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“Well, I hope everything checks out,” she said, and her smile returned.
“Thanks. I’m going to just take it slow and see where the details take us, okay?” I said.
“Okay.”
I started to sweat as the night went on. I was high off of Tameka’s presence, but for some reason, I had become neurotic and obsessed with telling her about Hawaii. After a beautiful night overlooking the city, catching up on our day to day lives, it was finally time for dessert. I knew Tameka was going to order crème brulee as it was her favorite. So I figured that was the perfect time to tell her about Hawaii.
When the waitress brought her dessert over, she squealed in a way that I had never heard nor witnessed before. Tameka gleamed with excitement, and I felt like that was my cue.
“Do you know how committed I am to protecting you, Kevin, and Eva?” I asked. Without giving her a chance to respond, I reached into my suit jacket, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to her. “When you open this, I want you to receive it knowing that I’m doing this to protect our peace.”
Tameka looked surprised and curious all in the same breath. She picked up the envelope and fiddled with it as if she was feeling for what was inside.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Open it up and see.”
Tameka tore open the envelope and sifted through the plane tickets. Her eyes widened, and her face lit up with enthusiasm when she read the destination.
“Hawaii!! Baby? Is this what I think this is?” She flung herself into my arms. “We’re going to Hawaii?”
My heart damn near leaped from my chest knowing she didn’t know the reasoning behind those tickets.
She grabbed my cheeks and held my head in her hands. “When are we going, baby?”
“Look at the tickets and see,” I said as I photographed the smile on her face into my memory. Her feelings would change after she saw the date.
She glanced at the tickets as her eyes searched for the dates. When she did, she shot me a look of confusion.
“I’m confused. The departure date is the day before our wedding.”
“I want us to say our vows on the beach.”
“In Hawaii?”
“Yes. Just me, you, and the kids,” I said.
Her face went from pure bliss to bewilderment.
“So are you saying that you want to ditch our plans for the wedding here and go to…wait, are you asking me to elope? Hell no!”
“Tameka, hear me out.”
“No, I hope you can get a refund for these tickets because I’m not eloping. I will happily honeymoon in Hawaii, but I’m not getting married there just so other people can be comfortable in their skin. What about how I feel?” she asked angrily. “Did you think about that before you bought these damn tickets?”
“Listen, with all the hectic, chaotic stuff that’s been going on lately with Rodney and my father, I don’t want that to take away from our special day. I figured we could pack our bags, hit the beautiful beaches of Hawaii away from all of the drama that this town has to offer, and be happy during what is supposed to be the best days of our life,” I said sincerely.
She looked at me as if she was searching my soul for the truth. Her head dropped as she fiddled with the tickets in her hand.
“Having our wedding here is important to me. We should say our vows in front of our friends and family. I know that everything hasn’t been great with your family not accepting me, but I can’t do that. If you don’t want to get mar—”
“I didn’t say that,” I cut her off. “Baby, I don’t want you to have to deal with the rejection, the hate, the bullshit, and I saw this as a way for us to get around that. Will you at least consider having our wedding somewhere else?”
“Has someone said they would do something horrible on our wedding day?” she asked with a worried expression on her face.
“No, no, noooo,” I reassured her as I drew her to me. “I just don’t want to take any chances,” I said as I lifted her face up to mine and kissed her lips.
“Kemara and Channing got married right here in Lafayette,” she argued.
