Page 89 of Still Made For You

“Justice Ezra Graham, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, forsaking all others until till death do you part?”

“I do,”

“May we have the rings, please?” Dreaux passed Ciyani’s ring to me at the same time Janae passed her mine.

“These rings are an outward representation of an everlasting commitment to one another. It symbolizes your declaration of love for the rest of your lives. When you wear it, remember this moment when you stood before God and these witnesses, promising to devote your lives to each other.

“Please repeat after me. I give you this ring to symbolize my commitment to you and a representation of my unfailing love for you. With this ring, I thee wed.” We both repeated his words then exchanged rings. I smiled as Ciyani’s mouth hung open once I placed the ring on her finger. It was much bigger than her engagement ring. She mouthed the words “I love it,” as we focused our attention back on the Pastor.

“By the power vested in me and the state of Ohio, I now pronounce you husband and wife. I pray this marriage withstands the test of time. You may now kiss the bride,” I barely waited for him to finish before removing her veil and capturing her lips with mine. I had waited for this moment for so long, and now it was finally here.

“I present to you, Mr. & Mrs. Justice Graham!” Our family and friends cheered loudly as we turned to face everyone.Seeing the faces of all the people I love warmed my heart. I’m grateful for the way they showed up for Ciyani and I. My family was solid, and I could count on them for anything. As I glanced over at Ciyani, all I could do was smile. I looked forward to our future and the memories we would create together. The glow on her face meant the world to me because she deserved a lifetime of happiness.

We jumped the broom and then made our way to the door, hand in hand, with our families trailing behind us. If I had it my way, I would have whisked her off to a nice vacation right after the ceremony, but our family was determined to celebrate with us. Since it’s Christmas Eve, we all agreed to spend the next two days together as a family. After that, I planned to take my wife on a honeymoon she’d never forget.

Once we got into the limo, Ciyani rested her head on me. I kissed the top of it for reassurance.

“How are you feeling, lil’ baby? We’re official now,” I asked, holding her hand in mine.

“This feels like a dream, and I never want to wake up. I’m excited to spend forever with you.” I wanted to give her the life she deserved, and I’d stop at nothing to make sure she had it. Ciyani had been perfectly crafted just for me, and I wanted her to always know she was safe with me. This love was a forever thing.

twenty-four

Christmas Day

“Ourpajamasarewaycooler than yours,” Messiah gloated, standing in front of Ciyani and I with blue and white snowman pajamas.

“Man, get out of here. Everyone knows black Santa trumps a snowman every time.” Truthfully, I hated the idea of wearing pajamas, but the ladies outvoted us.

“Both of those suck compared to ours,” Loyal chimed in, spinning around to show off his green plaid pajama pants with the matching shirt showcasing a picture of their family in the middle.

“I won’t lie, these are dope, foreal.” Messiah admitted.

“They really are. I guess being a photographer has its perks.” We dabbed one another up. Ciyani and I were staying at a hotel a few blocks away, so we spent our wedding night tearing up those people’s good sheets. We were scheduled to leave for our honeymoon in two days and we wouldn’t be back for a week. The both of us decided to spend as much time with our family as we could because once our plane took off our phones would be turned off as well.

Our family gathered together often, but rarely were we all in attendance. Even Auntie Elantra and Big Moe showed up. They recently revealed that they had eloped while accompanying Rule on tour in Vegas. All of her children were happy for her because she truly deserved this. The hearty laughs and sounds of children running around reminded me of how blessed we were. Our family had grown so much over the last four years, and it would only continue to grow more and more.

“Let me go wash my hands so I go snuggle my babies.” Ciyani squealed. The moment Wisdom and Janae walked in, most of the woman ambushed them before they could even get in the house all the way. Both car seats were plucked from my brother’s hands, and he stood there shaking his head. They wore what appeared to be red pajamas with snow globes on them. Once he spotted us, he swaggered our way.

Normally, we held dinner at one of our houses, but granny had seen a viral video where all the family hosted a big sleepover, so she requested a Graham family sleepover where we all dressed in pajamas, ate Christmas dinner together and slept under one roof. The cabin we rented has six bathrooms and twelve bedrooms. It also included a pool as well as a hot tub. The older kids were going to be sleeping in the living room. The couch turned into a pull out, but we purchased several air mattresses as well. Granny rarely asked anything of us, so of course we went of our way to make this happen for her.

“What’s up, family?” We greeted Wise then shortly after Serenity, Charity, Rule and the rest of the family came out of their rooms to join us. My aunt Faith and uncle Omar walked in an hour later with their son’s O2, Oh’Shun and of course Freedom trailing behind. It was a blessing to have him here with us after the scare he’d given us a few months ago. I checked on him weekly to make sure he was straight, but it warmed my heart to see him in the flesh. Life was short and you truly never knew when your last day would be.

He'd recently landed a supporting role in a reoccurring TV series, and we had thrown him a party to celebrate. Breyoun and Onyx were here as well, but I made sure to get his approval before inviting them. Their relationship was getting better and from all the pictures and videos I’ve seen lately, he’d been spending a lot of time with Sincere when he wasn’t in Cali filming.

We spent an hour catching up and enjoying everyone’s company. The women of our family prepped most of the food yesterday, so it only took an hour for everything to be done. I hired a team to set up the tree, decorations and dinner tables to give us less tasks to do. I’d even hired a few ladies who specialize in gift wrapping.

Normally, the kids would wake up to a bunch of gifts, but since there were so many of us, we agreed to wait until after we ate dinner to open them. It’s only one in the afternoon, so technically, it wasn’t too late.

***

“Okay,Mama,nowthatthe family has eaten and opened their gifts, we’re going to ask you to speak a word of encouragement over us. It’s rare that we are all together, and we want to hear from the matriarch of this family.” Aunt Faith suggested. Granny seemed unusually quiet today, but I chalked it up to her being tired from all of the wedding festivities from yesterday. She stood up from her seat in the center and began looking around the room.

“When Proctor and I got married all those years ago, I never imagined that we would create such a powerful legacy. We worked our hands to the bone to make sure that we could provide a good life for our children in hopes that they would be able to live happily and comfortably with their own families one day. I think it’s safe to say that we did a good job.

"As I look around this room, I can’t help her thank God for the many blessings that he has given me. Not only to watch my children grow but to watch their children and their children's children come into this world. Death is the only thing that is promised in life and if I were to leave here today, I would leave with a content heart. We celebrate the birth of our Lord and savior, but this day represents so much more to me.

"Seeing all of my family together in one home is a dream come true. A lot of families grow old, and they grow apart, and I thank God every day that we still have a solid foundation built on love, loyalty, and unity. I may not get another opportunity to say this, so I want to let you know that I am proud of each and every one of you. Every family has their own dysfunctions and drama, but being a part of this family gives me strength and unbelievable joy.

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