Chapter 26 #2
“Why wouldn’t I, baby? You’re everything that I could ever want in a wife.
You became my purpose for fighting to live another day.
You gave me a reason to get up each morning and look forward to the day again.
When I didn’t want to live, because I was in so much pain, you were my reason for not giving up.
You became my literal breath that gave me life, purpose, and hope.
I never want to lose that or the way you make me feel, Sevyn.
You are my day and night, my world and my universe. I need more of you.”
I laughed as I wiped away the tears. “Yes, Deuce. I will marry you.”
He shocked me further when he pulled a small box from his pocket and showed me a beautiful emerald cut diamond ring and slid it on my finger. It fit perfectly.
“It even fits. How did you know my size?”
“I took one of your rings with me the day that I bought it and had the jeweler size it for me.”
“When was this?”
“Almost four months ago. The day after you tried driving from the mall and had that anxiety attack. I knew then that I wanted you in my life forever. I wanted to protect you, provide for you, and be the one person you could depend on whenever your world fell apart.”
“But you didn’t ask me right away.”
“I wouldn’t allow myself to ask you that knowing that I hadn’t been completely honest with you.
I couldn’t start a marriage with a lie. You didn’t deserve that.
You’d already done that before, and I wasn’t about to let you do it again.
So, I decided to wait until I found the courage to tell you the truth.
It didn’t happen the way that I wanted it to, but here I am. ”
“It happened at the right time, the way that it was supposed to, Deuce. It happened in God’s timing.”
“You’re right, babe.”
He covered my mouth with his and kissed me softly and sweetly.
It was romantic and slow, but his heart and love were in it.
I could feel his soul in the way that he poured himself into that kiss.
When he pulled back, he gave me three small pecks on the lips as he stared into my eyes and then kissed my forehead.
“Our future is so bright. You just made this old man happy.”
I laughed. “Stop that. You’re not old.”
“Yeah? Well, try telling our kids that in the future when I’m walking around on a cane and not because I had an accident either.”
I pulled a face.
“My bad. Too soon?” he asked as I rolled my eyes.
“Boy, yeah. I’m gonna pull that cane out and beat you with it.”
“A’ight. I might be a freak, but I ain’t into that kinky shit.”
“Don’t knock it unless you try it.” I teased him with a wink.
“Aye, I didn’t see your painting yet,” he stated.
I turned my canvas around slowly to face him. When I walked into the house and saw the setup, I immediately knew how I would tell him my news.
“I don’t get it. It looks like a big pillow on a floor surrounded by a blanket with some shoes.”
“They’re not shoes, Deuce.”
He stared closely. “They look like . . . baby booties?”
I nodded slowly as he stared at the painting before turning to see me nodding. “Sevyn?”
“Yes?”
“Sevyn?”
“Yes.”
“This is really true then, huh?”
“Yeah,” I replied slowly, wondering if Amani had told him already.
“Shit! Sevyn, I wanted to believe it, but . . . I was afraid to hope again.”
He jumped up, grabbed me, and spun me in a circle before he set me down again. I watched as he closed his eyes, pressed his hands in prayer pose against them, and then I noticed tears falling from them. I took his hand and led him to the couch, where I sat on his lap.
He held me tightly, and his body just shook.
“It’s okay, Deuce. I knew this would be emotional for you. But everything will be all right.”
Deuce kissed the top of my head and then my face repeatedly. He stared in my eyes with a face full of tears.
“I love you so damn much, woman.”
I smiled and wiped at my own tears. “I know that you do. I’m just glad to be the vessel through which this blessing comes to you.”
“You and this baby are a gift to me, and I’m gonna treat you that way. But I got another confession to make,” he declared, wiping his face.
My heart stiffened in my chest. “What?”
“My sister told Frost that she thought you were pregnant, and Frost told me, and I called my sister, and she confirmed that she thought you were but wasn’t sure.”
I stared at him for several long seconds. He looked terrified, as if he wasn’t sure what I would say. Then I burst out laughing so hard.
“What?”
It took almost a minute for me to calm down enough to answer his question.
“Y’all can’t hold water in your family. I held off telling you when I first found out because I didn’t want you to be with me just because of this baby. Here you are asking me to marry you, and you knew all this time?”
“Yeah, but remember, I got the ring before you were pregnant. I can prove it if you want me to.”
“Baby, you don’t have to prove anything to me. You’re already a proven man. I love you so much.”
“Not nearly as much as I love you, woman.”