Safe Place Series

by Shani Greene-Dowdell

  “You’re still invited. There’s always a seat for you in your rightful place as my father.”

  “Thanks, Son.” He reached out a hand to shake mine, but I pulled him in for a good and long hug. It felt good to know there was a possibility of having a relationship with him, my new wife, and kids as one.

  “No, thank you, Dad. For trying. I know this will be hard for you.”

  He nodded and walked out of the door. I plopped down on the bed and thought about Tameka calling my father and how that conversation might have gone. She never ceased to amaze me. Then, I thought about Mom and how she would feel about Tameka. Surely, she too would have come around after she got to know her.

  Thoughts of my beautiful wife crossed my mind. Her oval-shaped brown eyes, round face and soul-piercing smile helped me settle into bed. I closed my eyes with one thing on my mind—tomorrow.

  Chapter 13

  Tameka

  Weddings have a way of making people believe in the magic of love and romance. So as I sat at the bridal vanity staring into the mirror, why did I feel like tossing the makeup artist off the premises, firing my wedding director, and screaming at the caterer?

  “Breathe, Tameka. Everything is going to be alright,” Kemara said as I obsessed over whether Shaniqua had applied too much makeup to my face.

  “No, it’s not. I look like a clown!” I said, and the more I looked at it, the worse it got.

  When Shaniqua had finished applying it, I just sat in the mirror trying to figure out what the deal was with the makeup. I had gone to her salon last week for her to test out the look I wanted, and she had done it perfectly. Sitting here with only a few hours before the wedding, I didn’t know if my eyes were playing tricks on me, or if I was just losing it.

  “You don’t look like a clown,” Kemara said, sighing.

  “I don’t care. I don’t want this much makeup on my face. It was supposed to be a natural look to match my nude colored gown,” I said, attempting to speak civilly, but really, I was going into a tailspin.

  The things that had gone awry included my wedding director being an hour late for final rehearsal this morning, and the caterer calling to let me know that she also would be running late. What was the point of planning an event, if everyone’s just going to come when they get ready anyway?

  There was a knock at the door, and Alise’s voice called out, “Can I come in?”

  “Come on,” I answered.

  “Hey, what can I do to help?” she asked as she walked in looking like a true beauty.

  Her hair was pulled up in a bun, and the gold sequin maxi dress glittered with shimmer and hugged every curve on her body, making her look like the star she was. Her golden pumps set her look off, and I was pleased at how the color contrasted with her barely-there makeup with gold accents. Her look went well with Kemara’s long and slightly loose-fitting pink maxi dress, and Jayne’s mermaid, lace midriff black gown.

  “You look beautiful, Alise, while your girl has me in here looking like a clown,” I fussed, crossing my arms and pouting. I had yet to start getting dressed because I was still stuck on my makeup.

  “Tameka, you look absolutely stunning. Trust me, it’s just your nerves. But I did talk to Shaniqua, and she said she’ll come back to redo your face,” Alise said, and I was sure then that everyone knew about me griping.

  “Good. We have plenty of time to remove the makeup and redo it,” Kemara said with so much relief in her tone.

  The door flung open and in walked Jayne. “I hear you’re up in here being a bridezilla!”

  “I’m not a bridezilla!” I said as I looked into the mirror in front of me and started wiping off one hour worth of makeup with a facial wipe. “I just know what I want. Any other day this look would have been perfectly fine, but today it has to be on point.”

  “I hear you, sis,” Jayne said as she applied more gloss to her lips.

  “I’ll go get Shaniqua, so she can come back and redo your makeup since she’s finished with Jayne,” Alise said.

  “Thank you,” said Kemara.

  Within minutes, Shaniqua came back into the room with a little tension in her demeaner. All I wanted was for her to do the same thing she showed me last week, and I told her that much.

  An hour later, I looked into the mirror, and tears welled up in my eyes.

  “Thank you!” I said as I hugged her neck. “This is exactly what I wanted.”

  “You’re welcome, Tameka. I’m glad you like it,” Shaniqua said, relieved.

  “I do, and I’m sorry for getting so emotional earlier.”

  Jayne coughed and disguised the word “bridezilla” in with her cough. Alise and Kemara giggled with her.

  “Girl, I work with brides all the time, and trust me, it gets worse than this,” Shaniqua said to Jayne. “She’s nowhere near a real bridezilla.”

  Shaniqua, Alise and Jayne left out so Kemara could finish helping me get dressed. My nerves were wadded up in a bundle, but somehow having my sister there was soothing to me.

  Mom peeked her head into the room once I was dressed, and awe was written all over her face. “Oh, Tameka! You look absolutely stunning.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” I smiled at my mother who looked stunning in her knee-length pink dress that had a long, beaded jacket to match.

  “Are you nervous?” she asked.

  “A little, but I should be used to this by now right?”

  “This is a big leap that I suppose no one gets used to, Tameka.” She put her hands up to her mouth as if she were trying to hold back her tears. “Oh, you look so stunning, baby. I hope you feel beautiful, and that you’re happy,” Mom said.

  “Mom, we’re not even going to get into how she’s been acting,” Kemara chimed in.

  Mom laughed. “I know my child.”

  “I do feel beautiful, now that my makeup is right,” I said, including Mom and Kemara in my smile.

  I opted for an old-fashioned look that leaned more toward regal and classy than modern and glamorous. The lace dress I wore hugged my body and flared out just below my knees to give a beautiful mermaid look. An antique-style bowknot draped the middle of my stomach, and my arms were covered in a lace design that matched the silver broach and crown Mom had given me. Yes, indeed, I felt beautiful in this moment.

  “Is Dad ready?” I asked.

  Mom took my hand and guided me out of the dressing room. “Yes, he’s out by the door waiting for you. That’s why I came to get you. The wedding director was too scared to come in here and tell you it’s time to start.”

  When we reached the door where Dad was standing, he took my hand from Mom and held it in his. “Ready?” he asked.

  “Yes, Daddy,” I said near the brink of tears. Seeing him all dressed up in his black suit for my second chance at love made me emotional. We’d done this walk before, but this time it felt different, more meaningful.

  “Chin up, baby girl. This is your day to shine,” he said as he opened the door and guided me out onto the porch, supporting me as we walked down the steps and out onto the grassy lawn toward the ceremony.

  The wedding party had already started moving with Jayne first, Alise, then Kemara, who was my matron of honor. It was the perfect sunny day for the one hundred and eighty or so guests seated in white lawn chairs facing Oak Bowery’s sacred rock that was illuminated by candles and draped by gold and pink satin.

  Eva’s nude-colored flower-girl dress was similar to mine with a sweeping lace train. She went ahead of me with a big smile as she sprinkled pink rose petals on the grass. As soon as my feet touched the grass and flowers, the wedding song started playing, and I made my way down the aisle with my father.

  The music halted once we reached the rest of the wedding party gathered around the rock. The reverend said, “Marriage is in itself a blessing. But doubly blessed is the couple who comes to the marriage altar with the approval and love of their families and friends. Who has the honor of presenting this woman to be married to this man?”


  “I do,” Dad said, and kissed me on the cheek. “I love you, baby girl.”

  ***

  Jeb

  She didn’t walk down the aisle, she glided to me. And by the time her father had given her away, I was rendered speechless as I stood there in awe of her beauty.

  Tameka had chosen every detail for our wedding from the historic location to the regal gown that hugged the hell out of her curves. I had to pinch myself to know that this was real. We made it to this day. I was indeed marrying her right here in Lafayette, Alabama, and with my father’s blessing. I had Channing by my side as my best man. Bruiser and Xander were groomsmen, and little Kevin stood beside me looking dapper as our ringbearer.

  As the reverend went through the customary parts of the ceremony, I stared at Tameka. I simply was unable to take my eyes off of her. She was soooo beautiful that all I could do was keep taking mental snapshots of her so that I could remember her like this always.

  “The bride and groom have prepared their own vows,” was the only thing I heard the reverend say. It was time for me to profess what I felt in my heart in front of everyone, and I’d been waiting all day to do it.

  “Tameka, you are the woman I have dreamed of, and I love you with every bone in my body and every breath I take. That’s how I know that you were born to be my wife. I am committed to living my life loving and protecting you, Kevin, and Eva. For better or worse, through all of life’s obstacles and all of life’s joys, I will be by your side. I will live the rest of my life honoring the commitments of loving you through sickness and health, putting you first, and forsaking all others for as long as I shall live.”

  A few sniffles could be heard from our guests, but I was tuned into Tameka. The reverend gave her the cue to begin her vows, and she did, with tears in her eyes.

  “Jeb, I knew everything would be alright the moment I decided to give my heart to you. I knew I was safe with you. I am safe with you. Now, as we unite in marriage, I want you to know that your heart is safe with me. I will do everything in my power to help you and to have your back. I vow to continue to communicate with you, be open and honest, to love you as you deserve, definitely forsaking all others, and cherishing you through sickness and in health, and never leaving your side. Not out of duty, but because I desire to, now and forever.”

  The reverend completed the rest of his customary speech before pronouncing us man and wife. “You may now kiss your bride,” he announced.

  I slid one arm around Tameka’s waist slowly while looking into her eyes. My other hand came up around her neck and pulled her gently to me. She was so glammed up that I almost didn’t feel worthy of touching her, but my desire to connect with her won, and my lips came crashing down on hers. Tameka whimpered against my lips, and I almost forgot where we were as I pulled her closer to me and dipped her down kissing her insanely.

  The crowd roared as we stood there as if we were the only two people on that lawn. The wedding song played again, which was our cue to make it back down the aisle. I steadied my wife on her feet, took her hand in mine, and we walked down the aisle followed by Channing and Kemara, Bruiser and Alise, and Xander and Jayne, exiting as couples.

  As I passed the second row, my father’s hand reached out and patted my back.

  “Congratulations, Son,” I heard him say, and I stopped and hugged him tightly.

  “Thanks, Dad. Thank you.”

  Moments later, Tameka and I were whisked down the aisle and to the wooded area to take our first set of pictures as husband and wife with nature as our backdrop.

  At the reception, I only had one moment I was anticipating. When it came, the DJ put on Mint Condition’s “Pretty Brown Eyes,” and I pulled Tameka out onto the floor for our official dance as husband and wife.

  I wrapped my arm around Tameka’s waist and started dancing with her, and the DJ said, “Let’s roll that back…”

  This time, he only played the instrumental that had the first three words of the song on it. Tameka didn’t know that I was going to be singing my own version of the rest of the song.

  “Pretty…”

  Bruiser slid onto the dancefloor with one of his stiff dance moves and pointed at Tameka.

  “Brown…”

  Xander jumped onto the dancefloor in a dramatic move and did a two-step before he pointed at Tameka.

  “Eyes…”

  Channing moonwalked onto the dancefloor and did a hard turn and pointed to Tameka.

  Then, I took over dancing smoothly, now holding the mic the DJ had sneaked into my hand. “Pretty brown eyes…you know…” I began singing my version of the lyrics from the pit of my soul. Instead of singing this song as a song of heartbreak, I changed the words to tell Tameka how much she meant to me.

  “You’re saving my heart…Yeah. You’re saving my heart….sugar. Yeah…Yeah.” I went on and on singing to her with Channing, Xander and Bruiser as my backup dancers. It took a whole hell of a lot of bribing to get Bruiser to stand back there with his stiff dance moves, but he eventually signed on for the fun of it.

  Our guests were going wild with “ohs, aws,” and “OMG look at Jeb!” or “Go Bruise!” The kids were giggling their hearts out because I hadn’t even told them about this surprise performance. The cheers and chatter was relentless, but I only had one person in my crosshairs and that was Tameka as I sang to her.

  Midway through the song, I stopped serenading her and took her into my arms. I continued the rest of the song dancing with her, and the guys eased back to their seats.

  I was ready to ditch the reception so that I could have my wife to myself, but I could see no way out. We would surely be recognized since there was no door to sneak out. We would have to wade through hundreds of guests and someone would definitely spot us trekking across the grassy field heading to our car.

  As I thought about our inability to escape the party, I also remembered the times Tameka had slipped through my fingers when we danced. Now, I had her right where I wanted her.

  “You can’t run from me now. You’re mine,” I said against her ear as the song was coming to an end.

  “And I don’t want to run from you. Ever,” she said close to my ear as the song ended, and we remained glued to that spot, exchanging souls as we would from this day forward.

  THE END

  Epilogue

  Tameka

  “Rodney, where are the kids?” I asked again.

  I’d just pulled up to pick Kevin and Eva up after my weeklong honeymoon. Instead of going to get them, their father stood in the doorway looking at me as if he had something deep going on inside of his mind. His rugged brown skin looked to be of a man in his sixties, instead of the forty year old man he was. He looked beat up by life.

  I knew he was still dealing with on again and off again memory loss and all the stress that comes along with it. Yet all I wanted to do was have a peaceful pick up of my children. He must have picked up on my mood. He snapped out of the trance he was in and said, “Stay right here, and I’ll go get them.”

  I was taken aback by the quiver in his voice and the weird way he was acting, but again, this was Rodney. His constantly changing behavior was something I’d gotten used to over the years. Who knew who he would be tomorrow, or what he would be up to? I shook my head and waited for him to return.

  A few minutes later, two people could be heard arguing. I was able to make out Melody’s voice. Wow, she’s back, I thought. Maybe that’s what Rodney was trying to hide. He was so full of it, and so was Melody who was barging toward the door with pressured speech and looking like she was high on something.

  “Rodney, I’m not going to be rude to her. I’m just going to tell her about the baby,” Melody yelled as she stormed toward me.

  “You don’t have to say anything to her. Mel—” Rodney said.

  Melody stared me in the eye, assessing me as if I were her competition. If only she knew, I was the last person she had to worry about wanting Rodney.

  “Well, hello again, Tamek
a,” she said nastily. “I just wanted to let you know I decided not to go through with the adoption, so my child is going to grow up with Kevin and Eva like you wanted him to.”

  So it’s a boy? “That’s good news,” I said softly. Still trying to figure out what was going on with Rodney and this woman.

  “The first family I chose decided not to adopt, and thankfully so because Rodney has gotten his full memory back, and now he can take care of me and the baby,” she said with a smirk.

  I looked at Rodney, and he had a sad look in his eyes. “I wanted to be the one to tell you,” he said.

  “Well, now she’s told,” Melody said, and she stepped up beside Rodney and entangled her hand into his.

  Same ole Melody different lyrics, I thought as she and Rodney stood side by side bombarding me with their business, and at this point, all I wanted was my kids.

  Melody was in it for the money, and Rodney got what he bargained for when he left our home looking for something more.

  “She’s right, Tameka. I have my memory back, but I didn’t want to tell you like this. Can I speak to my children’s mother for a moment?” he asked Melody with a pleading look.

  Melody stood there as if hell would freeze over before she abandoned her post beside Rodney again. The sound of a baby caused her to glance to a room toward the back of the house, and she reluctantly walked away.

  “We’re back together and we’re happy, Tameka,” she said as her parting words.

  “I’m glad you remember everything, Rodney. I truly am. But don’t forget that you have three children. Do not let her get in the way of your relationship with Eva and Kevin.”

  Fine lines spread across his face as he looked at me. “Tameka, I’m sorry for the way that I treated you. You didn’t deserve it. You gave me all that a man could ask for in a wife, and I squandered it away being unfaithful and selfish.”

  “Rodney, it’s behind us now. I’ve moved on. I have a husband, and you have a wife.”