Page 43 of The Deed to a Gangsta's Heart

“Who says we haven’t planned it already?” Ma replied as she held Callie to her side.

“You thought we’d get together?” Callie asked.

“I knew you would. It was just a matter of time. As soon as Remedy said you were going to be staying with him, me and Alegra started planning.”

Callie’s head hung briefly as she smiled. When her eyes returned to mine, I saw a vulnerability in them that was unexpected. Was she wondering if there was a chance marriage was in our future? If she wasn’t confident, that meant I needed to do something to make sure she knew that was the plan for us.

25

Callie

After lunch,we decided to go ahead and tell my parents about us. I was excited and confident Daddy would approve. It was clear Ma did. I was too tickled to hear she and Mama Tootie had already started planning our wedding. That would explain why she was always on my side when Daddy expressed his grievances about me not coming to stay with them.

We walked around the house to the gate. As we made our way through to the backyard, the sound of Mississippi blues crooned. Remedy rubbed his hands together with an excited grin. The smell of barbecue permeated the air, and if Daddy would let him, my man was surely going to try and take over.

“He—”

“Rem and I are together,” I blurted, cutting Maoff.

A squeal escaped me as she hopped from one foot to the other and clapped.

“Smooth, bae,” Remedy said with a chuckle.

“What’s going on?” Daddy asked from the grill.

“They’re together!” Ma yelled, grabbing Remedy’s hand and leading him over to Daddy. “I told you this would happen. And you said me and my Toot-Toot were crazy.”

Daddy’s eyes rolled slightly as he reared back and released a silent laugh. His eyes found me as his expression turned serious. “Are you happy and safe?”

“Yes,” I replied.

His eyes shifted to Remedy as he extended his hand for Rem to shake. “I’d say take care of my baby girl, but I know you already are.”

“Yes, sir,” Rem confirmed, but he looked at me when he added, “and I will for the rest of our lives.”

My heart skipped a beat. Was he suggesting marriage? I mean… we’d talked about kids and being together for the long haul, but it was different to actually say those words. As he and Daddy shook hands, Ma wrapped her arms around me from the side and gave me a comforting squeeze.

“You’ve been glowing,” she said quietly. “Now I finally know why.”

“We wanted to wait a little while and settle into things, you know?”

“That’s completely understandable. I’m just happy it finally happened.”

Daddy handed Remedy a beer from his cooler, and they immediately shifted into a conversation about sauce and sports. It wasn’t long before Remedy was washing his hands to season some ribs to add to the grill. Me and Ma sat on the back porch sipping wine and listening to music as we talked, standing to do a two step every now and then. Afterlunch with Remedy’s parents, this was the perfect end to the day.

One Week Later

Remedyand I were going to the last showing at the summer movie drive-in at the park. I hadn’t gone to a drive-in since I graduated high school. The night would be nostalgic. I remember the last time I came, my boyfriend at the time thought that meant we’d have sex. He got a little too rough and handsy and I got out of the car. Thankfully, Remedy was there with two of his friends. After I told him what happened, he beat Drake up and let me watch the movie in his car. I loved him a little more that night.

As we cruised down the highway, Remedy lowered the volume on the music that was playing. When I felt him pulling over, I looked up from my phone.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, looking around.

Remedy put the car in park. His smile was comfortable as he wrapped his hand around my neck and pulled me forward. After kissing me three times, he said, “Everything is perfect. Look up.”

I looked up and clenched the door handle when my eyes landed on a billboard that had a picture of us. I released loud and hard laughter before bursting into tears. Under the picture of us was the caption,Dr. Callie Simpson is off-limits. Don’t try to date her unless you know how to dodge bullets. – Remedy Jones.

“You are absolutely crazy!” I almost yelled as I wiped my tears. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

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