by A'zayler
She wore large gold earrings and her gold necklace and watch. Demoto was fully dressed in his white button down shirt with a pair of dark purple slacks. Like always, Ayo was in the exact same thing as his father. They both wore a pair of brown thong flip flops. Demoto had his hair tied back with some down, so he did Ayo’s the same way.
He and Ayo were sitting on the side of the bed with their hands in their laps waiting for her. Taryn walked back and forth looking for one thing or another for at least five more minutes before she was ready.
“You sure you’re ready?”
She squinted at him. “Don’t try to be funny, nigga.”
“I’m just saying, you dun’ said you was ready at least ten times and we still sitting here. Me and my boy been done for a while now. Your slow ass still walking back and forth.”
“I’m ready for real this time. What time are our reservations?”
“At six.”
Taryn looked at the clock on her phone. “Okay, good. That gives us thirty minutes to look at the pictures before we go eat.”
Demoto had made them dinner arrangements before their flight, so Taryn wanted to make sure they had time to do everything they needed to without rushing. She’d already gotten their little overnight bags together, so after dinner, all they had to do was go back to the room and grab them before their flights. Taryn grabbed her purse and followed Demoto and Ayo out the door.
The suite where the man said he was, was in the next hotel over, so they didn’t have far to go. They walked hand in hand down the streets. Smelling good and looking better. The casinos at the bottom of the hotel were packed with people. Everyone was moving as such a fast pace that it was easy to maneuver through them. The only difficult part was trying to get Ayo to realize all the lights and colorful machines weren’t for him to play with.
“I think this is it right here, Tee. You and Ayo go ahead. I have to piss so fucking bad.”
“Alright. You too old not to know how to hold your pee.”
Taryn grabbed Ayo’s hand and walked to the door of the suite they’d been in earlier. She went to pull the door open, but it was locked. Taryn tried the knob again before stepping back and looking at the door as if that was going to help. Taryn checked the number to make sure she was in the same spot. It was right, so she knocked on the door instead. She knocked a few times before she could hear the locks being tampered with.
The photographer from earlier opened the door smiling. “I’m so sorry, Taryn, I thought the door was unlocked.” He stood to the side. “You two come on in.”
Still holding Ayo’s little hand in hers, Taryn stepped around him and walked in. She stopped and almost fell back out of the door when she fully in the room. The room was dark, minus all the pictures they’d taken earlier. They were projected onto the walls of the room. all the poses and pictures of her and her little family were everywhere.
Taryn had thought she loved them as they were taking them, but seeing them now was totally different.
“Versus showing them to you on the screen of my little laptop, I figured this would be way cooler. I set up my projector and made it happen. What do you think?”
“I think they’re amazing. Thank you so much.” Taryn stood in place looking at the various photos of them. “I can’t wait for Demoto to see these.”
“I see them, baby.” Demoto’s voice came from somewhere in the room.
Taryn’s face frowned as she held onto Ayo’s hand tighter. She looked for Demoto in the dark, but the room was abnormally dark. She couldn’t see anything.
“Moto?”
“Daddy!” Ayo screamed. “What you doing, Daddy?”
“I’m here, y’all. I’m right here.” The moment Demoto finished his sentence the lights came on.
Taryn tried the best she could not to let her face frown up as she began to cry. She didn’t want to embarrass herself looking so ugly on such a beautiful occasion.
“Pa-Pa!” Ayo squealed as Buck walked toward them.
Taryn released his hand so that he could run to Mr. Buck. She covered her face as tears ran out of her eyes and down between her fingers.
“Come on, Tee-Tee, it’s time to make it real, baby girl.” Demoto pulled her hands from her face.
Taryn sniffed and wiped at her face with the back of her hand until Mr. Buck pulled the handkerchief from his jacket and wiped her face with it. She hugged him as soon as he finished wiping her face.
“You ready now?” He smiled at her.
Looking at his smiling face had Taryn crying again. He stood next to her, wiping her face until she stopped long enough to loop her arm through his. Kia, Jacko, Adisa, Janay, Bradley, his wife, Rain, Love, Summer, Alex, even Jacorey was there. There was also a man, and two women that she didn’t recognize, but they were pretty and smiling at her so she smiled back. Taryn’s tears began to overpower her again as she stood at the bottom of the handmade aisle decorated with red rose petals.
Ayo was now sitting in Jacko’s lap while Demoto stood at the back of the room waiting for her. The smile on his face was sure to match the one in her heart. Everyone was dressed so nice and casual, which was good because now she didn’t feel underdressed on her wedding day. There weren’t a lot of people, which she was grateful for, just her family.
“You ready, Tee?” Demoto called out to her.
She nodded her head, smiling through her tears. “I’m ready, Moto.”
Taryn’s words had just left her mouth when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes got larger than life as the last person she expected to see stepped from behind the flower decorated altar that had been placed in the front.
“Reece!” Taryn screamed in shock.
It took everything in her not to take off running to her sister. Reece waved at Taryn and tapped her pointer finger against her lips telling Taryn to be quiet. Tears fell again as she looked away and looked at Mr. Buck.
“I think I’m finally ready now, Daddy.”
Buck winked and looked toward the front of the room where Demoto was standing. Taryn noticed a dark skinned man now standing near Demoto. She was still looking at him when the photographer ran over and stuck a small bouquet of red roses in her hand. Taryn looked down and smiled at him.
“My mind runs away to you with the thought I hope you’ll see,” the dark skinned man standing next to Demoto began singing Sam Smith’s “Make it to Me.”
Taryn’s mouth fell open at the greatness of his voice. That was her favorite song. It made her smile at how much thought and planning he’d put into their little wedding. She smiled as hard as she could through her tears as she stared at Demoto. She and Buck moved down the aisle together until they were standing at the front.
Buck stood next to her until the man finished singing. When the small older man with the bible moved to the front, Buck passed her to Demoto and took his seat. Taryn stood face to face with the love of her life, listening and waiting to say her vows. Demoto had elected for them to say their own versus the traditional marriage quotes. The entire ceremony took a little over twenty minutes.
“I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Demoto Youngblood.”
Taryn and Demoto turned around and faced their family. Taryn looked around the room feeling the happiest she’d felt in a long time.
*****
The flight back to Atlanta was a quick one, and Taryn was more than happy to be getting off of her flight. After they landed, they retrieved Taryn’s truck and hopped on the highway home. Everyone else had gone on ahead of them a few days prior so that she and Demoto could have a mini honeymoon. Kia and Jacko had taken Ayo home with them so that Taryn and Demoto could fly to Mexico before returning to Columbus
Taryn was kicked back in her seat with her foot resting on the dashboard. She had her hair up in a ball on the top of her head and her shades on her face. She looked out of the window as the cars passed them and they passed others. Demoto looked over at her a few times as he drove to see if she was asleep. She had bee
n quiet since they’d left the airport.
“Bae, who was the man at the wedding that sang for us? He left so fast I didn’t even get a chance to tell him thank you. I looked around and he was gone.”
“I don’t really know him. I was just looking for somebody to sing for us. So when I hit your friend Rain up to see would they be able to make it, she informed me that they would already be out here for some of Love’s friends birthday. So I asked her did she know anybody that could sing. She called me back a few days later and told me that Love’s friend King could do it. So I hit him off with a few stacks and he came through for me.”
“Oh, well that was nice. He sounded so good. I loved it.” Taryn sighed. “I loved it all. Thank you so much, baby.”
Demoto touched her leg. “You’re welcome.”
Thirty minutes later they were pulling up at the house. Demoto grabbed their bags and headed into the house. As he set their things down, his phone rang. After walking back out the door and closing it behind him, he pulled it from his pocket and answered it. It was an unsaved number which was unusual because only people he knew had his personal number.
“Yeah?”
“Demoto? Demoto Youngblood?”
Demoto frowned. Who in the hell was this? It was a woman with a thick accent. Not one he’d ever heard.
“Who is this?”
“This is Habesha Gebereal. I am looking for a young man by the name of Demoto Youngblood. Is this he?”
“Yes. What do you need?”
“Wonderful. I’m looking for Taryn-Lee. Is she with you?”
Demoto had a hard time understanding everything she had said until he heard Taryn’s name. That was the one thing that came out clear as day.
“Who are you and what you looking for her for?”
The lady laughed for a moment too long because Demoto had pulled his phone away and was about to hang up until he heard her talking again.
“I’m her aunt. I got your email and I would like to set up a time to meet one day this week.”
Damn.
Demoto had totally forgotten about the email he’d sent to Taryn’s people the day after she agreed to meet them. After not hearing from them the first few days he had kind of blew it off. Now that she had called and was ready to meet, he was the one unsure. He sat quietly on the phone for a few minutes before agreeing to meet with her.
She told him that she would be in town the next day and that she would meet them for dinner. She had asked to come to their house, but he declined. Neither of them knew this lady from Adam, so he most definitely wasn’t about to let her know where they lived.
When he got off of the phone with her, he joined Taryn in the house. He looked around the living room before hearing her in the back. He was headed to their room but stopped when he saw her in Ayo’s room. She was on her hands and knees gathering his toys and throwing them into his toy box.
“Why you in here? You should wait and let him do that.”
Taryn gave him a look that let him know he should have known better than to say anything like that. “Boy, please. You know better than that. With your country ass.”
Demoto smiled and took a seat in the small chair next to Ayo’s door. He stretched his legs out in front of him and picked up the toy airplane that was sitting on the floor in front of him.
“Guess who just called me.”
“Who?” Taryn asked without even looking up.
“A lady named Habesha Gerbereal.”
“What the hell kind of name is that?”
“Hell, I don’t know, you tell me. You’re the only Ethiopian I know.”
Taryn looked at Demoto, waiting for him to finish. When he didn’t say anything and left her to her thoughts instead, she took a seat on the floor and looked around.
“Is she somebody I should know?”
Demoto shrugged. “I don’t know, baby girl. Only time will tell. For now, she’s just your aunt.”
Taryn ran her hand over the front of her ponytail. “Well, what did she say?”
“She said she wants to meet with you and that she’ll be here tomorrow afternoon so that we can have dinner. She told me it’ll be her and her husband.”
“Tomorrow? Dang, that’s fast.”
“That’s the same thing I thought too, but she said they were very eager to see you.”
“Wow, this is crazy.”
“Who you telling? I don’t even feel like meeting no damn body.”
Taryn looked at him and smirked. “Oh well, because you are. What time tomorrow? You think we should bring Ayo?”
“Damn, slow down girl. No we ain’t taking him, and tomorrow at six. I told her we’ll meet at Red Lobster.”
Taryn asked a few more questions before they ended their conversation. Demoto could tell in her voice that she was excited. All he hoped was that they didn’t disappoint her. That’s where the problem would come in. Once Kia and Jacko brought Ayo home, time began to fly by a little faster. Demoto watched the clock because he had a contract later that night. He had just enough time to put Ayo to bed and eat the baked Spaghetti Taryn had made for dinner before getting ready to go.
“How long will you be gone?” Taryn stood at the door with him.
“Not long. It’s only in Warner Robins. That’s not too far from here.”
“Okay. Well I’ll try to stay up, but if I don’t, I love you and be safe.”
Demoto threw his bag over his shoulder. “Take your ass to bed, Tee.”
He kissed her lips and left. Outside, their apartment complex was dark and quiet. The street lights illuminated most of the parking lot, but there were still some shadows. None threatening, just something to watch for. He looked around briefly as he unlocked the doors to his car. After looking up to make sure Taryn was no longer in the doorway, he got in and pulled off.
His GPS told him that he had approximately an hour and forty-five minutes to get there. Normally on rides to work he would listen to music. Anything that would get him in the mood to handle business, but tonight was different. Tonight he had more on his mind than he’d had in a long time. Not only was this contract a personal one, but tomorrow was weighting on his mental something terrible.
It had been pretty much the only thing on his mind since receiving the call from Taryn’s aunt. He felt as if he was opening Pandora’s box or something. There was no telling what would come out of their dinner tomorrow all he could hope was that it was positive. For some reason there was a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach and for as far back as he could remember, it had never been wrong before.
Demoto sifted through all the things in his mind, trying to get to the deeper reason why he was so nervous when it came to Taryn meeting her family. It was something he hadn’t told anyone because he wasn’t even sure of it his own self. That was just the only reason that seemed the most logical. It was also very embarrassing, which was why he’d kept it to himself, but it was the truth.
He had been the only person Taryn had for years now, and as shameful and selfish as it was he liked it that way. He liked being all she had because he knew no matter what that she would stay with him. He was embarrassed about that reality, but it was what it was. She and Ayo were pretty much all he had because he’d learned a long time ago that family wasn’t shit. So he didn’t put much stock into them.
After discovering that his mother was the orchestrator of his father’s death, anything dealing with family became suspicious to him. Which was why he kept his distance. In the back of his mind, he already knew that there was only a limited amount of time before he paid his mother back, but for now, all he could do was move strategically and watch his back.
She was a very smart woman, but little did she know, his father had taught him to be smarter. Ever since he was a child he’d taken all the things his father had taught him and applied them to his life. Now that he was older, he understood a lot of the things his father had told him that he hadn’t quite understood back then. The main one being to never let y
our left hand know what your right hand is doing.
That sounded a lot like a riddle when he was younger, but it was the one thing he valued the most these days. It had become his biggest rule over the last couple of months. He’d been very careful with his planning, and now that he was sure he had it all together, it was time to act on it. In his heart, he felt a tinge of sorrow, but he knew he had to follow through.
A deep sigh left his body as he got off on the exit to where he was headed. Time had come and gone quickly, and now he was only a few minutes from his destination. The closer he got, the more his nerves began to get to him, but he wouldn’t turn back now. He couldn’t. There were things that needed to be done to secure the safety of his girl and his baby. They were priority number one in his life now, and he would be less than a man, less than their protector if he didn’t address what was to come.
When he pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, he turned his lights off and parked in the back. His heart thumped loudly as he grabbed his backpack and locked his doors from the inside. He didn’t want to run the risk of the horn beeping loudly and drawing any unwanted attention to him. He moved swiftly, ducking and being as discreet as possible until he’d circled the entire hotel, securing the premises.
He didn’t worry about the cameras because that had already been taken care of. Buck had called him just before leaving the house to let him know that everything was a go and to walk the building once before going in. Now that he was done with that, he needed to hurry and get down to business. Demoto threw his hood over his head and jogged up the stairs.
He checked the numbers on the doors until he reached the one that had been given to him. Demoto slid the extra key to the room into the slot until it turned green and pushed the door open discreetly. As he had been told, there was a woman sitting on the bed waiting for him. She was dressed in a sweat suit with a small suitcase sitting near her leg. When she saw Demoto, she nodded her head toward the shower and stood to grab her things.
