When I heard sniffling behind me I turned around. Bailey was now sitting on the right side of her mom, and I saw Ms. Reneé dabbing her eyes.
“That was such a beautiful proposal. Let me see the ring, girl!” She said, snatching Bailey’s left hand and let out another squeal. “Dayuuuummm! This ring is gorgeous, dahling! You did damn good, Titan!” She exclaimed before she stood and came toward me. When she opened her arms I leaned down and accepted her warm embrace.
“Welcome to the family, Titan, congratulations!” She cheered, sounding like she was about to cry again.
“Is no one going to say how quick this was? I just briefly met Titan like three months ago, now he’s engaged to my baby sister?” Dante said with a frown.
“Boy, hush. Me and your father, God rest his soul, dated six months before he proposed to me.” Ms. Reneé said, admonishing her son.
“I dated Kayleigh, God rest her soul, nine months before I proposed; it would’ve been sooner, but I was deployed.” Anthony shrugged. “When you know, you know; besides, I had a one on one with Titan. I believe he will make Bailey happy and love her like she deserves. Isn’t that what matters?” Anthony said, looking at his older brother and the sincerity in his voice surprised the hell out of me. Dante was quiet for a moment and when he stood up, I thought he was about to leave the room, but he stood in front of Bailey and pulled her from the couch and into a big hug.
“I’m happy for you, sis. I love you so much, congratulations,” he said, and Bailey burst into tears. I knew how close her and her brothers were, so their blessings meant a lot to her and to me.
“Thank you, Tae Tae. I love you too.” He gave her a kiss on the forehead and then came to me and held out his hand. When I grabbed it he pulled me into a firm hug and whispered in my ear.
“You take care of her like your life depends on it.” He gave me an intense look and I understood the not so subtle warning.
“Hailey and Rylee, come down here please!” Anthony called up the stairs and seconds later her nieces came running down the stairs. I chuckled because they were dressed like mini versions of Ms. Reneé in their colorful kaftans. “Tell your auntie B congratulations, she’s getting married to Mr. Titan,” Anthony said, once his daughters were in the living room.
I covered my ears as they let out ear piercing screams and ran to Bailey.
“Congratuwations aunt B,” Rylee spoke, and I smiled at her mispronunciation, “I’m happy you marrying my best friend.” Rylee beamed as she left Bailey’s side and came over to me. “Now we’re friends for life!” She said excitedly and I laughed as I picked her up to give her a hug.
“That’s right. BFF’s for life!” She giggled and I kissed her cheek before I sat her down.
“Are we going to be flower girls?” I heard Hailey ask.
“Of course, but we have time to discuss that sweetie,” Bailey said, grabbing her hand and walking to the kitchen.
“I’m surprised but I promise I’m so happy for you two and beetle bug I can’t wait to help you plan this wedding.” Ms. Reneé said, wrapping her arm around Bailey’s shoulder as she walked with her toward the kitchen.
“It’s going to be lit!” Hailey shouted, and we all laughed.
The rest of the evening went amazing once the initial shock of our engagement wore off. Ms. Reneé and Anthony grilled filet mignon, lobster tail, and asparagus. Dante made garlic and herb compound butter to put over the meat and lobster, and Bailey made chocolate chip cookies with her nieces from scratch. I helped where I was asked, choosing a wine for the adults and making sure the sparkling grape juice was chilled to perfection for the girls. I saw throughout the night the love and happiness in Bailey’s family, and I couldn’t wait to officially be part of it.
When it was time to go, I almost had to pry Ms. Reneé and Bailey apart because Ms. Reneé made sure Bailey wouldn’t leave without making several promises that they would get together and start wedding planning. I laughed because if this was her mother’s reaction, I knew when we told my family tomorrow after my keynote speech, my mom and sister were about to be a thousand times worse.
Bailey
Ijust stepped out of the shower and was wearing the plush pink Versace robe Titan bought me just because he had a black one just like it, and he wanted us to wear them at the same time. I was standing in his spa-like bathroom, applying leave-in conditioner to my damp hair before I styled it into small two strand twists, when he entered the bathroom.
“You didn’t hear me calling you?” He asked, meeting my eyes in the mirror with a frown on his face.
“What? I didn’t hear nothing. My ears are still ringing from your mom and sister screaming in them when we announced our engagement,” I pointed out with a smile on my face. I thought my mom was bad, but Titan’s mom and his sister took the cake.
I was nervous as Titan parked his Porsche truck in his parents driveway. This time I was wearing a loose fitting orange and white floral maxi dress and closed toe sandals. I didn’t want to wear anything too fitting because I didn’t want to tempt Titan and be late to his parents’ house like we were to my mom’s house. But it didn’t matter, we were still late because Titan loved the open back of my dress and now here we were an hour late because Titan couldn't keep his hands off me.
Not that I was complaining.
Titan held my hand and pulled me across the threshold after he let himself in. His parent’s home was beautiful. The white and blue color palette reminded me of a luxury villa in the Mediterranean.
I looked around at the gallery walls of family photos in the hall that led to the spacious kitchen. When we entered, Titan’s brothers and father were in a lively debate about who the GOAT was in basketball, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or LeBron James, while Titan’s mom Grace and his sister Traci sat at the kitchen island sipping wine and talking amongst themselves.
“Hey family!” Titan’s voice called out and everyone fell silent before Titan’s brothers and their dad Titus stood.
“Hey, Bailey!” Titus came over, and I couldn’t stop the snort that left my mouth when he pushed Titan out of the way to bear hug me.
“Oh, it’s like that?” I heard Titan grumble, at the same time his dad laughed before he gave him a hug too.
