by Keeshia K
I rolled my eyes at him and looked around the house. It was dark and quiet and felt cold. There were several bouquets of flowers all over the living room. They must have come from the funeral service. I started feeling uneasy being back there like I could feel all the pain my moms must have felt.
I tried to shake off what I was feeling and looked back at my father. He handed me a check for ten thousand dollars.
My eyes widened. “Pop, that’s way more than I can payback. I—”
“Don’t worry about it, Bronco. Just take care of your wife better than I did mine. The men in our family ain’t fit to be alone.” He said looking at me sadly. “I really did love her you know?” He said before he grabbed his drink off the table and walked up the steps and into his bedroom.
I wiped my hand down my face roughly and took a deep breath. I took another look at the check and shook my head.
With this check, I knew I would be able to take care of Tae and pay for this wedding 2.0. But, to do it right I was gonna need help.
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and called Tae’s best friend Stacy.
“Bronco, this you…What the T?” She asked in her usual colorful fashion.
“Yeah, Stacy it’s me. Look, I wanna renew my vows with Tae. Well, not even renew but fix my mistake. I know you know the details of our first wedding and what I did so I’m trying to set shit right and I need your help. You in?” I asked.
“Honey, I thought you’d never ask!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
BRONCO
THREE MONTHS LATER
Reverend Miles looked at his watch and then up at me awkwardly as we stood at the alter. This was the same alter we stood at almost one year ago the first time I married Tae. But now I was the one up here sweating while I waited on her.
“I’m sure she’s just running a little late.” I said to him, as I hoped that was the case. “She’s moving a lot slower these days.” I smiled nervously. “Because of the accident and all.” I lied. Not wanting him to know she was almost killed by a psychotic freak.
He nodded and smiled back. I looked past him and over at Stacy. She bugged her eyes out at me and shrugged her shoulders not knowing what the hold up was.
I took my pocket square out of my tuxedo jacket and wiped the beads of sweat off my forehead. What I wouldn’t give for a drink right now. I thought as I tucked my hanky back into my jacket. Now I know what Tae must have felt like standing up here on our first wedding day.
I felt the heat from the small crowd of our families staring a hole in the back of my head. I reached inside my pants pocket and grabbed my cell phone. I hit the button to check and see if Tae had called or texted me.
When my phone lit up I saw I had a message from Tae and felt my heart sink down into the pit of my stomach.
When I opened the text and read it, a sly smile spread across my face and I felt a moment of relief. Tae’s message said, Come Outside. There was a smiley face emoji next to it.
I chuckled and tucked my phone back into my pocket. As I turned around to walk out the church my pop approached me.
“Son, you want me to go find her?” He asked with a serious look spread over his face. He was doing a lot better since the weeks right after my mother’s suicide. Although I could tell he still missed her deeply.
“Naw, I’m good, pop. I know just where she is and she’s waiting on me. I’ll be right back.” I said as I jogged past him and headed out the church.
I figured she wanted me to take back the vows I made her give me of having another woman in the picture, before she said yes. And I was willing to do just that.
I pushed open the doors with a huge smile on my face in anticipation of seeing my beautiful bride. But when I looked out, Tae wasn’t there. I walked out the door and down the steps to get a better look. Maybe she was on her way or about to pull up.
I jogged to the curb and looked up and down both sides of the street and didn’t see her anywhere.
I was confused.
I decided to go and sit on the steps and wait on her. I mean she had to be coming or she wouldn’t have texted me. Right?
Before I walked back, I looked around the street for a few moments but the anticipation was killing me. Maybe I missed her somehow and she was already inside.
When I turned to walk back towards the church I noticed something sitting on the bench that I didn’t see when I first came out. I moved closer to get a better look. It was a box of Capone’s and a folded piece of paper under them.
I grabbed the Capone’s and picked up the paper and unfolded it. It was a note to me in Tae’s handwriting that said:
ISSA NO FOR ME…IT’S OVER!
I dropped the note out my hand and flopped down on the bench.
Damn!
EPILOGUE
BRONCO
TWO MONTHS LATER
I started a new job last week. It was at another car dealership service garage but the pay and benefits were almost the same.
I liked being there because after Tae left me stuck at the alter, I felt like I needed a whole new start. The people were cool for the most part. There was a few mechanics that worked with me now that knew some nigga’s I used to work with at my old job. So I didn’t escape it completely but what could I do the city was small.
I hadn’t seen or heard from Tae since the night before my remix wedding day. When I picked myself up from embarrassment and went back to our apartment after she left me at the church I found all of her things were gone. She planned on leaving me all along and I didn’t see it coming. In my mind she always loved me so why would that change?
She waited until I left the apartment the night before the wedding and packed her shit to leave me. I’m sure she knew what she was gonna do and even though some people may think I deserved it I felt like she could’ve done it a better way.
She changed her number and hadn’t once reached out to me. I heard through some of the mechanic’s I used to work with that she got a new nigga or whatever. Apparently, her and this dude even rented some house and moved in together.
It took me a minute and a few bucks but I got the address to their little place and decided to roll through there. I mean I know I did her dirty but who hadn’t made a mistake or two here and there? And when I played the tapes back she may not have liked it in the beginning but after some time she was enjoying the women too. I know it.
I felt at the very least she owed me the decency of looking in my face and telling me she was done and that’s exactly what I planned to get.
When I pulled up in front of the house, I saw a familiar looking truck parked in the driveway. I would know this truck anywhere because of the personal touches the nigga put on it. So the moment I saw it, I felt my blood start to boil.
I parked my truck and jumped out to get a closer look since it was dark outside which made it hard for me to be seen clearly.
I crept up closer to the house and saw two figures inside the living room through the window. The curtains were wide open and they looked to be watching something on TV.
As I made my way closer the couple became more and more recognizable. I saw Tae but it was who was hugged up under her that made my jaw twitch.
I looked on in anger as I saw Quentin and Tae laughing together on the couch. He leaned in and kissed her passionately on the lips and I felt my stomach flip.
I realized how I must have looked like a creep standing by the window so I looked around to make sure no one was watching me. Then I took off and headed back toward my truck.
I jumped inside and closed the truck door. “Shit!” I yelled as I punched the steering wheel. “He must think I’ma lame!” I said out loud to myself.
All this time he was telling me how much I shouldn’t do that threesome shit with Tae and how it could come back to bite me and here he was sliding in on her left.
“Oh ain’t no way in hell I’ma let that nigga ride off into the sunset with my wife! I’ma be on a mission to make sure they both get w
hat’s coming to ‘em! That‘s my word!” I yelled to myself. I cut my eyes towards the house for one last look before I started my truck and sped off down the block.
Now it was time to come up with a plan.
