Katrelle:Don’t you think this dress is beautiful?
Katrelle:I can’t wait to be your wife.
Skimming over Katrelle’s messages, I inhaled and exhaled just as deeply. Being a man of my word had never been complicated until now. I’d never hesitated to tell anyone what it was. Not ever. However, I’d jumped the gun with Katrelle. Proposing to her should’ve been the start of something new. Instead, I felt like this was a test that either way, I could fail.
“One foot in front of the other, baby. Just like that.”
It was day three of Bianca doing a simple workout walking the grounds of S. S. Estates. Usually, I was locked in and focused completely on her. This morning, though, shit was off with me. I couldn’t blame the energy on anything other than the fact that I hadn’t slept next to Bianca last night. She slept the whole night through and didn’t require my presence to lull her to sleep. Admittedly, I felt some type of way. Then, the messages from Katrelle started flooding in. I hadn’t talked to her since she left my condo, and I wasn’t looking forward to talking to her about calling the wedding off.
Rejection was something I struggled with. Slighting a woman I just proposed to mere weeks ago was like a slap in the face to her. While I didn’t give a fuck about many things, an innocent person’s genuine feelings weren’t something to play with.
“Let me lay here for a minute,” Bianca said. If my mood was what had her wanting to quit, I had to shape the fuck up.
“Nah—”
“Please,” she implored. “I want to feel the grass against my back for a second. And maybe my friends will come talk to me.”
Chuckling at herfriends, the geese, I said, “Aight.”
“As a matter of fact, leave me here. I’ll walk back on my own.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She waved me off as she laid in the grass, stretched her arms, breathed in deeply, then blew the air out between her lips. A serene smile was on her face as the sun beat down on her beauty.
“I’ll be okay, I have my phone. Run along now,” she playfully commanded.
Shaking my head, I did as I was told. I was in my head anyway and needed to get my shit together.
“Where’s Bianca?” Kwamé asked when I returned to the patio. She stood at the patio door with Jessie clinging to her side.
I pointed towards the lake running along the backside of the property.
“She should be heading back this way soon.”
“You left her out there?” she fussed.
Snickering, I replied, “She has her phone if she can’t do it. Mind you, I told her the same shit. She all but cussed me out and sent me on my way.”
Kwamé joined me on the patio and laughed. “Aw, did you shed a tear while walking back?”
Her teasing me brought back old memories. “That shit used to get you dunked in the lake,” I stated.
She cackled while handing me Jessie. Baby girl’s big gummy grin stole a piece of my heart. I couldn’t wait to hold my own child.
“Will I get to meet Katrelle?” Kwamé asked as she took a seat.
“She’ll be at the office’s Christmas Eve party.”
“Ugh… I won’t be going to that. You have to invite her out here for dinner or something. I promise to be on my best behavior.”
“Why wouldn’t you be?” I asked.
Perturbed, she glanced at me. “So, tell me what it is you love about Katrelle. What made you fall for her?”
My face reflected the annoyance I felt at such a question.
Kwamé giggled. “Well?”
