44. Epilogue
44
Epilogue
Six months later…
“Whose exhibit is this?” Zay asked me.
We were back where it all began—at the Ridgely to see a new exhibit, only this one was private. We were the only two people here in the Cordelon Room.
“I actually don’t know. I booked for tonight without seeing the actual list.”
She looked me over and shook her head. “I still can’t get over you in this suit. You look like a model.”
“I clean up good, huh? I only had one, and that’s the one I always wore to court. This is new.”
“Well, you look very dapper.”
“Thank you, baby.” My eyes took a quick tour of her in that tight black dress. “And you look like you wanna get your pussy ate from the back.”
“Behave.”
“Or what, Officer?”
She slapped my arm playfully. “There you go with that. I always hated the way you said that.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I knew you were mocking me.”
My eyebrow lifted slyly. “Oh, you caught that?”
“Um, yeah. Asshole.”
“Oh, you want that ate too? Done.”
She burst into giggles. “I can’t with you.”
I pressed a button on the wall to illuminate the art lights. There were four large works on display, and I was eager for her to see them. Vital, really.
So much had happened over the last six months. I moved across the county line to Langston, and my probation transferred with it. No more problems for Zay, hopefully. I had a housewarming in my new rental home. That was cool, especially for my mama. I think it cemented it for her that I was really on my shit now. She didn’t have to worry about getting that call again. She rolled through with Eld…I still didn’t know that nigga’s name, but she had him on her arm, and they looked happy.
My place actually had pictures in it. Real furniture. Kitchen shit Zay made me buy. It looked like a home . That was also a good sign.
My digital art business took off after I did a cover for Lady Maze. She wrote romance books with black couples. Real popular books. Nasty, too, which explained the popularity, I guess. After her book made it to the bestseller list, I was in high demand, sometimes commanding ten-thousand a pop for one drawing.
I had a meeting with Nike coming up soon for a digital art campaign their marketing department was running. Zay didn’t know about that, yet. I still hadn’t gotten over that hump. That crippling fear of letting her down. Me and Doc were working on it, though. Slowly, but surely.
Zay’s non-profit was about six months out from launch. She had so many volunteers lined up, these little Summerville niggas were gonna lose their minds. My girl had everything from chefs to pilots to video game designers. I was so proud of her.
“Alright, Mr. Artist. I’m gonna need you to explain these to me.”
“Tell me what you see, baby.”
She sighed, poking her lips out to pout at me. “You know I’m not good at this.”
“Do I have to repeat myself?”
I stepped behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck with my nose. She let her head fall to the side and let out a little moan that let me know her pussy was wet. But that was gonna have to wait. We had bigger business to take care of.
“Alright," she said. "This one just looks brown to me.”
“And what does that mean to you?”
“Ummm…chocolate?”
I chuckled against that soft space between her neck and her shoulder. She really was bad at this.
“Could it be…skin?”
She tilted her head to the other side. “Oh, you know what? I think I see the outline of a woman’s shape.”
“I think I see that, too.” I kissed her neck again. It was so hard to keep my hands, and lips, to myself.
“Mmm. Don’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because. We can’t fuck in here. Can we?”
“Unfortunately, no. Let’s move on to the next one.”
“Okay, that’s obviously an eye.”
“What shape is it?”
“I don’t know…almond?”
“I see that, too. Reminds me of your eyes.”
“Aww.” She moved to the right until we were standing in front of the third painting. “This one…hmm…animals, maybe?”
“Cats? Dogs? Elephants?”
“Dogs, probably. Cute.”
“And the last one?”
“The sun, obviously.”
“What do you think of these paintings?”
“They’re cool. The style is kind of in your face, but the technique is good. I think.”
Her analysis made me smile. “We forgot to read the names of the paintings.”
“So?”
“I think it’s important. The artist deserves to have their work thought of by name, don’t you agree?”
She shrugged and walked over to the art label under the first painting.
“Will. That’s a weird name for a painting. Or is that the artist’s name?”
“I don't know. What’s the next one, Zay?”
She inched to the right. “You.”
“Next.”
“Mar—oh my God.”
When she turned around, she gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth at the sight of me on one knee.
“Azalea Camelia Davis."
"Isaac, oh my God."
I took a deep breath. I'd been preparing this speech for weeks.
"I painted each on of these to represent something I love about you. The first one signifies the beauty of your body. Every single inch of you, from your head to your toes. Beautiful, brown, soft. You’re art, baby.”
She covered her face and shook her head.
“They say the eyes are the window to the soul. When I look into your eyes, I see the purity in yours. You’re such a good woman, Zay. I never knew people like you existed. And It’s not an act. It’s not for show. It’s who you really are, and I feel lucky to get to experience it.”
I cleared my throat, trying to get the lump out.
“Okay, them damn dogs.”
She burst out laughing through her tears.
“Obviously, you love them, and I love that about you. It makes me think about the day you’ll love our human babies. The way you nurture them. Feed them. Show them affection. You made me love them, and I hated dogs. So, there’s that.”
I took a deep breath.
“That last one is the sun. That’s who you are in my life. I once told my therapist, if my life is a storm, you’re what happens after the rain. Baby, you make everything shine. You make everything warm. Bright. When you beam your light on us, we can’t do anything else but grow. That's all I've done since I met you."
A tear spilled over and ran down my cheek. She finally inched closer to me and put her hands on my face, thumbing it away. When her eyes dropped to the ring, she started sobbing again.
“I love you more than words can ever express. Will you please marry me?”
“Yes. Of course. I love you, too.”
She jumped into my arms and held my neck tight. We cried together. Dreamed together. Lived in this moment together.
When I slid that rock on her finger, her eyes grew three sizes.
“I wanna ask you how, but—“
“But you won’t,” I said, laughing.
That 401k came in handy. Fuck Uncle Sam, though.
“You saw something in me that I didn’t even see in myself,” I told her. “Love like that doesn’t come along often. How could I not give you everything you want?"
“I was just—“
“You were just being who you are. That’s the best part about it. Listen, when you look at that Pinterest board, you see your dreams. I see my to-do list. I’ll never stop until that whole thing is reality.”
“Promise me you’ll never stop sweet talking me.”
“I’ll never stop sweet talking you, baby.” I grabbed her ass. “Or giving you this dick.”
“Well, I already knew that.”
She pressed her lips against mine, making me lose my train of thought, but I had to stop us. We had one more room to see.
When I opened the double doors to the Bellamy Room, the crowd inside yelled, “Surprise!”
Zay's face lit up even more, if that was possible. “Oh my God! Everybody’s here!”
That was an understatement.
Her parents. Her sister and brother-in-law. My mama and El-something. Taurus and the family. Vic and Electra, fresh off their honeymoon. It was our surprise engagement party, so thank the Lord she said yes. Not that I ever doubted she would, but I was still nervous. My brothers didn't help matters when they teased me about her possibly saying no. Hating asses. I loved them, though.
As I watched my mama hug Zay, I wished my daddy was here to see this. And me. I’d finally made myself into a man he could be proud of.
I stared up at the ceiling and blinked back tears as the DJ cranked up the music.
Thank you, Daddy, for taking me as far as you did. I won’t let you down.