AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I spoke my vows from the top of my head, telling her things that I felt she needed to know. I had Shae boo-hoo crying like I didn’t tell her stuff like this all the time. I didn’t even know if she was going to be strong enough to get through her vows.
She eventually got herself together, and then she started.
“I forced myself not to love you in the beginning. I tried to find every possible reason not to love you because I was scared. I don’t have to say it out loud, but you know the reason why I was opposed to loving you in the beginning. When I lost my son, I was at my lowest, and… you were just there. Every step of the way. You took me out of darkness, pain, and misery. At times, I even question myself on where I would have been if you didn’t come into my life when you did.
“Although Vonte didn’t tell it to you, he told me that he wouldn’t mind me with you because he knew that you would love and protect me. That’s really all I’ll ever need for you to do is to love and to protect me, Toddrick. Today was perfect to me. I would love to look out in the crowd and see my mom sitting out there. I would love to see my son watching me at this moment. I know you would even love to see your parents, but I’ll take this. I love you, Toddrick,” she said, voice cracking, tears still falling.
I knew Shae enough to know that yeah, she was crying because she was happy, but a big part of her tears came from Vonte not being here. I knew that. I was drying her tears as the pastor went through the steps of making our union official.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your…”
I didn’t even let him finish. My hand was already cuffing the back of her head, and I was tonguing her down
“You down with the king of the south forever, baby,” I assured her, making sure she knew it.
“I know, baby, and I’m never leaving you either,” she said, but I already knew that.
Epilogue
Nine months later
Giovonni “Trip” Young
“Young, you have mail,” the guard said as he came over to my cell.
I stood up from my bed, closing the bible that I was reading. I was just trying to better my relation
ship with God, that’s all. Over the past nine months, so much had changed. I was teaching my class for the young boys two times a week, and my relationship with my ole girl had progressed. She’d even came and seen me two times so far this month, and that’s all I really ever wanted from her. Yeah, I was a grown ass man, but even us grown ass men want to know that we are still loved, especially by our mother. We talked, I mean got into some deep talks, and one of the things that we hashed out was the situation with Maya.
I got word from my mom that Krystal was murdered, and truth be told, Maya shouldn’t have had to be Shae’s responsibility, so I let my mom know to take that situation off Shae for me and to raise my child. She took that information back to Shae, and to my surprise, Shae was content with raising Maya. Although that’s the case, my mom had done her thing and stepped up. She was now getting Maya on the weekends, and I saw her at the last visit. Shae and I had no contact, which was fine because I’d hurt that woman so many times that there wasn’t anything else for me to say to her. I couldn’t thank her enough though for raising Maya, though.
There were pictures all around my room of Vonte and Maya. I won’t lie, I was hurt when I got the news about Krystal. She had some fucked up ways about her, but she didn’t deserve that.
I took the mail from the guard and walked with it over to my bed. I smiled when I saw that it was a letter from Raynell. I no longer had the cell phone because shorty stopped paying the bill, but it was fine because that shit was bound to get taken anyway. Besides, how could I teach these young boys to be better, yet I was using a smuggled phone? I had no choice but to get rid of it. With the letter in my hands, I sat down at the foot of the bed and read it.
Dear Giovonni,
I didn’t forget about you. I still keep in touch with a few of the correctional officers there. I discreetly ask about you every chance I get. I heard about the group that you organized, and I’m proud of you. I knew that you had it in you to do better things. It was just a matter of you applying yourself. I pray for you so much, Giovonni. Lord knows I wish your circumstances were different. Under all that tough-guy stuff that you like to showcase, I know that you’re a good person. I want you to continue doing good things, continue being a voice for these young boys. You have the power to make them change because, like I told you the last time, they look up to you.
Anyway, I felt like you deserved to see this. I decided to name her Ava Princess Young. Ava after my mother who passed two years ago, and Princess because she’s my princess. I know I waited until she was ten months to share this with you, but honestly, I wasn’t ready. I hate that this is how you had to find out about her, but there’s nothing I can do to change this. Flip his page over, and there she is.
With watery eyes, I turned the letter over, and the most beautiful little girl, who was the spitting image of me looked back at me. I couldn’t deny that little girl even if I tried. I cried because this was just another daughter of mine who would have to grow up without me in her life. I sat there for almost an hour, just staring at her beautiful picture. Eventually, I ended up taping the picture on the wall, putting her right next to Maya. In that order were my three kids; Giovonte, Maya, and Ava. Such beautiful people, who I felt like deserved so much better than to have me as a dad, but hey, I guess it wasn’t up to me to make that decision.
Mahogany Brooks
“Come on. Run with Pop-Pop,” Jahir said to Jamaria, and she took off running with her grandad. I know, I know, I said that I wouldn’t pursue a relationship with him, but dammit, my daughter loved him, and I wanted to do better. Look how long I went without speaking to my mother. Hell, she and I were still catching up and learning new things about each other. This was the year of forgiveness, and that’s exactly what I was doing with Jahir. It was hard to be mean to a person when they were being so nice and actually trying. He adored Jamaria, and she adored him just as much.
I wouldn’t say that he and I are the magazine cover for the perfect daughter and daddy duo, but we were trying, or should I say that I was trying. I stood up, with my back killing me, watching my one-year-old daughter run up and down the big back yard with her granddad. She’d just turned one two days ago, and I was still trying to figure out how the hell this year passed by so fast like this. She was just a baby. I just had her in the bathroom what felt like a damn day ago.
“You need to sit your ass down somewhere, Mahogany. I’m serious. I’m not about to be sitting up in nobody hospital today. The fight comes on in another hour. Please sit down. Damn!” Jabari said, looking behind him, as he flipped burgers on the grill.
God had a sense of humor that was out of this damn world. Yes, you called it. My ass was thirty-five weeks pregnant again, this time with a bad ass baby boy on the way. My tubes were getting tied after this one. I was convinced that all Jabari had to do was look at me, and I would get pregnant.
“Shut up, nigga. You just worried about passing out on me again if my water breaks right here. You so worried about me having this baby right now when you need to be worried about those burgers. Me and your son are starving,” I let him know, and he laughed.
“When are you and my son not starving? With y’all greedy asses,” he said. My appetite with this baby was out of this world. I was nowhere like this when I was pregnant with Jamaria. With her, I could barely keep food down, so I didn’t crave a lot of stuff. This little boy had me eating stuff that I never ate before a day in my life. I had gained almost forty pounds already with him. I did end up taking Jabari’s advice and sitting down because that pressure in my back was killing me. He came over and stood in front of me, placing his hands on my shoulders and massaging them.
“I can’t express to you enough how much I love you like this,” he commented.
