Page 45 of Merci

“This is just great, so great,” Mama said, wiping her eyes.

I didn’t mean to laugh at her, but I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You acting like the man just proposed,” I teased.

“Oh, hush. You know like I know how big of a moment this is. Cujo don’t likenobody, so shemustbe something special.” She squeezed Merci’s hand as she sat back down next to her. “I’m happy. I want a bigger family—our family—and it seems like I’m finally about to get that from both of my sons. We’ll never be accepted by your father’s family, and I’m finally at peace with that. We are all we got, and that’s more than enough.”

“Amen,” I agreed, pulling my phone out of my pocket as it vibrated. I bobbed my head absently at the sight of Merc confirming he’d allow me to release him from paying Merci’s mortgage and the rest of her bills. He’d already dropped it down from a thirty-year to a fifteen-year mortgage because he was paying two extra payments a year. I understood why he was doing monthly payments and hadn’t just bought the houses for his kids. Young adults in their early twenties were unstable, andsince he’d gotten the houses for them right after they graduated college, that was a risk. I wouldn’t have wasted millions on their mini mansions either, knowing there was a chance they probably wouldn’t stay in them.

I’d talked to Merci about it, and she wanted that to be our starter home where we had our first child, so I was going to go ahead and pay her mortgage off since we’d be there for a while. That was another one of her birthday gifts.

Even though I didn’t plan to officially move in until after we were married, if she wasn’t spending the night at my place, I was spending the night at hers.

All in all, things were going well for all of us, and I was excited to see what else God had in store.

Merc sent a second text to confirm we were still good to go fishing for the second time, and once I confirmed, I slid my phone back in my pocket. Mama and Merci had gone into the kitchen and started fixing plates, and I made myself comfortable while I waited for Cujo and Ariel to finish their conversation.

Whether they said they were friends or not, I hoped they could come to some kind of agreement today. Cujo might not have admitted it, but I knew he missed her, and from what Merci had told me, Ariel missed him too.

By the time everything was ready in the dining room, Cujo and Ariel were done talking. Mama invited Ariel to stay for dinner, and she agreed.

It wasn’t lost on me that she sat next to Cujo instead of her sister, and I thought that was cute. Mama was smiling brighter than I’d seen her smile in a while, and her being so happy about our happiness was another thing to thank God for.

Rolling my tongue over my cheek, I released a quiet chuckle. A shaky chuckle. I knew Merci had her brothers helping her with something in the house, but I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be this.

“Sooo, what do you think?” she asked excitedly, wrapping her arm around mine.

“You didn’t have to do this, sweetheart, but I really appreciate it,” I replied, trying to keep my emotions in check. Truthfully, Merci was the only woman who ever poured into me the way I poured into her. Most women only wanted to be spoiled; they didn’t give a damn about showing appreciation or reciprocating my energy. I wasn’t the kind of man who expected a woman to buy me shit or give me money, but planned dates and acts of service made me feel like they liked and wanted me just as much as I wanted them. Most of my adult life, I was in one-sided relationships, but with Merci, that hadn’t been the case from the jump.

“I wanted to,” she reasoned, looking around the room, as if this was her first time seeing it.

Three of the four walls had shelves lining them, covered with new puzzle sets and LEGOs. All it took was me telling her that I loved doing puzzles once, and she’d created a whole room for me in her house. The front wall had a large, floating TV with an electric fireplace. There was a vinyl record player off to the side. In the center of the room was a small, three-seat reclining sectional and a table that I could use sitting or standing.

“I left that space on the wall empty for a mini fridge and microwave. They haven’t been delivered yet.”

“Why you do this?” I asked, genuinely taken aback by the gesture.

“Well… we’ll be staying here for a while. I know you said you aren’t moving in until we get married, but I wanted you to have your own space here. This is your home now too. I want it to feel like it. Oh! And just as a heads up, Neptune has already claimed the left recliner. I told him you get to pick first since this is your room.”

I couldn’t do anything but laugh as I pulled her into my arms. “Thank you, Ms. Merci.” Picking her up, I covered her face with kisses as she giggled before settling on her lips. “I appreciate the effort and the gesture. No one’s ever done anything like this for me. Thank you, sweetheart.”

“You’re welcome, Hammer. It was truly my pleasure.”

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

As I set her down and headed to see what kind of puzzles and LEGOs she’d stocked me up with, I told her, “I know Neptune wants the left side because it’ll be closer to the refrigerator. That ain’t gon’ work.”

She laughed. “I hadn’t even thought about that, but it makes sense, with his greedy ass. I had to buy four pizzas to feed them while they helped me put this together.”

“They comin’ around to ya man, huh?”

“Mhm.” She’d made her way next to me, and I wrapped my arms around her and gave her another kiss. “Neptune is probably the hardest one to get close to, but he actually said, and I quote, ‘my brother gon’ love this shit.’”

“Damn,” I mumbled as the weight of her words settled within me.

Maybe this whole family thing wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

MERCI