Epilogue
ARIELLE
Igiggled as Kareem splashed water on me.
“Come on, Mermaid. This is your domain. You ’posed to be showin’ out,” Kareem said as he splashed more ocean water my way.
“You do know that despite my name being Arielle, I can’t swim, right?”
“Shit, don’t I? Remember that time you almost drowned when we went to Jamaica?”
“And you were no damn help, Kareem! You didn’t try to come save me or nothing.”
“Hell no. My ass don’t know how to swim either.”
“How is it our kids can swim like Finding Nemo and shit?” I asked as I dug my hands into the sand and leaned back to soak in all the sun.
We sat on the very beach Kareem first asked me out on. The dinner we never quite made it to. A wicked smile spread across my face as I thought about our first meeting ten years ago.
“They gotta get that from your side of the family,” he responded with a chuckle.
We had three kids back-to-back before I said enough was e-fucking-nough and got my tubes tied. With our oldest, KJ, Kareem’s junior, we were elated, especially after my Lupus diagnoses. I was sick for weeks before the doctors figured out what was wrong.
I had good days and bad days, but I was blessed to have a healthy enough body to birth three beautiful children.
Sierra, our middle child, came when KJ was only three months old.
Kade, our baby who had just turned five, came when Sierra was two months.
Being pregnant for three years of my life had been rough but such a blessing.
And the best part was nobody could say shit about it, because we got married at the courthouse only four months after meeting. It’d been happily ever after ever since, and now, here we were, celebrating our ten-year anniversary with no children, no Lupus flares, and a bright future ahead of us.
I turned my face and looked at my husband. The grays peeking through his beard and crisp lining looked sexy as hell on him. I’d aged some too. A few pounds here and there and a few grays of my own, but in my head, we still looked just as good together as we had the day we met.
“I love you, baby.” I purred as I ran my finger down his chest.
He grinned at me. Kareem was still a damn handful, but he was my handful. He chilled out a bit now that he was in his late forties. There was less bullying and more consideration for others, but barely.
“You love daddy?” he asked as he tipped my chin.
“Yup.” I puckered my lips up for a kiss.
He chuckled. The sound of his laugh always made me feel on top of the world.
Our love was exactly what I needed in my life.
Kareem Spivy came into my life at the exact right time, and I would forever be grateful to God and to him for never giving up on me.
This right here was my happy ending, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Kareem gazed at me before he pecked my lips. When he pulled away, his smile was the most genuine expression I’d ever seen.
His hand pushed my wild curls away from my face as he said, “Look at you . . . All that doubt when we first met. Tryna run from me . . . scared of this love I had to give . . . only to end up right here with All You’ll Ever Need.”
The end