Tears cascaded down my cheeks. Joy came over and took DJ from my lap. I think the shock broke my voice box. When Robert grabbed my hand, I finally found my voice. “You want to marry me?” He lifted himself just enough to kiss my lips, then confirmed that he did. “Yes! Yes!”
Everyone on the deck rejoiced. I was silent while he slid the ring on my finger. I was completely mesmerized by it. “I know you said rubies and sapphires, but it didn’t feel right to not add some diamonds in there somewhere. You like it?”
My hands cupped his cheeks. “I love it, and I love you. I can’t wait to be your wife.”
A Short Time Later . . .
Brunch With the Ladies
It had become a tradition for the ladies in the family to get together every Sunday for brunch and the men did the same. If Daylen had an out of town game, we all traveled there and still did the same wherever we were.
When we were in Augusta, we alternated between someone’s house and restaurants for brunch. Today, we were at a restaurant. I wanted to get Simonette out of the house. DJ was with us only because she dealt with separation anxiety like most new mommas.
Today we were at a popular brunch spot in the city. Rissa had enough foresight to get a private room. I thought that she would bring her son, but she said that he was too bad for this type of shit. That was comical because she said it and it was a relief because at least she knew it was true. Some parents were oblivious that their kids were bad. It wasn’t that I thought Weston was bad, but he was in those terrible twos.
“All of these pictures are so gorgeous! I can’t believe they came out this well. I don’t know how y’all are going to pick for this magazine spread,” Joy said as she flipped through pictures of Robert’s and my courthouse wedding photo shoot.
I didn’t want to wait to marry Robert. My first wedding to Julius was large, and Robert said so was his to Simone. We both agreed that we wanted something that was classy and low-key. It took a little over a month and a half to plan the courthouse wedding and the reception. The reception was the lavish part of the whole event because we did invite business associates as well.
We all knew that our marriage would be highlighted just like the original news of our relationship was. For that reason, per Joy, Rissa, and Simonette, our reception and pictures had to be upper echelon. Joy reached out to a popular African American magazine brand. They jumped at the opportunity to tell ourboss ass love story.Those were their words, not ours.
They wanted us to pick the picture that would be on the cover of the issue. I loved all of the pictures, but I was tired of looking at them at this point. There was no way that I could narrow all of those beautiful pictures down to one. That was why I had the ladies looking at them. It didn’t seem like they’d be any help.
I rocked DJ on my chest. “Mama, what do you think? You’ve been quiet.”
“Baby, I don’t think that you could go wrong, no matter which one you pick. They are all outstanding. Just pick one,” she quipped.
There was a knock on the private room door. The hostess came in and told us that there was someone that wanted to speak with Simonette. We all wondered who it was until Lanette bopped her ditzy ass into the room. She raised her hands. “I didn’t come here to start anything. I just wanted to talk to Simonette. You had your son, I heard on the news.”
Simonette shifted in her seat. “I did. What would you like to talk about? This is a private event.”
I wasn’t here for the bullshit. She didn’t have her daughter with her, so I would whup her ass in this room if I had to. “Yes, please make the reason for your presence known so we can move on with our brunch.”
Lanette shifted on her feet. “Um, Simonette, Mama was arrested yesterday. Apparently, she invested in a business with her fiancé, Kevin, but it was a Ponzi scheme or something like that. He had her sign a lot of financial documents, so she’s caught up in it.”
We all stared blankly at this girl. I asked her how she knew that we were here, and she said that Rissa posted it in her stories. “Lanette, what exactly do you expect Simonette to do? I’m confused why you felt so moved that she needed to know this immediately.”
“Simonette, I was hoping that you could help pay for—” Lanette didn’t have a chance to finish her request. Rissa stood up and drew all of our attention.
Rissa’s head shook. “I know like hell you’re not about to ask my sister for money. Didn’t y’all cut her off? Y’all got my sister fucked up.”
“She is not your fuckin’ sister, bitch. Just because she married your brother, that doesn’t make her your sister,” Lanette quipped. Her face brightened a little.
I looked down to make sure DJ was still asleep. This little turtle head girl was loud. If she woke my grandbaby up, it would be a problem. Simonette huffed, then stood. “Lanette, this is highly inappropriate. Of all people, I would think that you would know that. If I choose to help her, I will be in contact with you within two days. If you don’t hear from me, then that is your no.”
Lanette’s jaw ticked. “Remember, Simonette, that no matter how she treated you, she’s still your mother. These people have no real connection to you.” She glared in my direction. “Especially her.”
All I could do was chuckle. “Girl, you’re lucky that I have my grandbaby in my arms. Stop playing with my daughter. Like she said, if you hear from her, then you do. If you don’t, then you don’t. Get the fuck on.”
“Lanette, I think it’s best you leave. You said no matter how she treated me, she’s still my mother. That’s like telling a rape victim that no matter how savagely they were raped, the assailant is still a good person. Y’all wasn’t thinking about me until y’all needed money. Get the hell out of here.” Sim was stern.
Rissa tapped Sim on her leg, then told her to lean down. She said something in her ear to which Sim nodded. When Sim stood back up to her full height, I saw her back straighten and her headlifted with a certain pride. “Excuse me. I meant get the fuck out of here with that bullshit.”
I giggled a little. I was told that Sim was very soft spoken before she started dating Daylen. She barely cursed and allowed people to run over her. Love, a good man, and dick could do amazing things in a person’s life.
Lanette stormed out of the room. We all laughed when she intended to slam the door, but it was a soft close. These bitches were so dramatic.
My hand covered Sim’s hand when I noticed the worry that was etched on her face. I leaned close to her. “Don’t worry about any of that, baby girl. I will talk to your father about it.” I lifted my finger before she could say anything. “Simonette, let me and your father handle it. This is not something you need to hold on your shoulders.”
