Chapter 10
I couldn’t believe that she’d set a date already. I was ready, but damn. I expected her to take a little time, but I supposed she was ready too. That was the whole point of going through Arranged Hearts. I’d just landed in Houston and planned to tell my brother about my pending nuptials. He wasn’t going to believe I’d done this shit. I could barely believe it. I let that chocolate drop get me caught up.
Yunique didn’t respond to my flower delivery, but I didn’t expect her to. It was meant for closure. Had she called, that would have only opened the lines of communication. It just felt like our chemistry was so damn strong. I could only hope I had that shit with my future wife.
After deboarding with my duffel bag, I headed toward baggage claim where the exits were. I walked out the sliding doors to see my brother pulling up right on time. I walked to the truck and threw my duffel bag in the back seat. When I got in, he smiled and slapped my outstretched hand. We hadn’t seen one another in nearly five months. I’d only made one trip home since I’d been gone, and that was when I was still trying to get settled.
“It’s good to see you, bruh. You looking good.”
“Thanks, Harlan. It’s good to see you too. I see Charmaine got you looking good too.”
He chuckled then rubbed his face with his hand. “You see she got a nigga skin and beard just shining and shit. I told her she just making me look good for the ladies.”
“Yeah, she probably smacked your ass for that comment.”
He chuckled. “She tried, but I dodged that shit.”
We laughed. I slid my hand down my face and decided to clue him in on what’s been going on. “You remember the Pattersons and Vegas?”
“How could I not? Those niggas were everywhere.”
“I met up with them in Florida. Vegas’s mom, sister, and brother all live in Tallahassee. His sister had a baby, and they were all there to spend time with her. He and Jungle are both married with families.”
“No shit? I never thought those niggas would leave the game.”
“Me either. I hung out with them a couple of times.”
“That’s cool.”
I nodded, trying to figure out a way to tell him I was getting married. Nothing came to me, so I decided to just say it. “I’m getting married.”
His head turned to me so fast he should have gotten whiplash. “Nigga, what?”
“The road, Harlan.”
He frowned as he turned forward. “When the fuck you got a girlfriend you didn’t tell me about?”
“I didn’t have a girlfriend, I?—”
“Then how the fuck you getting married?”
“If you let me finish.” He took a deep breath and slid his hand over his mouth in disbelief. “I went through a company called Arranged Hearts. They matched me with someone. We meet at the altar.”
His head spun to me again then quickly went back to the road. “That sound like shit white people do, nigga. Since when you got into shit like that? People lie. What if you get hooked up with a serial killer?”
“It was a risk I was willing to take. I’m sick of ratchet shit. Plus, they do extensive background checks. I even had to have bloodwork done to make sure I’m clean. I just… I need you there to be my best man. You the only family I got.”
“Nigga, this is crazy as fuck, but you know I’m gon’ support you. This ain’t the first crazy thing you’ve done. I’ve always had your back. That shit ain’t gon’ change. I just hope you know what you’re doing. How did you hear of them anyway?”
“A chick I was trying to get with got matched through them. She turned me down because she was getting married. Plus, Vegas’s sister went through them too. She’s been married for two years or so, and they just had their first baby together.”
“I knew it had to be a woman.”
I smiled slightly. “And her ass is from here. Her sister is married to Vegas.”
“Well, shit. What if y’all get matched to each other?”
“She got matched before my interview even happened, but she had to be rematched. So, I guess it’s possible, but what’s the probability?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “You never know, nigga.”
“Right,” I said then rubbed my hand down the top of my head.
I was trying to get Yunique off my mind, but I allowed the conversation to veer and put her right back on it. I didn’t feel like we would even get matched. My interview was too fresh when they were searching for her another match. They probably hadn’t even analyzed my answers to the questions yet.
We went to Harlan’s house for me to put my bag down and for me to shoot the shit with Charmaine, then had her drop us at the Dodge dealership to purchase two trucks. One of them had to be left there to get a bed installed on it. Harlan would swap them out once it was ready. I put an ad on Indeed and updated our website to where it would accept applications. I looked mainly for CDL drivers, ex-truck drivers. They knew the rules of the road, and most times, they knew how to strap loads down on the flatbed when necessary.
When we got back to his house, Charmaine was watching TV. Before I could even sit down good, Harlan said, “This nigga is getting married to a woman he’s never seen.”
She frowned. “Like that show Married at First Sight ?”
“Something like that. Yeah.”
“Oh my goodness! Harlem, that’s so cool! So, listen. You have to do some nice shit for her. Do you know anything about her?”
“Not really. I have the colors she chose for the wedding, which I’m cool with. I left everything up to her, but when it came to the food, she made a list of shit for me to choose from to be sure we had something I liked.”
“She’s thoughtful. So make sure her room is filled with flowers on the wedding day. Go buy her a gift. Will her family be there?”
“As far as I know, yeah. It’s my side that will look kind of shabby. It’ll just be you and Harlan.”
“Let me see the colors.”
I pulled up the email that Mrs. Joan sent me. When she looked at it, she said, “These colors are beautiful. Where will y’all honeymoon?”
“I’m taking her to Tahiti.”
“Damn, bruh! How long is that flight?”
“Damn near a whole day. Like fifteen hours from Houston since we couldn’t get a direct flight from Tallahassee.”
“Shit!” they said in unison, then laughed.
“I bought first-class tickets. I want to show her luxury and give her the world. I want this shit to work.”
“Well, fuck. If a nigga was taking me to Tahiti, I would want that shit to work too!” Char laughed more, then said, “Let me check this shit out.”
She started looking up shit on her phone, while Harlan and I talked about our attire and where he needed to be fitted. We would be wearing gray suits. I was wearing the purple tie, and he would wear the seafoam green. I was getting somewhat anxious. The nuptials were two weeks away, and I just wanted to get to the venue outlined in the email. Our wedding would be in the evening, so I booked our flights for late that night, arriving in Tahiti early evening the next day. Well, with the five-hour time difference, it would be afternoon.
“Make sure you have adapters to charge your devices. Their electrical outlets are different there. You also want to have a VPN so nobody can steal your information. I’m gon’ get you all hooked up with the shit y’all need to make sure you have the best experience possible. Just make sure you buy her a gift and book massages and shit while y’all are out there.”
“Thanks, Char. My travel agent did all of that for me already. We got all kinds of shit to do. We’ll be there for nearly two weeks.”
“Damn. Honestly, Harlem, I could see this in you. You’ve always been kinder than your hardheaded ass brother.”
Harlan frowned as I chuckled. They had me excited about marrying my mystery woman, but for some reason, Yunique came to my mind again. I hate I missed out on her. I didn’t even know her, but shit if I didn’t want to attach myself to her in every way. Harlan and Charmaine were going back and forth, but I just wanted to call Yunique.
This shit was on my last nerve. It was like I was craving her simply because I couldn’t have her. This wedding couldn’t get here fast enough.
They had me in a room with my brother, and I was pacing back and forth. I was nervous and anxious all at the same damn time. Those two weeks had dragged the fuck on. It seemed like it took a whole month to get to this day. Now we had to wait another thirty minutes before the wedding started.
As I paced, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see Mrs. Joan. She smiled big. “You look so nice, baby.”
“Thank you. This is my brother, Harlan.”
She smiled even bigger. “Are y’all twins?”
“No, ma’am. We’re a year apart.”
She nodded, and I glanced down at the box in her hand. She lifted it and handed it to me. “This is from your bride.”
My eyebrows lifted. I wasn’t expecting her to get me anything. I’d bought jewelry for her that I hoped she liked. I pulled the note from it and read it with a slight smile on my lips.
Hey, husband.
While I don’t know your interests, I wanted to get you something that I thought you might use. If not, there are no hurt feelings. I just didn’t want you to not have anything showing that I was thinking about you. I hope to please you in every way, and I can’t wait to build a life… a beautiful life with you. See you in a little while.
Your Wife
I opened the box to find two boxes inside of it. I opened the smaller of them first to find a piece and chain. Shiiiiid, this was right up my alley. “Damn. This is nice.”
When I held it up, Harlan said, “Hell yeah. That’s diamonds on that cross.”
It definitely was diamonds. She’d spent a grip on this shit to say there would be no hard feelings if I didn’t like it. When I opened the next box and pulled out the cigar, Harlan whistled. Man, this woman was just my fucking type. This was a damn Montecristo. There was a whole box of them, along with a cutter and fancy lighter. This wasn’t a Bic from the convenience store. This woman had to be balling. I noticed the stylish case and ashtray in the box as well.
I looked up at Mrs. Joan and said, “Damn. Ain’t nobody ever bought nothing this nice for me.”
Ms. Joan smiled and patted my arm. “It won’t be long, baby. She’s so beautiful. I can’t wait for you to see her. I think she’s everything you desired.”
I slid my hand down my head. That did nothing for my nerves. All I could think about now was hoping I was everything she desired as well. “Yes, ma’am. I can’t wait to meet her,” I said as I slid the chain around my neck.
She left out as I continued to admire it. This shit was nice. It didn’t just have diamonds on the cross, but there were diamonds on Jesus’s head. It was like the crown of thorns was lined in diamonds. It looked like he was carrying the cross. Some people considered this sacrilegious, but niggas like me from Houston wore the hell out of this shit back in the day.
As I admired my cigars and the nice case she’d purchased, Mrs. Joan reappeared. “She’s ready.”
I stood so fast I made myself dizzy. Harlan patted my shoulder and said, “Breathe, bruh. This is what you’ve been waiting for.”
I nodded, and we followed Mrs. Joan to another hallway, leading to the room our wedding would be in. This venue seemed to have several rooms where more than one thing could go on at once. I wondered if they had multiple weddings at once sometimes. Today, we seemed to be the only ones here. When she got to the door, I said, “Hold on, Miss Joan.”
She turned to look at me with a look of concern on her face. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. She grabbed my hand and seemed to be praying for me. I needed it. I had never been so damn nervous. I was about to be standing in front of her family, a family I didn’t know, who would possibly judge me based on what I looked like. I glanced at the piece and chain and put those doubts to rest. She had to have a little hood in her to buy me this.
I finally said, “Okay. I’m ready.”
She opened the door, and when I walked inside, I nearly pissed on myself.