Chapter 21
“Y’all, this man talked to his deceased baby momma about me.” I looked into my phone, where Kayla and Angie looked back at me. The three of us were on a group FaceTime call as I got ready to meet Onyx and Turquoise at the park.
“Oh, he loves you for real,” Angie said.
“That just means he’s serious about you. I’m sure it was probably hard for him to move on after losing her the way he did,” Kayla added.
It didn’t surprise me that Onyx spoke to Bria about me because of the relationship they had before she passed.
It was also important because I was around her daughter.
Granted, she wasn’t here physically, but I believed people’s spirits lived within us.
I didn’t find it weird or anything. In fact, I was glad he did it because it probably relieved a weight that I was sure he held, even though he never mentioned it.
“Right. It’s crazy because everything moved so fast but felt so natural.
It’s like the whole relationship has been easy, and every time I think the other shoe is going to drop, he assures me that it isn’t.
And I love his daughter so much. Obviously, I would never try to take her mother’s place, but it’s an honor being able to be in her life.
We’ve built our own special relationship, and no matter what happens, I want to be there for her. ”
“Nothing is going to happen, Mav. You and Onyx will get married and have babies someday,” Kayla said.
I dreamed about marrying Onyx and starting a family with him multiple times since the day he walked into my hospital room.
“We shall see. I have to finish getting ready. I’m supposed to meet him and Turquoise soon.”
The three of us said our goodbyes, then hung up. Since we were only going to the park, I put on jeans and a sweater with knee boots. I wrapped my hair up in a low bun and put my watch on.
Once I was ready, I took my phone off the charger and grabbed my crossbody bag off the chair in the corner of my room.
“Come on, Spencer,” I called when I reached the bottom of the stairs.
When Onyx mentioned the park, he insisted I bring Spencer with me. I wanted to anyway, since he loved the park and playing with Turquoise.
After locking up my house, I opened the car door so Spencer could get inside, then went to the driver’s side. Spencer enjoyed riding in the car with the windows cracked, so I opened both back windows for him, and we were on our way.
The whole way there, I wondered why we were meeting at the park, but Onyx wouldn’t give me any clue.
A little while later, Spencer and I arrived at the park. I put his collar and leash on him, then we went to find Onyx.
“M&M!”
I looked up to find Turquoise running full speed toward us. She started calling me M&M a little while ago, instead of calling me Miss Maverick all the time.
“Hey, T!” I bent down and wrapped her in my arms. She smelled like cocoa butter and pink moisturizer, so I knew Ms. Sharon was the one who did her hair.
“Your hair looks pretty,” I said as I gently pulled one of her pigtails.
Ms. Sharon was the only person that I knew of who still used pink moisturizer.
She shook her head and made her barrettes make noise.
“Thank you. Hey, Spencer.” She patted Spencer’s head, and he nudged her stomach with his nose.
“Come on. Wait till you see what Daddy did.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward where her father stood.
The closer I got, the more I saw what she talked about. There was a blanket on the ground with two baskets in the middle. There were also rose petals sprinkled around the blanket.
Onyx stood on the side with his hands in his pockets. He wore black jeans with a black hoodie and black and white sneakers. He’d gotten his locs retwisted and styled in barrels. His face lit up when I reached him.
“Hey, baby.” He kissed my lips, then rubbed Spencer’s head.
“Hey. What’s going on?” I asked as I looked around at the setup.
I noticed two champagne glasses next to a cup for Turquoise. The side of the park we were on was fairly empty, so I let Spencer off his leash so he and Turquoise could play.
“Since the weather is nice, I figured we could have a little picnic. Turquoise insisted you bring Spencer so she could play with him. She even got him a new ball.” He chuckled as he bent down and reached into his bag to get the ball.
Turquoise and Spencer were already running around. Her little giggles echoed through the air as he chased her. Sometimes all they would do was run around in circles. Spencer wasn’t that active, so it was enough for him, and it helped Turquoise burn off some energy.
Onyx whistled and threw the bottle in their direction. Spencer caught it and brought it to Turquoise.
“Here, let me help you sit down.” Onyx grabbed my hand and helped me down onto the blanket.
“Thank you.” Since we were sitting down, I took my boots off and put them in the grass next to me. I wanted to be as comfortable as possible. I probably should have put on some sneakers.
I watched Onyx as he lowered himself next to me on the blanket. From where we sat, we were able to watch Spencer and Turquoise but still pay attention to each other. For Turquoise to only be six, she knew how far to go, and we trusted Spencer to keep an eye on her.
“How was your day?” Onyx asked once he got settled.
“It was good. I only had two appointments this morning, then I went home to clean up and relax. How was yours?”
“It was good. We had breakfast this morning, then went out and did a little shopping. I got a new Lego set.”
I shook my head and laughed. Onyx brought a new set almost every time he went to the store. He even had Turquoise starting her own collection.
“What’s in the basket?” I asked as I peeked over to see if I could get a glimpse of what was inside.
“You’ll find out when it’s time.” Onyx winked.
The fact that he made it seem so secretive intrigued me even more than I was.
“You’re no fun.” I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted.
Onyx reached over and tickled my side. My laughter must have alerted Turquoise and Spencer because they both came over and joined in on the action.
Spencer jumped on, and Onyx tickled Turquoise with one hand and me with the other.
“Daddy!” Turquoise shouted in between giggles. “You gonna make me go potty on myself.”
“Okay, okay.” Onyx stopped his tickle assault on both of us. “Y’all ready to eat?”
“Yes!” Turquoise moved to sit across from me and her father. Spencer got settled next to her with his head on her lap.
Onyx opened one of the baskets and pulled out chicken salad sandwiches and oranges. In the other basket were chips and chocolate cupcakes. He even had something for Spencer to eat.
Once everything was divvied out, we ate and talked about basic stuff. Turquoise did most of the talking about her friends at school.
When we were done, Onyx took our trash to the garbage can, then the three of us played with Spencer for a bit. It didn’t take long for him to get tired, though. At some point, he plopped down on the grass, and Turquoise leaned against him, reading a book that was in one of the baskets.
I liked that he had her reading instead of playing her video games all the time. It was a good balance between the two.
“This was nice,” I told Onyx as I lay against his chest. I never imagined being in a ready-made family relationship, but this one was perfect.
Onyx leaned down and kissed my forehead. We lay in silence for a little bit as the birds chirped. It was so peaceful out there, I could have stayed all day.
“It was, but it’s not over. Sit up for me.” He slightly lifted so I could get up. “Turquoise, come here.”
Turquoise closed her book, and she and Spencer made their way to us.
“Yes, Daddy?”
“Remember what we talked about?”
I watched in anticipation as she nodded her head. They apparently had something planned, but I wasn’t in on the secret.
“What are you two up to?”
Turquoise giggled and looked like she was going to combust with excitement. Onyx stood up and brushed his clothes off.
I didn’t know if I should stand or not, but I chose to stay seated. Turquoise reached in one of the baskets and pulled out a card.
“This is for you.” She passed me the card with a smile on her face.
“Should I read it now?”
She quickly nodded her head and bounced on her heels. I looked up at Onyx, and his gaze was fixed on me.
Tears filled my eyes as I read the card. Turquoise drew me a picture and told me how much she loved me. I gasped when I got to the bottom.
The question made more tears form. Will you marry us?
“You have the weepies,” Turquoise said.
The weepies was a term Turquoise used whenever someone cried. We weren’t sure where she got it from, but I thought it was cute.
“These are the good weepies,” I informed her because I didn’t want her to think I was sad.
My eyes darted up to Onyx, but he was next to me on one knee.
“Maverick, what was supposed to be a regular call turned out to be the best day of my life. I knew we were destined to be together when I pulled you out of that fire. I never imagined having space for another woman in my life, but baby, you carved your way in, and I wouldn’t change it.
You make me so happy, and I love the way you treat my baby.
I wasn’t looking for a replacement for Turquoise’s mother, but you came in and loved and nurtured her like she was your own.
For that, I will forever be grateful and appreciative of you.
I couldn’t ask for a better partner in life, and I want to do this shit with you forever. ”
“Daddy, no bad words,” Turquoise scolded.
“Sorry.” Onyx smiled at Turquoise, then turned back to me. “Dr. Maverick Foster, will you marry us?”
I glanced at Turquoise, who still wore a big smile, then at Onyx. I wiped the tears that continued to fall.
“Yes! Yes, I will marry y’all.”
Onyx pulled me into his arms, then kissed me. We made sure to break the kiss before we got too carried away.
“Yay! Spencer is going to be my brother!” Turquoise shouted as she threw herself into my arms.
“Yes, he is. I love you.” I kissed the top of her head and held her for a few minutes.
I looked down at my hand and admired my ring. I wasn’t sure how many carats it was, but it was big.
Onyx sat down next to me and wrapped his arms around Turquoise and me.
“I love you,” he whispered against my ear before kissing it.
I turned my head to look into his eyes. “I love you, too.”
I thought we would have a typical chill day, but boy was I wrong. Kayla had just mentioned us getting married, and it made me wonder if they knew about it. I couldn’t wait to tell them I was a fiancée.