Page 86 of Mia

“I’ve definitely said more than few prayers for you two lately,” he said. “I know it took a long time to get here⁠—”

Our families erupted in agreement.

“Too damn long!” Smoke said.

“Never thought I’d see the day!” Maceo added. “Meet me at the altar in your white dress, head ass niggas!”

We couldn’t help but laugh because neither of us ever expected to be in a healthy relationship. It was sad that it took tragedy to make us get our shit together.

“Be that as it may,” Quaid finally said. “I’m proud of both of you. Titan, you know you’re my brother. Been that in every sense of the word. Mia. . . in not so many words, you partially saved my life. If you know, you know,” he said, giving Jaeda a side eye. She playfully mushed him. “I love you and I want nothing but the best for you and my brother. I know life has been hard and unfair lately, but know that I got you, just like I got him. Understand?”

Mia nodded. “I understand.”

Quaid pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek. When he pulled back, he reached into his pocket and handed me the ring box I’d tasked him with holding for me. I slipped it into my pocket. He handed Bleu to Mia, then he and Jaeda took their positions on either side of us. I turned to Senior.

“Let’s get it, Pops.”

He smiled as he grabbed the microphone.

“Now, y’all know I’ve lived a few lives, but none of them has been as a wedding officiant. However, it’s an honor to conduct the ceremony for my baby girl and my newest son. Bow your heads for a word of prayer.”

Everyone bowed their heads.

“Father God, I come to You today, asking that You bless this union. As Mia and Titan recommit themselves to each other in front of their loved ones, I ask that you strengthen them as a unit. Give them the courage to commit to this marriage with love, understanding, patience, and acceptance. Help them to become better separately and together. Give them the power to listen to understand and not to respond.

“Help them to know that separately, they are strong, but together they are a force to be reckoned with. I pray for their healing. I pray for their minds in time where things seem weary. I pray for their hearts because these two have suffered a loss that was meant to break them. Shower them with Your love and grace. Bless them in abundance. These and all blessings we ask in Your son Jesus name. Amen.”

“Amen.”

“All right. Ain’t no formal rules to this so, I’m gonna turn this over to the couple. Titan, you want to go first?”

He handed me the mic. I took a deep breath and brought it to my lips.

“Mia Elaine DeLuca. We’ve been through a lifetime together, mamas. From being roughneck, hard-headed kids to adults, you’ve been a constant in my life. Even when we didn’t see eye to eye or weren’t on the best of terms, you’ve always been there. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but my biggest one was not treating correctly the first time. We’ve fumbled each other so much and I don’t want to do that anymore, baby.

“I want to love you right and completely, with my entire being. I don’t want toxic love. I want a love that’s rooted in strength and mutual respect. I want real date nights, vacations, listening, communicating, understanding, honesty, and unconditional love. You are my person. You’re the woman who challenges me, and I need that. I don’t want a soft life, but I want softness with you. When it’s just the two of us, I wanna know that we can shed this amor and find peace with each other.

“I love you. I’m so fucking in love with you, and I don’t want to wait another lifetime to make things right with us. We ain’t gon’ be perfect. You’re still gonna get on my nerves and I’m still gonna get on yours. We’re still gonna argue or disagree, but I vow to fix it before we go to bed at night because life is too short not to be happy.”

I cupped her face and pecked her lips.

“I want to be happy with you. Only with you.”

I pecked her lips a few more times before stepping back. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at me. Senior pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. Gently, he cupped her chin and dabbed her eyes before taking the mic from me and handing it to her.

“Your turn, baby girl,” he said with a smile.

Mia handed Bleu over to him. With a trembling hand, she took the mic and swallowed hard.

“I’ve never been one for public speaking, which is crazy because I can be the loudest person in the room, next to Shar.”

“Period!” Shar said, tapping her thumb and pointer finger together.

The crowd rumbled with low laughter.

“I don’t think I’ve ever claimed to hate anybody as much as I claimed to hate you over the years, Titan. You never knew it, but you pushed me to be the best at what I do. Even though we were on the same side of things, you were my biggest competition. I had no idea that you would grow to be one of my biggest blessings.”

Tears laced her voice as she spoke to me.