Wonder
Tears streamed down my face as I leaned over the toilet while my stomach lurched violently.
Throwing up was the absolute worst feeling in the world.
By the time there was nothing left for me to expel, my nose was running, and my chest was heaving up and down.
I rolled off a few paper towels and wiped my face and nose.
Sniffing, I turned the faucet on and rinsed my mouth out a few times.
When I was done, I gripped the edge of the counter and closed my eyes as my head hung down.
I had only been at work for three hours, and I felt like shit.
The good thing was if I could just focus, I would be done with the car I was wrapping in less than two hours, and I could go home.
Wilde wasn’t ready for Willow to go back to daycare just yet, so he let Wylder stay home too, and he was holding them down.
I prayed when I got home, he would have that same energy because I just wanted to take a nap.
Preferably one that lasted a few hours. One of the worst parts of pregnancy was being super tired all the time.
No matter how much sleep I got, it was never enough.
With toddlers in the house, it wasn’t like I could get a lot of sleep, but I at least tried to get eight hours of rest a night and two hours after waking up, I would be exhausted like I’d been awake for hours on end.
I loved wrapping cars, but if things didn’t get better after I’d done all of the cars that I had lined up, I wasn’t doing more than two cars a week.
People would probably be upset, but I couldn’t help it.
One of my employees Justin helped me, and I got done wrapping the car sooner than I expected.
When I got home, I noticed a black Tahoe parked out front, and I pushed out a deep breath.
Whoever was at the house, I hoped it wouldn’t interfere with me getting a nap.
I had already texted Wilde and told him I was coming home, and I didn’t feel good.
I wasn’t going to be rude. Whoever it was with him, I’d say hello, kiss the kids, and keep it pushing.
The moment I stepped into the house, an aroma smacked me in the face and whatever it was, smelled absolutely delicious.
Curiosity led me to the kitchen because Wilde could cook simple things, but he’d never made anything that smelled even remotely close to what I was smelling.
When I rounded the corner and made it to the living room, I stopped in my tracks.
My already queasy stomach did a somersault as I took in the details of the room.
There were vases of roses everywhere. At least ten of them.
Tea light candles were also lit and spread around the room.
The soothing sounds of R&B floated from the blue tooth speaker, and at least thirty pink and red balloons hung suspended in the air.
But on the end of each string on the balloons was a different photo of me and Wilde.
Us on vacations, his birthday, my birthday, the kids’ birthdays, holidays.
I went from balloon to balloon looking at each picture.
By the time I was done, tears were spilling over my eyelids.
Wilde entered the room from the kitchen, and my chest tightened as he advanced toward me wearing a black suit.
When he got down on one knee, I almost hyperventilated.
“My head has been all over the place. I wanted to do this with family and friends, but I’m not even in the headspace to do all that.
I didn’t want to put off proposing though.
I love you, and I need you in my life. I’m willing to do whatever I have to do to keep you happy until I take my last breath.
Anything you want, you can have it. Anything I have is yours. Including my last name if you want it.”
More tears trailed down my cheeks, and I laughed. Leaning down, I wrapped my arms around Wild and kissed him on the lips. After I stepped back, he removed a burgundy, velvet ring box from his pocket and flipped the lid. Just when I thought I couldn’t be surprised anymore, my eyes widened.
“You got me a Darry ring?” I thought the meaning behind those rings was so romantic.
“Yeah, I did ‘cus you already know. Even if a miracle occurred and you managed to get away from me, I’d never propose to another woman, and I put that on my kids, G.”
I didn’t even realize that I was trembling until I held my hand out for him to slide the ring on my finger.
“Where are the kids?” I noticed how quiet it was.
“My grandma has them. She said they can spend the night, so you can get some rest.”
I loved the kids more than anything, but Lord knows I just wanted to sleep. “You are the best,” I hugged him again. “The food smells delicious, but I’m almost scared to eat it. My throat still hurts from throwing up earlier. Wait,” my brows furrowed. “Whose Tahoe is that?”
“I hired a chef. Just eat what you can. I don’t want you to throw up, but I want you to feed my baby. Go take a shower, then we can eat, and I’ll rub your feet until you go to sleep.”
“What?” I drew back. “You don’t want any cootie?”
“You childish, G. You’re not talking to the kids. Fuck is a cootie? But nah, I’m gonna let you rest. In the morning, I’m on that ass.”
“Bet,” I smiled.
I felt so much better after a hot shower.
After moisturizing my body, I put on a pair of red silk pajamas and sprayed a light coconut scent.
Despite still feeling a little queasy, I couldn’t stop smiling.
I knew without a doubt that Wilde loved me, but the proposal and the way he did it had me pleasantly surprised.
It was hard to believe there was a time I couldn’t stand him because he was so annoying and ignorant.
Now, I’d beat a hoe up about Wilde Hunter.
When I entered the kitchen, Wilde was sending the chef a payment via Zelle. She looked up and offered a bright smile. “Congratulations. I hope you enjoy the food.”
“Thank you. It smells amazing.”
Wilde pulled out a chair for me and went to retrieve the plates that the chef had already prepared. There were honey glazed wings, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, cornbread, and strawberry cheesecake.
“Oh she threw down,” I looked at the plate with admiration and a watering mouth.
“Yeah, she did. I wanted some soul food. None of that bougie shit. And I told her not to make the shit greasy because you might not be able to keep it down.”
For the millionth time, a smile lifted my cheeks. Wilde had been so thoughtful and attentive. I was going to really have to show out for him on the next special occasion which was Valentine’s Day.
“How was Willow when you dropped her off?”
“She was good. She’s young, so maybe she’s already forgotten. I wouldn’t be mad if she did. I don’t want my baby walking around with trauma. But she’s been getting love, attention, and playing with her brother, so she’s in heaven. She hasn’t even asked about that bitch.”
I simply nodded because I genuinely cared about how Willow was doing, but I didn’t want to ruin Wilde’s mood.
It had taken him a long time to calm down.
I didn’t want to take him back to that place.
Willow wasn’t the only one with trauma. Wilde had been scared out of his mind and seeing his daughter like that wasn’t something he was just going to recover from.
I didn’t think I could have taken seeing her the way he described her.
It had crossed my mind a few times to beat Misha’s ass myself and if I wasn’t pregnant, she just might get it.
As far as I knew, she’d always taken good care of Willow.
Her hair was always done, and she was always neat and clean.
She never came to us with any bruises or indications of abuse or neglect.
I couldn’t fathom what had gotten into Misha that day that would cause her to do such a thing.
I didn’t want to spend too much time thinking about her. We had Willow now, and I was engaged.
“You want a big wedding?” Wilde’s voice broke into my thoughts.
“I don’t think so,” I replied as I picked up a wing.
“I mean, aside from KoKo and Nina, I don’t even have enough friends to have more than five bridesmaids.
You know the first thing my cousin Nell will holler is she doesn’t have the money to be in a wedding, and KoKo and Nina can be in the same room for an hour maybe two but involved in my wedding, I don’t know. ”
“Yeah, and the same people who won’t want to spend money to be in the wedding would be the same ones at the reception eating and drinking up everything. I say we just go downtown and then have a reception. A nice one but one that won’t cost me more than five or six thousand.”
“I’m fine with that because I doubt I can plan a wedding that can take place before I start showing. Somehow, I don’t think my dream wedding gown consists of a maternity dress. And Wilde you do know that I can help pay for the reception, right?”
“Man hell nah,” he frowned making me sigh.
“I can’t pay bills. You buy so much for the kids that I rarely get a chance to. Why am I working if I can’t spend the damn money? At least let me pay for the caterer, the cake, and the décor.”
“Then, what’s left for me to pay for?” His frown deepened.
“The venue, DJ, open bar, and photographer.”
“Aight,” he stated slowly. “I can fuck with that.”
When I clapped lightly and smiled, he shook his head.
I hadn’t expected him to give in so easily.
Wilde was so stubborn and bullheaded when it came to holding us down.
I appreciated it, but I also knew that he was lowkey nervous about not getting fast money anymore.
My bank account was sitting pretty. There was no way I was going to sit back and watch him do everything whether he could afford to or not.