The yellow ducky bobbed as Rodel remained silent, her eyes still closed. The top of her nipple peeked out at me through the bubbles. Wet strands of her hair disappeared under the surface. A soft curve touched her lips. Wherever she was in her head, it was a good place.
“Yes,” she said, when she finally opened her eyes. “I want that very much.”
“Which part?”
“All of it. I want it all with you. Here. There. It doesn’t really matter.” She came up to the edge of the tub until I could feel her breath on my lips. “But right now, when I opened my eyes, the picture that stayed with me was a green swing on the porch of a beautiful, white house. That’s what’s tugging at my heart. So that’s what I’m going with. Let’s go to Tanzania, Jack. Let’s give it a shot.”
There was genuineness and excitement in her voice—a spark of something that left me with no doubt that it was what she wanted, not for me, but for herself. Turns out she was an adventurer, after all—an explorer, just like the rest of her family. She was ready to take a leap with me, and it made my heart grow impossibly larger.
I captured her wet lips and was overwhelmed with the need to absorb her, to soak her in through every pore of me. I shrugged out of my clothes and got into the tub, first one leg, and then the other. Rodel squealed. The rubber duck honked as I squished it. Water spilled all over the floor.
It was slippery and uncomfortable and completely crazy, but we laughed because we were high on love and the fumes of endless possibilities.
“Hell, yes,” I growled, my teeth grazing the soft, creamy expanse of her neck. “Let’s go to Tanzania. But I hope you remember what I said. If you ever set foot there again, I’m going to claim you. You’re mine, Rodel Harris Emerson. All mine.”
ON THE DAYof our wedding, Aristurtle ran away from home. Scholastica had taken him out of his box so she could clean it. She turned around, and he had busted loose.
“Good for him.” Goma adjusted her fedora. No feathery, flowery hat for her. “Ifyoulived up to 150 years, you wouldn’t want to spend it in that shit box either.” She lifted the half-curtain in the kitchen and clucked at the search party that was supposed to be looking for him:
Bahati, the best man and honorary maid of honor, taking selfies in his sponsored suit.
Scholastica, our flower girl, twirling through the coffee plants in her new dress, while her Aunty Anna chased after her with a hat.
Anna’s kids, playing hopscotch in the dirt, white socks rolled up in their shoes.
Rodel’s parents, trying to talk Olonana into selling them his earrings.
“Aristurtle could crawl up their leg and bite them in the ass, and they wouldn’t notice,” said Goma. “And you.” She turned to me and tried to adjust my tie, but she couldn’t quite reach the knot. “No peeking in the living room.”
Hair, Makeup, and Wardrobe were holed up in there with Rodel—the same girls who’d come to the hotel. I couldn’t wait to see Rodel in her wedding dress, but holy crap, how long was this taking?
Goma chuckled as I paced the floor. “Jack . . .” She trailed off and patted the chair beside her.
“I wish your grandfather were here,” she said, when I sat down. “He’d have been so proud. Your father and mother, too.” She stared at the table and nodded absently. “And Lily . . .” Her voice cracked as she said it. A lump formed in my throat. I put my arm around her and pulled her in. She laid her head against my shoulder, and we shared a sweet, silent moment.
“I’m tired, Jack,” said Goma. “But seeing you and Rodel together gives me new breath. You better make some babies soon. Not for me, of course. I hate babies. Screaming, pooping, useless little things. But just so you can go fuss over someone else and leave me the hell alone.”
“I don’t fuss over you.”
“Oh yeah? I sleep in a couple of hours and you’re tiptoeing outside my door. I’m not going to croak in my sleep, Jack. That’s not my style.”
I chucked. “Well, you might be putting up with one of those screaming, pooping, useless little things soon.”
“No!” Goma slapped my arm. “Yes? Tell me!”
“Careful. I might start thinking you actually care.”
“I just want to know so I can plan my cruise around it. I’ll be back when it’s out of diapers and sleeping through the night.”
“You’re not going anywhere, Goma. You’re going to need someone to change your own diapers soon.”
“Shut your filthy mouth.” But she grinned and looked at me like she always did—like I meant the world to her.
“We’re ready!” One of the girls popped her head out of the living room. Josie. Or Melody. Or Valerie. I could never get it right.
I tried to say something but ended up grinning like an idiot. Rodel was on the other side of the wall. Ready to walk down the aisle.
“Thank you,” said Goma, piping in for me. “We’ll start getting everyone to the barn.”
