“Us,” Toni corrected her in a whisper. “Tell us more.”
I gave them a quick rundown about how we were beefing. Then I got out of the shower to a random letter waiting for me. I couldn’t remember hearing anyone come in the bathroom and had a feeling it was my little ninja that’d gotten the job done undetected.
Mani had tears in her eyes. “Aww, that is so sweet. You know he hates when you’re upset with him,” she noted.
I rolled my eyes and sucked my teeth. Toni decided to chime in. “Okay, ain’t that the truth, and he don’t play about you or the boys, so we know why he put hands on Drey. He deserved that shit because he was wrong, and my nephews could’ve been seriously hurt.”
I paused with a frown after listening to her silent rant. “Girl, why the hell are you whispering?”
She even laughed silently. “Because I’m literally hiding in the closet, hitting my weed pen. Yo’ mama and daddy is about to make a bitch pull her hair out. I gotta get the fuck on through, man. I’m too old for this shit. Be happy you did not have to move back into this prison.”
Mani and I could not stop laughing at her. Toni was a damn nutcase with a death wish. My mama was going to have a heart attack if she found out what she was hiding in the closet, doing. When we finally calmed down, I focused back on the conversation at hand.
“But listen. I don’t know if I should entertain this. Poppa is my best friend; I can’t risk that.”
I began nibbling on my lip as I got caught up in my head. “I can understand that,” Mani said.
“Girl, fuck what you talking about. Go and let the man make things right. You don’t have to get all in your head, because at the end of the day, like you said, that’s your best friend. That man got your back, so just trust him and have fun.” A flurry of knocks on the closet door had Toni cursing under her breath. “Fuck. These kids done found me. I gotta go. Let me know how the date goes, sis. Have fun. Love you.”
Before I could respond, she hung up. Mani encouraged me to relax and enjoy myself before we began to talk about the birth of my niece. She would be here in less than a month, and I was excited about that. Babies were a blessing, and she was going to be spoiled like all the others in our family.
Tappingthe letter against my hand, I walked out of the house and glanced toward the sea of trees in the distance. It was Saturday, and the sun would be setting in a couple of hours. I stood there, wearing a white, silk dress with lace trimmings. Unable to walk through the woods barefoot, I wore a pair of silver sandals.
After nervously twisting in place for a minute longer, I began my journey to the meadow on the other side of the forest. I took breaths with every step that drew me closer to the trail of amber lingering in the air as if it wanted to guide me right to Lyrix. And it did. A few minutes later, I entered the meadow and paused to take in the scenery.
In the distance, you could see Mt. Jasper, along with rolling hills leading up to its base. The warmth of the sun hit me from the left and shone gorgeous rays over the field of flowers. I smiled at the cherry blossom trees swaying in the wind like poetry.
Walking deeper into the meadow, I noticed Poppa waiting for me beneath a white balloon arch. There were soft pink and purple hydrangeas, garden roses, and peonies everywhere behind him, creating the most beautiful landscape. Even a trail of them led the way to him. My stride slowed as the melodic sound of string instruments playing “Best Part” by Daniel Ceaser and H.E.R. enveloped me. When I glanced to the right, I saw a small quartet tucked beneath one of the cherry blossoms. I gasped in shock as my hand covered my mouth.
The closer I walked to Poppa, the more details I noticed. There was a huge, deep sapphire velvet blanket lying in the center of the flower statues. It had gold tasseled edges that were so vibey. In the center of the blanket was a picnic set up with a gold-trimmed tea set, vintage napkins, and porcelain plates with gold trimmings to match the tea set.
I couldn’t wipe my smile from my face if I tried as I stopped in front of Poppa. He was wearing a crisp, white button-up with the sleeves rolled up. A pair of black suspenders was hooked to his tailored slacks that looked great on him. He was barefoot in the grass, making me giggle. He gave me a boyish grin. I looked around again in awe of what he’d put together just for me. “Lyrix, what is all of this?”
He took my hand in his. “I told you I wanted to make things right. You love Bridgerton, so I thought I’d bring it to life while I begged you to let me back in. I miss you,” he admitted in a tender voice that lovingly stroked the surface of my brain.
“I miss you too,” I admitted softly.
He sighed in relief, walking me over to the picnic setup. Now that I was closer, I could see the variations of food he had laid out in a delicious-looking spread. I couldn’t tell what everything was, but I noticed heart-shaped finger sandwiches, some type of shortbread cookies and tarts, chocolate-covered strawberries with gold flecks, and a fresh fruit board of blackberries, grapes, figs, pomegranate seeds, and sliced peaches. I nearly drooled when I saw the honeycomb container and fresh mint leaves beside it.
“Everything looks amazing,” I complimented.
He pointed down to my cushioned seat, where there was a small bouquet waiting for me. It was wrapped in the cutest silver ribbon. I lifted it up to take a seat. I slid off my sandals so I could be more comfortable. I held my breath while waiting for Poppa to join me. His seat was directly beside mine, with the food spread before us like a buffet. The quartet was still strumming R&B classics that sounded heavenly.
“Wow, you’ve really outdone yourself,” I whispered with a grin.
He shrugged. “For now. Would you like a glass of Rosé? My mama is watching the boys tonight, so you can get wine wasted if you want to.”
I chuckled. “In that case, yes, please. Pour me up a glass.” I looked around again in astonishment. Before I could help it, tears stuffed the corners of my eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asked with concern laced in his tone.
I shook my head, sniffled, and wiped the tears away. “This is the most romantic and thoughtful thing a man has ever done for me.”
He handed me my glass but paused before placing it in my hand. “It won’t be the last romantic and thoughtful gesture you receive, Grai. You deserve this level of devotion daily.”
I chose not to respond and allowed him to slip the glass of Rosé into my hand. After pouring himself a glass, he tilted his toward mine. “To meet a beautiful woman is one thing, but to meet your best friend in the most beautiful of women is something entirely apart,” he recited something Simon said. I immediately swooned and swayed with the wind. He tapped his glass against mine, and I quickly took a sip to distract myself.
He handed me a menu that was handwritten in calligraphy. My stomach growled when I saw he had mini chicken salad croissants with edible flowers and smoked salmon with dill and a lemon aioli on top. There were a few more desserts listed too. It was clear Poppa was intentional about every detail of this picnic.
