I was unsurprised at how perfectly my tuxedo fit. The cream-colored outfit could have been tailored for how well it draped on my body. I couldn’t figure out how Lisa did it. The wine colored shirt complimented the tux beautifully. Inside Jer’s box were a cream bowtie, cufflinks, and a new Movado watch. Pops whistled as I examined the watch. The plain face was the exact same shade as the tux but looked to be made of pearl. I flipped it over and saw an inscription on the back.
To My Husband, From Your Wife
“That’s a nice timepiece right there.” I looked up at Hawk. He winked. “I won’t even say a word about how your ass lied to me about not wanting to marry her.”
I frowned as Jereth burst out laughing and Pops chuckled as well. “You just did, nigga!”
Pops slapped me on the back. “None of that matters now. You’re about to marry her in a half an hour. All you need now is to put some lotion on them ashy hands, and make sure you get into between those fingers so you don’t start a fire when Lisa slides the ring on.” My brothers laughed at Pops’s little joke, but my mind halted.
The ring.
“Oh shit. I don’t have the ring.”
Jereth reached inside of his tuxedo jacket and pulled out a familiar box. “What, this ring right here?”
I grabbed the box and opened it to see the ring I could have sworn I had buried deep in the back of my closet months ago.
“How…?” I couldn’t even complete the sentence. I dropped down the bed and stared into the box. At this point, Lisa had lobbed so many surprises at me that this one more thing shouldn’t have made a difference, but it did. I bought this ring for Lisa when I was twenty-two years old and full of excitement at the thought of her being my wife. I hadn’t been jaded, I hadn’t yet been rejected, and I hadn’t been left kneeling in a gas station. Now, fifteen years later, this ring had seen some things, and I wasn’t sure if it was suitable enough to make the rest of the journey.
But…
Lisa had lived the history of this ring right along with me, and she was the one who had found it and brought it here today. Apparently, it wasn’t an issue for her and if she could see the beauty in it, the significance in it, then I would too. Maybe we needed the constant reminder of what we’d been through to appreciate where we were going.
“You okay, J?”
I looked up at Hawk’s concerned expression. Pops stood with his arms folded behind his back and Jer sat in the chair at my desk with one leg crossed over the other. All eyes were on me. They were waiting for me to make a move. My time was almost up. There was nothing else to think about. I was getting married to the woman I’d been in love with for almost two decades. I nodded.
“Yeah, man. Let’s go do this.”
Jer stood, and the four of us left the room. We hit the bottom stair and I burst out in surprised laughter. Dressed to the nines stood Boobie with his arms folded across his chest.
“Big dawg!”
We did our handshake and hugged.
“I’m glad to see you, man.”
He nodded. “Likewise, J. I’m glad y’all finally worked this thang out.”
I nodded. “You’re standing with me, bruh?”
He spread his arms wide. “I didn’t get this pretty for nothing, my dude.”
We all laughed and continued outside. My parent’s home sat on two and a half acres with most of the land in the backyard and to the left of the house. When we stepped into the backyard, the patio was covered by a small tent and a table was set up with a guest book. Behind the table stood a couple of my younger cousins who were dressed in suits. They told us to make a left and follow the path around the side of the house. As soon as I rounded the corner my jaw dropped. The path we were on followed the perimeter of the house, but another path had been created that led to two adjacent setups. One setup was where I assumed the ceremony would take place. A natural aisle bisected a seating area of six rows of five chairs each. There was an arch covered in lilies and crimson roses at the front of that section. To the left of that was a large open tent with five round tables that had about ten chairs at each. At the end of that was a small rectangular table with two chairs.
Almost all of the seats on the ceremony side were filled and as the five of us made our way down the aisle, I spoke to the family and friends on either side. We got to the front and Pops went to sit down on the front row next to my already seated mama. I bent to hug her tightly.
“I’m proud of you, baby.”
I pulled back and met her eye. “All I did was show up; none of this was my doing, Mama.”
She shook her head. “You could have said no, but you didn’t.” She kissed my cheek then wiped off her lipstick with her thumb and sat back in her seat.
I went to stand at the arch and shook the hand of the officiant who I recognized as the pastor from my parents’ church. Jereth stood next to me, followed by Hawk and then Boobie. We had only been standing up front for about five minutes when music sounded from the small boulder speakers that had been placed on either side of the arch. I recognized the opening melody as the classic Eric Benet and Tamia song, Spend My Life With You.
Ja’mya and Deon walked down the aisle at a moderate pace, in time to the music. My baby girl was wearing a pretty wine colored halter dress with her long braids styled in a bun on the top of her head. Deon wore a matching dress and her natural hair was in a similar style. When they made it to the front, Ja’mya whisper-yelled a “Hi, Daddy!” and after I waved at her, they got into position on the opposite side of the arch just as Deena appeared at the end of the aisle and made her way forward. Her dress was the same color as the girls’ but was strapless and her short hair was straightened and styled in a pageboy cut that complimented her round face. Once Deena made it halfway down the aisle, Trisha came up behind her. Her dress had one strap that looked like a bow tied at her shoulder but was the same color as the others. Once she made it to the front, the song ended and another began.
As John Legend began to sing to his love about how he would stay with her, Lisa began to come down the aisle, led by her older brother who still lived in Lisa’s hometown of Houston. I felt tears prick my eyes as Lisa caught my eye and held it as she walked toward me. Her dress was the same color as my tux and was fitted around her curves like it had been made for her. It looked to be strapless but had sleeves and a high neckline made of lace. There was a wide, wine colored ribbon tied around her waist, with a bow sitting right above her baby bump. She was beautiful and I couldn’t believe that she was marrying me; that she had set this whole thing up. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her and didn’t hear half of what the officiant said until he directed his voice to me specifically.
I repeated my vows at the right time and slid the ring onto her steady finger, kissing her knuckle before releasing her. When it was her turn to say her vows, I was surprised, once again, to hear that she was going off script. The officiant informed everyone that Lisa had written something that she wanted to say lieu of her vows. She turned to me and took both of my hands.
“J, I love you. For a while, I gave you a reason to doubt that, but it was always true. We have a long history behind us, but as a wise woman said to me recently, that’s just a past. What I want to do is create a future with you. Everything that we’ve gone through was simply building a foundation for something that is solid and unbreakable. I promise you that I’ll never give you another reason to wonder if I’m in this with you. I promise to love you like you deserve to be loved, and I promise to spoil you like you’ve done to me.” Everyone laughed at that and I chuckled low in my throat. Lisa sniffled and continued.
“Thank you for being better than I deserve and never letting me know it. Thank you for being the beautiful human being that you are. Thank you for loving me back. Thank you for giving me another chance. Thank you for saying yes and agreeing to this spontaneous wedding. I promise I won’t make you regret.”
She turned to her right, and Trisha handed her a ring. I held out my hand and watch
ed in amazement as she slid a platinum band that somehow matched the ring she now wore onto my finger. The officiant said a few more words but it wasn’t until he announced us as man and wife that I tore my gaze from Lisa’s. I glanced at him and noticed the claps and cheers. Just as I looked back down at Lisa, she launched at me, grabbing my face in her hands and attacking my mouth with a ferocity I hadn’t expected, but maybe I should have. I wrapped my arms around her waist and hefted her against me as I moved my lips against hers. When we pulled apart, her lust-glazed eyes fell to the middle of my chest.
“I know I planned a reception, but all I want to do now is go consummate this thing.”
My head fell back as I laughed loudly. I should have known. Her pregnant ass was always horny these days. I leaned forward to nuzzle her ear, knowing it didn’t help her situation. “You should have thought about all of that. Now, we’re going to go over here and dance and have a good time.”
She twisted her lips into a pretend pout but could only hold it for a few seconds before a big smile came across her face.
“What time is it?”
I lifted my arm in the air and checked. “Well, according to the watch my wife gave me, it’s just after five in the evening.” I’m not going to lie; calling her my wife felt so right.
She nodded. “Okay, they can get three hours out of us, then we going home to tear up them sheets.”
I laughed again. “Damn, Lisa, it’s like that?”
“Heck yes! I’m trying to get me some of that legal and right-in-the-eyes-of-the-Lord penis!”
Still laughing, I released her and stepped back. “No need to rush, baby. I promise you have time.”
The smile she gave me was pure joy, and it mirrored everything I was feeling at the moment. “Yeah, you’re right. I have the rest of our lives.”
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Other titles by Chencia C. Higgins
JustOneNight.com Novella Series:
No Strings Allowed - Book 1
No Love Allowed - Book 2
The Week Before Forever - A JustOneNight.com Short Story
No Games Allowed - Book 3
The Vow Series:
To Buy a Vow
To Build a Vow
Standalones:
Her & Them
The Color Spectrum: Ebony – a collaborative duet with Sabrina ELB Scales
Novelettes:
Remember Our Love
Loud & Lew’d
To Build a Vow Page 24
