Page 54 of Surrender

She raised her hands. “Your little friend overstepped her boundaries… but she made some valid points. Please. I just wanna talk.”

I hesitated for a moment before grabbing my purse.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

She stood as I opened the door and walked out. I followed her out into the front lobby and the front door to her car. The ride to The Juke Joint was taken in complete silence. I sat in my thoughts, thinking about just what I wanted to say to her. I thought back to the moment she told me that she and my brother-in-law were going to elope.

His family had given them so much gripe about wedding planning that they just went ahead and did it by themselves. I supported her. I’d even gone with her to be a witness because I saw how much in love they were and how bad they just wanted to be together.

I stood in the courtroom with a smile on my face as they recited their wedding vows, and I couldn’t have been happier for her. Because my heart wouldn’t let me, I hadn’t thrown that up in her face, but she seemed to have forgotten that when I needed her.

That ended today, though. She was going to get a piece of my mind. We pulled up to the restaurant about ten minutes later and headed inside. Since this was one of my favorite places, I didn’t need to look at the menu to know what I wanted ,and neither did she. We placed our orders and sat in silence until well after the waitress had left.

Finally, Ebony cleared her throat.

“How have you been?” She asked.

“Eb, I don’t feel like the small talk. Say what you need to say so I can say what I need to say. As a matter fact, I’m gonna go first. It’s fucked up that you couldn’t stand beside me on the most important day of my life when I was right by your side six years ago. When you told me you wanted to elope, I didn’t try to talk you out of it. I didn’t tell you it was tacky or a waste of money to still get married in an expensive ass ceremony later. I was right there because you needed me.”

She hung her head. “I know. I’m sorry. You have to admit that this whole thing was crazy, Kachelle.”

“As crazy as it may have been, I’ve never been happier. My husband may have been a stranger at first, but he’s the most loving, caring, kindhearted, and sweetest man I’ve ever met. I love him, and I will not continue to defend my marriage. Not to you, not to mom and dad… not to anybody.”

“You… you love him? Already?”

“Yes. It was a shock to me, too. I can’t help but feel like it was supposed to be like this. As crazy and unconventional as it was, I found my soulmate. This whole thing has taught me that sometimes you have to put faith and trust in the unknown to receive your blessing.”

Ebony eyed me curiously. Her face softened, and she smiled.

“Looking at you, I can’t help but be happy for you.” She reached out and grabbed my hands. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you like I should have been. You’re right. You stuck beside me and Omar with no questions asked. I should have been there for you. I just… you marrying a stranger scared me, Kachelle. You just broke the news to us on a whim, and it was a lot to process. Like, if you had talked to us about it beforehand, we might have been a little more receptive. You’d already decided to do it and had your interview. You only told us when they matched you.”

“You think this was an easy decision, Ebony? I went back and forth about it for months. I had so many moments of self-doubt about it. In those moments, I talked to God because I knew none of you would ever understand.”

“I want to understand, now. I know it’s too late, but I’m willing to give Jacob a chance. He said we would love him if we got to know him. I want to love him for you because I can see how much you adore him. I’ve seen your pictures on Instagram. I’ve seen the cute little videos of you two. I’ve never seen you look as happy with anybody as you do with him. You’re glowing, sis. Are you sure that’s not more than a happily married glow? Am I gonna be an auntie?”

I tried to hide my smile. “Well, as much as we’ve been getting it in, I wouldn’t be surprised if my birth control failed me.”

“Damn, it’s like that?”

I bit my lip as I nodded. “It’s just like that. I can’t get enough of him.”

She giggled. “A good man with good dick that treats you well? You can’t beat that.”

“I wouldn’t even try. I know things won’t be perfect, but life with him is beautiful, Eb. We’re moving into our first home soon, and I can’t wait to fill it with memories and babies.”

Her smile widened. “I love that for you. I really do. Please forgive me, Kay. I’ve missed you so much.”

I fought back the tears stinging my eyes. “I’ve missed you too, sis.”

We both stood from the table and embraced each other in a sisterly hug. It did my heart so much good in this moment. I loved my sister, and I’d always hated being at odds with her, ever since I was a kid. I hated drama and confrontation. Hopefully now that we had squashed things, my parents would be next on the list.

Kachelle was hesitant about having dinner with my parents, but she reluctantly agreed. It was ironic that the same day my mother popped up on me, her sister popped up on her. I was happy they had a conversation, though. I knew how much she missed her.

“Do I look okay?” Kay asked, looking herself over in the mirror.

I chuckled to myself. She’d changed clothes three times already.

“You looked great two outfits ago, baby.”

---