Page 96 of Widow Mayker

The next photograph I hung up was of me and Shyah. That woman would never understand how beautifully she came in and turned my life upside down. Shit, I could hardly remember life before her.

Stepping back, I made sure both photographs were perfectly aligned and was pleased that they were.

My door swung open, snatching my attention away.

“Damn, mane. I can’t enjoy my shit for one day without you poppin’ up?”

Antonias grilled me. “Nah, you can’t.”

“Let me guess. Adir told you that I was moving to town.” I wanted to laugh at the look on his face, but I kept it cordial.

“I don’t know what yo’ angle is, but I will bury you over my sister.”

This time I did chuckle a little bit. “Say, mane, I wouldn’t expect anything less. My only angle is to seize the moment to make Shyah mine for the rest of our lives. I’m so gracious of a nigga, that I knew she wouldn’t want to be away from you, Bianca, the kids, or the rest of the crew. We both know how close she is to Maja and Heir. Plus, I couldn’t take that from her. So… I’m here.”

After a few seconds passed, he said, “You better put that shit in stone.” Without another word, Antonias left the same way he came.

“Well, that’s the best blessing you gon’ get, my boy,” I joked to myself.

Getting back to work, I made four trips to my truck to retrieve the rest of my boxes and spent the next couple of hours making the space mine.

My door opened again.

“What the fuck now?” I griped. An older couple stood at the door. Instantly, I recognized Shyah’s adoptive parents.

“Oh! Oh, shit—I mean… Come in,” I said.

Their eyes scanned my office, taking note of the way it was coming along. For a moment, their gazes settled on the picture of me and Shyah hanging on the wall.

Finally, the man stuck his hand out. “Gion Suarez. This is my wife, Margarite.”

“Right. I know exactly who you two are. Shyah talks about you often.”

That brought a smile to their faces.

“So, we hear you wanna marry our little girl,” Gion stated.

I ducked my head. “I do. And as salty as he is, Antonias gave me his blessing.”

The three of us shared a friendly laugh.

“Well, now you have ours,” Margarite intoned. Her voice was so damn soft. “Take care of our girl.”

“With my whole heart, I will.”

“Any man who’s willing to uproot his life for the woman he loves, is alright with me,” Gion added. “It was nice meeting you, Lewis.”

“You, too,” I replied.

When they left my office, I chuckled under my breath. One day, my sons and daughters would have this same village surrounding them. I couldn’t even be mad at it.

Hours later, I stood back to take in my new office. Everything was in its place, it was freshly sanitized, dusted, and the floors were swept. Maintenance brought in the rest of my furniture and necessities. Already, this move felt divine.

Just then, there was a knock on my door. It was time.

I opened the door and grinned at Bianca. She had a blind-folded Shyah behind her. We both stifled a laugh. Taking over, I took Shyah’s hand from Bianca’s, then waved goodbye to Bianca. Proudly, she blew me a kiss.

“Lewis?” Shyah questioned when she felt my fingers against hers.