Body Heat

by Adrianne Byrd

  “I gotta tell you that’s it been nothing but drama since Mr. Dawson returned home. The gossip grapevine has never been busier.”

  “Is that right?” Taariq shouted above the G-force that was trying to rip him from his seat.

  “Yep. To tell the truth, me and the missus thought he was never gonna come back. Figured he and his wife was going through some kind of trouble.”

  “His wife?” Derrick asked.

  “I told you,” Taariq said. His boys thought he’d been joking after his phone call to the house.

  “And who exactly is his wife?” Stanley asked, looking whiter than usual.

  Rafiq frowned. “Why Nikki, of course. Everybody knows Nikki.”

  The Kappa men exchanged looks before Taariq said, “Not everybody.”

  “How long have they been married?” Charlie questioned.

  Rafiq shrugged. “Don’t know exactly, but I believe it’s something like two years.”

  “TWO YEARS!” they all thundered.

  Rafiq jumped and jerked the steering wheel.

  The men yelled—but Stanley’s stood out more like a high-pitch scream.

  “It’s okay. It’s okay,” Rafiq assured, swerving the vehicle back into the right lane. “You guys should not scare me like that.”

  “Scare you?” Taariq asked. “Have you ever thought about driving a little slower than a rocket?”

  Rafiq laughed. “Aw. Don’t worry I’m a very good driver. I haven’t had an accident all summer.”

  “That’s comforting,” Stanley said.

  Rafiq glanced back in his rearview mirror at Stanley. “Hey, are you okay? No throwing up inside my car.”

  “I’ll try to keep that in mind,” Stanley croaked.

  “So tell us a little more about Hylan’s wife,” Derrick said.

  Rafiq smiled and rattled off all that he knew about Soufrière’s adopted angel and then all that had transpired since Hylan showed up back in June.

  “Her father laid Hylan out?” Taariq choked back a laugh.

  Rafiq shrugged. “To my man’s defense, I think the punch caught him off guard.”

  “They usually do,” Charlie said.

  Stanley was shaking his head. “I just don’t get it. None of this sounds like Hylan. He wouldn’t have kept something like this from us.” He glanced to his brothers. “Would he?”

  Taariq shook his head. “Nah. And I don’t see him inviting Shonda down here if he had a wife tucked away.”

  “If you ask me none of this is making any damn sense,” Derrick said.

  Rafiq shrugged. “I’m just telling you what I know. If things continued the way they are right now I don’t think the Dawsons will be married for long—especially if her father has any say about it.”

  “Hey, isn’t that Hylan running up there?” Stanley asked, pointing to a figure racing along the road.

  Before anyone could blink they had caught up with the man.

  “Stop the car,” Taariq yelled. To which Rafiq obeyed immediately and damn near threw everyone out of the car.

  Hylan dove out of the way when he saw the Jeep fishtail and was about to clip him. “What the hell?!” He hit the ground so hard that for a moment he wondered if he had the ability to sit back up.

  “Hylan, man. Is that you?”

  He popped his head up. “Taariq?” Glancing over at the Jeep that nearly killed him, he saw his four Kappa brothers and Rafiq all squished up in the front seat.

  “Yo, man. Get off me,” Derrick complained.

  “I’m trying,” Charlie said, scrambling to return to the back seat.

  Hylan winced as he stumbled to his feet. “Hey, what are you guys doing here?” He limped over to the Jeep.

  “Thinking of new and eventful ways to kill ourselves, apparently,” Taariq responded, cutting an angry glare at their driver.

  “We came out here to find out what the hell was going on,” Derrick corrected. “What’s this shit about you being married?”

  Rafiq leaned forward to catch Hylan’s answer.

  “You know what, guys. It’s a long story, but move over so I can catch a ride back to my crib.”

  Rafiq’s smile bloomed. “Ah, finally going to go get you the missus back, eh?”

  “You’re damned right.” He climbed in and forced the brothers to make room. “How do you guys feel about attending a wedding this afternoon?”

  “Ah. Thinking about renewing your vows?” Rafiq concluded.

  Hylan smiled. “I guess you can say that.”

  “Mom, Dad, there’s something I have to tell you,” Nikki began, standing in the kitchen. She’d been practicing this speech for the last two days and after running it by her baby sister the night before, she knew that it was now time to tell her parents the truth. “It’s about me and Hylan.”

  Her parents shared a look at each other and then reached for each other’s hand at the table.

  “You see, um, Hylan and I…” Her eyes misted. “We’re not exactly…um.”

  After a long silence, her father helped her out. “Married,” he said.

  Nikki’s head sprung up, her face contorted with confusion. “You know?”

  “Of course we knew, sweetheart,” her mother said gently. “We may be getting old but we’re not stupid.”

  “I-I never meant to suggest…” She glanced at her sister. “How long have you known?”

  “Shortly after you told us you’d gotten married,” her mother said.

  “Why didn’t you tell me,” she asked Barbara.

  “We were waiting for you to come forward with the truth. We came to get you to come back home, but then we met Hylan.”

  Her mother jumped in. “And saw how much he cared for you. So then we thought we had it all wrong.”

  Nikki shook her head. “I think I need to sit down.” Barbara helped her over to a chair. “But Daddy, you punched him.”

  Wilbur shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Yeah, well. I like the boy and all, but he did tell me to shut the hell up.”

  “I don’t believe this,” Nikki said.

  “Oh, baby. He’ll calm down,” her mother said. “His pride is just wounded.”

  “You think? We kicked the man out of his own house.”

  His father chuckled. “Yeah, that is classic.” When he realized that no one else was laughing, he sobered up. “Baby, why did you do it?”

  Nikki huffed out a long tired breath. “Believe it or not, it sounded like a good idea at the time.”

  “That’s what scares me,” her father lamented.

  “Wilbur,” Ella chided.

  “It’s true,” Wilbur insisted. “Nikki, you’ve got to learn to control some of this impulsiveness. Now, I know that the play’s failure really affected you and I’m sorry if I played a part in making you feel like you couldn’t come to talk to any of us about it. You can’t run away from your problems. You have to learn to face them.”

  Tears leaked and then poured down her face. “But I’ve made such a mess of everything. I don’t know if I can fix this one.”

  “Sure you can,” Barbara said, forever the one lending an encouraging word. “We’ll be right here helping you.”

  Nikki smiled at the unconditional love radiating from her sister’s eyes. “Have I told you lately that you’re the best sister anyone could ever have?”

  Barbara’s face lit up. “No. But I think that honor belongs to you.”

  The two sisters embraced.

  Outside, a horn blared. Once. Twice. And then a long final one.

  “Nikki!”

  Nikki’s head popped up as she released Barbara. “Hylan?”

  “Well, it’s about damn time,” Wilbur mumbled under his breath as he pushed back from the table.

  “Nikki!”

  “Wilbur, now don’t ruin this,” Ella warned, jumping up and following him as he stormed toward the door.

  “Daddy, don’t.” Nikki rushed out of her chair. Her mind was swirling at the fact that Hylan was there. Had he com
e to finally kick them out of his house? She couldn’t blame him.

  “Don’t worry,” Wilbur said as he marched toward the door. “I got this under control.”

  Nikki didn’t like the sound of that. “Daddy, please don’t hit him again.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Nikki!”

  “Promise?” she asked her father.

  “I promise.” He whipped open the front door. “Now what is all this hollering about out here?” Wilbur thundered and jabbed his fists into his sides.

  Hylan climbed over Charlie and Derrick, stomping on a few feet and laps in the process, and jumped out of the Jeep. “I came to get my wife,” he declared.

  Wilbur’s brows shot up. “Is that right?”

  “Yeah. That’s right,” he said, strolling confidently up the front stairs. “Regardless of what anybody thinks I’ve done or haven’t done, I love your daughter and I’m not about to let her go.”

  Nikki gasped in disbelief. Surely she wasn’t hearing him right.

  “What if I say that it’s not up to you?” Wilbur challenged.

  “Then I’d tell you that it’s not up to you, either, Mr. Jamison,” Hylan countered and then looked past Wilbur’s shoulder to lock gazes with Nikki. “This is between me and Nikki. And I came here to ask her to marry me…again.”

  The women gasped.

  “What?” Wilbur thundered.

  But Hylan swore he saw a smile tug at the man’s lips. “With your permission, of course.”

  Wilbur turned to stare at his daughter. “Is this something that you want?”

  Nikki was completely and utterly speechless. “I…I…”

  “We could do it today. Mahina is calling the reverend.”

  Oh, my God. He’s serious.

  “I know that this is all short notice,” he said, moving past Wilbur to stand in front of Nikki. “But I’ve always been a man who believed in living in the moment. And at this moment, I know that I have never felt this way about anyone before. I know that I can make you happy. I know I can protect you. And I know that I will never ever stop loving you.”

  Nikki’s hand fluttered to her open mouth.

  “Nicole Dawson,” Hylan said, slowly dropping to one knee. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife…for real this time?”

  Nikki dropped her hands and shouted without hesitation, “yes!”

  From the Jeep, Stanley wiped at his eyes. “That has to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” He sniffled. “I just wish that I understood it.”

  “You’re not the only one,” Taariq said, patting him on the back.

  “Sounds like it doesn’t matter, guys,” Derrick chirped. “It looks like we’re headed for a wedding.”

  Epilogue

  Two hours later…

  Word of the Dawsons renewing their marriage vows spread through Soufrière faster than the Great Fire of Chicago. Only a handful of people knew that this would in fact be the first time the couple would be exchanging vows, but it seemed like such a small matter to correct that no one really tried. Obtaining a license took about as long as it did to drive through the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas.

  While Nikki rushed to get dressed, her close-knit family kept asking whether she was sure that this was what she really wanted. They liked Hylan but for parents, the rush was a legitimate concern. But Nikki had never been more sure of anything in her entire life. When her father and mother left to go scramble and get ready, Barbara pulled her sister to the side and asked, “Don’t you think you should tell Hylan about the baby?”

  “Don’t worry. By my estimations, I still have a good seven months to tell him,” Nikki laughed. She felt positively giddy. She was about to be married—for real this time. Speaking of which, she pulled the small diamond band off her hand and tossed it into the small wooden jewelry box on top of the bedroom dresser. “Guess I won’t be needing that anymore.”

  Barbara frowned. “By the way, where did you get that ring?”

  “Pawn shop. Fifty bucks. Bought it in the Castries quarter so no one here would know.”

  “Maybe I should be asking whether Hylan knows what he’s getting into with you,” Barbara said, shaking her head.

  “After three months together, I think he may have some idea.” She turned and faced her sister. “How do I look?”

  Barbara clasped her hands together as tears glossed her soft brown eyes. “Beautiful.”

  Nikki glanced down at her simple, white cotton dress and low-heeled shoes. “It’s nothing fancy, but it’ll do.” She took a deep breath. “Oh, Barbara. I can’t believe I’m about to get married. Hell, we haven’t even discussed where we’ll live.”

  “I hope it’ll be New York.”

  “Could be Atlanta,” Nikki said.

  “Or it could be here,” Barbara suggested and then cocked her head. “Does it matter to you?”

  Nikki took less than a second to think about it. “Absolutely not. I’ll go wherever he wants me to go.”

  A side of Barbara’s mouth quirked up. “Now that sounds like the right answer to me.” She strolled over to her sister and swept her into a big embrace. “I’m so proud of you, sis.”

  Nikki teared up. “I swear,” she said, shaking her head. “Once upon a time I never thought I’d hear you say that.” She sniffed and tried her best not to ruin her makeup.

  Momma Mahina poked her silver head inside the room. “Reverend Oxford is here. Ten minutes?”

  “Sounds good,” Nikki released her sister and drew in a deep breath.

  Momma Mahina smiled and pushed on into the room. “Let me steal one of those hugs, chile.”

  “Absolutely.”

  Mahina beamed as she shuffled her way over. When she enfolded Nikki into her arms, she squeezed her tight. Anyone would have thought that one of her own children were about to get married. One thing was for sure, Nikki was definitely feeling the love. “Hmm, hmm, hmm. It’s been a long road,” Mahina said as she pulled back. “Knowing Hylan as I do and for as long as I have, I can truly say I never thought this day would come, but I’m glad that it has.”

  Confused, Nikki’s brows nearly crashed together.

  Momma Mahina winked. “Take care of each other. Given how you two met, I’d say this union had a lot to do with destiny.”

  Nikki cocked her head as she watched the older woman shuffle out the room. Then she started laughing. “You knew,” she said with sudden clarity.

  Mahina winked and smiled. “Like I told Hylan, I’m old, but I’m not stupid.”

  “But how…why did you…?”

  “None of that matters a lick now, does it?” she said. “All that matters is that it all turned out right in the end. Now I’ll see you downstairs. You and that bun you got in the oven.”

  In a guest room down the hall, Hylan tried to supply his Kappa brothers with the 4-1-1 on how he met his wife, well, his soon-to-be wife. But every other sentence was cut off with one of them asking him to run something by them again.

  “You mean to tell me that she was up here frontin’?” Taariq said after finally picking his jaw up off the floor. “Who the hell does that?”

  “I know it all sounds a little odd. But—”

  “A little odd?” he thundered. “Try crazy as hell.”

  Derrick drew a deep breath and settled a hand on Taariq’s shoulder. “Calm down.”

  “Calm down? Are you for real?” Taariq said. “Our man has either got caught slippin’ or has lost his mind. Either way, it ain’t good.”

  “I don’t know,” Charlie said. “He looks pretty sane to me. He’s just in love.”

  “Figures. Your mind ain’t been right since you met your wife, Gisella.” Taariq huffed out a long breath and rolled his eyes.

  Derrick opened his mouth.

  “And don’t you say nothing because you’re the one that set off this whole domino effect.” Taariq started to look misty eyed. “How could you guys do this to a brother?” He shook his head and started pounding his c
hest. “I thought we were boys. We were supposed to ride this bachelorhood thang until the wheels came off. Playas for life. Remember that? Now look at y’all. Make me the last brother standing and everything.”

  Stanley moved forward. “Hey, man. You’re not alone out here. You know you always got me.”

  Taariq pursed his lips together and just gave the other brothers a look that said “see what y’all done left me with?”

  Hylan laughed. “Look man, I know what you’re saying. I was talking that same crap just a few months ago.”

  “Ah, yeah.” Charlie bobbed his head. “Guess you waved that white flag of surrender, too, Mr. It’s-Never-Gonna-Happen.”

  Hylan threw up his hands. “All right. All right. I deserved that one.” He chuckled at all that mess he was talkin’ just a few short months ago. “Just charge it all to the game I guess, because I’m marrying Nikki today.”

  Taariq shook his head and mumbled, “It just ain’t right.”

  Derrick glanced over at Charlie. “You know Isabella and Gisella are going to be mad that they missed out on a Caribbean wedding.”

  Charlie shook his head. “True. But Gisella is too far along in her pregnancy to fly anyway. At least that’s the excuse I’m gonna lay on her.”

  “Hmm. Well I’m going to direct all Isabella’s complaints straight to the man who’s responsible for this sudden rush.”

  “Send her my way,” Hylan said. “I got this.”

  There was a knock on the door.

  “Come in,” Hylan yelled.

  Mahina pushed open the door and stuck her head inside. “The reverend is here. Think you guys can be ready in five minutes?”

  “I’m ready now.” Hylan puffed out his chest.

  His boys laughed at his eagerness.

  “Damn, man.” Taariq slapped a hand against Hylan’s back. “My bad. You really are sprung.”

  Smiling, Hylan shrugged his friend’s hand off his back. “All right. Keep poppin’ that B.S. That just tells me that your ass is gonna be next.”