Epilogue #3
My mom, and all the women in my life could cook.
They threw down on breakfast this morning.
Shrimp and grits. Chicken and waffles. Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, just all the things that would equate to a home cooked meal.
I was sitting at the dining room table, eating my food, while holding Daylani in my lap.
She had a plate in front of her as well, and she was tearing up the piece of bacon in her hands.
Amir was sitting to the right of me. These kids gravitated towards me whenever I came around.
Whenever I was in the building, they didn’t want anything to do with their mama’s, but everything to do with me.
“Oh shoot! Bean, I think that’s for you. Come out here, girl!” that was my auntie Rasheeda calling for me.
“What you mean that’s for me? What is it?” I asked, standing from the table, while holding Daylani in my arms.
She started fussing because I took her away from her food. I placed her down in the seat, so that she could finish her meal without me.
All the women in my family were so nosy because they took off for the window with me, wanting to see what was going on.
There was an enclosed car hauler parked in the middle of the road.
The hazard lights were on, and as we were looking out, I could see Dolo pull behind the hauler, and he turned on his hazard lights as well.
I stood here, wondering what the hell this man had up his sleeve.
I watched as the hydraulic lift slowly lowered, and first I could see the black, Kia k5 that I told Dolo awhile back that I loved.
As if that wasn’t enough, another car was quickly revealed, and it was a black Mercedes AMG G 63, that Dolo swore I had to have. The same G 63 as his.
Both cars had a huge red ribbon on it, with the words Happy Birthday on the ribbon. My cousins, my mom, my grandma, and my aunts were screaming, while both my hands were over my mouth, not believing this damn man.
“Riottttt! This man got you two cars! Girl, go out there!” Ari screamed, running over to the door, so that she could open it for me.
Laughing, and smiling, not believing him, I walked out, and Dolo was walking up the driveway, over to me, dangling both sets of keys in his hands, while he recorded my reaction.
“Dominique, you got me two cars, and I can’t drive,” I said it with a smile, not really knowing what else to say.
“I’m about to teach you. Happy birthday beautiful,” was his response.
Usually, I tried to not be as overly affectionate with my man whenever my family was around, but I couldn’t help it today. I jumped up in his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck, and my legs around his waist.
I’ve never been the type to cry over a gift. Never. To be honest, I don’t even think that’s why I was crying right now. I think I was crying because of the way that I was getting loved. This man loved me. I knew it. I could feel it. I was so appreciative of him.
He took his time with me. I knew that I wasn’t the easiest girlfriend in the world, but he didn’t let me run him away.
The way he showed up for me. Dolo woke me up this morning with kisses, and good sex.
I promise I would have been just fine with that.
He did enough for me any other day, so I wouldn’t have cared if he didn’t get me anything for my birthday.
To stand here and know that he’d gone all out for me like this, continuing to love me out loud the way that he did was enough to have me crying real tears.
“Awww, Bean,” I could hear my cousins behind me because they knew I was crying. As Dolo held me up, he was placing kisses on my cheek.
“Bae, come on. Go look at them. I got you both because I know you so hell bent on the Kia. I like the G- wagon for you though. I can see you pushing it. Go see what they look like,” he said, trying to lower me, but I needed a minute to get it together before I fully removed myself from out of his arms.
It took about thirty seconds, but I eventually got it together. Dolo lowered me down, and he kissed me on my forehead.
“Thank you, baby,” I softly said to him. I was so emotional right now.
Like this was everyday shit for him, and he was used to spoiling me, he just waved me off and followed me over to the truck. My family came over too, and they were recording. Both cars had finally made it down onto the concrete, and all I could do was walk around both in awe.
“You taught someone how to drive before, Dolo? I hope you know what you’re doing,” my mama fussed at him. Dolo looked at her, and he laughed.
“Ma, I got her. I taught my lil brother how to drive. She going to be in good hands with me,” Dolo assured her.
I had the keys in my hands, so I was able to open both cars and look inside. Both cars were brand new. They each had that brand new smell to them. The red interior on both were nice. Dolo knew that I loved red interiors.
“Which one you want to push first, baby?” Dolo asked me.
“The Kia,” I told him, and he laughed because he knew that was going to be my response.
I could hear my family in the back, telling me to drive the G- wagon first, but I didn’t. God, they were so happy for me. The way they were smiling, and recording showed that. You didn’t see any sour faces on any of them. I could have cried when I saw my pop-pop with his phone out, recording too.
The men that delivered the cars, they moved them, putting them in my grandparent’s driveway. Dolo moved his truck out of the road too, placing it in the driveway as well. After that, he shook it up with them, thanking them for their business, and they eventually pulled out.
“Let me take her around the block, and then out onto the road. I promise Ima have her driving in ten minutes. I’m not going to let anything happen to her,” Dolo stated.
I think everybody got on his ass. My pop- pop got on him the most, threatening him to guard me with his life. Dolo knew that my pop-pop didn’t play when it came to me, so he respectfully let him know that he had me and everything was cool.
We walked over to the Kia. Dolo opened the door for me, and I stepped into the driver’s seat. I’ve literally never driven a car before. I never cared to learn. All of this was going to be new for me.
Dolo came over, and he hopped in the passenger seat. My family was standing outside of the car, watching.
“First things first, you need to put your seatbelt on and adjust your seat to your liking. If you gotta adjust the mirrors, do that too. You control the mirrors by using those buttons on the side of the door,” he said, pointing over for me.
I put my seatbelt on like he told me. After, I fixed my seat. I lowered it a little bit and pulled it closer to the steering wheel. Dolo showed me how to fix the mirrors, and it was to my liking.
“Bae, I’m scared. What if I crash it?” I asked him. That was honestly my fear right now.
“You not going to crash it. Put your foot on the brake. That’s the middle one. Do that and change the gear. Put it in reverse,” he told me. I was scared out of my mind, but I did what he said.
“Aight. Now ease out. You don’t have to use the gas though,” he went on.
I took my foot off the brake, not expecting it to have a little speed to it, even without the gas, so I slammed on the brakes.
“Ay! Easy on the brakes. Take your time while you doing that shit!” Dolo snapped.
“If you going to yell at me, I don’t want you to teach me!” I was annoyed already and we didn’t even make it out of the driveway. Dolo laughed while shaking his head.
“Aight. I won’t yell no more. Bae, just do it slow though,” he said.
This time, I slowly eased out, and I did it perfectly.
“Good job, baby. Put it in drive now, and just slowly go. You don’t have to go heavy on the gas. Just a little bit,” he went on, and I did just that.
I put it in drive, turned the wheel, and I slowly eased out down the road. I was scared to go heavy on the gas, so I was only going about five miles.
“Good shit, baby. Slowly brake once you get to the stop sign,” he instructed me. I did just that, and he clapped his hands for me.
“Okay, give it a little speed now. Don’t go too crazy with it though,” he said to me, once I pulled away from the stop sign.
Instead of five miles, I went up to fifteen. I made it to another stop sign, and I slowly eased on the brake like he taught me. I was driving like an old woman. Both hands were on the steering wheel, and I was driving slow as hell.
“Aight. You ready to go out onto the main road now. Turn at this stop sign,” Dolo said, after he had me go around the block four times.
I was scared to get out onto the main road, but I was eager to learn, so I took a deep breath, turned at the stop sign like he told me to, and when I got out onto the main road, I started screaming because I was actually doing it.
Dolo was in the passenger seat laughing, with the phone in his hand, recording me.
“Baby, I’m driving!” I screamed.
“You doing good bae. Just loosen the fuck up and pick up the speed a little bit. Go ahead, you got it,” he was so good with teaching me.
He was telling me things to fix when it came to my turning. Properly teaching me how to ease on the brake, and to not go so heavy when pressing down on the gas. I doubt he was supposed to have me coming out onto the main road on my first day of driving, but he did it, and I got it.
Dolo had me drive for over twenty minutes. It was crazy how quickly I learned. Granted, I still had some work to do, but I had the basics.
“Pull right there into that empty plaza,” he suggested, and I turned my turn signal on, and pulled into the plaza like he told me to.
Because this plaza was old, and none of the stores were no longer in service, it was just the two of us. I parked the car perfectly, and Dolo leaned back into his chair, putting one hand behind his head, while he glanced over at me.