Chapter 15 The Marquis Plaza.
As soon as we pull in front of Perfect Pick, Teaira moves and wakes up.
I was hoping she would at least stay asleep until we reached her parents’.
Since she worked last night, she scheduled our appointment for two-thirty so she could sleep in but that shit failed.
She was so anxious about today that she barely slept at all.
When we left the doctor, I stopped by the pharmacy, grabbed her vitamins.
Then we went through the Brewed Bean drive-thru and she got a decaf version of the coffee she likes.
After she sipped it and took her vitamins, she reclined the seat back and knocked out.
“Where are we?” she mumbles as she moves to sit up.
“Almost there. I just gotta make a pickup. Stay like that, don’t move.”
“Mmhm,” she sighs. “But where is this?”
“The Marquis Plaza.”
“The only thing out here is a nail shop, bakery, and that flower shop.”
“Just close your eyes and chill. I’ll be right back.”
I leave my Escalade running, get out, then head inside.
Flowers, plants, and small trees are everywhere; some on table displays and others in the large glass coolers lining the walls.
The coolers on the left are filled with actual bouquets, flowers, vases, and bows.
I spot a pretty bouquet of pink and red roses and grab it.
Nothing else is giving what I’m looking for. I need the perfect ones for Tee.
I’ve been feeling Tee for a minute now but held off because she wasn’t playing about our lil arrangement.
But after seeing her beautiful ass face light up when our baby’s heartbeat filled the room, I real shit fell hard as hell.
She had a nigga on her last year at our DP block party.
She was feisty as fuck, sexy as hell, and talking mad shit.
I had to have her then but I need to have her now.
We’re having a child, and on DP, I’m going to make sure I give them everything they need before they even ask for that shit.
“Do you need any assistance, sir?” a short brown-skinned female with glasses asks from behind me.
“Yeah. I’m looking for purple flowers. I didn’t see any on the walls.”
“I can help you with that. Single or an arrangement?” she asks.
“A big bouquet, nice and pretty. Something a lady would like.”
“Let me show you what we have.” She turns and starts walking toward a counter and I follow with the roses in hand.
When we reach the large table, she walks behind and I stand in front.
“Okay, so one sec. I’ll show you what we have,” she says before heading through an open walkway behind her.
A few minutes later she returns with a few flowers.
One by one, she puts them on the table. “A lavender rose, a purple Matsumoto aster, this lavender carnation, this lavender daisy spray chrysanthemum, and my favorite, a beautiful vibrant purple tulip. I can make any bouquet you like but nothing is better than a majestic arrangement of these prettiest purple tulips in a lilac vase adorned with a purple satin ribbon.”
Clearly, the tulips are her choice and them joints are nice so I go with it.
She walks to the back and returns with a ton of tulips and the supplies to make the bouquet.
Twenty minutes later, I’m walking out with both bouquets, a card, and a bear made out of purple roses.
The bouquets are in boxes that keep the vases steady.
The Man Upstairs is looking out because Tee is asleep when I open my back door, so I ease the box and bear on the floor behind her seat.
Ten minutes after six, I’m pulling into the driveway of the address in my navigation system.
There’s a gray Chevy Silverado parked on the left side in front of the garage, so I park on the right.
Because Tee is sleeping so peacefully, I reluctantly reach my hand out and tap her shoulder lightly.
With her eyes closed, she stretches her arms, twists a little then lets her seat up.
When she’s upright, she finally opens her sexy brown eyes.
“Oh, we made it. Mm, I slept almost the entire way,” she comments as she stretches her neck. “I was tired.” She flips the visor down and checks herself in the mirror. “You ready for this?” she asks.
“Yeah. I’m straight.”
“Why are you so calm?” she asks.
“It’s not like your parents gonna put a gun to my head when we walk in there. It’s dinner with the two people that made yo’ fine ass.”
“Not just them but everything. I freaked out all night before our appointment and you didn’t break a damn sweat.
Out of the blue, I’m pregnant and everything about us is changing and you…
I don’t know…you just act like this is normal.
I need you to spazz out a little bit so I can feel a little normal. ”
“My body isn’t going to change. I’m not carrying our child.
You are. You are the real MVP through all of this so I can at least be solid.
Do what you want to. Freak out all you want cause I got you.
That’s my job. You are having my baby. Whatever you want or need, you got it.
With us, you call the plays and I run the ball,” I tell her and she smiles.
“You remember that when my cravings kick in and I want some strange shit at three o’clock in the morning,” she says, smirking.
“I’m telling you; it’s done.”
I kill the engine then get out. Before helping her out, I open the back door and grab her flowers and bear. A big ass smile spreads across her face as well as a surprised look.
“When did you get this?” she gushes while holding her hand out. I hand her the flowers first.
“I stopped while you were asleep.”
“My mom is going to love you.” She leans in, closes her eyes, then smells the tulips. “These are so beautiful. But purple is my favorite color, not hers,” she says, then pushes her lips out.
“Well, I’m glad I got them for you then,” I tell her and her beautiful, big ass smile makes a reappearance.
“These are mine!” she says loud as shit and I laugh. “And this gorgeous bear too?”
“Yeah. This is for you.”
“Ty—riq! Oh my gosh! Thank you. I love this so much. Ahh,” she gushes before smelling the tulips again. When she lifts her head, she says, “Give me a kiss.”
“This earned me a kiss?” I ask but don’t give her time to answer.
My lips are on hers in seconds and she kisses me.
passionately When we break the kiss, she smiles then pecks my lips again.
After I help her out of my ride,, she reaches for the bear, insisting on carrying them both into the house.
“I’ll put them back in the back seat. I have a box that’ll keep the vase upright.
It’ll be straight while we eat,” I tell her.
“Straight where? Uh uhn. I’m taking my beautiful gifts in there with me,” she says, motioning her fingers on her outstretched hand for the bear.
“I got it. Just let me get your mom’s stuff,” I say and catch the little drop in her smile.
“You got her tulips and a bear like mine?” she asks, damn near pouting.
The look on her face lets me know that if I had, she wouldn’t be excited as she was when she initially thought that was for her mom.
One of her eyebrows is lifted and she’s looking at me sideways.
I chuckle to myself as I grab the roses from the back.
When I close the door and she sees the roses, her forming attitude disappears quick as hell and she laughs.
“Why you laughing?” I ask, amused as hell at her.
“Just know if you had gotten us the same thing, that might have been a problem.”
“That’s fucked up,. You know that,” I joke. “Yo’ ass was happy as shit when you thought the tulips were for her.”
“Well, I was about to say.” She smirks before playfully rolling her eyes and walking off.
I close the door then we head to the front entrance of the house.
She tries to reach inside her handbag so I cuff the bear and grab her flowers.
In the midst of that, the door opens and Tee’s twin is standing in front of her.
Besides a few minor signs of an age difference, they are identical.
The shit is crazy. Quay looks like my mom but not like this.
I don’t have to wonder what Tee’s going to look like years from now, her time machine is looking at me, smiling like her daughter, dressed in a camouflage dress.
“I was wondering how long y’all were going to stay out there in that heat,” she says. She examines my hands. “Come in here before you let all of my cool air out.”
She moves back, widening the door to let us in. Tee takes the one step up then enters and I’m right behind her. Her mom closes the door then pulls Tee into a big hug. “So glad y’all made it and he’s tall and handsome.” Her last words are in a lower tone but I hear her loud and clear and just smile.
“Momma, don’t start. This is Tyriq and Tyriq, this is my mom—”
“Diane. I’m Diane,” she rushes out. Teaira takes her bouquet and the bear and I hand the roses to her mom.
“Nice to meet you Miss Diane. I got you something.”
“For me! You didn’t have to do that. I’m definitely going to take these beautiful roses but you shouldn’t have,” she says, smiling hard.
Just like her daughter, she examines the roses then inhales them.
She places them on the small table propped on the wall then pulls me in for a hug.
When she ends the embrace, she slowly looks up to my face.
“Damn! You are tall. I thought my Troy was tall but you got him by a foot.”
“Momma, not a foot,” Teaira says. “Daddy’s six-one. Where is he anyway?”
“In the kitchen, probably in my damn pots. I hope y’all are hungry. I made a Sunday meal on a Friday.”
“And I’m hungry too,” Teaira says and I smile. She’s finally eating better. The doctor said those vitamins might help too. Maybe they’re working already. “I’m going to put my stuff in the living room till we leave. It’s over here,” she says to me and motions for me to follow.