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“What am I supposed to do all day?”
“Whatever you want. The world is yours.”
“Okay,” she replied, unable to stop herself from pondering.
“I’ll send Daniel’s info from the car. Have a good day.” Planting a kiss on her cheek, I headed out the door.
Hailo shied away from the topic whenever I mentioned talking to Sadie. She didn’t want to tell her mother the truth but hadn’t come up with an alternative. Family was everything to me and why we were in this situation. She felt the same about her mother, so I was visiting Sadie to take something off Hailo’s plate.
Sadie and I exchanged numbers at dinner because she needed another way of checking on Hailo, who didn’t always answer the phone. I used it to ask if I could stop by today, and she agreed. I spent the entire drive trying to wrap my head around becoming a father. It was still crazy to me.
Parking along the curb, I hopped out and made my way to the door, where Sadie greeted me with a hug.
“Good morning.”
“Is everything okay?” Sadie questioned, curious why I was here and without Hailo.
“Yeah, the girls are good,” I smiled, and her face held the curiosity it had when she opened the door.
“Come in so you can tell me what brings you by,” Sadie led me to the living room and took a seat across from me so I could explain.
“I’d like to ask your daughter to marry me. I know how much you mean to her,so I’m here.”
“Did you know Hailo was engaged a few months ago?” I didn’t know much about her relationship with Marcel besides his cheating. Hailo didn’t like to talk about it; honestly, it didn’t matter. This was happening, and we had far more important shit to discuss than her past with a lame. “How old are you, Gianni?”
“Twenty-six.”
“At twenty-six, you want to spend the rest of your life with a woman you just met?”
“Positive.”
“What makes you so positive outside the good time the two of you had to create my grandbaby?” She asked, not holding back her feelings on the subject. From one straight shooter to another, I respected it.
“It was a good time. Maybe too good, but that night, I got to see Hailo. The real her, not the scared and guarded version of herself, she trots around,” I replied, sharing what attracted me to Hailo the night we met.
“Marriage is a big step. Add a baby into the mix, and the two of you have a recipe for disaster. You seem like a nice man, but what makes you think you’re ready for that- that she’s ready for that?”
“Love isn’t a destination. It’s a journey that nobody’s ever ready for. You do it because what you got is more important than losing it. It means choosing your team-mate, committing to them, and working together for the rest of your lives. It's loving somebody more than you love yourself; that won’t always be easy. I know that but seeing the real Hailo smile is worth every second of the hard work and ups and downs.”
Sadie’s eyes glossed the same way Hailo’s did when she was overwhelmed.
“You’re sure about this?”
“Positive.”
“Have you two spoken about marriage? She swore she would never do it again after what Marcel did. I’d hate for you to go through all this just for her to let you down,” Sadie advised, but I was already aware of Hailo’s history with Marcel.
“I think I’m good.”
“I hope so. She’s stubborn as a mule.”
“I’ve noticed, but luckily for her, I’m patient.”
And good at ignoring what I didn’t have patience for, which would come in handy dealing with Hailo and that mouth.
“I failed her once, being young and immature. I wasn’t ready to be a mother. I was running from my own stuff, and when God wanted me to stop running, he gave me a little girl. I looked at that bald head and knew I had to get it together for her. Don’t make me fail her again by trusting you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
