“Alright. I’m not gone be up here long, but happy birthday again to my man, my man, my man. It has been such a joy to know and love you these past few months. You are kind, patient, calm, and got a big… heart,” I started making everyone laugh. “And you are passionate about creating your own video game one day. So… I did some research, shout out to Linx and Domo for helping me with this, and I got you the game engine software you’ll need to start coding and bringing this dream of yours tolife.” I motioned to the projector screen that was set up, and a video of Linx and Domo installing it on Vasiah’s computer was playing while we were on our way to the party. I actually purchased a couple of different software programs too – one to help with coding and another for animation. Vasiah was taking his time with this, but I knew he wanted to be even bigger than Sony one day, and I believed that he would. In my world, all dreams were possible, even if it took a while for them to be brought to life. The crowd started hooting and hollering, and Vasiah was shocked.
“Anyways. I love you, Vasiah, and I believe in you. I can’t wait to see all the cool things you’ll make and to see you bring all your dreams to life. Happy birthday, baby!” Somebody popped a bottle of champagne, and Vasiah swooped me in his arms, kissing me deeply. I could feel the love oozing outta him and knew he couldn’t wait to get home and play with his new toys.
“Thank you.”Muah
“Thank you.Muah
“Thank you.Muah
“I can’t wait to inhale yo whole body later. They gone have to surgically remove my tongue,” he whispered the last part, and I clamped my thighs together. He set me back on my feet.
“But aye, I got a gift for you too,” he said, smiling.
“On yo birthday? Is it between your legs?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “You was gone get that anyway. But nah…It’s something else.” He went into his pocket and pulled out a card in the shape of a kimono. Inside, it said: “Hayami, we’re going to Tokyo,”and I gasped.
“I remember our first conversation, and I told you about how I studied abroad in Japan. You said it was dope and that you wanted to go there one day… I made it happen. Now, we don’t leave for another month, but I just wanted you to know that I love you and I appreciate you. I am willing to do whatever tomake you smile, even down to the smallest things. I know you are fully capable of booking flights yourself and getting whatever you set your mind to, but just know that you have a man who can do it too.”
I cried. I didn’t even remember saying that. I had a thing for people listening to me. Because yes, I absolutelywascapable, but now I had a man who was capable too. And actuallywantedto find ways to show up for me.
Lord, I was never coming up off him! And the feeling was very mutual.
We spent the rest of the afternoon into the evening making out, taking shots, and staring into each other's eyes. Later that night, he indeed made good on his promise of inhaling my entire body, but we didn’t have to get his tongue surgically removed. And in tangled sheets, sweaty skin, and affirmations traded back and forth, we went to sleep in each other's arms, promising to never let each other go.
30
VASIAH
ONE MONTH LATER
TOKYO, JAPAN
“Whew!” I’m tired.” LaReina plopped on the hotel bed as I brought our luggage inside. The girl brought two big suitcases and one carry-on just for her wigs, which she said she planned to switch for the entire ten days that we were here. I learned that this was a normal ‘LaReina on Vacation’ thing to do, but I still didn’t understand why she wanted to dothat. However, I stayed out of women’s business. If my woman wanted to channel a different person every day, who was I to stop her?
“Hayami, you damn near slept the entire flight. Are you too tired to explore and get some food?”
Her head popped up. “Never too tired for food. Gimme a second to shower and change.” I let her do her thing, and an hour later, she was dressed in one of her Hustle Honey jogging suits in orange. She switched her wig to a chocolate brownone, and she looked so gorgeous that I couldn’t help but stare. Our hotel was right in the middle of Shibuya, and I made sure it wasn’t one of those tiny ones that Japan is known for. Not only did we have a sickening view, but we also had a full-sized bathroom with a jacuzzi jet tub and one of the biggest mirrors I’d ever seen. When I was in grad school, I enjoyed my time living here even though I missed my Pops, but being back with LaReina felt priceless. The past month had been so busy, so it was nice to take a vacation before we got back to the grind. LaReina’s salon suites had officially opened, and she had ten stylists, tattoo artists, lash techs, and massage therapists renting space from her. She was also teaching cosmetology classes for students who needed additional hours, and she did over a hundred free hairstyles for back-to-school events. Some weeks, she would be working until past midnight, but now that the suites were open in addition to her shop, she was toying with the idea of coming from behind the chair. She wanted to relax and travel more and had booked us some vacations during the holiday season and later in the upcoming year. Pops was doing well, still going to therapy and attempting to put himself out there. He met a nice woman named Diane who was also a widow in her fifties, and they’ve been going on dates and taking their time to get to know each other. He looked happier and less worried about me. I was happy for my Pops because if anyone deserved to experience love after loss, it was him.
I was still in therapy, too. Dr. Love was a hoot. I saw her about twice a month, and LaReina and I even had a joint session once. I had no idea that she was struggling with feeling like she belonged in my world, but to be honest, there is no place I’d rather have her be. Who knew that four months ago, a fine ass woman with hella personality would get me to fall in love with her? Some may think that we were moving extremely fast, butI settled into the thought that when you know…you just know. And love defies logic.
With LaReina, my days were better.
My smile was bigger.
My dreams were more attainable.
My heart had expanded.
She was good for my soul.
Before we met, it was too long to live without her, and now that I had her, I didn’t ever want to let her go.
After my birthday, I was all in with designing and coding for my game. I decided to take a slight sabbatical from work and had plans of quitting altogether once I had a prototype of the game available and ready to play. I wasn’t too hasty because I still needed my health insurance, a steady paycheck, and the network that came from working at this company, but I was slowly but surely meeting the right people, and Morris and Kari were on board to make this dream come true as well. It was a slow grind, but I was told that success tastes better when it comes from the oven versus it coming from the microwave.
“Okay, take me to the best sushi and ramen spot they got down here!” Reina exclaimed.
I knew exactly the place. Reina only had one job for this vacation, and that was to look pretty and relax as much as possible. I know she enjoyed researching places and planning trip itineraries, but I wanted to show her that I was capable of doing that too. So I planned extensively. I had mapped out days that would be full of adventure, shopping, exploring, and eating. Reina was naturally adventurous, so I made sure every other day had us living life on the edge to satisfy her adrenaline rush. Ieven booked a Shibari class for us so she could have a chance to tie me.
