Your Love Is King

  “Hip hop?” my father asked.

  “No, sir. Jazz and R&B.”

  “What’s the name of your band?”

  “The St. Louis Kingsmen.”

  “Hmm, never heard of them.”

  “Well, no, sir. We’re pretty popular in St. Louis and Chicago. We travel a little bit, but we’re not real famous yet.”

  “You must be doing pretty well. That’s a nice vehicle you have, Chris,” Carmen said.

  Chris smiled. “Yes, ma’am. We do okay.”

  “I see,” my father said. “So you and Marli are friends?”

  “Well, actually, we’re seeing each other, sir. I care a lot about Marli. I love her.”

  My father raised his eyebrows. “Really? And how does Marli feel about you?”

  Chris smiled at me. “Well, she can answer that, sir.”

  “I, uh, feel the same way about him. I-I love him, too,” I stammered.

  “I see. Marli, have you met Chris’s family?” my father inquired.

  I smiled. “Yes, I have. They’re really good people.” I knew where my father was trying to go with that question. He had no idea how far up the wrong tree he was barking.

  “So… Chris, your parents are accepting of you dating black women?” my father asked.

  Chris gave me a knowing look. “Oh, yes, sir. They’re happy as long as I’m happy, and I’m very happy with Marli.”

  “Mm-hmm,” my father said and then turned to me. “Marli, I’d like to speak to Chris alone for a moment. Can you leave us?”

  I flashed Chris a panicked look. I knew there was no way I should leave him alone with my father. He’d eat him alive.

  Chris smiled at me and nodded. I was sure that Chris’s inflated confidence combined with my father’s evilness would equal the end of my relationship with Chris. I sat there for a moment, trying to decide whether or not I should just grab Chris’s hand and run out of the house.

  Chris stood to his feet and moved closer to my chair. He bent over and kissed me on my cheek. “Go on, baby,” he whispered. “It’ll be okay.”

  I looked up at him and then over at my father, who looked like he was about to blow a gasket at the sight of Chris kissing me. I nodded, and as I stood to leave, looked over at Carmen who hadn’t moved a muscle. I guess my father’s request didn’t apply to her. Chris took my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, and I left the room and walked into the kitchen. I stood behind the door and listened to their conversation.

  “Chris, let me be honest with you. I’m a little confused about this situation,” my father said.

  “Sir?” Chris said, sounding confused himself.

  “What are you doing here with my daughter?”

  “I’m not exactly sure what you mean, sir.”

  “Okay, let me be blunt with you. You’re a nice-looking guy. A nice-looking white guy. I’m sure you could have your pick of women—black or white. What are you doing with Marli?”

  “Well, like I said, I care for her. I’m in love with her.”

  “Son, what is it that you want here? What are you after? Marli doesn’t have any access to any money. She’s just a nurse. Now, I have money, but I’m not in the business of giving it away.”

  “What?!” Chris said, sounding even more confused.

  “Well, you come here with Marli, sounding and dressed like a black man. What are you? Some kind of rapper? Thought you could use my money to start your career?”

  “With all due respect, sir, I don’t need anyone’s money. Least of all, yours. I’m here because I love your daughter.”

  “Are you gonna sit there and tell me that you love someone like Marli? I can’t see how that’s possible.”

  “What does that mean?” Chris was beginning to raise his voice. As cool and calm as he was, I could tell my father was getting under his skin.

  I grabbed the doorknob but then decided to wait.

  “How can you be in love with a woman her size? Okay, so maybe you like black women, but fat black women?”

  “Sir, your daughter is exactly the kind of woman I like. I love everything about her. I actually came here today to ask for her hand in marriage.”

  At that point I think I forgot I was eavesdropping. I swung the kitchen door open and stepped back into the den.

  “What?!” my father and I said simultaneously.

  Chris stood and walked over to me. “I love you, Marli, and I wanna marry you.”

  Before I could reply, my father said, “What?! How are you gonna take care of her? Oh, that’s right. She’s a nurse, so you’re gonna live off of her.”

  Chris turned to my father with a serious look on his face. “Sir, I can guarantee you that I don’t have to live off of Marli. I’m more than capable of taking care of her. She could quit her job today if she wanted to.”

  “Sure she could,” my father said sarcastically. “Well, what if I don’t give you my blessing?”

  Chris turned back to me. “Then I’ll pray for God to soften your heart, and if Marli will still have me, I’ma marry her anyway. I just hope you change your mind so you can be in our children’s lives.”

  “Children? You two won’t last long enough for that. Or is she already pregnant? Is that what this is all about?”

  “No! I’m not! Come on, now. Does it always have to be that I’ve messed up?” I finally said.

  “Is it really that hard for you to believe that I love her and that I want to be with her?” Chris asked.

  “I don’t understand how you could,” my father replied.

  Chris nodded. “Well, I’ve said what I came here to say.” He turned to Carmen. “It was nice meeting you, Mrs. White.”

  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’re 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. “Y
ou 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?”