Lasting Fate

by Charisse Spiers

  I walk over to his dresser and pull out a pair of jeans that are tiny. I can't even believe they make denim jeans so small. "What else do we have in here? I better make you look nice or Mommy will have my head."

  His closet doors are next to the dresser, filled to capacity with clothes. I've discovered exactly how much women like to shop, especially when they're bored. If I come home to any more packages I'm going to have to hide Kinzleigh's laptop and her bankcard or my bank account is going to quickly dwindle.

  I open the doors and stand in the doorway, looking at the array of colors hanging on the bar. Bryce makes a noise when he exhales. "Yeah, buddy, I feel the same way. At least we're in agreement. Your closet is scary. Who needs this many clothes?"

  This isn't as easy of a task as I thought. I can hear Adalynn and Kinzleigh walking down the hallway, getting closer to the door. I just now realize that I'm still wearing boxer-briefs and a white tee shirt. I'm standing here worried about getting Bryce ready to go and I'm not even dressed.

  Shit...

  The door swings opens before I can make a plan and in walks the two of them. On instinct, my free hand along with Bryce's jeans goes over my crotch area in an attempt to cover myself.

  Both of them halt; the laughing stops and everything gets really awkward. The room becomes silent as we all three stand here looking from one person to another. Why the hell did I have to hook up with so many girls? "Adalynn..."

  "Hey, Breyson."

  "I don't mean to sound like a dick, but could you get out...please."

  "Oh, right. I'll just wait in the living room." She looks at Kinzleigh. "Bring me that baby. I want to hold him."

  "Sure, I'll bring him in just a second," Kinzleigh says as Adalynn walks out of the room, but never takes her eyes off of me.

  "I..um..forgot you were not dressed. She said she wants to go shopping for my birthday and take me out for lunch, her treat. It's not a big deal though. I should probably just stay here with Bryce since you have to work. I'll just go tell her now." She turns to walk towards the door.

  "Kinzleigh, stop."

  She turns around, placing her sleeve-covered fist up to her lips. "Are you going to let me speak? Or are you going to ramble without letting me get a word in?"

  "Sorry. Go ahead."

  "I have an easy day today and there is something your dad needs my help with. Pack Bryce's diaper bag and take my truck or ride with Adalynn since your car has the car seat. It's your birthday. You stay in this house all week. Running to Wal-Mart is not getting out. Go have fun. You've been pumping and freezing milk for bottles, right?"

  She nods.

  "Then we will be fine. Your parents can watch Bryce while I run to the ranch. We're supposed to be at Mims and Pops' house by seven. Meet me back here at six thirty, okay?"

  "Are you sure?" She stands there as if she's thinking about something. "What do you have to help my dad do?"

  "I think he wanted help moving something." She narrows her eyes like she knows I'm lying, but then shrugs as if she bought it. "Yes, I'm sure. Go have fun."

  I walk towards her and extend my arm out to hand her Bryce. "Here, you can pick out his clothes. That closet is no place for a man. I'm going to take a shower."

  I kiss her on the lips as she takes our son. Now it's time to make preparations for tonight, the first night to begin the process of making her my wife.

  Chapter 8

  Breyson

  My phone rings as I turn into Kinzleigh's parents' house. I quickly glance at the screen while slowing my pace. Braxton's number pops up on the screen. He's helping me get everything set up at the ranch while I do everything else. "Hello?"

  "Dude, what if this shit is not how you want it? I really don't want to live with that kind of pressure."

  "Braxton, you don't even have that many items on the to-do list. What's the problem?"

  "I don't know. I'm not romantic. You're the one that has turned into a love-struck pussy. My idea of romance is roses and a box of chocolates. Here you are, wanting lights and candles and rose petals. I'm out of my league here."

  "I have an idea. Why don't you just take your dick out of the equation and see what ideas you come up with. You might surprise yourself. There is more to making a woman happy than seeing how many times in a day you can get her off. They do like a little romance occasionally. If this is the kind of behavior you have all the time then I don't know how Adalynn puts up with you."

  "Why do you always have to bust my balls, Breyson?"

  "Because you'll thank me for it one day. I've explained to you what to do. As soon as I get done I'll be there. This is my one proposal. I have one chance to get it right. Don't fuck this up for me. Someday you're going to be calling me for this shit."

  "Whatever. Fine. Just hurry up. I can't promise this is going to be pretty."

  "One chance, Braxton. This is the shit women dream about their whole life. They all want the epic proposal they can tell a million times until they're old and gray. Do. Not. Fuck. This. Up. I'm depending on you. I don't ask you for much."

  He breathes into the phone. "Yeah. Okay, man. I get it. You know I'll always have your back. See you soon?"

  "Yeah, see you soon."

  I am now sitting in the driveway, parked behind the garage. My stomach feels like I'm about to be dropped off a three hundred foot roller coaster ride at seventy miles per hour. Being raised in the south comes with certain traditions that you can't escape. One is asking your girl's father for her hand in marriage. Normally it is supposed to come before you knock up his daughter, but I've never been good at following rules. I just hope he doesn't hold it against me.

  No one has ever told me what you do if the man says no. It's just assumed he says yes. Now I'm even more nervous. We're young, and with that comes the speech that we don't have a clue what we're doing, and that we’re acting like foolish teenagers. I take a deep breath and open the door. There's only one way to find out.

  I open the back door and remove Bryce's carrier from the base. He's awake, looking at me and sucking his pacifier. "I'm about to ask Pawpaw if I can marry your mother. Wish me luck. I might need you as my wingman."

  He continues staring at me and sucking his pacifier as if my future is not in the hands of his grandfather. "You're supposed to be calming me down, buddy. This affects you to, you know. Your parents need to be married. Your mother needs to share our last name. It's just not right otherwise."

  He drops his pacifier from his mouth and is pulling his mouth up trying to smile. "Is Daddy being nervous funny to you?" My voice is teasing and he takes notice, waving his arms in the air before he starts cooing.

  We make it to the door and I knock. I stand impatiently as the footsteps on the other side get louder. The door opens and Kinzleigh's mom is standing on the other side. She takes one look at me, and then down at the carrier in my hand and smiles. "How are two of my favorite boys?"

  She steps to the side letting us enter. As I walk inside she grabs me, pulling me into a hug. "I have a feeling I know why you're here. Just remember, eye contact and speak clearly. If he knows you're nervous he'll eat you alive."

  She pulls away and grabs the carrier out of my hand, winking as she walks further into the house. I shut the door. My heart is pounding out of my chest at the realization that it's becoming more real. Who came up with this rule anyway? She's the one I want to marry, not her dad.

  I follow her mom inside. She places Bryce's carrier on the island in the kitchen and begins unbuckling his car seat while she's talking in baby talk. "Did you come to see Nana? Nana's been missing you, sweet boy."

  I sit the diaper bag down beside his carrier. She looks over at me as she picks up Bryce, pulling him out of his car seat. She cradles him in her arms and begins patting him on the butt and rocking from side to side. I'm standing here, staring at the two of them.

  "Breyson, don't be nervous. We both love you as if you're already our son." She looks down at Bryce and back up at me. "If he hasn't killed yo
u by now, you're golden," she says with a smile on her face. "Just remember, he did this once and one day if you guys have a daughter some poor boy will have to do it with you."

  That's a scary thought. If I have a daughter I'm not letting her within ten feet of a guy like I was. God knew I couldn't handle a girl. "Where is he?"

  "In the den reading the news. Go ahead. Bryce and I will be just fine." It's time to do this. Today is a day I don't have time to waste.

  I walk through the doorway from the kitchen into the den, where I immediately see Kinzleigh's dad sitting in his recliner buried under a stack of Sunday papers with Nascar playing on the television.

  He looks up at the same time he lowers the book of newspaper he has spread out in front of him. "Breyson. What do I owe the pleasure? You said you had something important you wanted to talk to me about?"

  His tone is void of any emotion. I can't tell if he knows why I'm here or if he's intrigued as to why I'm here without Kinzleigh. I make my way further into the room and round the couch, sitting on the end closest to him. "Yes, Sir. I did, I do."

  He stares at me briefly before he folds up the paper and lays it on the side table by his chair. He picks up the television remote and mutes the sound on the television. "Okay, I'm listening. Lay it on me."

  You would think from the nerves sparking in my stomach that I'm terrified of the man, but we're actually pretty close. "Well, sir, it's about Kinzleigh..."

  "Go on..."

  I take a deep breath, preparing myself for the speech that I've recited over and over again in my head, hoping it comes out exactly as I have rehearsed. I clear my throat and wipe my sweaty palms down my jeans, trying to dry them off.

  "I want you to know that she is an amazing girl, the best, and I couldn't envision my life with anyone else. You and your wife have done a phenomenal job raising such a beautiful person, inside and out. Honestly, I don't deserve her, but for some reason she loves me, making me the luckiest man in the world. That girl is everything to me, sir. I know we're young, but I love her with everything that I am. I feel the need to tell you how sorry I am that I made things a little more complicated by impregnating her prior to this conversation, but if I had to choose someone to be the mother of my child it would always be her. I was raised by a family that has taught me the importance of being a family. Even though he is not the basis of this decision I still want him to be raised by both of his parents under wedlock. I'm here because I want to ask you for her hand in marriage."

  I feel a sense of relief come over me by getting those words off my chest, but the most important part is yet to come. I still need his blessing. It's good manners. He starts rubbing his hand back and forth over the back of his neck, deep in thought. I remain silent, giving him the opportunity of letting my request sink in.

  "Breyson, Son, I appreciate you coming here and asking me, but you know she's my only little girl..."

  That sentence sounds like a no is coming. My stomach is starting to knot up again. "Yes, sir."

  He studies me. I feel like I could throw up right now. "Follow me," he says, and stands.

  I do the same, and follow him toward the staircase. We begin to climb one step at a time. I haven't been up here since the day I left for the airport. The layout is similar to the way their house in California was, but different.

  We reach the top of the stairs and turn in the opposite direction of the bedrooms, the side with only one door. I've never been in that door before.

  He opens it and walks in, holding it open until I enter. It's an office. The back wall is a bookshelf, filled with books. I wouldn't have taken him for a reader.

  He walks around the desk and sits in the large leather chair that sits in front of the bookshelf behind the large Oak desk. "Have a seat, Son."

  I have no idea why we're here, but I do as I'm told. He spins in the chair and begins scanning through the books on the shelf that sits the same height as him in a sitting position. He removes one and turns back around, handing it to me. It's a photo album labeled Kinzleigh.

  I look back and forth between him and the book. "Go ahead, open it."

  I open the book and the first photograph is Kinzleigh's mom in the hospital holding her, along with him and Konnor, who was only a toddler at the time. I flip through the pages, each one with photographs of her a little older than the one before. The book tells the story of her entire life summarized. She's beautiful; she always has been, and she looks happy in every one.

  When I look up he has a remote in his hand, pointing it to a TV behind me on the wall. "I had a feeling this was the reason you were coming to talk to me, so I put this in. I want you to see something."

  I turn around as the sound of a home video starts playing. He must have fast-forwarded it, because it's not the beginning. Her mom must be filming, because he's sitting on the twin size bed with Kinzleigh. The room is pink and sparkly, but everything visible is something related to a princess.

  They are both sitting against the headboard with a big book spread out in their laps. Kinzleigh looks about five, with the same platinum curls and green eyes she has now. I can't take my eyes away.

  He's reading what sounds like the end of a fairytale by the way he mentions the prince and the princess getting married and living happily ever after. I'm starting to wonder why he's showing me this until Kinzleigh opens her mouth and starts talking. "Daddy, will I marry a prince?"

  I'm glued to the conversation that takes place between the two of them, starting with his response.

  "One day, baby girl, when you're grown, you'll marry someone so much better than a prince."

  "Like what, Daddy?"

  "Well, see, a prince is only in fairytales, which is only a story that daddies and mommies read to their little girls. A fairytale has to end, but one day when you get big you'll meet a boy that makes you smile, kind of like Daddy, but this boy will ask you if he can have your heart. Do you know how I call you my princess, because I love you?"

  "Because I'm pretty like a princess?"

  He laughs. "Yes, because you're pretty like a princess, but also because I love you and you're special. One day a boy is going to love you in a different way than Daddy. He will come ask me if he can marry you like the princess in the book. If he comes and asks Daddy if he can make you his princess, then you know he's your prince."

  "Then I get to wear a big fluffy dress to marry my prince?"

  I'm assuming after that it's a lost cause, because he just goes along with it. I'm speechless, staring at the now paused screen. "Breyson."

  I turn around not knowing what to say, but he doesn't expect me to. "This was your test and you passed with flying colors. I know you love her, but there are so many boys out there that lose respect, becoming selfish. One day you may have a daughter and you'll understand that she's your little girl. It's hard enough to let her go when you give her away to a deserving man, but it's another thing entirely to have one think he's entitled simply because he wants her. By you coming here it shows your character and that you will put her before yourself."

  He places his forearms on the desk and finishes his thought. "I do wish that you two would have at least been more careful and finished school before you strapped yourselves with a baby, but it's done. There is no reason to ever look back and wish things a different way. He's a beautiful baby, and now he's made a place in everyone's heart. She is my only little girl, Breyson. I will do anything to protect her, but because I know that there is something different between you two I'll give you my blessing in marrying her. She is my heart. Treat her like the princess that she is and never take her for granted. Don't make me regret this. Are we clear?"

  In this moment I feel relieved. I have one step behind me, but still another to go. "Yes, sir. I give you my word."

  "Good. Now go on. You have a proposal to make."

  I stand and walk to the door, opening it, but I stop. "Oh, Mr. Baker...thank you for trusting me enough to give me a chance. She's changed me into a man I'm proud to
be."

  Without another word I continue outward. One more stop and it's go time. I sprint down the stairs and quickly make my way through the living room. Kinzleigh's mom is feeding Bryce in the recliner. "I take it you're on your way to propose by that smile across your face?"

  I didn't even know I was smiling. "Yes, ma'am. Will you watch Bryce long enough for me to go get her ring? He's not supposed to be out yet. I'll be back as soon as I'm done. Kinzleigh is shopping for her birthday."

  "Sure, honey. Take your time. We will be just fine."

  "Thanks, Mrs. Baker."

  I never stop walking in the sprint for Kinzleigh’s vehicle. The longer I wait the more rushed I will be. Picking out the ring is one of the most important parts; the semblance of forever.

  Kinzleigh

  It's half past six and Adalynn just pulled in to drop me off back at our house so I can ride with Breyson to Mims and Pops' house for our birthday bash. Breyson doesn't appear to be here yet. Strange. He's always on time.

  I unbuckle my seatbelt and grab my purse. The car is loaded down with bags from our retail therapy around town. It's been forever since I've had a day to be a teenager. It was really nice to just let loose and be free. I probably spent more money than I should have, but I couldn't help myself.

  Adalynn steps out of the car at the same time I do, grabbing bags from the back seat. She walks with me to the door. I pull Breyson’s keys from my purse and enter the correct one into the lock, opening the door. She walks in directly behind me, sitting the bags along the wall by the doorway.

  I look at her and she has tears in her eyes. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

  She pokes her middle fingers in each corner, trying to stop them before they fall. "I'm going to miss you, Kinzleigh. I’ve been missing you since you left back in May. I have to hit the road with Braxton in an hour to head back to school, but if you're ever free for a weekend you should come to Baton Rouge. It’s a different world there."