Page 103 of Betrothed To Love

“We got them today after school.”

“Y’all went to the mall?” I ask.

“Yeah, baby. There was an hour wait for the food so we decided to shop while we waited. There’s a new kid boutique there and they had some cute stuff. We got those and a few more outfits,” my wife says as she steps to the bed.

“I’m wearing my new jeans at Sunday dinner. You’ll see them,” Niya adds, beaming.

After kissing Niya’s forehead, I ask, “Well, did you get me something?”

“No,” she says with a laugh. “They don’t have big people clothes. You gotta go to yo’ store, Daddy.”

“I will, baby girl. But you get some sleep, okay? Sweet dreams and I love you,” I tell her.

“Dream sweet, Daddy. I love you too.”

From the other side of the bed, my wife places the remote on Niya’s nightstand then leans in. “The remote is right here but everything is set. Have the sweetest dreams tonight,” she says before kissing Niya’s cheek. When she does, Niya wraps her arms around Mireya and squeezes her.

“Dream sweet, Mommie. I love you.”

Embracing Niya, my wife, my kyau, says, “I love you too, sweetheart.”

My life is finally complete.

The moment we are out of Niya’s room and her door is closed, my emotions overwhelm me. My wife loving my daughter and stepping into her life as her mother so effortlessly has left me speechless. I have no words, just feelings.

Slightly startling her, I back her into the wall in the hall. My right hand caresses her cheek as I lean in and kiss her with all the love I feel. Her body melds into mine as she kisses me back with the same passion.

The love I have for her I can’t even try to put in words. I just know it’s her for me and no one else.

When I finally release her soft lips, I still have no words adequate enough to express my feelings but I try to say something. “I can never thank you enough for how you love and accept Niya but I’ll spend the rest of our life together trying,” I promise.

TWENTY-NINE

“Please let me help. I feel bad just sitting here while you get all of this together,” Alami insists.

“You are our guest and this is a barbecue for you. I’m not letting you do anything but sit back and relax,” I reiterate.

Today is the day she’ll finally meet all of her brothers. She’s been working for Quintus for two weekends now and she already met Shiro but the others have only seen pictures of her. This barbecue will change that dynamic. To make her more comfortable, I suggested that she arrive an hour before her brothers get here and Quintus agreed. She did too.

She arrived at one and we have been talking casually. She was clearly nervous at first but now, she’s looking more relaxed, at ease. Spending time with me and Niya seems to have helped. While my husband finishes the ribs, chicken, and corn on the grill, I’m handling the sides. My baked beans with hamburger meat are in the oven, almost done, and I’m chopping onions, celery, and boiled eggs for the large pan of potato salad. My husband’s brothers can eat. I want to make sure we have enough of everything.

“You can draw with me, Auntie,” Niya suggests and I agree.

Niya is thoroughly intrigued with her new, young auntie. She’s been under Alami since she warmed up to her. Right now, she’s on the stool next to Alami at the island.

“That would be fun. You can show her your room and your drawing wall,” I say with a smile.

“A drawing wall?” Alami asks with curious eyes.

“Yes. I can draw on my whole wall,” Niya gushes. “I’ll show you.” Alami stands when Niya starts to climb out of the stool. When Alami grabs her large tote from the other stool, Niya excitedly says, “I like that.” She touches one of the many charms on the tote then looks back at me. “Can I get one?”

“One of what?” I ask, curious if she means the actual large tote, the patches on it, or one of the charms or pins.

“This,” Niya stresses while holding the fuzzy looking ball hanging on one of the tote’s chains.

Before I can answer, Alami does. “You can have this one. I have another one at home,” she says, then detaches it from her tote. “Do you have a purse? We can put it on that.”

“Yes!” Niya squeals as she excitedly leads Alami out of the kitchen.