Eva’s Epilogue
One Year Later
A year ago, I married a man who cherished the ground I walked on. He was the most loving, caring, and attentive man I’d ever encountered, and he was loud and proud about his love for me.
Our daughter, who Solo insisted we name Solé, was the apple of his eye and the best birthday gift he’d ever received.
At four months old, she was as spoiled as could be and more attached to her father than she was to me.
She literally used me for food and only showed me love when her father was nowhere to be found.
At first, I was low-key hurt, but now I think their bond is the most adorable thing ever. Solo handled her with so much love and care, and I had no doubt she would be a handful as she got older.
As our first anniversary approached, we decided to go back to where it all started. When we arrived, Solo had a surprise for me, something he still did regularly. Since Barbados was where our love story began, we now owned a home there and could visit as often as we liked.
I was stunned to tears and ever so grateful for the man God chose for me. He exemplified what real romantic love was, and although he was the head of our union, we were true partners in everything.
“Sit with your mama for a minute, baby girl. Daddy’s gotta jump on a video call right quick,” Solo said to his daughter as he handed her to me.
I’d come out by the pool to make my weekly journal entry. I no longer found it necessary to make daily entries, because my life no longer warranted it. After completing my entry, I’d been soaking up the sun, reading A Familiar Love by Monae Nicole, and eating fresh fruit.
Solo kissed Solé’s chubby cheeks a few times before handing her to me. She immediately began whining, and I rolled my eyes.
“You pretty as hell, baby,” Solo said before kissing my forehead and dodging his daughter’s hands. “I’ll be done in thirty. You ready to hit the town tonight?”
“As much as I can with a four-month-old. Go inside so she can stop all this fake crying.”
“Aye, don’t do my baby like that. She can’t help it if she loves her daddy. You should understand.”
“I do. It’s time for her to eat, so she’ll be fine as soon as you’re out of sight.”
He disappeared into the house, and a minute later, Solé had forgotten all about him and started reaching for my breast.
“Hold on, pretty girl. Let mama get situated.”
Her little impatient behind paid me no mind, but as soon as my nipple touched her lips, all was right in her little world. My phone rang with a FaceTime call from my sister, but Solé was unbothered by the sound.
“Hey, Lainey!”
“Hey, Sissy. Happy one-year anniversary!”
“Thank you. I can’t believe it’s been a year already.”
“Same. You’re a whole ass wife and mama.”
“I am, and I’m loving every second of it.”
“What’s my niece doing?”
I angled the phone so she could see Solé eating. “You know she’s only with me because her daddy is busy and she’s hungry.”
“My girls loved their daddy, but my niece took it to another level. I’ve never seen a baby cling to their father like that. It’s adorable but needs to be studied.”
“Tell me about it. I wonder if it’s because they share a birthday. It’s cool, though. Hopefully, this next baby is a boy and shows me the kinda love Solé shows her daddy.”
“Have you told him yet?”
“No. I’ll do it tonight. It’s his anniversary gift.”
“I can’t believe you’re pregnant again already. My niece is barely four months old.”
“I know. Solo be lying every time he says he gon’ pull out. That man has the worst pull-out game ever.”
We laughed, but I couldn’t have been more serious.
“It's like that sometimes, Sis. Semaj wants to try for a boy, but I take my birth control religiously. I told him we could start trying when Semaya turned five.”
Semaya was their youngest and would be five in a few months. Semara, their oldest, was seven.
“You don’t have much time.”
“I know. He’s been bugging me about getting off the pill, so I promised I’d stop taking them after this month.”
We talked a bit longer before she wished me a happy anniversary again, and our call ended. Solé had fallen asleep, and I got up and gently placed her in the covered bassinet we used while hanging out by the pool.
When I returned to the lounge chair, I reflected on the past year. As a relationship therapist in a thriving relationship, we weren’t without problems. Although Solo kept a low profile, his semi-celebrity status created a few bumps in the road as soon as we went public.
Dealing with that taught me a lot, and I was able to relate to my clients a bit more after the experience.
Lack of communication and listening to your partner were the two most common problems in relationships.
Giving my clients real-life examples of how to approach and conquer some of their issues was key.
When an unmarried couple came in for therapy who had been together for years, and one of them claimed they weren’t ready for marriage, I ordered them to hit the reset button.
They got two weeks, including a step-by-step program I’d created, to rediscover the love they claimed to have for one another.
The success rate of my program was over 90 percent.
“Two weeks to love is all you need.”