Broken (Endurance)

by Thomas, April

  "Maxwell, you lied?"

  "Yeah, and I don't know what to do."

  "Do you love her?" Tamarius asked.

  "I have for years and just didn't realize to what extent."

  "You asked her?"

  "Yeah, but she didn't answer me back yet. In the meantime she is in serious danger. I didn't tell her, but I put an undercover security guard on her tail. I told you she’s working undercover with another detective trying to get more evidence on Blake?"

  "Has anything happened?"

  "Little things..."

  "Say that name again?"

  "Blake Carter," Maxwell said, realizing that his brother was picking up something off of that name.

  "The courts let him go?" Tamarius said with surprise.

  "Yeah, they didn’t have enough to hold him."

  "Maxwell, this is serious, you need to persuade Cressida to stay at the mansion. She is in more danger than she knows. She wants to be with you. I can even see you two getting married. She is just scared of it failing or you one day losing interest in her. You know what I mean. I'm still going through that, although we have had many good times. That fear sneaks up out of thin air," Tamarius said.

  "I know."

  "Blake Carter... why am I seeing that this man committed those crimes? Oh, God on children? Why do people hurt children? They’re innocent," Tamarius complained.

  "You’re saying that he did it?"

  "Yeah, he did it and see they need to run DNA again he has a condition...what is Chimera?"

  "Chimera?"

  "Look it up and let me know," Tamarius instructed.

  "I will. Thanks."

  "No problem. I should get going."

  "See you soon and take care."

  "Take care."

  Tamarius hung up and was surprised to see that Makayla and Tia had decided to walk into the old abandoned house. Suddenly Tia came running out of the house and fell to her knees and began to pray as she trembled. Tamarius ran to her side. "What happened, Tia," he asked, kneeling beside her.

  "God be praise. God be praise," is all she repeated as tears rolled down her cheeks

  Tamarius jumped to his feet and ran into the rundown structure. He could see a bright light shining from a room at the end of a hallway. He ran to it, shielding his eyes as he called for Makayla. Finally he heard a voice call back to him, but it was not Makayla.

  Despite the blinding light, his eyes adjusted and he could see Makayla hovering on her back five feet off the ground, her hair floating weightlessly around her. As Tamarius walked closer he could see a tall figure standing beside her. He had his hand on her stomach and he spoke to her gently.

  Makayla’s eyes were closed and she appeared to be in a deep sleep.

  Tamarius looked at the angel. It was the Archangel Michael. He looked up and smiled at

  Tamarius as he approached them. "Michael, is something wrong with her?"

  "No, she is fine." Michael smiled at Tamarius. "You must take care of her... she is carrying life inside her womb."

  "Life?" Tamarius said, dumbfounded.

  "For now, do not tell her. Do not tell anyone. I am her guardian. Makayla is special to our Father in heaven."

  "She's special to me, too," Tamarius mumbled as he gazed at Makayla, trying to absorb everything that was happening.

  "Yes, we know. Your marriage will be blessed."

  "Thank you, Jesus," Tamarius whispered.

  "My Makayla... a very stubborn girl. Her father spoils her, but he also chastens her because he loves her. I am placing protection around her womb. No one must know of her condition. Do not change your plans. She will be safe to travel anywhere. She is strong and you both will have a long and happy life together." Michael looked at Tamarius.

  Michael appeared to be seven feet tall with shoulder length curly hair. He was broad and muscular, and he wore armor made of gold. His cloak was a vibrant deep red. His energy filled the room as he stood next to Makayla.

  "Come," Michael said, gesturing for Tamarius to stand next to Makayla.

  Tamarius stood opposite Michael.

  "Place your hand here," Michael instructed, indicating Makayla’s lower stomach. "Close your eyes."

  Tamarius closed his eye and could see a baby as if he were in Makayla's womb.

  "It's a boy." Tamarius smiled.

  "She is five months."

  "How is that even possible? She doesn't look..."

  "Anything is possible with God. Children born to mothers who didn't even realize they were pregnant are not here by accident," Michael informed him.

  "I can't wait to hold him."

  "Well, enjoy your sanity. These children are a handful."

  "Yeah, Uriel's a handful."

  Michael smiled as he removed his hand from Makayla's womb. "Now get ready to catch her and, tell no one of this meeting. I must go. Please try to act normal," Michael said, stepping back as Tamarius put his arms under Makayla. Her body gently eased into his arms as Michael disappeared.

  Tamarius held onto her like a precious gift. Her head fell against his chest as he carried her outside where Tia was still praying fervently. "He heard you, Tia. Time to go," Tamarius said, grinning.

  "Is she okay?" Tia followed Tamarius to the limo.

  "Yeah, she is." He stopped short of the door as Makayla started to wake.

  "Where?" Makayla looked at Tamarius. "What happened?"

  "You fainted," he replied.

  "I did?" Makayla whispered.

  Tamarius set her on the ground and held onto her as her balance returned. "Yeah, I found you passed out in there."

  "I'm hungry and tired, I guess. Maybe my sugar is low," Makayla said quietly, more to herself, as she struggled to figure out what had just happened to her.

  Tamarius opened the car door and Makayla and Tia got into the limo. Tamarius took one last look at the abandoned house and its surrounding property before getting into the limo.

  "I want a beef roti," Makayla said.

  "Sounds good," Tia and Tamarius agreed.

  "I spoke to Maxwell and he needs me to go to some meetings," Tamarius said to Makayla as he sat across from her.

  "Where? When?" she asked.

  "The first one is here, most likely in Port of Spain."

  "That's cool." Makayla looked out the window as the limo made its way into the city.

  "But, the others are all over." Tamarius gazed at her. He was struggling to stay focused. All he could think about was the fact that the woman he loved was carrying his first son.

  "Do you want me to stay here or just meet you in Florida for Thanksgiving," Makayla asked, assuming she would just get in his way. When Tamarius didn't answer, but continued staring at her, she smiled and shook her head. "What's on your mind? You seem lost. Are you getting cold feet?"

  "Quite the opposite."

  "Cold hands?" Makayla said, being sarcastic.

  Tamarius looked directly into her eyes. "I just want you to be my wife. We don't need all that fancy stuff, just you, me, a pastor and a witness," he said looking at Tia. "And God."

  "Okay, what happened back there? This man is going crazy." Makayla turned to her cousin who seemed just as shocked as she was.

  "Hey, don't drag me into this. I'm just lucky I was invited," Tia joked.

  "We can have a huge reception back home with the whole family," Tamarius went on, not taking his eyes off Makayla.

  "You’re serious."

  "Very."

  "You need to have a marriage license and whatever else you need."

  "Cressida can get it for us, not a problem."

  "My dad wants to give me away. He kinda never got the chance," Makayla replied shyly. Her father hadn’t approved of her last two marriages and had refused to attend.

  "I’m not gonna ask," he said, smiling.

  "Tamarius..."

  "Just marry me, Makayla."

  "Why don't you do it here?" Tia suggested.

  "Not helping." Makayla turned to her cousin.
<
br />   "Is this what you want?" Makayla asked Tamarius.

  "I know you girls like the fancy stuff, but I just want to be able to call you Mrs. Martinez."

  "No regrets?"

  "No regrets," Tamarius agreed instantly.

  Makayla blushed as she looked away from Tamarius.

  After eating a great meal they headed home. Tamarius held himself back from asking her how she was feeling at every moment. However, he wanted to know and it was killing him to have to keep such an incredible secret.

  On returning to Fa and Coretta's home, Tamarius received the agenda from his brother on his PDA phone. The meeting would be tomorrow morning. He could sense it was going to be a hectic day. As he helped Makayla and Tia out of the limo he instructed the driver to be there first thing in the morning. Makayla waited to speak with him privately on the gallery.

  Tamarius smiled as he watched her standing there, her arms folded across her chest as she stared at him. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and reached out for her, pulling her close. He kissed her forehead and hugged her, enjoying his secret joy of knowing soon he would become a father.

  "You’re not telling me something, and no matter how much I try, I can't figure it out," Makayla complained.

  "Just trust in God and we’ll be fine." He held her tight.

  "If you’re afraid I'm gonna run, I'm not." Makayla looked into his face.

  "I told you why. Okay, so maybe I’m being hasty. Does it really matter when you know in your heart you’re with the right person?" Tamarius asked.

  "I guess not," she whispered.

  "So for argument’s sake, sleep on it tonight and let me know tomorrow how you feel," he suggested.

  "Okay, I need to take a nap. I'm tired." Makayla stepped back and walked inside.

  Tamarius just smiled. "I will be out here for a little." He wanted to be alone to speak to God privately, to give thanks for the blessing he was about to receive.

  It was four in the morning when Makayla finally made her decision, or more like she accepted the answer to her question. Should she marry Tamarius now or have a big wedding? After hours of praying and listening to her guide’s advice, she was finally ready to tell Tamarius her answer and, she couldn't wait.

  She tiptoed down the hallway his room. The door was unlocked and she slipped inside, silently closing the door behind her. Tamarius lay asleep on his back, shirtless. A dim street lamp barely lit the room as she gingerly walked across to his bed. She whispered his name, but he did not wake. Makayla slowly sat on the edge of his bed, easing her weight down. She didn't want to scare him.

  She sat there quietly, just admiring him as he slept, not wanting to wake him. He looked so peaceful. "I just want to be with you," she muttered under her breath. She leaned over him and softly kissed his lips. "Goodnight," she whispered. Sitting up she felt Tamarius’ hand on her thigh.

  "Goodnight? You just got here," he mumbled.

  "You were sleeping. You looked peaceful," Makayla whispered.

  Tamarius stared at her, not paying attention to what she was saying. His hands found their way to her stomach and then to her waist, nudging her to lie beside him.

  Makayla settled in beside him as he turned on his side and wrapped his arm around her. "I just wanted to tell you, yes."

  "Yes?" He sprang to life.

  "Yes," Makayla said, laughing.

  "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Tamarius kissed her all over.

  "I still don't know what the rush is about, but it doesn't matter. I just want to be yours."

  Tamarius looked down at her. "I just want to be yours, too."

  "How are we going to do this?" Makayla asked.

  "I kind of already called Cressida to get the paper work done."

  "What?" Makayla laughed. "What if I said no and ran off."

  "I would be crushed and after I hunted you down and got medieval on you, I would lock you up and keep you hostage until you saw things my way."

  "You wouldn't." Makayla smiled.

  "No, but it would kill me." Tamarius felt the pain of not only losing the love of his life, but his son. The thought alone brought a lump in his throat.

  "Baby, I wouldn't do that to you. I'd be running away from everything I ever wanted."

  Tamarius smiled. "I have a business meeting in the morning and we need to meet with the

  owners. I would like to just put Tia in charge of everything and we’ll just be her financial backers. This way we can focus on other things."

  "Yeah, that sounds great. When will you be getting back from all of your meetings?"

  "You’re coming with me. After the meetings we're going to surprise Max and Mei. We’ll take them home for Thanksgiving break."

  "I should go pack then." Makayla sat up.

  "No, stay here." He pulled her back. "I also spoke to my uncle and he will be expecting us tomorrow."

  "You knew I was going to say yes."

  ***

  It was six in the evening on Saturday, October sixteenth, two thousand and eleven. Tamarius stood at the front of his uncle’s humble church which sat overlooking the ocean. The sea was beautiful and calm. The old church windows had been propped open with pieces of wood. No matter how many times Maxwell and Tamarius had offered to rebuild it, his Uncle Peter Martinez had always refused.

  Now standing in the church, waiting for his bride to appear, he understood why. The church had a simple, genuine love that filled the air. It felt as if being married here was the best choice for any one serious about their union.

  Peter Martinez had also married Mei and Max and was happy when he learned that his nephew had finally found the one his heart loved. He knew his nephew would not just marry any woman and that Makayla had to be someone special. Peter felt honored to marry them.

  "Nervous nephew?" Peter smiled at Tamarius.

  "Yes and no," Tamarius answered as he glanced out at the crowd of family and friends that had come at the last minute to see them get married.

  "I'm proud of you, and my little Max. How is he?"

  "In college with his whole family."

  "Good, God bless them."

  "Amen"

  "Ah, here she comes, son." His uncle motioned to the pianist to start the music.

  Tamarius turned toward the opening doors of the church to see a breathtakingly beautiful

  Makayla. She wore an off-the-shoulder white gown with a deep red border that went across her chest, flowing down and accenting the edge of her train. Under the red border was a gold trim. The edges of her dress were trimmed in red and gold and throughout her dress were scattered red and gold crystals. She wore a white veil with the same scattering of red and gold crystals and she held a bouquet of red roses tied with a wide gold ribbon.

  Everyone was taken aback by how beautiful she looked. Her father walked her down the isle with evident pride. He stopped just before reaching Tamarius who looked about ready to faint. Fa lifted Makayla’s veil as his daughter gently bowed her head to her father, thanking him silently. Fa kissed his daughter's forehead, lifted her chin and whispered, "I love you."

  He slowly put her veil back into place and handed her to Tamarius. He gently patted Tamarius on the shoulder, nodding his approval. Makayla stood next to Tamarius who was speechless. It took him a moment to gather his words. "You look beautiful," he whispered.

  "Sorry, I was late," she whispered as she blushed.

  "You’re worth every second."

  Peter cleared his throat and began the ceremony by asking God to bless their union and to protect it from the evil in the world. After a heartfelt prayer they reached the part that every couple waits to hear.

  "Tamarius, do you take this woman to be your loving wife, in sickness and in health, through good times and bad? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and respect?" Peter asked, looking at his nephew who was glowing with intense emotions as he faced his bride.

  "I do," Tamarius replied.

  "Makayla, do you take this man to be your lovin
g husband, in sickness and in health through good times and bad? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and respect?" Peter repeated to Makayla who held Tamarius' hands as she faced him.

  "I do."

  "By the power vested in me. I now pronounce you husband and wife. Tamarius, you may now kiss the bride."