Page 43 of Mister Fireman

“Yeah. Robin isn’t taking my rejection well. She’s been calling and texting me like crazy, and she went to Enjell trying to make it seem like we were in a relationship, though there’s never been anything romantic or physical between us. I think Enjell and her girls scared her away from that tactic because she switched to a legal one.”

“Wait.” Mama lifted her hands as she simpered. “You mean to tell me Robin’s dingy ass thinks she can take this matter to court?”

“Yeah, Ma. She actually can. I’ve looked into it, and she can’t sue me for the baby, but she can sue me for breaking the promise. Typically, a broken promise itself is not enough for a court case, but she can do a civil suit against me if she can prove that promise affected her life and finances in a negative way.”

“What do you need from us?” Mitchell asked, surprising me.

“The only way the contract can be null and void is if I’m married by my birthday in November.” I paused as realization settled over their faces. “I wouldn’t have even considered asking Enjell to do this, but she is willing to. I’m still not fully comfortable with tainting the sanctity of marriage for this, but if it’s what I have to do to get Robin out of our lives, I will.” I looked from Mitchell to Erica as I said, “I know the circumstances are weird, but I would like your permission to have Enjell’s hand in marriage.”

“Will this be just until your birthday?” Mama asked, causing me to look over at her.

“If that’s what Enjell wants, but I want her for forever. That’s why you’re here. If I have the chance to marry her, I want to do this right.”

Mitchell’s head shook as he looked over at his wife. “What do you think, honey?”

“I admire and respect you asking our permission,” Erica said. “This is certainly an unconventional way to start a marriage. If Enjell has already agreed to do it, I guess we have no choice but to agree.”

“My biggest concern is that my daughter does not end up in a low-quality marriage. She doesn’t have to marry a man for any reason other than she finally found one who’s worthy of her. I don’t want her to be in a loveless relationship or one that is unfulfilling or abusive in any way. I don’t want her to agree to this now and regret it a year from now.”

“I understand your concern. I assure you, Enjell will be safe and taken care of with me. She will be loved, provided for, and protected.” My eyes watered, and I swallowed hard as I considered forever with her. “I love your daughter and fully intend to cater to her for the rest of our days. On the off chance she decides this isn’t what she wants permanently, I promise to give her back to you in a better state than I received her.”

They looked at each other and talked amongst themselves. Pops stood and squeezed my shoulder. “Proud of you,” he whispered. “If you do this, you better spoil my future daughter and make sure she never wants for anything for doing this crazy ass shit.”

I laughed as we embraced. “You have my word. She’ll want for nothing.”

“Well…” Mama said, barely able to contain her excitement as she stood. “What do you say, Erica? Will we be planning a wedding soon?”

Erica looked at her husband and nudged his shoulder with a grin.

“Yeah, you will,” Mitchell answered, causing Erica to hop out of her seat to embrace Mama.

Mitchell stood and thanked me for including them as he shook my hand. Both he and my father threatened me for longer than necessary over what would happen if I didn’t honor and treat Enjell right. Even though I knew that wasn’t something they’d have to worry about, I listened with respect. With that over… I had to get with her girls to plan the perfect proposal.

24

Enjell

I’d officially completed all meal prep orders for the week and had some down time. Next week, I’d start looking at buildings for Enjell’s Heavenly Plates, though I’d probably end up changing the name since I’d be offering more. Tonight, the girls and I were going to have a paint and sip date, and tomorrow, I was doing brunch with Mama and Mrs. Jasmine. I wasn’t sure what had happened between them since they met at the chili competition, but they’d been talking like crazy lately, and I loved that they got along so well. It made me hopeful that the holidays with our blended families would be beautiful.

I couldn’t believe the change my life had taken in such a short time. All things took me right back to Dejvi. Having a flourishing business, getting ready to have a restaurant, now having a bigger friend circle, and most importantly, being loved properly. A smile overtook my face just at the thought of him. Now that we’d committed to each other, things were close to perfect. I didn’t want to say they were perfect, because when that was the case, things often blew up in my face.

With him quitting, he was spending more time working on his businesses with his brother. We’d also started to look for buildings for his photography studio. I was glad he was taking his bucket list a bit more seriously. We were getting ready to take a trip to Italy since that was one of the things on the list. As of now, there was no set date, but it would be next month since that was said to be one of the best times to go in the fall.

Robin had been quiet lately, I supposed biding her time. It still was unbelievable that she’d go to such great lengths. I wasn’t sure if it was obsession over what she wanted as far as a baby or if she’d always had a thing for Dejvi and thought this would be the start of their romantic relationship. Either way, I wasn’t insecure and struggling with him deciding to randomly be with her and give her a baby one day.

“Love!” Dejvi called, voice booming down the hall.

“Hmm?”

“When is your lease up here?”

“January, why?”

“I don’t like being here.” As he entered my room, the scowl on his face made that evident. “The thought of you building a life that ended with that nigga still don’t sit right with me.”

I smiled and shifted my eyes back to my jewelry as I set out the pieces I wanted to wear tonight.

“I can understand that. I didn’t really want to stay here, but it seemed like the best move financially because of the amount it would take to break the lease.”

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