Chapter 31 Toni Mensah
Becoming Mrs. Mensah…
Today was my weddin’ day and I woke up feelin’ somethin’ I couldn’t even fully explain, ’cause it wasn’t just excitement and it wasn’t just nerves. It was everything mixed together after all the shit me and my husband had been through to get to this moment.
The room I was in was full, and I mean full in a way that felt warm instead of crowded, ’cause it was all women that loved me, supported me, and really wanted to see me win.
Pluto was right here near me, soft like she always was, watchin’ me with that proud look in her eyes, and Sha’Nelle was movin’ around talkin’ her shit under her breath, and makin’ me laugh when I felt myself gettin’ too emotional.
Abeni was here, poised and elegant, sayin’ lil’ things here and there that somehow calmed the room down without her even tryin’, and Nyori was laughin’ with the other women, bringin’ that energy that kept everything from gettin’ too heavy.
Then Mahmáh came in, and the whole room shifted in a quiet way, ’cause that woman carried presence without sayin’ too much.
She walked up to me slow, lookin’ me over from head to toe, and I stood there tryin’ not to get emotional too fast, but when she reached for my hands and squeezed them, I felt that in my chest.
“You look beautiful,” she said, her voice soft but firm.
“Thank you Mahmáh,” I told her, already feelin’ my throat tighten.
She nodded, then leaned in and kissed my cheek before speakin’ low to me, givin’ me her blessin’ in a way that made me feel seen, like I really belonged here, and like I had earned my place in this family for real.
By the time she stepped back, I had to blink a few times just to keep myself together ’cause I wasn’t about to start cryin’ before I even made it down the aisle.
Pluto came up behind me and adjusted my dress, her hands gentle while she smoothed it out. “You look so pretty, Toni,” she said, and she meant that shit.
“My baby gettin’ married for real,” Sha’Nelle added, grinnin’ while she looked me up and down. “And that nigga ain’t even ready for how fine you look.”
I laughed, shakin’ my head, but when I turned toward the mirror again, I had to pause for a second and really look at myself.
My dress was soft pink, and it wasn’t loud or over the top, but it was detailed in a way that made it stand out.
The lace hugged my body just right, and it flowed down smooth, with layers that moved when I shifted.
The top sat off my shoulders just enough to show my collarbone, and the way the fabric laid against me made me feel…
soft, but still like myself. My hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, long and full, with my veil pinned right into it, fallin’ down my back and blendin’ in with the dress.
I ain’t even recognize myself for a second. It wasn’t a bad thing at all, but it made me realize how far I had come.
Treasure walked over with My’Love, and the second my baby saw me, she lit up, her arms movin’ like she was tryna reach for me even though she was still in her grandma’s hold.
“Look at you,” I said, smilin’ through it while I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “You so pretty, mama.”
She was dressed in this soft pink dress that matched mine in its own way, the fabric light and layered like a tiny version of a weddin’ dress, and her little legs kicked while she made those happy sounds she always made when she saw somebody she loved.
She was seven months now, and she was growin’ so fast it ain’t even make no damn sense sometimes. It felt like just yesterday I was holdin’ her fresh out, and now she was more aware, turnin’ her head when she heard voices and reachin’ for whatever caught her attention.
She been mumblin’ her lil’ sounds too, like she really was tryna talk, and every time she did it, it made me smile without even thinkin’ about it.
She had started eatin’ regular food a lil’ bit as well. It was nothin’ heavy, but just small stuff like mashed potatoes and macaroni, and when she liked somethin’, she would get all excited. Her hands would start movin’, her legs kickin’, and she would just light up like she couldn’t help herself.
She was a happy baby, always smilin’, always droolin’, and just full of life in a way that made me slow down and really take her in. And seein’ her like this, dressed up and right here with me on my weddin’ day, made everything hit even deeper.
“You’re going to have to let her go at some point,” Treasure said, smilin’ at me. “You can’t walk down the aisle holdin’ her.”
“I know,” I said, laughin’, even though part of me wanted to.
After a while, the room started to clear out little by little, people headin’ out to get in place for the ceremony, and before I could even take a breath, there was a soft knock at the door.
Treasure opened it, and when Kwame stepped in, the whole mood shifted again.
He looked sharp as hell, his suit fitted clean, his presence calm but strong, and when his eyes landed on me, he paused for a second like he was really takin’ me in.
I straightened up without even thinkin’ about it.
He walked over slow, and when he got in front of me, he ain’t say nothin’ at first. He just looked at me, and then he pulled me into a hug.
“You look beautiful,” he said, his voice low.
That alone almost took me out, ’cause this was the same man who ain’t even like me at first, and now he was standin’ here tellin’ me this.
“Thank you,” I whispered, holdin’ onto him for a second.
He pulled back and looked at me again. “I’m proud of you,” he said. “You’ve been a good wife to my son, and you’re a good mother. I see you.”
I felt my eyes burn, and I blinked fast, tryna keep it together. “I love you,” I told him, my voice softer than I meant for it to be.
He nodded once, like he felt that too. “I love you too.”
We ain’t say much after that, but we ain’t need to.
When it was time, he held his arm out, and I took it, my hand restin’ against his while the music started outside.
The doors opened, and the first thing I saw was the aisle, lined in soft pink and white, flowers set up in a way that made everything look clean and elegant without doin’ too much.
Then I saw my husband…
Kay’Lo stood at the end, dressed in that soft pink tux, lookin’ so damn good it almost made me laugh, but I couldn’t even do that, ’cause the second our eyes locked, everything else faded out.
His face changed the closer I got, like he was really seein’ me, and I saw it in his eyes before anything else. He was already emotional.
By the time we reached him, I was fightin’ my own tears, and when Kwame placed my hand in his, I felt that connection hit me all over again.
Kay’Lo grabbed my hand tight, like he needed to feel me right here, and when he looked at me, his eyes was already glossy.
“Damn,” he said low, shakin’ his head. “Look at you.”
I laughed through it, already cryin’.
The pastor started speakin’, sayin’ all the words that was supposed to be said, but I ain’t gon’ lie, half of that shit went over my head ’cause all I could focus on was my man.
When it came time for vows, Kay’Lo went first.
He looked at me for a second, then shook his head like he was tryna get himself together.
“I ain’t even good with this type of stuff,” he said, makin’ a few people laugh, but his voice was already thick. “But I got you.”
He took a breath, then looked me dead in my eyes.
“I love you,” he said. “And I ain’t just sayin’ that. I mean that in every way I know how. We been through too much for me to stand here and act like this was easy, ’cause it wasn’t. You stuck with me through things that could’ve broke us, and even when we was messed up, you was still my wife.”
My tears was fallin’ now, and I ain’t even try to stop them.
“I’m always gon’ choose you,” he went on. “No matter what. I’m always gon’ be right here, lovin’ you, protectin’ you, and takin’ care of our family. You my everything.”
By the time he finished, he was cryin’, and I reached up and wiped his face without even thinkin’ about it.
When it was my turn, I took a breath and tried to steady myself.
“I love you,” I said, my voice shakin’ a lil’. “And I mean that with everything in me. You been my home even when we ain’t feel like home. You been my safe place even when we was hurtin’ each other.”
He closed his eyes for a second, feelin’ that.
“I’m always gon’ ride with you,” I continued. “No matter what. You my husband, my baby daddy, my best friend, all that. And I ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
We both was laughin’ and cryin’ at the same time now, and when the pastor finally told him he could kiss me, Kay’Lo reached up, lifted my veil, and pulled me into him.
The kiss was deep and full, like everything we had been through led up to this one moment.
Everybody started clappin’, cheerin’, and right in the middle of that, we heard My’Love cryin’.
Kay’Lo pulled back and looked around. “Where my baby at?” he said, already reachin’.
Treasure walked up with her, and the second My’Love saw him, she reached for him, her tiny arms stretchin’ out like she couldn’t get to him fast enough.
He grabbed her, kissed all over her face, not even carin’ that she was slobberin’ all over him, and I leaned in and kissed her too.
That was her daddy for real.
Kay’Lo held her with one arm and pulled me in with the other, and for a second, we just stood like that—Together.
And after everything we had been through, everything we had fought through, everything that almost broke us…
We finally had our moment.
I was officially Toni Mensah, and I wasn’t goin’ nowhere.