Capri 3

8. Capri

capri

. . .

After the Wedding…

Meer held my hand as we walked up the beach into our backyard. He bought a house in a country that meant so much to me. Quameer wanted to make me so happy, and it was so clear in the way he moved when it came to me. Never in a million years did I expect for him to purchase our family a property in Barbados, and plan a wedding on our own beach, knowing just how much the beach meant to me.

I was able to get married on a beach I had witnessed my brothers get married on. I had been married on the same beach, but on the Inferno side. Meer found a way to give me what I needed and make it our own special thing at the same time.

It was like I was taking in the backyard for the first time, like I hadn’t walked through it to get to the beach. I wanted to cry as I squeezed his hand, and he stopped walking and looked at me. Tears burned my eyes as I stared at this man.

My husband.

His locs were now out the bun from us dancing the night away. The reception was so much fun that I would forever replay the memory in my head like a YouTube video. Our entire family was there to dance and have fun. Mina and Papa even danced, which made me and Gams both cry.

My parents watched me the entire night, so proud and happy for me. For the first time, I could actually see the pride in my mother’s eyes. She didn’t need to say the words because I could see it for myself. She saw the way this man treated and loved on me and knew that I would be good in his hands.

“What’s the matter, Sug?” he asked me, running his hand through my now wild hair. I had lost the hair clip somewhere between the DJ playing “Knuck If You Buck” and “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem.”

“Can we have one more dance…. Just me and you. To our song,” I asked, as I looked up at him and he smiled.

His eyes were tired, as were mine. We had been moving around for hours, having the time of our life, and now more than anything we both just wanted to go to sleep. Sex wasn’t even on either of our minds because like I knew my husband, he would have me up in the morning.

Meer pulled me back down to the beach where it was quiet and still. The waves crashed onto the beach, with the moon shining over us. It was like the moon was giving us permission to have this moment.

The crew would be coming to pack everything up in the morning, so we only had this moment. Everyone was gone; some being carried off the beach because they were too drunk. As if it was meant for us to have this last dance, the DJ was over by the stand, gathering his things up. We walked over toward the installed dance floor.

“Yo, play one song for us… you put everything up already?”

He nodded his head. “Yeah, but I got this speaker and can connect my phone… no fancy mix or anything.” He compromised with us, which made this moment feel that much better.

“That’s cool. “Pretty Wings” by Maxwell,” Meer told him as he held me close to him, looking down at me.

The chiming melody of our favorite breakup song played as we swayed on the dance floor, staring into each other’s eyes. “We’re married, Meer Cat.”

He smirked. “I always knew we would be though.”

I cocked my head to the side. “How you figure?”

“When you came back into my life, I prayed and told God that if you were meant to be my wife, I would allow him to handle it, and what would be would be because he put it together.”

I rubbed the side of his face, never breaking our stride as we swayed slowly. “You prayed about me, Meer?”

“I pray for you every day, Capri. You were always supposed to be my wife. I got personal beef with the man upstairs for putting you through all the shit you been through, but the end game was me, so we cool for now.” He laughed and kissed me on the lips.

I blushed, thinking about all the time we had spent together since entering into each other’s lives. We had been on our fair share of shootouts, had deep conversations and never once had Meer tried to sleep with me.

If he would have asked, I would have given him the draws without question. He had always been so respectful, and always cared about me. When I felt like nobody gave a fuck, he showed me that he did.

“I say a quick prayer for you and Peach every time you both come across my mind. I’ve always wanted my own family, and you and Peach have given me that. A family of my own to love.”

He softly kissed me on the neck. “Can I tell you something?”

“You can tell me anything.”

Meer searched my eyes before kissing me on the nose. “Remember that night I dropped you home after getting our chopped cheese?”

“Yes.”

“I told you to eat mine or save it for when you got up in the middle of the night.”

“Quameer, what the hell are you about to tell me?”

He snickered. “Before heading home, I always made a detour by your townhouse to make sure you were tucked away good. Almost always, that light upstairs was always on. Debated on knocking on your door a few times.”

I thought about all the nights I would stay up working instead of sleeping. Lonely because sleeping in a bed alone felt like torture after having someone to share it with. The thought of how lonely I felt, and how sad I was during that time brought tears to my eyes.

My mental and life was in shambles, and I continued on like it would get better. It never got better because I wasn’t better. I would sit crawled up in my desk chair looking at pictures of me and Naheim, fighting hard not to respond to his text message asking if I was awake.

I knew what he wanted, and as much as sex was good with Naheim… I wanted more. Craved to be loved so hard that I felt it from my toes to my eyebrows, and with Quameer Inferno I felt that.

He never let the day end without telling or showing me how much he loved me. It was something I had never been used to when it came to love. Meer was intentional, and the way Papa loved on Mina through her illness, showed me that he raised boys that had that same love inside of them.

“Why didn’t you knock on the door?”

He smiled as he pulled me closer. “I had to listen to the man upstairs… patience, and that’s not something I’ve ever been good with.”

“I never thanked you, Meer.”

“For what, Baby?”

Tears continued to slide down my face as I looked up into his. “For letting me go and giving me room to grow. You could have locked me down right then and there, but you held back. I questioned myself if you even truly liked me because you allowed me to go and didn’t stop me. I now realize that you loved me because you let me go.”

“Can I tell you something else?”

“Yes.”

“I ain’t never letting you go again… you hear me? You are mine for life… I was supposed to make you, my wife.” He dipped me before spinning me around. “All the shit you went through is in the past. Only fucking love that matters is the one I give you. You are Mrs. Inferno, and I take pride in that. I take pride in knowing I found my equal, a woman that will help me raise my little lady who adores the fuck out of you. Capri Shelly-Ann Inferno, I’m gonna love you until I don’t have any breath in my chest, and even after that I’m always gonna give you signs that I love you.”

I kissed him so hard that we almost fell onto the dance floor. “I love you so much, Meer Cat. My Meer Cat.”

“You learning Portuguese got me fucked up, Sug.”

“I know a couple of things… mostly nasty ones,” I laughed. “I want to learn more because you and Peach be leaving me out when you both get to chatting casually like everyone in the world knows the language… don’t even get started when Gams does it.”

Meer kissed my nose. “Você é minha agora, Capri, para todo o sempre,” I held onto him tighter, resting my head on his chest as we swayed to the repeated song.

Our song.