Your Love Is King (17 page)

Carmen smiled and nodded but didn’t say a word.

Chris grabbed my hand. I looked up at him and shook my head in disgust. He gave me an apologetic look.

“You ready to go?” he asked softly.

I nodded.

Chris turned his attention back to my father. “Well, you all have a good rest of the day. I’ll keep you in my prayers.”

My father just sat there and stared at us. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Carmen stood and walked over to us.

“Let me show you two out,” she offered.

We’d turned to leave when my father spoke again. “Marli, I certainly hope you didn’t think he would impress me just because he’s white.” That was it. I’d hit my limit with him.

I turned to him with disgust written all over my face. “Daddy, I’m a grown woman. I’m not here looking for your approval, because I don’t need it. Chris wanted to meet you, and that’s why we’re here—not because I was delusional enough to think you’d accept him and not because I
need
you to accept him.
I
accept him and I love him, and most importantly,
he
loves
me
. No matter how low
your
opinion of me may be,
he
loves me for who I am. Every word that comes out of your mouth shows me that you really don’t know me at all, and that makes me sad for
you
.” I turned to Carmen and added, “I know the way out.”

My heart was racing as I gripped Chris’s hand tightly and led him to front door. Once we were outside the house and inside of Chris’s truck, he said, “I’m sorry I put you through that, but my intentions were pure, you know?”

I nodded. “I know. Uh, Chris, did you really mean what you said about marrying me?”

“Yes, baby. Look, I didn’t drive you here just to pick up your car. Shoot, you don’t even need it—you can drive one of mine. We can still pick up the car, but the real reason I drove you here was to ask for your hand in marriage.” He opened the center console, reached inside, and pulled out a ring box. I clasped my hand over my mouth and looked from the ring box to his face.

I let out a muffled, “Oh.”

Chris opened the box to reveal an absolutely gorgeous ring.

“Oh, Chris, it’s beautiful!” I whispered as I stared at it.

“Well, will you accept it? Will you marry me?”

“But we’ve only known each other for a couple of months. Don’t you think this is a little fast?” I asked—my eyes still glued to the ring. I think my mouth started to water.

He shook his head. “No. Look, baby, later ain’t promised to us. We don’t need to wait. I wanna love you and make you my wife as soon as I can. I want my happily ever after
right now
.”

I dropped my eyes. “Chris, I’m scared.”

Chris leaned in closer to me and kissed me softly. “I love you, Marli. I love you and I want to marry you. You don’t have any reason to be scared. I’m
not
gonna hurt you, baby. I’d never,
ever
hurt you. You can count on that.”

I looked from his face to the ring and shook my head.

“Listen, baby. There’s one thing I’m sure of: this is meant to be.
We’r
e meant to be. I prayed for this—
for you
. I was so lonely before you. I just wanted something real. I prayed and prayed and then there you were, sitting in front of the stage looking so beautiful. It was like there was a spotlight on you. And I could hear God saying, ‘There she is. I made her just for you.’ So I sent you that drink and tried to work my magic on you.”

I smiled.             

“When you rejected me, I thought maybe I was wrong about you. But then I saw you at the hospital that day looking beautiful and exhausted, and I knew I was right. God put you at that table in front of the stage that night, and then he put you in front of the ER that morning. He even led you to my father’s church. God orchestrated this whole thing. You are the answer to my prayers. I believe that whole-heartedly. We love each other, Marli.
Marry me
.”

I looked up at his face and remembered Tiffany’s words. “
Live your life for yourself
.” Chris loved me, I loved him, and I was happy with him. With him, I was truly living for the first time in my life. I honestly couldn’t think of one valid reason
not
to marry him.

 “Okay,” I said.

“Okay?” he repeated.

“Okay, yes, I’ll marry you.”

Chris’s smile grew so wide, I was afraid he’d break his face. I smiled as he slid the ring onto my finger.

“Thank you, baby,” he said and then leaned in and kissed me. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

As he pulled the SUV out of my father’s driveway, I asked, “When are you gonna tell your parents?”

“I already did and my mother is expecting some grandchildren ASAP.”

“So you told them we were getting married before you even asked me?”

He nodded. “Yep. I knew you’d say yes.”

I shook my head. “Do you ever think that maybe you’re a little overconfident?”

“Well, you
did
say yes, didn’t you? I know you, Marli. I know you from head to toe and from soul to spirit. You love me, and I’m exactly what you need in your life.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Really now? You think so?”

He stopped the car at the edge of the driveway, leaned across the console, and kissed me deeply. “I know so, baby.”

“Maybe I’m what
you
need in
your
life, Chris. You ever think of it that way?”

“I know you are. With you by my side, I know I can do anything. Shoot, I could be the next black president if I wanted to. It’d be Bill, Barack, and Chris.”

I laughed. “You’re the blackest of the three by far.”

He grinned. “And you know this.”

I smiled and looked out the window as we left my father’s property. For the first time, my father’s words hadn’t broken me down. More than anything, I felt bad for him. My life was heading in a wonderful direction, and he’d miss it all.

Seventeen

“By Your Side”

Chris pulled into the driveway next to my house in Pine Bluff and parked behind my car.

“I hope it’ll start,” I said as I unlocked the front door.

Chris placed his hand on my shoulder and gently rubbed it. “We’ll see in the morning.”

We planned to spend the night at my house and head back to St. Louis in the morning. One six-hour drive was enough for me for one day. We walked inside to find my house undisturbed and everything in its place. I went into the kitchen to get some plates for the barbeque dinners we’d bought in town and strode back into the living room to find Chris standing in front of the mantle, looking at some of my family photos.

He picked up Tiffany’s prom picture. “So this is Tiffany, huh?”

I nodded. “Yep, the one and only Tiffany Meadows.”

He smiled. “She’s a beautiful girl. Almost as beautiful as her mother.”

“Well, thank you. That’s the first time I’ve heard that one.”

“Really? I mean it. You’re the most beautiful girl in the world to me.” He smiled at me and then rested his hand on my cheek.

I looked into his eyes. “I… I wish I could see what you see when you look at me.”

Chris frowned. “Oh, baby. You don’t see it? You got a mirror in here somewhere?”

I nodded and led him to my bedroom where we stood in front of the dresser mirror.

Chris stood behind me and rested his hands on my shoulders. “Look at those eyes. Beautiful brown eyes that hold so much sadness sometimes, I just want to kiss your pain away. And those lips, so full and soft.” He turned me around and kissed me.

I smiled. “Hmm.”

He gently caressed my neck. “Your skin, so smooth.” His eyes surveyed my body. “And those curves. Thank
God
for those curves. And if you turn around right now, the rear view will literally make me lose my mind.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, Chris. You are so crazy.”

He pulled me into a warm hug. “Crazy about you, baby.”

I sighed. “I’m crazy about you, too.”

We returned to the living room, settled down on the sofa, and ate our dinner and afterward, I leaned my head on Chris’s shoulder as we listened to some music on the radio.

“I’m sorry about the things your dad said earlier,” he said as he held my hand.

I sighed. “
You
didn’t say them, and believe it or not, I’m used to it. He has a certain opinion of what’s acceptable to him, and I’m just not it. I’m either too much of this or not enough of that in his eyes.”

Chris looked down at me and rubbed my cheek with his fingertip. “Has it always been that way between the two of you?”

“Yeah, but this is the first time I’ve ever defended myself.”

“Really? How do you feel about that?”

“I feel good. It was long overdue. I feel like I’m finally taking control of my life, of my happiness.”

“
Are
you happy?”

“I am. Being with you—being
loved
by you—makes me very, very happy.”

“Good. You know what would make me very, very happy?”

I smiled. “Hmm, what?”

“If I could meet your mother.”

I shook my head. “Chris,
no
.”

He sat up and looked me in the eye. “Come on. If we’re gonna get married, I need to meet your family.”

“Chris, if you keep meeting my family, you’re gonna back out of marrying me.”

“No, I won’t. I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“I’ll tell you now, my mother thinks she can say anything she wants, and she’s pretty opinionated.”

“Didn’t I just meet her in the form of your father? I can handle it. I don’t break easily.”

Well, he
had
held his own with my father. 

I sighed. “Okay, let me call her. I guess we can have breakfast with her and my stepfather. Maybe if we go early enough, she’ll still be sober.”

Chris smiled and kissed my cheek. “Thank you, baby.”

~*~

The next morning, we took my car, which started without a hitch, and drove to my mother’s for breakfast.  I’d told her I was bringing my new boyfriend with me, and she seemed pretty eager to meet Chris.

I knocked on her door and held my breath as we waited. It was Fred who answered the door.

“There she is!” he said cheerfully and pulled me into a tight hug. “You ran away, didn’t you?”

I smiled. “Yeah, but I had to come back to see my favorite person.”

“Oh, that’s my girl.” He reached over and shook Chris’s hand. “This your guy?”

I nodded. “Mr. Fred, this is Chris King, my
fiancé
. Chris, this is my stepfather and the sweetest man in the world, Fred Gray.”

“Fiancé? Well, then you’re family!” Mr. Fred said and then lowered his voice. “Does your mama know yet?”

I shook my head. “Not yet.”

“Well, come on in.”

We followed him through the cluttered house, into the dining room where there was a huge array of food on the table. I looked up at Chris who mouthed “Wow.”

 “Edna!” Mr. Fred shouted, “They’re here. Come on!”

Chris and I took our seats at the table. “Did you cook all of this, Mr. Fred?”

He nodded. “Yep. We got bacon, ham, scrambled eggs, grits, toast, pancakes, fried green tomatoes, and fried potatoes.”

“Aw, man,” Chris said excitedly. “This is great!”

I grinned. “Yeah, Mr. Fred is the best.”

My mother finally made her entrance, dressed in a colorful caftan and gold slippers. “Well, hello!” she said. I couldn’t readily tell if she was sober, but she appeared to be.

I stood and hugged her. “Hey, Mama, this is Chris, my fiancé.”

“Fiancé!” she shrieked. “Well, congratulations!” She looked over at Chris and I think it finally registered with her that he was white. “Oh, uh, I’m Edna.”

Chris flashed her a smile, then stood and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

She nodded with a weird smile on her face. “Well, isn’t this nice. Let’s eat and I wanna hear all about how you two met.”

Breakfast was actually nice, and my mother behaved herself, much to my surprise. She seemed to like Chris, but then again he
was
very likable. He was charming and full of personality, and my mother was always a sucker for a handsome man.

After breakfast, Fred took Chris out to the garage to show him his record collection, and my mother took me into the living room to grill me.

“So you’re engaged, huh?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said with a smile.

“I can’t believe you went to St. Louis and came back with a
white
man. To each his own, I guess.”

“He’s so good to me; I don’t even see his color anymore. I just see his heart.”

“Well, he’s nice enough, and he seems to really care about you.”

I nodded.

“You love him?”

“I do, and I truly believe he loves me, too.”

“And he’s a musician? You think you’ll be okay for money?”

“Well, evidently so. Money hasn’t been a problem for him so far. I haven’t had to pay for so much as a Tic Tac since we’ve been together.”

“Judging from that ring, he must have some good credit. That’s a plus.”

I nodded again.

“Well, that’s good. How is he in bed?”

“Mama!”

She raised her eyebrows. “Well, is he any good? Don’t act like that’s not important.”

I closed my eyes. I couldn’t believe she was asking me that. “I wouldn’t know.”

“You haven’t had sex with him?” she asked, as if the notion was absurd.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Why?”

“Mama,
really
?”

“I’m just saying, how are you gonna buy the car without first taking it for a test drive?”

“Um, isn’t that the way things are supposed to go according to the Bible? He’s a preacher’s son, Mama. He wants to try to do things the right way, and so do I.”

“Yeah, well, I did notice that he has some good equipment down there, and he talks and acts like a black man, so maybe he does other things like a black man.” She was dead serious.

“You looked at his… his—”

She nodded. “Yep, I noticed that he has a nice package, so I think you’ll be okay.”

All I could do was shake my head. Leave it to my mother to notice the “important things.”

About an hour later, my mother finally released us and gave me her blessing.

“That wasn’t bad at all, and Mr. Fred is a real cool dude,” Chris said as he backed my car out of my mother’s driveway.

I nodded. “Yeah, he’s always been great, and my mother’s okay as long as she’s sober.”

“So, uh, what did your mother have to say about me?”

I laughed. “You really don’t wanna know.”

Chris glanced over at me. “Well, does she hate me, like me, or what?”