Page 41 of Meet Me at the Altar

“Which resulted in your self-destructive behaviors back then. Two men you loved dearly had disappointed you greatly.”

“Yeah. I mean, it took a lot for me to open up to my dad when I moved to California. I was so angry with him, but I needed him at the same time. I couldn’t forgive him for living two different lives, breaking Mama’s and my hearts the way he did, and keeping my siblings away from me for so long. Crazy part is that we’re all three years apart. It’s like he had Solomon,took a break, three years later he needed another one, and he impregnated my mama with me, and then three years later, he impregnated Tora with Kalandra. It all made sense why he didn’t marry Mama; he had another family already.”

“But he didn’t marry their mother either, did he?”

“Not at first. He didn’t marry her until after his ass was busted. Still can’t believe she let that nigga get away with that,” he stated with a low chuckle.

I pushed up on my elbow and dropped a kiss on his forehead, nose, and lips before I lay back down.

“I remember that summer when you learned about them. You were so stoked and yet so devastated at the same time.”

“Yeah. I was twelve that year, and I had no idea how much my life was about to change. Don’t get me wrong; Daddy hadn’t always been there. Being an over-the-road trucker gave him the perfect excuse for being away and having another family. It was just knowing that when he was in town, he wouldn’t be staying with us anymore.

“I wouldn’t see him and Mama loving on each other and being happy. We wouldn’t do things together as a family anymore. That shifted the dynamic of what I perceived family to be and Black love. Then when Leon’s ass waltzed up in there three years later, I put all that hurt aside, and I focused on making sure Mama was happy and that maybe we could have a chance at being a family again. That nigga didn’t want that. He wanted my mama and nothing else. He just accepted me as part of the deal.”

“You now have three beautiful families, though, Drè. You’ve got your dad, Torah, Solomon, and Kalandra. You and your siblings are so close it’s like you guys were raised together. Then you’ve got your mom, and the two of you are family. It doesn’t matter what Leon thinks, feels, or wants. He can never break the bond between you and her. Then there’s us. You’re aboutto marry into this loud, zany, opinionated family full of mostly women. We love you to pieces.”

He smiled down at me and dropped a kiss on my lips.

“I love you more, baby girl.”

I only prayed that his mother would prove me right and show up for our wedding.

Chapter 15

Andrès

TWO WEEKS LATER

“This place is so beautiful, Drè!” Kalliope exclaimed, clapping her hands over her mouth.

I wrapped my arms around her from behind and dropped a kiss on her shoulder. “Thank you, baby. I knew you would love it.”

“You even had the water fountain installed that I spoke about all those years ago. How could you possibly remember all the details?”

“Because you mattered to me, Kalli. Everything that you ever said, I took to heart. When I hired these people to build the home, I always knew that I would have it designed with you in mind. Every little detail that you talked about when we were young, I wanted it captured here in this house, including some of my own wishes like the basketball court, gym, and pool, of course.”

She shook her head, and tears were still streaming down her face. “But you didn’t know that I would accept your marriage proposal.”

“Yes, I did. A brother like me is confident. Told you that I wasn’t letting up off you unless you had a ring on your finger.”

She giggled and turned around and kissed me. Since my return to Cherokee Springs, I had been staying at Ridgeland, but over the last several weeks, I had been staying at her place more. She invited me to stay after accepting my proposal. Kalli wanted to get adjusted to living with me, and she said it would allow her to pick up on any subtle changes I had made through the years that she needed to be aware of and vice versa.

The house was completed yesterday, they gave me the keys yesterday evening, and this morning, we drove over first thing to see it. I hadn’t even told her the area of town it was in or anything about the details of what it looked like.

The way that Kalliope invested complete trust in me about matters like this did something to a nigga’s heart. I hadn’t earned a lot of trust from my family in earlier years, because of my behavior. The one person I needed to trust, honor, and respect me the most always gave it to me unconditionally. Kalli was the source of my confidence and strength, and she didn’t even realize it.

I had her dream home built for the two of us to live in. Even if she didn’t want me, it was hers to have. If she told me tomorrow that things wouldn’t work out between us, I would go back to the hotel and start building a new home all over again.

Every detail she talked about during our youth and teens, I had it installed in this home. The six-bedroom, six-and-a-half bathrooms were my idea, along with the pool, gym, and basketball court. Kalliope was in the details: high ceilings, crown molding, spa-like bathrooms with separate tubs and showers, custom walk-in closets, customized shelves and organizers and chandelier in the master bedroom closet, high-end kitchen appliances, cabinetry that reached the ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling windows in every room.

She had always talked about wanting a circular driveway with a fountain in the center, as well as a beautiful flower garden out back. The road leading up to our home was well-lit and lined with palm trees, and in our backyard was the most beautiful flower garden I had ever seen.

I led her up from the wine cellar that I decided to have installed, past her home office space, to the backyard.

“Drè!” She squealed.

Tears flew down her face as she covered her mouth with her hands and stared in awe at the masterpiece landscaping. She turned to me and then back to the garden again.