Aside from the spa day I scheduled for Naryah, we didn’t leave our rooms until it was time to check out. We spent the rest of our time atTruth Sanctuarywrapped in each other.
One year later
“Baby,do you know what today is?” I asked Graham.
It was Friday night, and I’d just finished washing Graham’s hair and was oiling his scalp before braiding it. Keelan was spending the weekend at Graham’s parents’ house with Trey, something that began when Kindra and DJ welcomed their baby girl, Denniyah, six months ago.
“Friday?” he responded, distracted by the little chocolate butterball on the blanket next to him.
I popped him on the back of his head with the comb.
“It’s our anniversary.”
He let his head fall back between my legs and looked at me.
“Baby, our anniversary isn’t for three months. I’m confused.”
I leaned down to kiss his lips, then lifted his head to continue applying oil to his scalp.
“I’m not talking about our wedding anniversary.”
“What anni—oh, I remember now. Today is the anniversary of when I fucked the shit outta you, put you through the mattress, and put a baby in you. Ain’t that right, baby girl?”
Our daughter cooed as if she knew what he was talking about. Keelani was the spitting image of Graham, with a head full of hair and all.
“I mean, I wasn’t gonna put it that way, but I guess you could say that.”
“That’s what happened, so there’s no other way to put it. When Lani goes to sleep, we should celebrate our anniversary by doing it again.”
“We can do one and two, but let’s hold off on three until she’s at least a year old.”
“We’ll let the Big Homie upstairs decide when that should happen. He ain’t been wrong yet.”
“I already talked to God about it, and He said to wait a year.”
“That’s funny. He told me that now is as good a time as any. Ain’t that right, Que?”
Que was lying on the floor, a few feet away. He lifted his head, barked, and put his head back down. I still couldn’t believe how he switched sides on me.
“You, Keelani, and Que can go sit in a corner somewhere. Be still, or this part is about to be crooked.”
The past year of my life had been the best I’d ever had. From the moment I decided to let Graham love me, I’d been floating on cloud nine.
Three months after we visitedTruth Sanctuary, I woke up to a wedding ring on my finger. When I went to find Graham foran explanation, he was on bended knee, with Keelan on one side and Que on the other, and he asked me to marry him.
I didn’t hesitate to say yes, and we got married that day. I dressed in a white sundress; he and Keelan wore white linen short suits, and Que wore a black-and-white bowtie. We secured our marriage license and were married two hours later.
My boys managed to surprise me, but I had a surprise of my own. After we exchanged our vows, said I do, and exchanged our first kiss as husband and wife, I announced that I was pregnant. It was a joyous day and one that I’ll never forget.
The following weekend, we held an intimate reception in my in-laws’ backyard and then returned to Truth Sanctuary to celebrate our union. I didn’t know life could be this good, and I was abundantly grateful.
Keelan’s relationship with Graham grew stronger with each passing day. He was the father figure Keelan needed, and I couldn’t express how full my heart was as I watched their bond become unbreakable.
The mural Keelan painted forA Different Breed BoxingStudioturned out amazing. It was a beautiful depiction of the three men most considered the best boxers of all time. One social media post of the painting went viral, and my baby blew up.
Businesses from all over Black Elm and other parts of California wanted to hire him. He did hundreds of news interviews and became well-known in the art world, so much so that he’d already been offered scholarships to the top art colleges and universities in America.
Of course, Victor didn’t do what the court ordered and ultimately lost his visitation rights. When Keelan blew up, he started posting on social media about his son being a genius and how proud he was, but he never came to see him.
