An Unconventional Love: A Novella (13 page)

rich.

RJ was officially home.

Since Rae had only gotten to spend a few moments with him in the hospital, she was more than happy to take over while Jasmine and I got some rest. Jasmine was still a little sore, so I helped her get into bed before walking to the other side to slide in next to her. She adjusted for a moment before she found her favorite spot against my chest.

We laid in a comfortable silence; the most silence we had experienced in days before Jasmine broke it, asking, “Rich, are you happy?”

I didn’t have to think twice before replying, “Happiest man in the world.”

“I feel like I should be...happier,” she said with a sigh that made me pull her in a little tighter.

“What’s wrong, Jasmine?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just...when you read about women having babies, they always talk about how blissful it is and how precious those first moments are with the baby, blah, blah, blah. And I don’t feel...any of that.” I could hear the concern in her voice, as if something was wrong with her because of how she felt.

From one of my random Google searches during her pregnancy, I found out that it was more than common for women to not feel as engaged as they expected to be from the jump. I quickly reassured her, “You’re adjusting, Jasmine. It’s natural to feel this way. I mean, you’ve suddenly become responsible for a whole new life. He’s counting on you. I’m counting on you. It’s a lot. But it’s nothing you can’t handle.”

She relaxed a little bit as she replied, “I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.”

I rubbed my fingers through her hair, trying to help ease some of her tension. It was moments like this where everything felt strangely perfect. Not perfect in a sense that nothing was wrong but that what I needed to be in place, was in place.

Well, all except for one thing.

“Speaking of words, remember when we were on the way to the hospital?”

“Yeah….”

“And I said I’d drive through the light if you agreed to marry me?”

“Yeah….”

“Well…?”

She lifted herself from my chest before turning to me with a softened scowl. “Can you at least get down on one knee or something? I mean, I’ve already had your baby. The least you can do is make it a little romantic.”

I laughed her off, but did exactly as she asked, making my way to her side of the bed before dropping to one knee, “Jasmine Marie Monroe...
baby mama
...will you marry me?”

She played with her curls, looked around the room, readjusted her clothes; just about everything to make the wait longer than it needed to be before she finally answered, “Yes….
Daddy
...I’ll marry you.”

epilogue.

jasmine.

Everything was going wrong.

And when I say everything, I literally mean every damn thing possible.

The wedding cake got dropped on the way into the facility, my dress -
which was actually my back-up dress because the first one didn’t fit anymore
- was now covered in Baby Rich’s throw-up, and the power had went out thanks to the once in a lifetime storm that decided to show up.

Tony! Toni! Toné! were so wrong about it never raining in Southern California.

After kicking everybody out, even my damn son, I could finally let out the cry I had been holding in for weeks. Life had gotten hard...like indescribably hard and I had pretty much exhausted all of my options for refuge except this one.

An ugly cry.

One that would surely ruin my make-up and maybe even my hair if I swiped the tears and snot hard enough. I was bracing myself for the release when there was a knock on the door.

“Jasmine? You alright in there? I know I’m not supposed to see you ‘til the wedding but I need to know you’re okay.”

“Well I’m not,” I yelled back, as I walked towards the door to make sure he could hear me on the other side.

“What’s wrong now, Jasmine?”

“Everything, Rich. This is stupid. We can’t get married. We don’t have to do this. Not today. Not ever. I’ll still love you.”

He let out a sigh before replying, “Jasmine, we’re doing this. The circumstances may not be ideal but have we ever really worked that way? Shit, if you ask me, the circumstances are perfect because they’re so...
us
.”

“Cloudy, dark, rainy, destroyed...
oh yeah
, that sounds just like us.”

“No, Jasmine. Different, crazy, unorthodox, unconventional. That’s how we’ve always rolled. And besides, rain on your wedding day is good luck. Represents a cleanse, a fresh start; exactly what we need. I mean...before I met you, I had purpose, I had direction. But
you
...and my son, have given that shit a whole new meaning. I’m in love with you, Jasmine. And I refuse to live life without you as my wife.” There was a long pause, as if he was waiting for me to respond. But since I was at a loss for words, he continued on,  “I guess what I’m trying to say is...wipe your pretty little face, drink some wine or something, and get ready because this is happening whether you like it or not.”

“Arrogant much?”

“You love that shit. That’s how I got you in the first place.”

True.

And I’d be damned if that night wasn’t
still
etched into my brain. But now, unlike with my usual flings, there were more memories to add to our collection; things far more important than sex.

I had found love.

Like legitimate, storybook love.

And even if it wasn’t perfect, it was perfectly crafted for me.

My unconventional love.

The End

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