11. Solomon #2
“I’m here, beloved.” We turned toward the entrance, and a smile lifted on my face.
The woman stood tall with two silver braids down to her hips, skin the color of toffee, and eyes that were just as soft and warm as Aunt Tasha’s.
They all carried that same look and hair, but Ma Lula’s energy was much calmer and inviting.
“Solomon. It’s good to see you again,” she said, moving over to me. Out of instinct, I wrapped my arms around her when she pulled me in for a hug. I had no idea what she meant by "again," but I didn’t dwell on it.
“And this is my favorite person in the world, my Ma Lula,” Temple introduced.
“It’s truly a pleasure to finally meet the woman my future wife can’t stop talking about.”
Ma Lula giggled. “That’s right, baby. Speak it into existence.”
“The Big Homie already said it’s solidified.”
“Then so it shall be. Dinner will be done shortly. Beanie, take your man to get cleaned up and set up on the patio.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Temple took my hand, led me out of the kitchen, and down the hall to a bathroom.
We both washed our hands, then she led me out onto the patio where two men stood with beers in their hands, and one of them was on the grill.
“Hi, Uncle Steve. Hey, Uncle Marvin,” Temple greeted.
The one on the grill swooped her up and spun her around. Temple laughed as he set her on her feet. “Beanie! How you been, baby girl!”
“I’ve been good. This is my friend, Solomon. Lo, this is my uncle Steve, and his best friend, Marvin.”
I shook their hands. “Nice to meet you both.”
“Well, this is a first. This must be real serious,” Uncle Steve noted with a smile on his face.
She pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. “It’s progressing.”
“She’s being modest. We’ll be walking down the aisle real soon,” I told them.
“Okay, nephew. I hear ya.”
“Yeah, so, I’m going to go help the ladies in the kitchen. You need anything?”
“I’m cool, baby.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Temple hurried off, and I chuckled because I knew she didn’t want to admit that once we came back from this trip, her last name was about to change.
“You want a beer, man?” Marvin asked me.
“No thanks. I don’t drink.”
Steve pulled a joint from behind his ear. “You smoke?”
“Nah, I gave that up over a year ago.”
“Respect. Have a seat,” Marvin offered. We all sat at the table.
Steve looked over at me and smirked. “So, what you do for a living? You ain’t one of those drug-dealing entrepreneurs, are you?”
I chuckled. “Nah, I actually used to lock up those kinds of guys. I worked for the DPD for about four years before I almost lost my life and had to quit. I now own a security company and provide security for high-profile clients.”
I watched as both men nodded.
“Isn’t that the same kind of danger, though?”
“Eh. Different environments and atmospheres. I have seventeen employees, so I don’t have to get in the field unless I have to.”
Steve nodded. “I see. You don’t give me square vibes, but I can tell you’re a little reserved. I’ve known Temp since she was thirteen, and she brought nobody by to meet us. What you did to my niece?”
“I only told her what my plans are for us and allowed her to choose to stay or leave. I understand our lifestyles are different. I seek refuge in God, and Temple is a worldly woman, who I hope finds refuge in me.
“As I told her, I’m not perfect, but every day I strive to become a better man. I’m also seeking a wife, and I believe Temple will become that virtuous woman for me.”
Silence hung in the air for a moment before Steve grinned and said, “You just might be what she needs. I can already tell you’re doing something right if she brought you to meet the family.”
“She knows what it is with me.” The three of us shared a laugh just as the women brought out the food.
Once the ribs were done, we all sat around the table and said grace over baked turkey chops, fried cabbage, ribs, Cajun corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, dressing, yams, dinner rolls, and funnel cake.
I tried the dressing first and almost jumped out of my seat to praise dance.
“Mama Lula, this dressing is probably the best I’d ever tasted. I thought my moms was the best, but clearly, you have her beat.”
Ma Lula smiled wide. “Actually, Beanie prepped the dressing yesterday. I just put it in the oven.”
“Oh. Beautiful, smart, ambitious, and can cook? I’m gon’ need my own personal pan of this, baby. I thought you stole my heart at first sight, but we locked in for real now.”
Everyone laughed while Beauty fought a blush.
“Look at her, Ma Lu. She been cheesing something crazy since she got here,” Toni teased.
“Be quiet, heffa,” Beauty said, tossing a piece of bread at her from across the table.
“Hey, don’t y’all start tossing my food around.
Groceries way too high to be wasting it,” Ma Lula fussed, then her eyes came to Beauty and me.
“I want to share something with you both. My mother used to have these dreams about people, and I always thought she was crazy. Back then, we used to live on a reserve in El Paso, Texas. We’d sit outside every other night, and she and my father would tell us stories about our heritage and the dreams they had.
“Isha, that’s my mother’s name, told me one night that I would lose someone but gain someone who would heal my broken heart.
I was only ten then, so I didn’t understand what she meant until I got older and lost my oldest daughter, Nicole.
We were estranged because she’d run off with some clown that her father and I knew was no good for her.
“But I never stopped believing she would come back to me. I never told anyone, but I was the last person she called before she passed. I don’t know how I missed her call, but her voicemail would forever stick with me.”
Everyone at the table grew silent, and my eyes immediately went to Beauty. I could see a hint of solemnity on her face and interlocked my fingers with hers. She looked at me and gave me a soft smile while I kissed the back of her hand to assure her that I was there to catch her if she fell apart.
“What did she say?” Aunt Tasha asked.
“She told me she’d just had her baby girl and named her Temple Jael Newman and wanted me to come to California to see her.
Back then, I worked two jobs after my husband injured himself, and I had to care for him.
We didn’t have a lot of money then, so I tried calling for weeks, but never got an answer.
I thought it was strange, but I didn’t dwell on it.
“Then finally, I was able to get up enough money to fly down to LA because I knew something was off. When I got to her apartment, the landlord informed me that she’d passed away.
I went to the hospital, and because her body had been in the morgue for months, they had her cremated and wouldn’t give me any information about where my Beanie was.
“For years, I looked high and low for her, prayed to God to bring my granddaughter home to me, until finally I got a breakthrough. A social worker in California was sympathetic to my plight and told me the last known address, and I praised His Holy name that she did.
“I said all of that because my mother visited me in my dreams when Temple turned sixteen. She told me that she would go through trials and tribulations throughout her life, but someone with great strength would come into her life and rescue her. That they would love her back to where she needed to be. She never said who, but I know now that it’s you, Solomon. ”
A smile lifted on my face, and I nodded in response.
“My Beanie can be a little stubborn, but continue to work with her. God knew what He had planned the moment you walked into her life.”
“I believe that, and I won’t let you down, Ma Lu.”
Toni giggled from across the table. “All I know is, Temp can put up a front if she wants, but me and Phire know the truth.”
“And do!” Sapphire added. “All I gotta say is treat her right, and don’t ghost her again or you gon’ know something.”
“I got you, sis-in-law. I’m standing on big business behind my shorty. I know it’s early, but I feel like God placed her in my path for a reason. I don’t know what that reason is, but I’m making a promise to the Big Homie and to Temple that I’m going to take good care of her.”
Temple leaned into me. “You don’t have to promise these nosy heffas nothing. As long as you have a little patience, we’ll see how far we can go.”
“I’m on you, baby. I ain’t letting up for nothing. Pressure builds diamonds, and I’m putting them right on ya pretty little finger.”
She smiled bashfully as I kissed her forehead. The day made way to the night with laughs, good food, and conversation until Temple and I left with full bellies.
This road to securing a wife was different for me as much as her dating someone like me was for her. If I had to hold out until she became my wife, then I knew I’d have to put on the whole armor of God to stop myself from taking her down.
I prayed the Big Homie wouldn’t let me down.