When Hell Freezes Over (40 page)

Everyone in the room was silent as they watched Keaton help Meridan up out of her seat. They knew it was inevitable for him to propose to her and it seemed the time was now.

Meridan kissed him. “What Keaton is trying to say is that we are officially Mr. and Mrs. Keaton Lapahie and have been for some time now.”

William yelled out, “What the hell? When?”

Zenora folded her arms and said, “I know you two didn't!”

The whole room immediately filled with noisy chatter as everyone tried to get an understanding of what they had just heard.

Keaton looked at Meridan and said, “I told you they would be upset.”

“They'll get over it,” she said with a smile.

Keaton tapped on the glass again and said, “We're sorry for breaking the news to you like this, but we wanted to wait until we could tell you all together.”

Nikki, Gerald, Gwendolyn, and Arnelle all clapped loudly upon hearing the news. Winston walked over nonchalantly, kissed Meridan on the cheek, and said, “Congrats, you two.”

Keaton smiled back at him and said, “Thanks, bro.”

Winston hugged Keaton and said, “I'm really happy for you guys.”

“Thanks, Winston.”

He stared at Keaton once more and said, “I'll give you a call later, bro. We do have some unfinished business to discuss.”

Laughing, he answered, “That we do. I look forward to talking to you.”

William was still stunned. Meridan walked over to him and asked, “Daddy? Are you okay?”

He hugged her and said, “I'm more than okay. You just don't know how blessed I feel right now. He's a good man, Meridan, and you two deserve each other.”

She hugged his neck and said, “Thank you, Daddy.”

Turning to Keaton, William yelled, “Keaton! You do know my daughter will get a proper wedding?”

Zenora agreed, saying, “I know that's right!”

Keaton smiled and said, “Whatever Meridan wants is fine with me, William, and again, I'm sorry we didn't tell you. Momma, don't be upset.”

She hugged them both and said, “Don't mind me. That's just my motherly selfishness kicking in. I do want you two to let us give you a proper wedding, like William said.”

“We'll think about it, Momma.”

Zenora put her hands on her hips and asked, “Now, when did you two get married?”

“We did it when I visited Philly a few weeks ago. Meridan told me everything about Sam as well as some other things. She thought it was best we kept our marriage a secret until we could relax a little easier.”

William smiled, took a sip of punch, and said, “Well, I'll be damned! You guys pulled a fast one over on us, but as they say…the best is yet to come.”

William winked at Keaton before walking over to talk to other family members.

The family only stayed for about an hour before they started cleaning up. After saying goodbye to everyone, Keaton picked Meridan up and carried her upstairs.

She held onto him and said, “There's nothing wrong with my legs, Keaton.”

“I know. I just like having you in my arms,” he said before kissing her. He smiled mischievously and said, “I have another surprise for you.”

“You do? What is it?”

He sat her down and took her hand into his and said, “Close your eyes.” They walked down the hallway and Keaton swung the door open. He softly said, “You can open your eyes now.”

Meridan opened her eyes and immediately became speechless. Keaton had transformed one of the bedrooms into a nursery. She couldn't control her tears as they fell from her eyes. Keaton had decorated the room with the Noah's Ark theme. He had everything from the crib to the changing table to the baby bed, all in shining gold. A huge rocking chair sat near the crib and soft lighting radiated throughout the room. She turned to him and solemnly asked, “Why did you do this?”

“I did it because our baby has to have somewhere to sleep.”

She turned to him in confusion and asked, “So does this mean you want to adopt?”

He laughed out loud, unable to contain his excitement.

Meridan turned to him and folded her arms. “What's so funny, chief?”

Hugging her, he said, “Oh, nothing much.”

“Then why are you laughing? All I did was ask you if this meant you were ready to adopt?”

He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “No, sweetheart, I'm not interested in adopting because we're having a baby of our own.”

Meridan looked up into his eyes in shock and asked, “What did you say?”

“I said…we…are…having…a…child…of…our…own.”

Meridan's legs turned to jelly as she fought to maintain her balance. Keaton quickly steadied her. She put her hand over her mouth momentarily, then asked, “Keaton, what are you talking about? If this is your way of playing a joke on me, it's not funny.”

He sat down in the plush chair, pulling her into his lap. He caressed her back and said, “Babe, I wouldn't joke about something that means so much to you.”

“You're not making any sense. I told you I can't have children,” she said, clearly agitated.

Making direct eye contact with her, he touched her stomach. “Listen to me very carefully, sweetheart. We're pregnant and we're going to have a baby of our own in about seven and a half months.”

She screamed out loud and yelled, “No! It can't be true! The doctors told me that I can't have children!”

“Well, they were wrong. We
are
having a baby. So, do you like the nursery or not?”

Meridan burst into tears as she hugged his neck. She cried so hard, Keaton was worried that she might aggravate her injury.

“Meridan, it's okay. Please, don't make yourself sick,” he urged her.

She did her best to stifle her tears, but it was difficult. She eventually calmed herself and laughed openly. “I still can't believe it's true. I had no idea. I mean, my cycle has always been irregular. I would've never suspected.”

He nuzzled her neck. “I'm so thankful you're safe.”

“So am I.”

They held each other in silence for several minutes.

“So, does this mean you like the nursery?”

“I love it and I love you,” she admitted with sincerity.

Standing, he picked her up into his arms and carried her back to their bedroom.

“Good, little momma; now come to bed because my two favorite people need to rest.”

“Are you going to continue to pamper me, Keaton?” she asked as he lowered her to the floor.

Without looking into her eyes, he said, “Yes, Mrs. Lapahie, as much as possible; especially now that I have two people to take care of.”

She giggled, then turned her back to him. “You know you're amazing, don't you?”

He unzipped her dress and said, “I'm just a man who loves his wife.”

Meridan let the dress fall to the floor, then looked up at him mischievously. Keaton blinked, then walked slowly toward the bathroom to run her bath.

“Stop teasing me, Meridan. You know I can't touch you for a few more days,” he warned.

She lay across the bed and said, “I'll be waiting, Big Daddy.”

Later that night, Keaton built a fire and made them a pallet in front of it. It was there Meridan rested securely in his arms.

“Keaton, I'm sorry for causing you so much stress with all my drama,” she apologized.

Stroking her hair, he said, “Thanks for reminding me. You are due a spanking, but I'll wait until you're feeling better first.”

She caressed his arm and said, “I knew I had to do something to get Sam out of my life. I had no idea Jacob would show up to help. He told me he would be my guardian angel.”

“We could've been killed,” he whispered.

Sighing, she said, “I know.”

He played in her hair, then said, “Let's not talk about it anymore. It's in the past and all I want to think about is our future.”

Cuddling up to him, she answered, “Me, too.”

At that moment, the telephone rang, interrupting them. Keaton answered, “Hello?”

“What's up, Bro?”

“Hey, Winston. What's up?”

“I was just checking on Meridan. How's she doing?”

“She's sore and tired,” Keaton answered as he caressed her cheek.

“Well, tell me this. How cold do you think it is in Hell right now?”

Smiling, Keaton said, “You don't forget anything, do you?”

“No, I don't and since I didn't get to attend this secret wedding of yours, there's another little matter you haven't taken care of.”

“You never quit, do you?”

Laughing hysterically, Winston asked, “No, I don't. Where's Meridan?”

“She's lying right here. Why?”

“You know why. Let me speak to her.”

Keaton had no idea what Winston was up to. Meridan took the telephone and answered, “Hello?”

Keaton watched her facial expressions as Winston said God knows what to her. She would be smiling one minute, then the next minute she had a serious look on her face. Finally she said, “Okay. Goodbye and thanks for calling. Tell Arnelle and the kids I said goodnight.”

Holding out the telephone, she smiled and said, “Here you go, Keaton.”

Taking the telephone, he asked, “Yeah, man?”

Winston started laughing, then said, “Start singing, brother-in-law, right now, to your lovely wife.”

Keaton swallowed hard, then closed his eyes and started softly singing a love ballad by Luther Vandross to Meridan. She smiled, then closed her eyes and listened to him rip Luther's song into shreds, but it was the message she listened closest to. She knew what he was doing was some sort of dare between him and Winston, but him going through with it made it special.

Once he finished singing, he asked, “Are you happy now, Winston?”

“I'm very happy. I'm also happy for you, Bro. Congratulations! Now, I still get to name your first born, right?”

Keaton laughed. “When hell freezes over! Goodnight, Winston!”

 

M
onths later, Meridan delivered Jeremiah Mathew Lapahie, who weighed in at nine pounds, two ounces. Meridan and Keaton didn't have a preference on whether they had a boy or girl, but he knew if it was a girl, MaLeah might be very jealous. He had spoiled her like she was his own daughter and the adjustment would've been difficult. Luckily, they didn't have to deal with it.

Six weeks after the birth of Jeremiah, Keaton threw a party to celebrate the birth of his son and his baptism. The whole family was in attendance as well as Nichole, Craig, Venice, and their children. William wanted as many family members as possible to be there for the celebration, so he chartered a bus for their transportation. Meridan's sister, Gwendolyn, and her family flew in to be a part of the joyous celebration as well. Meridan never thought she would ever be a part of a family like she had found with Keaton and their son.

All in all, over one hundred family members and friends were in attendance, even Aunt Glo. Deacon wasn't able to come, but he sent his regards to the family. He had an important case he was in the middle of and couldn't get away. Keaton's best friend Gerald was there to support him. Keaton also invited the guys on the basketball team, even Malik. Arnelle invited Damon Kirkpatrick, a dear friend and coach of the Philadelphia Eagles football team who just happened to be in Texas looking at a prospective ballplayer. Damon had Winston losing his mind when he was dating Arnelle, and it was Damon who caused Winston to come to his senses when they were having problems. Winston saw Damon as a serious threat to his relationship with Arnelle, but later found out they really were just friends.

After the baptism at the church, everyone joined back up at Keaton's house for food and fun that lasted another five hours. It was a day-long event, which eventually wound down. Meridan took Jeremiah up for his bath and bedtime while Keaton said goodnight to their guests.

Keaton joined her in the nursery later. He found Meridan in the rocking chair burping his son.

He kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “Are you happy, Meridan?”

Meridan smiled as she put their sleeping son in his crib. Keaton turned off the lights and they walked out into the hallway arm in arm.

She looked up at him and she answered, “Keaton, I can't believe you asked me that. I'm happy here with you and Jeremiah. I've decided to put my career on hold for a while. I want to enjoy being your wife and a full-time mother. If I get bored, I'll go out on the court and shoot a few hoops or help your mom with her catering business or something.”

Laughing, he said, “I want to make sure. Promise me, you'll let me know the moment you're ready to open a practice or whatever.”

She kissed him. “My love, you'll be the first to know.”

“Good! Oh, a letter came for you today from a law office in Atlanta.”