Page 85 of Made to Love Ya

“I am honored to be standing here before you today, accepting this award. It’s been a long time coming.”

There was a thunderous applause that lasted almost a minute before Izael was able to speak again.

“While Jaylen and I are both grateful for our staff, the James Beard Foundation, the patrons, and the community, I have a special thank you to share tonight. We thought we were doing everything right. We thought we set the bar and excelled in every area, but we kept falling short.

“We had this large community who loved us. We received accolades from a variety of sources, and we were nominated for the JBA. But we received repeat negative reviews from one particular source,T’s Tasty Temptations. And the more she left critical reviews, the more our customers complained.”

My hand shook as I covered my mouth to hide my giggle.

“No matter how hard we tried, we could not please T. But T pushed us to excel in ways that we never would have known that we could. She made us take a step back and look at what we were doing. T forced us to challenge ourselves, bring in Chef Caesar from Pearls & Swine in Atlanta to review our practices, and do a complete overhaul on the way we cooked, did business, and operated within the community. Tonight, we honor T with this award because if it were not for her pushing us to the level that she did, we would not be on this stage accepting this award.”

Izael turned and looked at me. “T, would you mind standing here beside me?”

I did as he asked, and he continued.

“If you don’t mind, would you please help me read from the teleprompter?” Izael asked as he pointed to the teleprompter.

I turned to face it and noticed that he stepped back just a little. I didn’t think too much about it, though, because I was too busy being nervous about what I was supposed to be reading. The producers had not prepared me for this.

“It is an honor to stand on this stage and share the spotlight with you tonight,” I read.

He placed his hand on me and whispered, “Look into that camera right there, baby.”

I did as he directed, but I was still confused as to what was going on. His hand remained on my shoulder as he continued to speak.

“T, I have known you almost all your life. You have been by my side, believing in me, trusting me, and honoring me in every possible way since our youth. You became my biggest opponent and champion at the same time, and you had no idea you were doing that. You have prayed for me, stayed with me, forgave me, and pushed me to new levels. I cannot continue doing life without you by my side, T, not when I know in my heart that God created me for you and you for me. I was made to love you, girl. I’m not good at giving speeches, so let me put it like this…read with me, baby.” He whispered the last part.

My hands were shaking, my belly was tight, and I was so nervous. I didn’t have a clue what was going on. But I read the next part.

“Talia RaChè Campbell, will you be my sous chef?”

I stared at the teleprompter, certain that I was reading something incorrectly.

“Huh?”

The audience cheered, and there were some loud gasps as well. I was still confused until I noticed one of the producers, Regan, pointing frantically behind me. When I turned around, I found Izael kneeling on the stage behind me. I shrieked when I saw him holding a small box. Adrian and the rest of the audience clapped wildly. Jaylen smiled like crazy, and when I looked back at Izael, I noticed he was sweating something awful.

“I think he’s waiting for an answer, honey,” Adrian stated sweetly.

My hands trembled as I pulled them to my mouth. Slowly, I nodded my head.

Jaylen shouted, “She said yes!”

The entire audience erupted with applause, and somehow, I became the sole image on the large screen onstage as Izael stood and slid the platinum solitaire diamond ring onto my finger and then lifted me into his arms.

I threw my arms around him, and although I could be extremely shy, I kissed my man with all my might. If no one had known that I belonged to him before and he belonged to me, now they knew.

* * *

We attendedthe walk-around reception at Union Station and then went for dessert and drinks with Jaylen and his wife, Renee, at Roanoke, not too far from the Lyric Opera of Chicago where the awards were held. We walked back to our hotel afterward and said goodnight to them.

“This is the most beautiful view that I’ve ever seen, Zae,” I murmured as we looked at the lake from our balcony at the Swissotel in Chicago.

“You’re the most beautiful view that I’ve ever seen,” he muttered as he kissed the side of my neck. “So damn beautiful. And with you wearing my ring, I don’t think you can get any more beautiful than you already are.”

“Except when I’m carrying your last name, which I will gladly do, Zae.”

His hands moved from my waist to caress my face. “How could a man like me get so blessed?”

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