Chapter 23 #2
He chuckles a little then says the same. “You ready for tomorrow?” he asks.
“Counting down the hours till our forever.”
Tre’s voice comes through the phone. “Bruh, I’ve been looking fo’ you.”
“Talking to my baby. I’m coming. Damn,” Shiro grits. “Look, baby—”
“I know. Go! Have fun and I can’t wait to marry you,” I tell him.
“I can’t wait either, baby. I love you.”
“Have fun but not too much,” I say with raised eyebrows. “I love you too.”
We end the call and I’m all smiles. Tomorrow can’t get here fast enough. I’m so ready to marry my man.
Reya walks out in her robe so I quickly remove my pajamas and put my robe on too. When we walk back into the living room, everyone except Giselle is already downstairs. She was waiting for us to go down.
“Can you please pick your fine ass man?” Alex says impatiently as soon as my feet reach the last step. “We’ve been waiting.”
Because it’s my day, I take my time and dramatically walk by and study each man.
I decide on the tallest one, Adonis, and he motions me toward his table.
Because Reya is limited to only two choices, she picks her therapist next and the others follow.
One by one, everyone climbs on their tables and the beautiful men get to work.
Between the soft music playing on the surround sound, the smell of lavender and eucalyptus from the large candles throughout the room, and the warm, strong hands gliding over my body, I fall asleep within the first ten minutes of the ninety-minute massage.
Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoy every minute of the massages.
When we make it back upstairs, our relaxed bodies practically melt onto the sectionals.
More drinks are poured and consumed and we grab more food as we play Mireya’s other games.
Alex wins another but declines the prize, leaving the runner up, Sade, with the gift.
My mom and Shuga end up winning prizes as well.
Around eleven, Shuga and my mom go to the family cabin to get rest. We lose Lexie, Alami and her friend, and Sade about thirty minutes later. When it’s just me and my besties, Giselle gets up and walks out. When she returns, she’s carrying a huge gift bag.
“What’s that?” I ask when she places it on my lap.
“The last things you need to get married,” she says.
I remove the tissue paper, then pull out a beautiful picture frame.
When I turn it over, tears instantly form.
There’s a picture of me and my daddy. He’s sitting on our old sofa and I’m on his lap.
The original was one of those small three by five pictures; this is much larger.
It’s funny because I actually remember this day.
I had to be about three or four but the memory is so fresh.
“Oh my God,” I sigh. “Where did you get this picture?”
“Your mom. Since this is your real and final wedding, we wanted to make sure we honor all traditions, so we put this together for you. This is your something old.”
“I love it. We can put it on the table with the guest book,” I say.
“Oh, that’s perfect. I’ll give it to Tae in the morning,” Reya agrees. After carefully placing the picture on the table in front of me, I excitedly pull out a robin’s egg blue box from the well-known jeweler. “Your something blue. Just the box though.” She winks.
As soon as I open the box, my mouth drops.
A beautiful pair of wing-drop earrings in gold and platinum with diamonds are inside.
About three years ago, I joked that when my investments hit a certain number I would treat myself to these.
The number was ridiculous because I knew I would never spend this much on a pair of earrings but here they are and they’re stunning.
“I can’t accept these,” I utter. “Y’all this is too much.”
“There’s no price on forever and friendship. You’ve wanted these and now you have them. We’re celebrating you finding your one and these are going to look beautiful on our sister,” Alex says and my tears fall like water works.
As I wipe them, I cry, “I love y’all so much. I’m a mess and there’s more.” Alex hands me her napkin and I nod before wiping my face. “Y’all better have plenty of tissues tomorrow.”
“We got you, girl. I’m on tissue duty,” Giselle says.
“And D’Vonne has been instructed to make your makeup as waterproof as she can,” Reya adds.
“Good because this would not be cute in pictures,” I say as I circle around my face.
“Do I even want to see what else is in here?” I tease as I reach back into the bag.
The first two gifts are so thoughtful; I’m excited to see what’s next.
This last gift is a small black velvet box and inside it holds the past. “Your grandma’s brooch,” I tell Mireya.
Last year at her and Quintus’s anniversary dinner, she wore this beautiful, sparkling pin. It’s made of metal with crystals in different colors and it’s so sophisticated and timeless. It’s also so special to her.
“Your something borrowed from your happily married bestie. We can pin it on your bra so it’s close to your heart,” Reya says.
“I definitely will. Thank you again, friend.”
“The last one can’t fit in the bag,” Alex says, then stands. Giselle does too.
“There can’t be more?” I question because surely, they haven’t spent more money.
“Your something new,” Reya says with a smile.
“But the earrings are al—” I begin but Alex stops me.
“Let us finish the tradition, please. It’s just something you and Shiro will get a lot of use out of. Hold on,” Alex says before she and Giselle walk out of the living room.
“Reya, y’all really have done so much already. Am I going to cry?”
“We love you. Tomorrow’s your day and we want it to be as perfect as you two are for each other. Girl, just wait and see,” she says.
Seconds later, they return rolling in two beautiful, matching, monogrammed luggage sets bearing our initials.
“I swear!” I gasp in awe.
“We can’t have you going to Antigua with single people’s luggage,” Giselle says and we all laugh at her corniness. “What? I was trying to be clever.”
“It was clever, girl,” I say, still laughing, then I get serious.
I love them so much and I’m blessed beyond measure to have them in my life.
“Not all sisters are born from the same mother or father. Some are gifted to us by life because our souls simply recognize each other. That’s us.
You girls are not just my best friends; you are the sisters of my heart and one of the greatest blessings in my life.
I really love y’all,” I say before my emotions overtake me.
“Ahh. We love you too,” Reya utters.
“Love you, boo,” Alex says.
“I love you too,” Giselle adds before the three of them embrace me.