marshall laughed. Regina couldn’t have looked happier at the prospect of getting to be trampled on by all those little kids.

“Abuela, Abuelo, Papa, Mami, take care of him, don’t beat him up too much,” Regina said as she got up from the table.

“Oh don’t worry about him, you’ll be able to pick up the pieces when you get back,” Jesus said as he threw a hand up and waved at her. Regina shook her head and turned to the crowd of children circling her.

“Okay, who wants a piggy back ride!” she called. After a child climbed on her back, she marched away with her train of followers to the sand box. Marshall chuckled at the sight of Regina followed by the kids.

“She loves those kids. She’s probably sat for each of those kids about a thousand times. She can’t get enough of them,” Gloria said with a grin.

“It was such a shame she lost Maria,” Margrita said shaking her head.

“She really wanted that little girl so much, can’t say much for that creep though,” Jesus said with a noticeable tone to his voice.

“He didn’t want kids?” Marshall asked, not sure if this topic was something to bring up.

“Mario? No, Mario didn’t even want a dog, let alone a wife. I still don’t agree with what Sangio made her do, it wasn’t right.” Salvador said with a sadness to his voice.

“Regina makes out like they were in love or something,” Marshall asked.

“In love? Hardly. Mario lived next door to them forever. He was twenty when Sangio had Regina marry him. He worked at the restaurant, son of one of the cooks.” Jesus added.

“I always felt there was something strange about that boy, and then to find out, him getting married again, just a little while ago,” Gloria said, shaking her head.

“He remarried?”

“Well, technically they aren’t really married, it’s not legal in California yet. But he and that so-called friend of his QT, they’re together now.” Margrita replied. Marshall’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

“He was gay?” Marshall asked, completely stunned.

“Apparently. I mean of course he knew, so did Mario, and Regina, but Mario didn’t want to admit it and Regina didn’t have a choice. I still wished I would have stepped in and done something.” Salvador replied, shaking his head in disapproval of himself and his son.

“Regina says she really cared about him,” Marshall replied, wanting to find out more of what had happened, so hopefully it would clear something up for him and give him some insight as to some of the reasons why Regina acted the way she did.

“Oh she did. They were friends. Always were, they must have tried to love each other at some point, I don’t think Mario ever wanted to admit he was gay, thought his family might disown him. Maria dying gave him the perfect excuse to end the marriage. Though the way he did it was not fair to Regina. God, the poor girl.” Margrita explained, her face saddening at the thoughts of what Regina had gone through.

“But what was the point of having them get married in the first place though? I mean if they didn’t care about one another, and she was only sixteen,” Marshall asked, completely confused.

“We still don’t know the answer to that question. Edith was twenty-two before she married Sangio, and even then Margrita and Jesus thought she was too young. But they were adults, we couldn’t do anything about it then. But Sangio certainly did not get the idea to pawn his daughter off, from his parents or his wife’s parents. We would never done that to one of our children and the Piedra’s would never have done it either.” Salvador said sternly. Margrita and Jesus nodded.

“Sangio wouldn’t even say a word to you, would he?” Salvador asked as he turned to look at Marshall. He shook his head in response.

“Just the same. I never understood where he got his screwed up notions about family. He wanted Regina to come back home to him so he could find her another husband. It was ludicrous.” Jesus replied. The rest of them nodded in agreement.

“I hope this doesn’t sound rude, but it almost sounds as if you are more modern in your thinking than her parents,” Marshall said carefully.

“You have to move along with the times. I mean, most of that came out when we had our Spanish daughter marry an Italian man. We were not thrilled, but we can’t complain. Not with the family we have.” Jesus said with a smile.

“The ways of our parents may not always be the best, we learned that and tried to pass it on to our children.” Marshall nodded, supremely impressed.

“Besides, as long as they are happy, what difference does it make. And from the looks of it, you make Regina very happy, and you’re treating her well. She’s spoken so highly of you ever since she met you.” Gloria said as she smiled at him. He felt his cheeks heat slightly and thanked her.

“We mean it buddy, she’s never brought anyone here with such a smile on her face, all of us want to thank you for making our Regina happy,” Salvador said as he patted Marshall firmly on the shoulder.

“Uh thanks,” Marshall said awkwardly, wondering how hell had managed to freeze over, the earth had change rotation and the grass had now turned blue all at the same time. He didn’t understand how he was being welcomed into her family, but he didn’t want to question any of it.