Chapter 22 #2
“Where are you taking me?” she asked when I removed her purse and shoes from her hands and set them on the stairs leading up to our house.
“We’re going for a little walk on the beach.
I’m not ready to go inside yet. You made me so damn proud of you tonight.
My parents paved an easy road for us, and for the most part, your parents did the same.
But you and I were different, baby. We carved out a road of our own that deviated from their plans, but that honored who they raised us to be. ”
She stopped briefly and dug her toes in the sand. “You have regrets?” she asked, looking up at me.
The way the moon shone on her face, it looked like she had a halo around her head.
“I have no regrets. I love our life that we have created, even through the obstacles we had to climb over.” I lifted her chin with my fingers and pressed my lips against hers.
“I’m proud of you too. I know that it wasn’t hard for you to leave the street life once you became involved in it.
It gave you so much independence from your father and helped you build your wealth.
But you moved away from your father’s legacy, quit your job with your uncle, and you have focused on building your wealth through your real estate investments.
Between that and my job at Jensen, we have a comfortable life, baby. ”
“We do. And once this NASCAR thing takes off, we’ll be living even better. This,” I stated, pulling a box from my pocket, “is a token of my love for you.”
I opened the box and removed a Pandora bracelet.
I showed her each of the charms: a 1970 Challenger, a camera to represent her film career, a microphone to represent her communications career, praying hands, a heart with her mother’s birthstone and name engraved on the back, and a cocktail representing her time as a bartender with spacers between each charm.
“This is so beautiful, Dominic. Oh my goodness, you always do this to me.” She sobbed like a baby.
I pulled her into my arms and held her close. “My little crybaby. Shortcake, you gotta stop crying all the time, girl.”
“Maybe it’s my emotions.” She was still sobbing.
“I know. That’s what I’m saying.”
Shaking her head, she replied, “You don’t understand.”
“Well make me, baby.”
She took my hand and led me back up the beach to our house. We hadn’t gone very far from the house. She stopped and grabbed her purse from the steps before she walked around to the patio.
I frowned when I saw candles on the patio table along with two covered dishes and a bucket holding champagne.
“What’s this?”
“I had Adrian come by and set this up while we were out. That’s why they left the showing early,” she explained.
“You want me to make love to you out here?” I asked, looking around our patio as we sat down.
I removed the covering over both our dishes and noticed there was a slice of turtle caramel cheesecake on both dessert plates. The sound of singing came from somewhere and caught me off guard.
“The fuck?” My hand instantly went to my gun, but she reached out and stopped me.
“Chill, Dom. It’s okay,” she stated, laughing.
I looked up to see four of the servers who I had paid to sing at my proposal dinner coming from the side of my house, singing. They were once again singing Boyz II Men’s “On Bended Knee.” I was so confused.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
She lowered her head and bit her lip.
“What is it, baby?” I asked, reaching across the table and lifting her head.
“I got you a present, too, and I wanted to present it to you when the time was right.”
“Yeah? Well, is it the right time now? Because I love good gifts, and I’m trying to figure out why I can’t shoot these niggas for sneaking up on my property.”
She giggled and wiped her eyes. I hadn’t noticed that she was crying. Nodding, she answered, “This is the perfect time. And they’re here because I hired them to come here,” she explained as she kneeled in front of me.
I immediately reached out to help her stand, but she shook her head and pushed my hand away. “Let me do this right, baby.”
She reached inside her handbag and pulled out a small, square, black velvet box wrapped with a white ribbon.
“Two and a half years ago today, you asked me to take the first step to eternity with you by settling down to start a family. I said yes. Tonight, I want to remind you of that promise. When we were only eight, you saved my life, and you claimed that I spent a lifetime saving you, but that’s not true.
You spent a lifetime giving me a reason to look forward to another day, honoring me, protecting me, and loving me the way that you did until that love matured into something so much more.
Since that time, you have been an excellent lover, provider, and still my friend, as well as my husband.
Tonight, I’m asking you to remember your promise about starting a family. ”
“You want to start a family, baby?” I asked.
Shaking her head, she replied, “No.” She handed me the box, and I held it for several seconds.
“What’s this?” My hand trembled as I untied the ribbon and slowly opened the box.
“What do you think it is?” she asked in a shaky voice. My baby was still crying as I stared at the gift in my hand.
“It’s a picture,” I whispered in awe as I stared at the black and white photo in my hand.
“It’s our baby, Dom. What you’re looking at is a sonogram of our baby. You’re going to be a father in seven months. I’m ten weeks pregnant, and that little fella right there is Domingo Rafael Garcia-Strong.”
“We’re having a boy, Shortcake?” I asked as my heart leapt out of my chest.
“We’re having a boy!” she exclaimed.
I jumped up, lifted my baby into my arms, and held her close as we kissed. The servers transitioned to singing Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years.” I laughed against her lips as we kissed.
“Look at your romantic ass, recreating our proposal night.”
“Glad you caught on, Reaper.”
I winked at her. I was glad that I caught on to the fact that she was the one for me. I was glad that I’d stopped playing games, making excuses, and taking the risk to love her the way she deserved to be loved.
I may have been blind when it came to her, but she was the only thing I ever wanted to see.
When I looked in the rearview mirror of life, she was there.
When I looked forward to the future, she would be there.
When I checked my blind spots, it was only her that I saw.
She was all around me on every side, and it was she who guided me on this journey of life.
We may have taken a circuitous road to get here, but it was well worth it.
The End