All three of them looked at me like I was crazy.
“You didn’t know what to say?” Deja repeated.
I nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know why. So when we got home, Love asked me if I wanted to marry him, and I said I don’t know.”
Renee’s mouth dropped.
“Girl, what?” Kenya asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t you want to be with Love?” Deja asked.
“I do,” I said quickly. “I love him with all my heart, but…”
I couldn’t even get it out without crying harder. I didn’t even want to admit the shit again. Kenya handed me some tissues and helped me breathe so I could talk.
“Since I’ve been home, I swear I’ve been hearing Gio’s voice telling me that Love is going to do me like he did. Love could be talking to me, and it changes to Gio’s voice. I feel like that man is still here even though I know he is dead.”
“So why didn’t you just tell Love?” Renee asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, I didn’t want to sound crazy.”
“You know Love would have been three for you and been understanding,” Deja added.
I agreed.
“I didn’t want to hurt him. I felt like I had been putting Love through a lot. I thought I was going to come home and pick up where I left off, but instead, it’s like my brain is fighting with a ghost.”
“I understand not wanting to hurt him, but Love has been through a lot too. You and that baby were at the forefront of his mind. I don’t think that nigga cracked a smile until he had you back. That man gave you a ring, bought you a house, and gave you a baby, everything you waited years for from Gio. The love that he has for you is like no other nigga I have seen, and I told him that.”
“I don’t know what to do to fix it,” I said softly.
“For one, you need to leave Gio where you left him. That man tried to break you down,” Deja added.
“Don’t let his death be the reason you lose everything you ever wanted,” Renee said.
Kenya grabbed my shoulders and made me look at her.
“Do you have anything of Gio’s? Anything that he gave you, touched, something you kept that you didn’t know you had?”
I thought about it for a second.
“Yeah, I think I do.”
She smiled. “Go get it. I have an idea.”
I looked at her crazy, but didn’t question it. I just got up and went upstairs and stood in the room looking around, thinking about what I had.
I pulled out the outfit I had on when I left the house. Then I looked through a drawer and found an old T-shirt that I would sleep in. Then I looked through my jewelry box and found an old necklace that he had given me when we first started dating, and I took all of that to the basement.
“This is all I have,” I said, handing it to Kenya.
She smiled. “That’s all we need. Come on, let’s go.”
We all walked out back, and I took a seat while Deja and Renee helped Kenya find everything she needed. They all looked happy, doing whatever they were doing, while I was confused as hell, but after a few minutes, Kenya looked at me.
“Okay, girl, come here.”
