I sat back in my seat and said, “Bree, yes, you were wrong for pushing T’eo away because he is a good guy. However, you also have to look out for yourself because it is easy to lose yourself in a person and let your hard work slip away—not knowing it is slipping through your hands until it slipped so far to the point it’s too late to redeem yourself.”
I looked in the mirror as I wiped my eyes and said to myself, they are right, I do not know how to be in a relationship anymore and be all about me too. I am scared. I do not want to lose myself. I do not want to set myself up for failure all because it didn’t work out. I am so focused on completing the task I started because the finish line is right in front of me.
I turned on the radio and one of my favorite songs was playing, You Gotta Be by Des’ree. My spirit was lifted as I started to sing out loud! This song was meant for me and came on at the right time. After the song ended, I turned off my radio. Sat there for a minute, smiled and said to myself, well Bree, you can always go home and study. You cannot go wrong with getting a little studying in.
I pulled up my seat, programmed my Bluetooth to my radio, buckled up my seatbelt, put the car in drive and headed home. As I pulled in the driveway, I cut the car off and was about to gather up my things. I got a text message from T’eo saying, I was busy, but if you have time you are more than welcome to stop by. I smiled and said to myself, yeah right, his ass wasn’t busy, he is trying to prove a point, that’s why he stalls up time. I am going to let him think I believed he was busy. I spoke into the voice text and said, “Okay Google, text T’eo and say, Okay, I am on my way.”
It began to rain as I pulled up at T’eo’s apartment. I blew my horn to give T’eo a heads-up that I was outside. I hurried out of the car and ran to the door. I knocked, and he took forever to come to the door. When I was about to run back to my car the doorknob turned as he opened the door. Teo said, “Were you about to leave?” I answered, “Yes, you took forever and a day to come to the door. The hoodie on my coat is getting soaked and I cannot afford to catch a cold. What were you doing in there?” He looked at me and said, “I didn’t hear a knock on the door.” I said, “Well you need to invest in a doorbell. I think that would help.”
He was leaning on the door. I arched my eyebrows and said, “Well… are you going to invite me in, or what?” He held out his hand, smirked and said, “I guess you can come in. …but if you’re going to break my heart again then I’m going to have to say no.” I stepped one foot in the door and he asked, “Are you coming here to break my heart?” I looked at T’eo and said, “T’eo, I apologize if I broke your heart. I think we both need to talk so we can have an understanding about both of our goals and our relationship. It was never my intention to break your heart. I would never want to break your heart. Ever.”
T’eo said, “I forgive you, Breana the Brave. You are getting drenched out there. Come on in.” I softly punched him in the chest and said, “Leave it up to you, you were going to let me stay out there in the pouring rain.” T’eo looked at me, laughed and said, “No, that was your choice to stay outside and talk in the rain. I asked, are you going to break my heart again? You could have said no as you stepped in the house. You were the one rambling in the rain.”
I softly punched him again, this time in the arm, as I said, “So you took what I said as me running my mouth.” He reached for my coat as he took it off and replied, “No. I believe everything you said. What I am saying is, you were the one who kept talking in the rain.” I started to shake my head and said, “Okay, this is going to be an agree to disagree conversation.”
I looked around, sat on the couch and said, “I see you changed a couple of things around.” He replied from his room, “Bree, you notice everything. What did I change?” I laughed and said, “Whatever. Well… since you asked. Once before when I walked in the house you had the black stallion picture on the left side of the wall. Now you’ve put it on the right, so now when you close the front door and sit on the couch the picture entertains your guest. You changed the loveseat. Before, it was on the right side against the wall. Now it’s on the left side of the room near the window and the sofa took its place. You blew up your mother’s picture and put it on the wall above your TV. T’eo, she’s so beautiful!”
He was doing something in his room and said, “Yep, you are right. I changed it around a little just to see something different. And thank you, my mother said you are beautiful too.” I sat back on the couch and said, “T’eo, what are you doing in there?” He walked out and said, “I had to find you another coat because that was one was soaked. I found you a hoodie, sweat pants and socks that you might like. That way you can take off those wet clothes.” I couldn’t help but blush when I asked, “That’s what you were doing in there the whole time?” He smiled as he handed me the clothes and said, “Yep.” I reached for them and said, “Well… thank you. I appreciate it. Before I change clothes, I have to run out to the car to get a couple of things.” As he walked to the door he put on his coat and said, “Don’t worry about it, I will get them. Are your things in the front or back seat?” “They are in the backseat on the driver’s side. They are the only bags that are back there.” T’eo opened the door and said, “Okay, you go change in the bathroom and I’ll get the bags.”
I hurried up and changed my clothes before T’eo made it back in the house. He walked in and said, “Dang, Superwoman, you changed clothes fast!” I was sitting on the loveseat in his gray Nike sweat suit, which was really comfortable. He sat the bags down by the TV and said, “Okay, we have to talk.” He walked over and sat beside me. As I folded up my legs together on the side, rested my hand on the side of my face with the couch supporting my elbow, I said, “I agree. We have to talk.” T’eo said, “You look very pretty in my sweatsuit.” I blushed and said, “Thank you.”
T’eo scooted a little closer and said, “Breana, I apologize if you didn’t think I took your studies seriously. I know you set goals for yourself. That is one reason why I admire you so much. You know I have goals too. I came from barely anything because my mother worked so hard to make a living for us. I want to be counted and do something with my life. I want to make my mother happy so she can see that her hard work wasn’t in vain. I also want to get her out of poverty. She has an education, but only a high school education. A little college, but she gave it up when my father moved her to the States. That is when she got pregnant with me and she didn’t fulfill her dreams because she made sure she gave me her everything and all. So, Breana, I value education. Just like you, I want to be successful.”
I touched his hand and said, “T’eo it wasn’t you—it was me. You don’t have to apologize for anything. I accept your apology and I apologize too because I honestly gave up on us after school started. I know I say the word “I” a lot, it’s because I worked hard to get here. I am the one who put in the time, the effort, and set my mind to accomplish my goals and challenges. I know my parents and friends have helped me along the way, and I appreciate that, but I am the one who put everything in motion. I just want to successfully finish what I’ve started. However, I might add, it would be great knowing I have someone on the road to success with me. We can share each other’s journey along the way. How does that sound?”
T’eo smiled and said, “Bree, I accept your apology as well.” He continued, “I would love for us to share each other’s journey. That sounds perfect!” He kissed me and said, “So will you be my lady again?” I rolled my eyes and said, “Um… let me think about it.”
I told him to close his eyes. T’eo is so silly, he put his hands over his eyes. He spread his fingers as he was curious to see what I was going to do. I looked at him, laughed and said, “Stop peeking! You’re cheating!” He said, “What you mean.” He kept peeking and I said, “Never mind, take your hands down, cheater.” He laughed. I got up and put the bags in front of him and said, “Happy Valentine’s Day!” T’eo was in a state of shock and asked with exc
itement, “These bags are for me?” His facial expression touched my heart. I smiled and laughed at the same time and said, “Yes, they are.”
He opened the Build-A-Bear box and had a good laugh! He said, “This bear is supposed to be me?” We both were laughing as I said, “Yep, you all day!” He looked at the bear and was going to town having a good laugh he said, “This bear has on a plain t-shirt, cut up pants and flip-flops!” He was tickled with joy as he said, “Ha! Yep, this is me all day! You have a sense of humor, Bree!” He admired the bear and said, “I love it, Bree! Thank you!” I gently smiled and said, “You’re more than welcome, Mr. Flip Flop man of all four seasons.” He laughed, “Sometimes I cannot find my shoes and it is easier to just slip on some comfy shoes.” I started to shake my head and said, “Lazy. Just Lazy.”
I loved to see him happy. I said, “I have another bag for you.” He said excitedly, as his voice cracked a little, “No way! Are you kidding me!” I nodded my head as I said, “Nope!” He reached for the bag and opened it. He took out three boxes. The first small silver box had a cream bow on top. T’eo opened it and saw a keychain engraved with his name on it. He freaked out and said, “Oh wow! This is so perfect! I love this!” He got off the couch and walked to the kitchen to get his keys. As he was putting his keys on the keychain he looked at it, smiled and said, “Bree, I really love it!”
I smiled, and said with excitement, “Open the other boxes!” He opened a smaller box and inside was an engraved money clip. He was happy when he said, “Breana, this is exactly what I needed! Thank you so much!” He looked at it as he read his name so softly, “T’eo”.
He opened another box and asked, “I wonder what this is?” As he opened it, he saw it was a leather wallet with his name engraved on it. He jumped up and said, “Breana, how did you know I needed a wallet? Thank you so much! You didn’t know how badly I needed it.” I smiled and said, “I noticed every time you took out your money that you always crumpled it in your front pocket.” T’eo had tears in his eyes as he said, “You noticed that.” I nodded my head yes. I caught his tears with my thumbs, wiped them away and asked, “Why are you crying?” T’eo said as he rested his hands on my wrist, “You are too good to me, I do not deserve someone like you. You pay attention to the smallest things and the smallest things are what count.”
I started to tear up and said, “T’eo, you always deserve the best. If I could give you more, I would.” He sniffled and said, “Breana, you have given me more than enough.” I said, “I have two more gifts.” I asked him to look in the Things Remembered bag, and he pulled out the card. I said, “That’s one gift.” As I reached in my purse I said, “Read the card later.” I pulled out a silver box and it had a red bow on it. I said, “Let’s untie the bow together.” I touched his hands gently as we untied the bow. We took the lid off the box together. T’eo said, “You are filled with all kinds of surprises today.” Inside there were two puzzle pendant necklaces. One puzzle piece had his name on it and the other puzzle piece had my name on it. I took out the puzzle piece that had my name engraved on it and put it around his neck and said, “Yes, I would like to be your lady again.” His was smile wider than it would ever be as he put his puzzle piece around my neck and said, “I wouldn’t have it another way.” We kissed. And I said, “Wait. Look in the Publix bag.” T’eo paused and said, “No way, something else!” He opened the bag and pulled out the heart cake and food. We ate our Valentine’s Day dinner and dessert as we enjoyed each other’s presence.
He said quickly, “Wait... Wait… I got you something too. What time is it?” He looked at his watch and said, “Oh shoot, we have thirty minutes to get there!” I was looking lost as I said, “What?” He said in a rush, “Bree, I’ll tell you later.” He put on his coat and put one of his coats on me. He ran in his room and got two knitted hats his mother had made before she left, and a huge umbrella. I said, “Where did you get this umbrella?” As he opened the door, he asked, “Really, Bree?” I said, “Yeah, I’ve never seen that umbrella in here before.” T’eo smiled, “You do not miss a beat. Like I said earlier, you noticed everything.”
As he opened the car door he said, “I bought this umbrella just for this occasion. The forecast said it was going to rain today. I had to make sure I was prepared.” I said, “Oh, well… where are we going?” T’eo started to drive and said, “You will see when we get there.” We arrived at our destination. We were at Sky View, Atlanta’s Ferris wheel. We got into one of the pods that was tinted black. I said, “I didn’t know you had to make a reservation.” T’eo said, “You don’t, but I knew they were closing soon and I knew they were going to be busy today. A friend of mine returned a favor.” I looked puzzled as I said, “Returned the favor…” T’eo started to shake his head, “Bree, I tutored a friend and helped with math class in return for this favor. I didn’t want to wait in line and I wanted to have a pod with tinted windows.” I smiled and hugged him and said, “Aww you did that for me?” He smiled, “Although I was ignoring you I still was going to do something for you on Valentine’s Day.” I blushed, “Aww, you are so sweet. That is why you are my sweet honey bun!” As the Farris wheel started to turn the city view was beautiful! We cuddled up together and it was a perfect, cold, cozy rainy evening.
Fifteen minutes later after we got off, he asked, “Are you warm?” I said, “Yes.” As he held me close, he said, “Great!” He pointed to a white Cinderella carriage with white horses. It was breathtaking. I said, “Look at that! It looks like a fairy tale. Wow, it’s so beautiful! The rain puddles and the wet streets complement the city lights and show its reflection. The horses are so beautiful!”
The horses and carriage stopped in front of us. I stepped back and said, “I wish we could get on the carriage and ride around the city.” The coachman opened the door. He wore white gloves, a white tux, a fancy white hat, and he said, “Welcome aboard, young lady.” As I looked around, I saw a couple of people looking like they were waiting in line to get on the carriage. I said, “Thank you sir, but this ride isn’t for us.” T’eo took my hand and said, “Let me help you.” I screamed with excitement as I put my hand to my mouth and said, “T’eo! No! Are you serious?” He kissed my forehead and said, “You looked so beautiful when you put your hand over your mouth.” He laughed, “This is not a fairy tale. This is reality; and this is for you, my love.” I said, “T’eo, we are not dressed the part. We’re wearing sweat suits!” He smiled and said, “Who said we have to be dressed a certain way to enjoy the one we love?”
I stepped into the carriage. Oh, my gosh, it was beautiful! There were pink roses and Mumba’s (my favorite candy) on the red cotton seats. I laughed, and T’eo said, “Instead of chocolate, I wanted to give you your favorite candy.” I started to cry and couldn’t stop as I said over and over again, “T’eo, this is beautiful!” As the carriage started to move, I asked, “When did you do all of this? How did you know you were going to see me on Valentine’s Day?” T’eo replied, “Well… I knew I couldn’t afford it all. I only had half. I told your parents what I wanted to do and they helped me out with the rest.” He laughed and said, “Even Summer wanted to chip in but I didn’t take her money.” I was crying and laughing at the same time and said happily, “What! Are you serious?” With tears in his eyes, T’eo said, “Yep. I wanted to make it special for you. I knew I was going to see you because I had faith and I had a plan.” He looked at me as he smirked, arched his left eyebrow and said, “I learned from the best that having a plan is a good thing. Therefore, I had faith and followed my plan.”
As we rode around the city, we talked as I laid my head on his shoulder and enjoyed the city lights. I never imagined someone would go out of their way to do something so special for me. After the ride, I asked the coachman what the horses’ names were. He said their names were Bonnie and Clyde. I walked over to Bonnie and Clyde, I patted them and rubbed their faces and said, “Thank you!” They both nodded their heads as if they were saying,
“You’re welcome.” The coach said, “Normally, they do not like when people touch them.” I smiled and said, “We share the same high vibration and our frequencies are balanced.” The coachman didn’t get it.
As T’eo and I crossed the street it started to rain again. T’eo opened his huge umbrella as we took a stroll in Centennial Park. It was perfect! The rain soothed our souls and we realized we were surely the missing pieces to each other’s puzzle. I put my arm through and softly asked, “T’eo, would you like to take me to the prom?” He stopped walking. He kissed me and said, “I would love to take you to your senior prom.” As we walked through the park, we talked about what colors we were going to wear, our ride to the prom, and so much more. We walked around the park until it closed. This day was one of the best days of my life! It was more than perfect!
21
Chapter twenty-one
T’eo’s and my relationship is better than ever! Most of our
dates are at the coffee shop as we study together, at the park if the weather allows, the library, at his place or mine, and sometimes we sit in the Farmer’s Market as we make a plate and sit in the eating area and study. I took everyone’s advice that it isn’t all about work and no play. We’ve taken time out to go skating, to the movies, and bowling, and to T’eo’s favorite place, Dave & Buster’s. I ’ll admit they were right. When I was studying all the time it felt like a job nonstop and I put so much pressure on myself. When I learned to let go, study, and play, my life became more balanced than ever. I feel more alive, free and a lot happier. What tops it off is, my grades are amazing! I have straight A’s! If you’re wondering, I didn’t quit my job, I told my supervisor that I have to focus on my studies this term but every now and then I clock in just stay in the loop with my crew. I love them, and we have so much fun when we work together. Overall, I am glad my supervisor understands and supports me 100%.
Unapologetic for My Flaws and All Page 23