Chapter 23
Harmony stood in the middle of her bedroom surrounded by clothes, shoes, swimsuits, and beauty products.
Every time she thought she was finished packing, she found something else she wanted to bring.
The suitcase sitting open on her bed was already nearly full, yet she continued stuffing things inside anyway.
Her birthday trip to Jamaica with Legend and Skyy was still two days away, but Harmony was already counting down the hours.
Between the warm weather, the beach, and getting away from Chicago for a few days, she could hardly wait.
Until then, she planned on spending as much time as possible with Nick before she left.
As far as he knew, she was going on a trip with her friends.
After folding another cover-up and placing it inside the suitcase, Harmony zipped it halfway closed and stepped back to admire her work.
"Yeah, that's enough," she said just as her phone buzzed.
Glancing down, she saw a text from Nick.
Nick: Check outside your door.
Harmony: For what?
Instead of answering her question, he sent another message telling her to stop asking and go look.
Curious, Harmony set her phone on the bed and headed for the front door.
The moment she opened it, she spotted a white envelope sitting on the welcome mat.
After looking around out of habit, she picked it up and carried it back inside.
A smile spread across her face the second she recognized Nick's handwriting.
The note began with a birthday message, then explained that he had planned something special and that her only job was to follow the clues.
As she continued reading, her smile only grew.
The first clue sent her to the basketball court where they first met.
Out of everything she expected from Nick, a scavenger hunt was definitely not one of them.
After grabbing her purse and keys, Harmony headed downstairs and climbed into her truck. The drive to the park didn’t take long, and by the time she pulled into the parking lot, she found herself looking around at a place she hadn't been to in years.
A few teenagers played a game of ball while others sat around talking, but other than that, not much had changed.
The same fence still surrounded the court, and the same bleachers still sat off to the side.
Standing there brought back memories of a younger version of herself walking through the projects after school.
Buzz.
Nick: You there?
Harmony: Yeah.
Nick: Then find the next clue.
Shaking her head, she slipped her phone into her purse and started searching.
A few minutes later, she found another envelope taped beneath the bleachers.
Inside was another handwritten note reminding her how often he used to spend his afternoons at that court waiting for her to show up.
The note ended by sending her to the corner store where he used to buy her honey buns.
Back then, neither one of them had much money, but Nick always managed to find enough to buy her a snack after school. Thinking back, it wasn't really about the honey buns. It was the fact that he wanted to spend what little money he had on her.
Still smiling, Harmony climbed back into her truck and headed toward the next stop, wondering what else he had planned.
By the time Harmony pulled up, the corner store looked different than it had when they were younger, but it was still recognizable.
The old owner was gone, and some of the signs had changed over the years, yet it still felt like the same neighborhood store they used to visit.
Harmony took a second to look around before pushing the door open and heading inside.
The moment she stepped through the entrance, the cashier behind the counter smiled.
"You Harmony?"
"Yeah," she giggled.
"Nick said you'd be coming… This is for you.”
She reached beneath the register and handed her an envelope. Harmony shook her head and smiled as she accepted it.
Back in her truck, she wasted no time opening it.
As soon as she pulled out the next clue, she found herself smiling all over again.
The note reminded her of all the honey buns, chips, and juices Nick used to buy her, joking that half his paycheck used to disappear in that store because of her.
By the time she reached the bottom of the page, she was laughing.
The next clue directed her to the staircase where they had shared their first kiss.
A little while later, she found herself standing at the bottom of the same project stairs that he grew up in.
Harmony could still remember how nervous both of them had been.
They had spent weeks talking and flirting before finally sitting on those stairs one summer evening.
Looking back, the kiss itself hadn't been anything special, but at the time it felt like the biggest moment in the world.
As Harmony stood there smiling at the memory, she heard footsteps approaching. When she turned around, she found Nick walking toward her. The smile on her face widened, but before she could say anything, he reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a small black box, and got down on one knee.
"I know loving me ain't easy. I know I've put you through a lot, and I know there were plenty of times you probably should've walked away.
When I first came home, things wasn't easy between us.
We argued, we fought, and we both had to figure out what our relationship looked like after everything we'd been through. " Nick began.
"But through all of it, you stayed. You've been there since we were shorties. And no matter what happened, somehow, we always found our way back to each other." Nick glanced around at the stairs before continuing.
"I wanted to give you something for your birthday that money couldn't buy. Something that reminded you of where we started and how far we've come. So, while I do want to tell you happy birthday, I also want to ask you something."
Nick opened the ring box and looked up at her while tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Harmony Young, will you marry me?"