by Untamed
They smacked their teeth, rolled their eyes, and sank down in their seats.
We walked off, and he kissed my cheek. “I just fell in love with you all over again.”
“I’m just an amazing woman like that?” I giggled.
“That you are, Ma. That you are.”
Once we got to the room, I headed to the bathroom to change, but Lincoln stopped me. “Let’s go for a walk along the beach,” he said.
“So we’re going to pull an all-nighter on our first night?” I replied.
“It’s so beautiful that I wanted to soak it up one last time before we hit the bed. Don’t make me beg,” he whined, giving me those puppy dog eyes.
I sighed as I put my hair in a ponytail and slipped my flip flops back on. “Oh, come on you, big baby,” I said, grabbing his hand and heading out to the beach.
Lincoln walked behind me with his arms around my waist. The ocean breeze made the beach cool during the night, but Lincoln’s embrace warmed me to the core. It was every bit as beautiful at night as it was during the day. The full moon shone brightly in the sky and cast a beautiful glow over the ocean, which gave it the appearance of a shiny black diamond. The waves crashed gently against the rocks. The swishing noise was so gentle, you could rock yourself to sleep. This was truly serenity at its finest hour. If there was ever any question in anyone’s mind about whether there was a God, then this beautiful sight before me would tell them yes. Only God, in his omnipotence, could make a sight this breathtaking. As we walked along and the breeze whipped through my hair, I couldn’t decide if the beach and the seascape were prettier at night or during the day. We walked in silence for at least five minutes, until Lincoln spoke.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” he asked as we walked along the shore.
“Yes. I’m glad we took this trip.”
“I’m glad you are enjoying yourself, because I am definitely enjoying you,” he said. “And I’m also glad that you did what you did at dinner tonight.” He hugged me closer. “I was so proud of you. The way you handled that with such class and confidence turned me on.”
“I just wanted you to know that I am confident in us, but there are times when I get weak too, Lincoln. I’m human. I know what I have in you, so don’t you think it scares me to know that thousands of other women want it too? I mean, they want you for the looks and the materialistic things alone, but if they really knew you as a man, I’d have to fight every day, literally. So I’m sorry if sometimes I get upset, but I promise not to run away if you promise me I’ll never have a reason to run,” I confided in him.
He stopped in his tracks, then turned me to face him and held my face in his hands. “Baby, I promise you’ll never have a reason to run away from me. Never. I’ll never do anything to hurt you. That’s my word. I want to be in this relationship just as much as you do. You are my world, my heart, and my joy. Hell, I talked shit that night. I know it. But believe me, it was only to get you to stay. If you had left, I would’ve chased you, and if I hadn’t, I would’ve died.” He paused for a moment. “Think about it. If you’re my Eve, cut from my rib, how can I live without you?” he asked, staring into my eyes.
I kissed him deeply. “Aw, baby, I love you.”
“Mmm. I love you too.”
After laying my head on his chest, I yawned as I listened to the sound of his heartbeat and the waves. They seemed to be in sync with each other, playing a melody back and forth.
“Getting sleepy?” he asked.
I chuckled. “Of course. You wore my ass out.”
“I’m going to wear that ass out again before the night is over too,” he said with a laugh.
“I doubt that,” I countered, turning my back so that it pressed against his chest again and gazing at the moon. “Nothing could keep me up too much longer.”
“Not even this?” he asked. In front of my eyes was a sparkling diamond engagement ring.
I gasped and covered my mouth. “Lincoln,” I whispered softly. Within seconds, he was in front of me and down on one knee.
“I was trying to find the perfect moment to do this. You see, this trip is more than just a getaway. It’s an engagement trip for us,” he said, looking up at me as tears of joy flooded my eyes.
He went on. “Baby, I don’t think there is anything else I can say or do to show you how much I love you and want to be with you other than to show you that my commitment is permanent. Love is strange. It strikes at the oddest times in the most unexpected places. But once you have it, you hold on to it, and you cherish it for life. That’s what I want to do for you, baby. I want to love you for a lifetime. I want to love the triplets for a lifetime. I want to love our future babies for a lifetime. I want to be married to you for a lifetime. Will you accept this ring as my commitment to you? Charice, will you marry me?”
Nodding my head rapidly, I cried, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
He slipped the ring on my finger, stood up, and kissed me passionately. “I love you, Ma.”
“Baby!” I screamed, admiring my rock of a ring. “I love you too, Pa!” I brought his face to mine, and we kissed, and our kiss was filled with passion. We held each other.
“Oh my God! I’m getting married!” I screamed after a moment, jumping up and down in his arms.
He grinned down at me. “Yes, you are. So can we go and celebrate?” he inquired with a wink.
I slipped off my flip flops and held them in my hand. “No fair. You knew I was going to be up all night.”
He shrugged and laughed. “Yeah, I kinda did.”
I turned to walk toward the cabana. “By the time I get there, I’m going to be naked and waiting,” I threw over my shoulder as I raced back.
“And I’m going to be right behind you,” he called out. He caught up to me with ease, then took his shirt off as I slipped off my sweater.
He picked me up and carried me, as if he was carrying me over the threshold.
“Getting your practice in?” I asked.
“Yep, without a doubt, Mrs. Harper. Without a doubt,” he confirmed and carried me into the cabana.
Oh, yes, tonight would most definitely be an all-nighter. After so much turmoil with Ryan, I finally had a real man who loved me just as much as I loved him. I was so very happy that I, Ms. Charice Taylor, was about to become Mrs. Charice Harper!
Now we just had to break the news to Ryan.
Lucinda
As soon as I got off work, I swore I was going to rip Raul a brand new asshole. This shit with this puto had only gotten worse, and I was beyond livid with him. He paid his child support like he was supposed to, but along with it came a lot of unnecessary drama on account of his ass. Recently, he had popped up three different times at the day care when I was dropping off Nadia. The first time, he had complained that I needed all his money because I created unnecessary expenses, like before-school and after-school care when I could leave Nadia at Shanaya’s house instead. Had he lost his fucking mind? Did he really think I was going to drop my child off with that culo de basura perra, who couldn’t stand the ground I walked on, and trust her with my child?
The second time he had popped up was because his visitation with Nadia was canceled because his mom was sick. Like clockwork, on Monday morning he had shown up and had straight up clowned at the day care. Now, I probably wouldn’t even trip if I knew he was the type of father who truly cared about his daughter, but I knew better. He clowned because he knew he had no choice but to pay that child support, so the only way he could get back at me was to aggravate the shit out of me.
Now, when he had appeared at the day care today, while I was saying good-bye to Nadia, I had sworn this would be his last time, because it was the third time he’d made me late for work in the past two weeks with his antics. He had talked about how it was hard for him to pay that much support for Nadia, because he had to take care of Raulina and Doodlebug too. Now, if you wanted to make a woman mad as hell, you’d let her baby daddy tell her that he felt he was doing “too much” for one child
and had to do for the others, especially when she knew he didn’t really do shit for any of his kids. Raulina’s and Doodlebug’s welfare was between him and the bitches he had lain down with, not between him and me. If he had to get two or three fucking jobs to support all his kids, that was his problem and not mine. My responsibility was to Nadia and my job, which was why I now sat in my supervisor’s office, getting my ass ripped because of my abysmal schedule adherence.
“Lucinda, you are usually our most punctual person. I’m not sure what exactly is going on with you lately, but I can’t overlook these tardies,” Mr. Sharper said to me.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead. “I understand, and I’m sorry.”
“I’m glad you are, but twenty minutes late today, Lucinda? Come on. What’s going on?” he said.
I sat up straight and gripped my hands together to suppress the anger that had welled up inside me. “I took my daughter’s father to court for child support, and he’s been making my life hell. He’s popped up at the day care and picked fights with me just to aggravate me. I’m sorry,” I said, explaining as best I could without breaking down or going off.
He exhaled and sat back. “I like you, Lucinda. I see that you try so hard, and I truly admire that. You know I really don’t want to reprimand you, because we both know you’re the best in this damn department.” He stood and removed his suit jacket before sitting on the desk in front of me. “Do you need time off to be able to handle this situation?” he asked, and I could tell that he was genuinely concerned. “I’m hard pressed right now, but I will grant it for you.”
I shook my head. “Even if that were to help, I can’t afford the time off.” I looked up at him with tears in my eyes. “I’m sorry, Mr. Sharper. I just have a lot that I’m dealing with, and I apologize for being late. I promise it won’t ever happen again,” I told him as slow tears streamed down my face.
He handed me a tissue and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Lucinda. I’m sorry that you are going through so much,” he said as I cried. He patted my back. “It’s okay. Let it out,” he said, and I did.
I would have never let my emotions show like that, but I had been so overwhelmed lately, and I had no one that I could really turn to or talk to, and so my distress came out the only way it could . . . through my tears. Mr. Sharper was a gentleman, though. He patiently allowed me to get it out of my system.
“Thanks for that. I really needed it,” I told him as I dried my face and threw the tissue in the wastebasket.
“You’re welcome,” he said and handed me a sheet.
“What is this?” I asked, confused. It wasn’t a write-up form.
“That is your ‘time off’ request form,” he told me.
I shook my head. “I know that, but it’s blank.”
“It’s the form that I mistakenly misplaced when I gave you the approval to come in thirty minutes late today,” he said. “Remember . . . you put in your request last week and I approved it? Don’t you remember that?”
I smiled and took out a pen to fill out the form. “Oh yes. I thought that you had given this to HR already.” I quickly completed the form and handed it back to him.
“No, I hadn’t. I put it in my file cabinet by accident,” he said as he looked back at his desk calendar to choose a date during the previous week and then signed the form. “I’ll make sure that you get a copy and that I get this over to HR right away. I apologize for the mix-up, Lucinda.”
“It’s no problem. I appreciate you looking into that for me,” I said, standing up.
“It’s no problem at all.” And with that, he walked me to the door.
The first half of my workday was a breeze. I was so relieved about the break Mr. Sharper had cut me that I zipped through the majority of my work by lunchtime. A couple of my nosy coworkers were sorely upset to find out that my tardiness was actually an “approved” request. Ann and Katherine, two of my coworkers who, like me, had been there awhile, were more than happy to see those hating heifers with their mouths wide open. Those heifers claimed I was the “pet” because of my awards, or whatever reason they chose to cook up. People killed me. It was not worth all that for a twelve-dollar-an-hour job, so I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the looks on their faces. They really would’ve flipped if they knew the real deal, but I would never tell that, because Mr. Sharper was a good dude who tried to help this chica out, and I couldn’t be mad at that.
Due to my strained finances, I usually didn’t indulge in eating out, but by lunchtime, I felt so much better that I decided to step outside the box and go with Ann and Katherine to Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint for lunch. No lie. I had a really good time as we ate and chatted it up, and it felt good to get my mind off my problems. That was, until I saw Raul near the entrance to my building when we returned to work.
My heart skipped a beat as my steps slowed behind the ladies. It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the atmosphere. My legs felt like jelly, and it was as if he and I had tunnel vision and saw only each other. I wanted desperately to believe that this visit was nothing to worry about, but the flutter in the pit of my stomach and the tension that crept up the back of my neck told me otherwise. Raul’s steps were fluid as he quickly met me halfway. The look in his eyes was one of sheer determination and pure devilment. He was up to no fucking good.
“This is the fucking reason why you need all this damn money!” he yelled as he got near me. “Eating out and shit!” he hollered, knocking my doggy bag out of my hands.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I yelled and pushed him back a notch. “I’m adding that to my bill, you bastardo.”
“I’m going to sue you for custody of Nadia,” he sneered. “You worthless bitch.”
“I wish you muthafucking might!” I yelled, getting up in his face. “If you don’t get the hell away from me, I’m going to fuck you up!” I snarled.
“Lucinda, are you all right?” Katherine asked, approaching us, with Ann at her side.
“Do we need to call someone?” Ann asked, looking at Raul as if he had better chill the hell out.
Raul looked back at them. “Y’all bitches need to mind your fucking business.”
“No, you need to mind your fucking business and get away from this business. This is my job, Raul. What the hell is wrong with you?” I shouted.
“Oh, I know he didn’t go there!” Ann said, with her head cocked to the side. “Lucinda, you better get him.”
“I’m getting security,” Katherine said, then turned and walked away.
Raul turned quickly, as if he was going to run after Katherine. I jumped in front of him.
“Get away from here!” I yelled, pushing him, and he pushed me back.
“Get your hands off me!” he thundered.
“Get the hell on!” I screamed back as we engaged in a shoving match.
“Stop grabbing her!” Ann yelled at him as Robin, another manager, and her assistant ran from one direction and Katherine and a security guard from the other.
“Stop it now!” the security guard yelled as he pulled us apart.
“What the hell is going on here?” Robin asked sternly.
“He’s trespassing!” I shouted, pointing at Raul.
“And he threatened us!” Katherine added.
“Just calm down, and let’s go discuss this,” the security guard said.
Once the guard was able to de-escalate the situation, he ushered Raul and me to the back of the security office. I had to issue statements and sign forms, like I was being booked. Even though the police arrived and Raul was arrested for trespassing, my attorney would definitely hear about this foolishness the first moment I could speak to him. I was so embarrassed, and of course, the gossip about our fight made it back to the office before I could. Not that I was fit to do any work, but I wasn’t able to get any done, because Ann and Katherine fussed to me about Raul, and the rest of the heifers—who knew we weren’t cool like that—asked questions just to be nosy. Hell, I hadn’t been at my
desk a good hour when Mr. Sharper called my desk phone and asked me to meet him in his office to discuss what had happened. Needing the break, I slowly got up and headed to his office.
“You wanted to see me?” I asked, standing timidly at his open door.
He sighed. “Yes. Please come in.” He motioned for me to enter. When I did, he said, “Shut the door, please.”
Standing in front of his desk, I began, “I know what you’re—”
“Lucinda, please have a seat,” he said, stopping me.
“If you will just allow me to explain.”
“I will. Just please sit down.” His tone was polite, which gave me a bit of comfort, so I pulled the chair back to sit down. “Please continue,” he said as soon as I was seated.
I went into the entire story, from when I saw Raul at the entrance to the building up to the point when the police hauled him off. “And that’s the story. I’m so sorry this happened, but I assure you, it won’t again. I’m going to see my attorney first thing in the morning,” I said matter-of-factly.
Heaving a sigh, he sat back, with his fingertips to his lips. At first, I thought he was in deep contemplation, but the more I focused on him, the more I realized he looked unsure and sympathetic but mostly troubled, in turmoil even.
“What is it?” I asked him.
He closed his eyes, and I saw his jaw twitch. “I should have followed my first mind. I knew I should’ve just given you the rest of the day off today, but you insisted that you couldn’t afford it.”
I leaned forward, with my hands on his desk. I was afraid now. Something wasn’t right. “Mr. Sharper, what is it?” I asked more forcefully and deliberately.
“Lucinda.” He paused, and when he looked at me, I knew it wasn’t good. It wasn’t good at all. “Lucinda, I have to . . . I must . . . I have to let you go,” he stammered.
“Wh-what?” I asked, the word barely audible. I knew he hadn’t said what I thought he had, and even if he had, surely he had to mean for the rest of the day. “What do you mean, ‘let me go’?”