Page 42 of Make Me Forget

He started on his fence around the front of the house a couple of days ago. He said those white people in Nome couldn’t be trusted. I was in shock when he told me what happened at the meeting. He said while he knew it was probably only a handful of them that would give them problems, he didn’t know who would be in that handful. So it was best to not trust any of them right now. ‘Better safe than sorry’ were his exact words.

That shit was weird that they expected the Hendersons to take care of Nome. They were entitled and spoiled by the generosity of the family. It wasn’t their duty to sustain Nome. Just because they had money didn’t mean they had to take care of everyone. In the GPS system, it already recognized Nome as Beaumont. Before long, it really would be.

When we walked through the front room, Daddy was seated watching TV. He hated seeing me in court behind Mesani’s foolishness. He’d even said he was going to go by the house. I begged him not to. I was already in trouble. I didn’t need him to be in trouble too.

While he owned his own business and had a contract with the Hendersons, they weren’t his only customers. I didn’t want him to lose any contracts on account of me. Once he calmed down, he promised me he wouldn’t. I was glad that he was keeping up with his promise.

He stood from his seat and hugged me tightly like we hadn’t seen one another in months. This man was truly my saving grace. If I wouldn’t have had him in my life, there was no telling how I would have turned out. After he found out he wasn’t my biological father and Shayla had made him leave the hospital, he could have stayed away.

He had been taking care of a child that wasn’t his for eight years. Shayla had abandoned me… left me with him and went about her damn life. None of that mattered to him though. He said at that point, I was his, whether we were blood related or not.

After he released me, I hugged my mama, then Ebony and Evan. I didn’t even realize they were here initially. I’d called my daddy this morning to tell him that Kendrall and I were coming over tonight. It had been two days since he asked me to marry him, and although he hadn’t talked to my daddy yet, we’d already applied for our marriage license. I was pretty sure he would give us his blessing.

“Something smells good! Mama, what are you cooking?”

“Ebony and I got it going on in the kitchen. We’re frying chicken, smothering cabbage, baking cornbread, and cooking red beans. We doing it up!”

I chuckled at her excitement and followed them to the kitchen while Kendrall took a seat with Daddy and Evan. As soon as we got to the kitchen, Ebony said, “Baby, you are glowing! That man must be putting it down right!”

I laughed as my eyebrows hiked up in surprise. I couldn’t believe she said that in front of Mama. What shocked me even more was that Mama was laughing. I never really talked to her about sex. For some reason, I was always shy about talking about it to her. It wasn’t like she didn’t know I was fucking. Obviously, if I was engaged to Mesani, he’d sampled the goods. They could probably tell in my physique when I started fucking regularly, before the pregnancy scare.

My face had to be red, because it was hot as hell. “I have to admit, I hadn’t made love until I was intimate with Kendrall. Lord God. It’s like relaxing in a hot tub of water with a glass of wine, and sometimes it’s like a hot, sticky night in a hip hop club when the right song comes on. And those descriptions still don’t do it justice.”

I sat at the table, clearly in a trance, propping my head on my hand. “I’m so in love with that man I can barely function. With everything that has happened, with me losing my job and doing community service, Kendrall has been there to support me for every minute of it. He told me I didn’t have to work if I didn’t want to, because he had my front, back, and sides in every way imaginable.”

I took a deep breath as my mama sat across from me with her hand to her chest. Her hair was pulled up in a curly bun, and her milk chocolate complexion was glowing as well. “My God, baby. He’s your one. I felt the same way about Price. Things happened the way they were supposed to. Had Mesani not done the things he did, you would have moved on with the wedding, marrying a man that was less than what and who you truly desired.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think I would have. That was why a date hadn’t been set. I felt like I was missing something. It just didn’t feel complete. I didn’t know what it was until I got reacquainted with Kendrall. The passion was missing.”

My mama gave me a tight smile then stood to go and stir the beans. “Well, the food is just about done. We’re just waiting for the cabbage to cook down a little more. I’m gonna set this timer so we can go in there and relax with the men.”

She set a timer for fifteen minutes, then we made our way back to the front room. I sat next to Kendrall, and I could tell he didn’t want to prolong this any longer. The moment everyone was situated, he turned to my daddy and said, “I have something really important to ask you and Missus Kendall.”

“Do you want to do this privately?” my dad asked with a smirk on his lips.

He already knew what Kendrall needed to ask them about, especially when he grabbed my hand. Neither of us exhibited even a small ounce of nerves.

“No, sir. Here is fine.”

Daddy paused the TV then gave his attention back to Kendrall. “What’chu got?”

“I know it’s clear how much I love Cassie. It’s only been a short time since we’ve been together as a couple, but our spirits have been longing for each other for a long time. She’s my everything, and I know my life wouldn’t be the same without her in it. She gives me purpose and direction. My future is clear with her by my side. I wanted to ask your permission to make Cassie my wife.”

“You are already taking care of my miracle child. This right here was pointless. I know you come from good stock, as my mama used to say. You were raised with morals, and the way you treat my daughter proves that. I would be honored to have you be a part of our family, KJ.”

They stood and shook hands then hugged. When Kendrall turned around, he went to his knee. I lost my breath for a second because I didn’t know he would do this. We’d already applied for our license. This wasn’t even necessary.

He grabbed my hand and kissed the top of it then my fingers as Mama pulled out her phone and started recording. “I know we’ve already talked about this, but I wanted to do this right. You deserve the full experience, baby.”

I felt like I wanted to cry, but that happened a lot sooner when this nigga started singing “All of Me” by John Legend. I knew Kendrall could sing, but I had no idea he could actually pull off singing a John Legend song acapella. I felt like a water fountain these days with how easily Kendrall was exposing my soft, crybaby side.

He sang the chorus, the second verse, then the chorus again. When he finished, he said, “That song expressed my feelings for you perfectly. Having you as my wife would mean the world to me. I haven’t been who I was meant to be because I hadn’t locked down my forever. The dreams we will fulfill and the goals we will crush as a couple will be beyond anything we could have ever done solo. I love you so much. So, Cassie, will you do forever with me?”

My face was twitching because I was doing my best to hold in my cries. Kendrall was so expressive when it came to me… even more expressive than I was, and that shit was overwhelming. “Absolutely, without a doubt.”

The minute the words left my lips, he slid a beautiful ruby on a platinum band on my finger. It was encased in diamonds and quickly became the center of attention. Jesus Christ. He stood from his knee, and I fell into him. This moment meant so much to me.

When we released one another, our eyes still held each other captive. My mama had grabbed my hand, but my eyes never left Kendrall’s. I wanted to hop in his arms, wrap my legs around him, and pull his hair out of that man bun as I rode him. He stepped closer to me, and I swore I stopped breathing.

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