Page 73 of Book Bae

“The same way that you loved that signed copy of Stolen Georgia Nights by Cobalt Stevens?”

It was a rare collection of poems by one of my favorite poets. The man seldom autographed anything, and there weren’t many copies of that particular book in print.

“Baby, how did you do that shit?”

“It was through one of my wealthier and connected clients. He’s a literature lover and spends a lot of time in theaters too. He’s an older gentleman, and when I learned that he loved poetry and all the greats, I mentioned that book and you to him. When I told him the story and how I would love to present that to you as a gift on our wedding day, he promised he would make it happen.”

“But how?”

“Apparently, he and Cobalt are good, old friends.”

“Damn. How amazing is that?”

“Exactly.”

“You know that I’m not a crying nigga, but that shit almost brought me to my knees this morning. I told you my dad used to read to me when I was a kid, and that was one book he wished he could get for me but never could. Bonding with him over literature meant the world to us both, and the fact that you recalled I mentioned that way back when we first reunited means the world to me.”

“And you giving me all of my heart’s desires means the world to me.”

I leaned in and kissed her sweetly as we finished our scenic drive. By the time we arrived at the castle on the island where our reception was held, all our guests had already arrived.

“Thank you for this day, baby. Thank you for positioning me not only as the queen of your heart but as the princess in my own real life fairy tale.”

“What else would I do? You’re the perfect FMC for me.”

She giggled and replied, “And you’re my perfect book bae.”

Everyone cheered as our carriage came to a stop outside of an old castle, and we climbed down to continue our fairy tale at the reception.

ONE MONTH LATER

“Life was rocky for a while, and nobody said that it wouldn’t become that way again, but the only thing I knew was we were where we were supposed to be for this place and time.” –Crossing in the Night, Mike Jamison

“You are a gift sent from heaven, woman.”

I wrapped my wife in my arms and kissed her long and sweet.

“Eww, Daddy and Mama Myr kissing,” Malachi declared, walking back from the kitchen to where we stood in the hallway.

“Eww.” Malaika mimicked him, putting her hand over her mouth. She had no idea what was going on, but she was in a stage where she mimicked everything that Malachi, Myraj, Mai, and I did, so we were careful what we did around her.

I pulled back from the kiss, and Myraj made tickly fingers at Malachi. “I’m going to tickle and kiss you too,” she declared with glee, chasing him through the house.

He jerked the back door opened and ran straight out there. I shook my head. I didn’t know if Myraj had fallen for another one of his traps, or if she just decided to give in to it.

Myraj had taken me to New York to see August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, starring Cedric the Entertainer and Taraji P. Henson. We had just returned from New York, and I had placed our luggage in the foyer and kissed my wife as my kids ran through the house like they had lost their minds.

On the ride home from the airport, Malachi had been asking to go outside, and I had told him he could play after naptime. He had whined about it the entire time, and now that we were here, he managed to get his way.

I sighed and closed the front door before I lifted Malaika into my arms and kissed her chubby brown cheeks. One of her pink ribbons was askew in her curly ponytails, and I straightened it. She reached up and messed with it again before she said something like “Naba noba nah.” I guess that was her way of telling me that she didn’t want that shit in her head, but her mother said it had to be otherwise.

I fixed it again, and she did the same thing and repeated the same verbiage. This time, she managed to pull it free, and I took it from her and stuck it in my pocket. When Malachi and Myraj didn’t return, I grabbed a blanket from the couch in my office and headed to the backyard. She was still chasing him, and he was shrieking loud and happily. I shrugged and let Malaika down when she started shrieking and jerking her little body to free herself from my embrace.

I chuckled as she tried to chase them. I unfolded the blanket and placed it down on the grass. I sat on it and watched for about five minutes as their game went from Myraj chasing the two of them to Malachi chasing the girls to Malaika chasing Myraj and Malachi.

“Okay, I need a time out, guys. Mommy’s tired,” she declared, walking toward me.

“Mm-hmm. Looks like you let him trick you again.”