She looked at me and smiled. “You my man, Reigh?”
“Why you even gotta ask me some shit like that, Dove? You know what type of time I’m on and how I’m coming for you. Ain’t nothing I ever do is pretend. Quit playing, a’ight?”
She smirked and nodded. “Okay. Do your thang, boo.”
I shook my head and climbed out of the car. When I pulled her car door open and unbuckled her from her seat, she almost knocked me down running to where our instructors, Kyle and Ingram, waited.
“Someone’s excited and has the right energy for today,” Kyle declared, rubbing his hands together.
“Yeah, I love the feeling of free-falling. It’s the most exhilarating experience in the world.” Dove’s excitement was contagious, and Kyle and I couldn’t help but laugh with her.
After Kyle and Ingram welcomed us, Kyle explained what we could expect, gave us the assumption of risk agreement to sign, and then advised us to select our suits and suit up.
“I’m surprised we didn’t have to wait for a few hours. Usually, my wait time is no less than two hours,” Dove remarked.
“Dove, you’re connected, li’l bit. I promise I will always give you the best experiences, because you deserve nothing less.”
She smiled up at me sweetly and tipped up on her toes to kiss me, before we climbed into the plane with Kyle and Ingram. She chatted happily the entire time, talking about the previous times she had gone skydiving and how she became connected to the sport through a friend she had met in college.
Just before it was time to dive, she held my hand and prayed silently. When she opened her eyes again, she smiled at me and whispered, “Amen.” She gripped my hands and stared into my eyes.
“I love you, Reigh.”
“I love you more, Dove.”
The adrenaline rush that came with skydiving was incomparable to the rush that I got in the ring. In the ring, the adrenaline came from my need to win, to dominate, to prove to the world that I was better than my circumstances or what they said I was. It was an attempt to overcome the hurt and pain I had been saddled with from youth.
Skydiving gave me a freedom I never had in life. Dependent on nothing but the grace of God, no one was able to hurt me or judge me. It was just me and God up here free-falling, and my instructor. In the large scheme of things, for almost a full minute, even my instructor didn’t matter.
When our descent to Earth began, I had a good five minutes of riding down with my parachute to really think about my life. It would no longer be about the anger and pain of my past.
I wanted my future to be filled with light, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. I wanted to let go of all the obstacles and things that had held me down. I had millions, championship titles and belts, sponsors, fans, and all the material items that I could want. I didn’t have what mattered most—peace, and I hadn’t had it in a long while. I wanted peace. True peace.
I glanced past the videographer who was filming Dove and to her beautiful face. I wanted her and everything that came with her. I wanted her love, her friendship, her peace, and her hand in marriage.
My instructor gave me the pre-arranged signal just as the videographer turned in my direction. We were at an altitude of five thousand feet, and the main canopy had just deployed. I looked up to where Dove was, slightly above us and to our right.
The videographer gestured in Kyle’s and my direction. Dove’s eyes squinted and widened and then squinted again before excitement covered her face as she read the gold lettering “Will you marry me” on my canopy. She threw her hands up to her mouth, and I could see the shock and surprise as she took in the moment.
Within seconds, her lips were moving, and her head was bobbing wildly up and down.
No sooner than Kyle and I landed, I got up off my ass and reached in my pocket and pulled out the box. I didn’t want to wait to get out of my gear. I immediately kneeled as Dove landed not too far away. I held up the box as soon as her butt touched the Earth.
“Dove Reign Flowers, shit ain’t been easy for you this last year, and it ain’t been easy for me for a while. I know that it might seem like we’re moving fast and out of order, but I ain’tnever been that type of man to do things the way folks said I should. I don’t care about that. All I care about is making the move that I feel is right for us now. I don’t wanna wait and play no games.
“Girl, you’ve been the only real peace I’ve known since I was seven. The adrenaline that I get when I’m up in the air like that, the freedom that came with free-falling, and the heart pounding joy that came with watching you enjoy yourself the way that you did only comes when I’m in your presence. I want a lifetime of bringing you that type of joy, and I want a lifetime of your love and peace. Dove, will you marry me?”
She stood and raced over to me. Kneeling in front of me, she grabbed my face and kissed me so hard. The sweetness of her lips was combined with the saltiness of her tears. When she pulled back, she was still crying. “Yes! God, yes, I will marry you, Reigh. I can’t imagine a better life than one where you’re right beside me.”
We kissed again as Kyle, Ingram, and our videographer, Joseph, congratulated us and clapped for us. My heart was full.
I couldn’t stop marveling atmy ring. His marriage proposal was so unexpected because we hadn’t been back in each other’s lives for long. Yet, it was the only thing that made sense. I knew that I loved that man, and he had always brought me joy and happiness, even as kids.
After skydiving, we returned to the hotel to shower and change. He surprised me with a large rack of clothing to select from for our next adventure. I chose an off-the-shoulder burgundy jumpsuit and paired it with gold sandals.
We visited an art gallery for a private showing and enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and talked with the artists about their art and Reighvyn’s love of art. He brought me two small prints that I had fallen in love with.
Afterward, we dined at Lady Chablis. I enjoyed myself so much and was surprised to learn after dinner that our evening wasn’t finished.
