by D. Camille
Danielle smiled. “Khalil is very modest. He is an excellent father and takes exceptional care of his son.”
He smiled at her. “Thank you Queen.”
Betty and Larry shared a look, before she spoke. “You know Khalil, both you and Kyros could’ve stayed here with us. You didn’t have to get a hotel room.”
Danielle laughed. “That was my idea Momma. Kam and Kyros would never go to sleep under the same roof and I wanted Khalil to have his privacy. This is also his vacation.”
Betty nodded. “I understand.”
“But I thank you for the invitation Mrs. Baxter.” Khalil told her.
Standing, her mother looked at Larry. “Come and help me bring the refreshments out here honey.”
“Yes honey,” He looked at Khalil with a smile and left to help his wife.
Khalil turned to Danielle. “So you wanted me to have privacy?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t want to attack you in my parent’s house. I can’t have you that close without wanting to be with you, so I had to send you to a five-star hotel with all the amenities.”
He nodded in sudden understanding. “That’s why you insisted on booking the hotel, telling me you were more familiar with them.”
“I am and I wanted to book you somewhere very nice, since you sprung for First Class tickets. Now we’re even,” she told him.
“It’s not a competition Queen.”
Danielle moved closer. “I know, but I always want you to understand that I’ve got you, just like you’ve got me.”
He kissed her softly. “Thank you.”
Her parents returned with all sorts of food and beverage. Seeing food, the kids ran inside and were instructed to go wash their hands.
“They are adorable together,” Betty commented. “I’m going to love having a grandson.”
Danielle smiled, thankful for her loving parents. She’d known they’d love and accept Khalil and Kyros as their own.
“I can’t wait to visit Detroit,” Larry said happily. “To give my daughter to such a fine young man.”
“I can’t wait to take her.” Khalil commented.
Betty smiled. “Do you need any help Danielle?”
“No, momma. Toya and Kim are helping and the Nigist.”
“The Nigist?” her mother asked.
Danielle paused. “Yeah…they are the wives of Khalil’s friends.”
“Are they a group?” her mother inquired.
“They are official,” Danielle said and Khalil turned to her.
“Actually, Mrs. Baxter, my friends and I form a group called the Negus and we protect the city,” Khalil announced.
Betty looked confused. “Like police?”
“No.” Khalil answered and Danielle looked at him.
“More like champions for the city,” Danielle explained. “Khalil and his friends work in the community to make positive change.”
Larry nodded. “That’s sounds real good.”
Khalil looked at Danielle. “Most of the time it is,” he added.
Betty asked Danielle, “So what about these Nigist? What do they do?”
“They protect the Negus as the Negus protect the city,” Danielle quoted and Khalil coughed.
“Wow, I can’t wait to meet them,” Betty said eagerly.
Danielle picked up a glass and took a sip. “Six weeks.”
Larry looked at the pair. “If I didn’t already know better,” he looked at his daughter sympathetically. “I’d ask what’s the rush? So I’m just going to assume that you two know what you’re doing?”
Quickly, Danielle sat her glass down as Khalil began speaking.
“The rush is that I’m in love with this beautiful, strong, loving woman and I went into this relationship with every intention of making her my Queen. We’re both adults who know what we want, so there’s no need to wait,” Khalil said taking her hand.
“I’m bringing my family all under one roof so we can begin our lives together as soon as possible,” Khalil finished.
Larry nodded at Danielle. “That’s a good man.”
“I know Daddy. He’s the best,” Daniel said staring at Khalil.
Khalil and Kyros stayed until sunset before heading out to settle in at their hotel. When they entered the lobby, Kyros looked at his father. “This is the hotel?” he said in wonder, staring at everything in sight.
Khalil shook his head. “Yes, you can thank Danielle later.”
Kyros pumped a fist. “Yes! Thank you Ms. Danielle!”
“Come on son,” Khalil instructed as they made their way to the check-in desk.
“I’d like to change the room account to this card,” Khalil announced, handing her his credit card.
The concierge looked at her screen. “Sorry sir, everything is already paid for. You can leave that card for incidentals, if you like.”
He shook his head. “Okay, yes, please do that.” That damn Danielle.
The Lewis’ were shown to their suite with a balcony overlooking a sparkling kidney-shaped pool and Kyros ran to the sliding doors. “Look Daddy!”
“I need to take my son out more,” Khalil said to himself.
“Can we go to the pool?” Kyros asked.
“Danielle is going to bring Kam one day while we’re here and you two can go swimming,” Khalil informed him.
Khalil stood looking out of the window while Kyros checked out the rest of the suite. He pulled out his phone and called Danielle.
“Hi, are you there yet?”
“A suite?” he asked.
“Only the best for my Kings,” she told him.
Khalil smiled. “I tried to change the card.”
“I knew you would. That’s why I prepaid,” she said happily.
“This is very nice and I thank you,” Khalil said softly. “I can’t wait until you’re here to enjoy it with me.”
Danielle sighed. “Me too.”
“Kyros is already asking about going swimming,”
“Tomorrow is Disney and then the next day is hanging out by the pool at the hotel,” Danielle announced.
Khalil frowned. “I don’t want you trying to do too much.”
“I promise, that’s the last thing I would do. I know my limits right now,” she promised.
Khalil nodded. “I like your parents.”
“They love you and Kyros. I think if you tried to back out, Daddy would bring out the shotgun,” Danielle teased.
“No shotguns needed.”
She laughed. “That’s good to know.”
“Get some rest Queen, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
“You too, I miss you already,” she whispered.
“I miss you too and I love you,” Khalil told her.
Danielle sighed. “I love you too and tell Kyros I said goodnight.”
“I will.”
Khalil ended the call and went into the bedroom to find Kyros, knocked out, spread eagle on one of the beds. He shook his head and sat on the other bed. He didn’t feel like wrestling to undress a six-year old tonight, so he decided just to let him sleep, since he had another full day ahead of him tomorrow. At least he’d taken off his shoes first.
The day at Disney wasn’t as bad as Khalil had imagined although it was not something he planned to repeat. Danielle noticed how he watched the kids like a hawk, among the crowds of people. She knew he was on guard, due to the recent incident and the time of the year, so she didn’t question his intensity in this moment. The kids had a wonderful day and at the end Khalil had even admitted it wasn’t so bad. He really had no choice after seeing how happy Kyros had been.
The next afternoon Khalil, Danielle and her parents sat by the kiddie pool at the hotel while the kids splashed around. The women donned sundresses while the men dressed in shorts and tanks.
“Do you have a pool at your center?” Betty asked Khalil.
Khalil shook his head. “It gets too cold and financially it wasn’t worth the money to put one in. Plus, the liability insura
nce was astronomical.”
Larry agreed. “I could see that with kids. You never know what could happen.”
“We do have an auditorium, classrooms, a gym, a workout room, game room and computer labs,” Khalil explained.
“It’s an amazing place,” Danielle agreed. “Khalil has done a wonderful job building it. I’m very proud of all he does.”
“And you two met in your courtroom?” Larry asked.
Khalil laughed. “That’s when we first became acquainted. She was Judge Baxter then.”
“Then we met on Kam and Kyros’ field trip to the African American History Museum,” Danielle explained. “We were both chaperones-”
She looked up as an attendant stopped in front of her with a tray high in the air. “Hi, may I help you?” Danielle asked.
“This is for you.” He lowered the tray to her eye level and she saw a small box. Her eyes jetted to Khalil.
“Did you do this?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Larry and Betty watched as she reached for the box. The attendant smiled and walked away while the adults stared at Danielle.
“See, if I cry, you can’t say anything,” she told Khalil.
“Open the box Queen.”
She stared at him. “I thought we were going to wait until we got back to Detroit.”
“We were,” he confirmed. “But since there was an expert Queen here, I decided to utilize her expertise.”
Betty beamed as she looked at her daughter. “I hope you like it,” she told Danielle. “I promised him you would.”
Danielle looked at the pair. “So this is where you disappeared to this morning?” she asked her mother. Betty had asked Danielle to make breakfast for Kam and her father because she had some early morning errands to run.
“Your mother was kind enough to wade through hundreds of rings until she found the one that would be fitting of my Queen,” Khalil told her. “And I thank her.”
Betty reached over and took his hand. “No, I thank you for wanting to please my daughter so much.”
“Now open the box Danielle,” she said turning to her daughter.
Danielle sighed. “I can’t believe this is happening right now.”
Opening the velvet box, she peeked inside then quickly closed. “Oh my god!” She put a hand to her mouth.
Khalil looked at Betty. “Has she always been this dramatic?”
Betty nodded and Larry grinned. “She has her moments.”
Danielle ignored them and opened the box again to the brilliance that watered her eyes. “This is so…it’s so beautiful!”
Khalil moved to her side and she lifted her eyes to his as he knelt beside her chair. “Danielle Baxter, your father has agreed to give you to me. Do you officially agree to become my Queen in the presence of those who love you the most?”
She nodded slowly as tears dropped onto her sable cheeks. “Yes.”
Khalil took the ring and placed it on her finger before gently wiping her cheeks. “You know how I love definitive answers.”
Danielle looked at her hand then touched his jaw. “You know how to surprise me.”
“You do the same.”
She framed his face with both hands. “I love you and this is the most beautiful ring, I could’ve ever imagined.”
“I love you Danielle.”
She lowered her head and kissed him, fully oblivious of all the people around the pool. Khalil looked over at Kyros waiting by the edge of the pool and gave him a nod to which, Kyros nodded back happily.
“What’s going on?” Kam asked Kyros joining him at the edge.
Kyros smiled. “My Daddy finally got his Queen.”
Chapter 21
Danielle sat in the dressing room at the Charles H. Wright Museum. It was only fitting that she and Khalil had decided to host their wedding at the place they’d first begun to fall in love. Here, among the artifacts and stories of the ancestors, they would proudly join their lives together.
“There’s my best friend!” Toya came crashing through the door.
Danielle laughed. “And there’s mine!”
Toya came and hugged her gently. “I’m so happy for you. You know that, vicariously, this is my wedding?”
“You’re going to have your own wedding one day Toya.”
Toya smirked. “I don’t know about that. Khalil’s twin is a girl.”
Danielle shook her head. “But he has friends…”
“Okay, okay,” Toya nodded her head. “You pick one for me and I’ll take him.”
She gave Danielle a look. “Make sure you pick one that can handle all this.”
“I’ll do my best,” Danielle agreed with a smile.
Toya looked at Danielle in her wedding dress. “You look so pretty…” she cooed.
“Thank you and don’t make me cry,” Danielle warned.
Toya frowned at her. “You know I’m still mad at you?”
“No, you’re not.”
“I am too,” Toya disagreed. “Trying to leave Detroit and run away from me.”
Danielle shook her head. “I wasn’t running away from you, I told you that I thought I needed a change.”
“Well, thank god for Khalil, otherwise I’d have to move back to Florida too,” Toya told her.
Danielle looked at her best friend for life. “I love you T.”
“See, now you’re going to make me cry,” Toya admonished. “And I need to look good today for my potential new husband.”
Touching the corners of her eyes, Danielle said, “You are so crazy.”
Toya took her hand. “Are you good D.?”
Danielle nodded. “Everything is going really well, better than I anticipated.” She touched her stomach through her dress. “Khalil takes such good care of me, both he and Kyros.”
“Is Kyros excited about having a little brother or sister?” Toya asked.
“I think he’s the most excited. He says it’s our baby,” Danielle said with a soft smile. “On my rough days, he brings me tea and tells me stories.”
“He’s such a little man,” Toya agreed. “I might have to wait for him to grow up.”
Danielle shook her head. “Don’t start that.”
Toya laughed. “Well whoever gets him will be a very fortunate woman one day, just like you.”
Kim poked her head in the door. “Okay, you two…it’s almost time and we all want to see the beautiful bride.”
Kim pushed open the door and allowed all the women inside who had been waiting. Danielle smiled at her mother, Assata, her sister and the Nigist. All of these incredible women made up the support system she’d never imagined that she would need.
She was about to become an ‘official’ Nigist and she fit right in with all the pregnant bellies as hugs and kisses were given.
Who would’ve thought that she’d become the wife of the most dangerous Negus of them all?
******
Khalil fixed his attire and turned to the other men in the room.
“I’m good?” he asked.
Rion smiled at the groom. “Yeah, brother, you’re good.”
Corvus shook his head with a smile. “You got the judge pregnant?” He laughed. “I ain’t mad at you though.”
“Shut up.” Khalil told him.
Brandon looked at Corvus. “What about you Corvus?”
“What about me?”
Lance piped in. “You have been acting sorta strange lately.”
Corvus frowned. “Miss me with that Lance.” He looked around the room. “I’m telling all of y’all right now…I’m not your babysitter, I’m not your chauffeur, and I’m not your third wheel, no more.”
Rion put an arm around his little brother. “You growing up now?” he asked.
Corvus pulled away. “I’ve been grown.”
“Leave him alone now,” Mr. Shaw told the group. “I’m trying to get him out of my kitchen.”
“I’m never leaving my Momma’s kitchen,” Corvus told him.
Br
andon, as usual brought the conversation back around. “Congratulations Khalil, we’re all happy for you.”
“Thank you my brother, it’s been a long few months to get to this point.”
Malachi patted Khalil on the back. “Man, you came through that like a champ.”
Khalil looked at him. “On the outside,” he responded. “Inside, that messed me up.”
“I think it messed us all up,” Rion agreed.
The Negus looked at their father’s in the room. “We were so favored to have men in our lives who loved and protected all of us,” Rion said quietly and all the men agreed.
Khalid put his arm around his son. “And now you all are doing the same for the young men now.”
“And that damn Spencer is dealt with,” Mr. Shaw confirmed. “His body has recently been claimed by his family. His hired guys cut a deal and testified that he’d hired them to murder both you and Melody in addition to taking Kyros.”
“The details of what was found on his computer and in his home has the family trying to keep everything on hush. At this point, they don’t even care who did this to him, they just want it to go away quietly.”
Khalil frowned. “People should know what a sick bastard he was.”
Khalid agreed with this son. “I agree, but this takes all eyes off of you and your involvement. He got what he deserved and that’s what matters most. He can’t hurt anyone else.”
He smiled at Khalil. “Today is your day to marry your Queen and we aren’t going to let anything tarnish that.”
Khalil nodded. “I agree.”
Everyone else in the room agreed as well, and after manshakes and hugs, they filed out to where the ceremony would be held. Khalil stood proudly in his black tuxedo and Kente Cloth bowtie waiting for his bride.
He looked proud as he watched Kam and Kyros come down the aisle with flowers. Rion was his best man and stood just as proud beside him.
Everyone laughed as Kyros gave his father a head nod when he reached the front, then Khalil responded in kind.
The Nigist made their entrances along with Toya and Kim who were paired up with Malachi and Mathias respectively. Finally, Khalil got the first glimpse of his Queen on her father’s arm. She smiled at him and he returned it without hesitation. Her white dressed flowed around her burgeoning body and her dark Marley Twists were up in an elaborate style with golden accents in her hair.
