Trust A Broken Heart

by Ivy Symone

  “I know,” she said rubbing his arm affectionately. “You wanna hear my story now?”

  “I should have been known about your story.” He was somewhat angered by it all.

  “Yeah, you probably should have. But…Let’s just say, I felt like your purpose wasn’t to hear my story. Your purpose was simply to give me purpose again and give me what I had lost. I didn’t need you carrying my sorrows along with yours.”

  “But you carried mine?”

  “No, I didn’t. I acknowledged your sorrows and tried to help you get back to your regular self.”

  “I don’t think it worked.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I mean, I guess it did. Having you next door, then Mikael came along, and after that Yanis came…It helped me to snap out of my funk many times. But as far as the old me…I’ve gotten a lot softer. But you, you’re who I used to be. You’re that version of me that felt like he needed to rescue and love Miki; I guess like you loved and rescued me.”

  “See, I told you. That’s why you didn’t need to know my story.”

  He sighed. “Well, what’s your story, Nola?”

  “I had just come out of my own funk when I first met you. I had lost the girls just a year before. Have you ever noticed that every year on the Fourth I leave, and come back later? It’s not that I’m going to see my mama in Columbia. I go to the crash site and give it a fresh dressing of flowers and the girls favorite things. I had just come back from doing that when Marshawn introduced us. I felt something, like I knew you were hurting before I even knew your story. We had sex, and a month later I had a dream about the girls. They were doing a lot of laughing and being silly. They kept telling me they had a surprise for me. They told me to close my eyes. When I opened them, they were gone but had left me a little blue box, but I could still hear them laughing; I just couldn’t see them. That blue box was Mikael.

  “The only time I didn’t get to make it there on the Fourth was last year and it was because I was giving birth to Yanis. You have no idea the joy that was running through me that day. No amount of pain could mess that up. I was ecstatic, but what did I do when I got discharged from the hospital?”

  Bebe nodded with a chuckled as he recalled having to argue with her about driving to Columbia three days after giving birth to their son.

  “I had to thank my girls,” she explained.

  “Yeah, now I get it. So, they died in a car accident?”

  She nodded. “I blamed myself. I shouldn’t have trusted Cedric. It was him and Sha. If Cedric’s mama got Ayanna, she would get Makayla too. She thought of Makayla as her granddaughter too. I was in Columbia celebrating the Fourth, but I wanted the girls with me. Cedric volunteered to bring them to me. Against my better judgment, I gave him the go ahead. They never made it. My girls died, Sha walked away with a scratch, and Cedric broke a few bones. And you know the worst part of it all? It’s rumored that Sha was the one in the driver’s seat. Cedric didn’t want her to get in trouble for it. He took the charge. He’s out on parole after doing five years after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of vehicular manslaughter. After tonight, he might be going back though.”

  “Did he try to hurt you tonight? Was it assault?”

  “We were arguing, and it was getting heated. He had been drinking and I warned him don’t walk up on me or I was gonna shoot his ass. He tried me and I had to show him. But I didn’t aim to kill; just immobilize him for a minute.”

  “Damn Nola, I had no idea.” Bebe was floored. If he didn’t think she was special before, he was definitely seeing her in a different light now.

  “That’s the point. You weren’t supposed to have an idea. And I didn’t care that you never showed interest in my past either. It worked out for me because I was trying to leave it where it was and deal with it privately.”

  “But if I had known Nola, I wouldn’t have thrown up Miki in your face like I did so many times.”

  “That was cool too.”

  “Stop saying everything was cool. Regardless of how strong you wanna come off, at the end of the day, you deserve to be loved like anyone else.”

  “So, are you saying if you had known, you would have been willing to love me sooner?”

  “Sooner? I’ve always loved you. I was just afraid. I felt like I was betraying Miki. I thought she was the only true love I was supposed to ever have.”

  “But how could you not feel you deserved another chance at love, Bebe? And as for Miki, she was special to you. You never had to let her go; I just wanted you to make room for me too. Because your love for Miki made you who I needed you to be to help me cope with my loss.”

  “So, what do you need of me now?”

  She shrugged. “Keep being you. Keep letting me love you and the kids.”

  “That’s not a problem,” he smiled.

  “And cancel that damn party. I mean it. That’s some corny ass shit.”

  “I’ve already given deposits on everything!” he laughed.

  “Bebe, you know I don’t like that kind of shit. You don’t have to go over the top to let me know how you feel about me. When you told me you loved me for the first time today, that was enough.”

  “I do. I always have. I’ve even hated you because I loved you so much. I get angry when you talk to another man. I get jealous, and I ain’t no jealous nigga. You make me feel loved and cared for, and I ain’t used to that. I’m usually the one doing all of the caring and loving. And I know if you moved away, I wouldn’t be able to function. You made me so mad talking that shit about moving.”

  “I’m still going,” she joked.

  “Bih—Man! I almost called you a bitch,” he exclaimed.

  She laughed. “I heard it.”

  “Stop playing with me, Nola.”

  “Okay, okay. I’m not moving.”

  A thought came to him, and he asked out of curiosity. “Who is Makayla’s father, and where is he?”

  She grinned, “Just take a wild guess.”

  He was thrown off at first but then he gave it serious thought. Just off the top of his head, he threw out there, “Is it Dorian?”

  She confirmed with a nod.

  Bebe scoffed shaking his head. “It makes sense then. I have one more question.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “When is Dinky and Nephia gonna stop playing and just tell me they fucking?”

  Nola burst into laughter. “You ain’t shit!”

  Happy Endings….

  Maybe?

  Friday, August 17, 2018

  N ola looked at the time displayed on her phone. Their appointment was five minutes away, but no Bebe in sight.

  Did he change his mind? Was he having cold feet? Was he questioning his love for her again? Was he wrestling with his thoughts thinking he was betraying Miki again?

  She didn’t understand. They discussed this and said it was what they wanted. She was the one that was skeptical at first because she didn’t want Bebe to marry her because it was the right thing to do just because she was pregnant again. He assured her it wasn’t. And for the past few weeks he had more than proven himself to be deeply in love with her. He told her every chance he got that he loved her. She was quickly becoming spoiled to all of his catering ways.

  They decided to skip the traditional way of doing things and get married before the Justice of the Peace. They had already obtained a marriage license and scheduled the time to go before the judge for this day.

  Still no Bebe.

  The last text Nola sent Bebe hadn’t been answered so she decided to call him instead.

  “Hey baby,” Bebe answered. He sounded a little off.

  “Where are you?” she whispered into the phone.

  “I had to meet Dinky down here at the job site. There was a lot of confusion and I had to straighten it out.”

  “Why Dinky couldn’t handle it? Do you know what today is? Have you forgotten that quick? Didn’t we wake up in the same bed this morning talking about this is the bi
g day? How come your ass ain’t here with me?”

  “See if you can reschedule it because there’s no way I’ma make it,” he said.

  “Bebe! I ain’t rescheduling shit. I told you don’t stand me up.”

  “I know bae, but…” his voice trailed into a weary sigh. “Deja’s friend needs my help with moving to Jewel City today too. I would say you can go with me, but you’d be too uncomfortable. I’m—”

  “Are you fucking serious?” Nola yelled drawing attention to herself. She hopped up from the little bench she was sitting on and made her way around people.

  “Bae, calm down. I forgot I told her I’d help her move. Just reschedule it and I promise I’ll be there.”

  “So, will you be back in time to even go to Bless’ honorary dinner tomorrow?” Nola asked.

  “Shit. That’s tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Bebe! I’m so sick of you. Don’t talk to me ever again. And I’m glad I’m keeping my house because I ain’t moving in with you. Ooh! I wanna call you a bitch so bad! Ugh! You make me sick!”

  Saturday, August 18, 2018

  Nola was running late for Bless’ honorary dinner because she waited until the last minute to get dressed. She had considered not going at all because Bebe had her in such a foul mood. She couldn’t talk about it with anyone because no one was supposed to know they were getting hitched. Besides, she found it embarrassing to be stood up.

  The only reason she decided to attend the dinner anyway was because Bless begged her to show up. The YWCA wanted to recognize, and honor Bless for her outstanding work on domestic violence awareness. She wouldn’t be the only honoree of course, but it was important for her family to be there. Since Bebe and Deja would be absent, Nola couldn’t allow Bless to be completely disappointed.

  Of all places to have this dinner they had to have it at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. The place was gorgeous, but it was huge. Didn’t nobody have time for all of that walking!

  God must have been on her side because before she could get out of her truck fully, a man in one of those shuttle carts pulled up and asked her if he could give her a lift.

  “You sure can,” she told him.

  She got comfortable and pulled her phone out to check it for any missed calls or texts from Bebe. He had texted and called her all night long. She ignored ninety-nine percent of them. She only responded to him when he let her know he was safe and was about to call it a night. He told her he loved her and asked for her forgiveness for the hundredth time. She reciprocated the words but that was about it.

  To her surprise, he hadn’t called or texted her all day. The other strange thing was she hadn’t heard from Kennedi either. Joyce had agreed to let all of the kids stay over for the weekend, but none of them had bothered her like they normally did whenever they were away.

  She called Nephia’s phone.

  Nephia answered on about the third ring and sounded out of breath. “Hey!”

  “You okay? Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “No, just trying to find this ballroom,” Nephia said.

  “Oh good, you’re already here. I was just trying to find somebody I could meet. I’m being shuttled to the front of the hotel right now.”

  “Oh great. You want me to meet you there? Because I have no idea where Bless is.”

  “Yeah, meet me there please.”

  Minutes later, Nola was hurrying into the hotel lobby where Nephia was waiting for her.

  When she saw Nephia, she gasped. “You look absolutely stunning.”

  Nephia completely ignored her compliment and raved over how Nola looked. Nola rarely dressed formally. To see her in her off white gown flowing in the wind like she was some pregnant fairy princess was absolutely breathtaking.

  “Oh my God, I’m about to cry,” Nephia said as she tried to cover her mouth. She took in all of Nola. Her wild natural coils had been straightened and barreled curled in a style that put her face on full display. Nola embellished it with a floral headpiece. Her makeup was done but kept very natural and light. The dress she wore was off the shoulders and showcased her full cleavage tastefully. The material was fitted and put her baby bump front and centered, but it was under a layer of lace that flowed in the air. On Nola’s feet were a simple pair of strappy heels that showed off her rose-colored painted toenails.

  “What is wrong with you?” Nola looked at Nephia like she had lost her mind.

  “You’re just so pretty,” Nephia sniffled.

  “Girl, if you don’t stop,” Nola said. “Now which way is this damn ballroom.”

  “Well we gotta go to the atrium first,” she said.

  “The atrium?” Nola was confused. “Why?”

  “Just come on,” Nephia said. As she spoke and walked ahead, she tapped around on her phone.

  “Look here Neph. Don’t have me going all over this big ass hotel.”

  “I’m not,” she laughed.

  Nola didn’t say anything else. She just continued to follow Nephia. When Nephia reached the beginning of the area called the Delta Atrium, she told Nola to wait right there and she disappeared behind a wall of greenery.

  Nola was mesmerized by how beautiful the Opryland’s atrium was. The way the lighting bounced off the glass, and the fact that she could see the clear blue skies and white fluffy clouds was everything. She always dreamed of having a wedding at this place. Especially in the atrium where it was so much greenery and botanical amazement. Then there were the Cascades Atrium Waterfalls and the sounds of a gentle, mind drifting harp playing. It was all just dreamy.

  “Nola?”

  She spun around and was shocked to see her father.

  “Daddy, what are you doing here? You didn’t tell me you would be here this weekend?”

  “I couldn’t tell you,” he grinned. He opened his arms to take her in for a big hug.

  She fell into his arms but noticed he was wearing all white; linen to be exact. He was also holding a beautiful handmade bejeweled bouquet of white roses.

  “Daddy, what is this?” she asked once she pulled away. “Why are you holding a bouquet? And what do you mean you couldn’t tell me?”

  “It would have ruined the surprise.”

  “What surprise?” she asked.

  He held out his elbow for her to take and he handed her the bouquet.

  “Just so you know, I’ve always liked Bebe,” he told her with a meaningful grin.

  “What?” she was confused.

  He led her behind the wall of greenery where Nephia had disappeared. On cue, the magical sounds of the harp stopped playing and Billy Preston’s and Syreeta Wright’s duet With You I’m Born Again started playing softly.

  Come bring me, your softness

  Comfort me through all this madness

  Woman don’t you know with you, I’m born again…

  When Jerry walked Nola into the area where approximately two hundred guests had been seated in beautifully decorated chairs and stood up as soon as they appeared, it hit Nola. She didn’t have time to even process it before her emotions took over, and everyone released their ahh’s and ohh’s.

  She started crying before Jerry could start their walk down the aisle. She recognized so many smiling faces, and all she would be able to think of later was how in the hell did he pull that off.

  Nola tried to take in as much as possible from the décor, the lighting, who all was there, and what everyone was wearing. It seemed to be an all-white affair that went perfectly with the decorations. Then another revelation occurred to her. This was her dream wedding! This was everything she ever wanted. How?

  Everyone was there. The kids, Marshawn, Dinky, Nephia, Deja, Danette, and even Keyma’s ass. But the one person who made Nola fall apart was her mother. Her mother was sitting in the front row, weighing the lowest she had ever weighed Nola’s whole adult life. And besides being in the hospital for health reasons and the actual bariatric surgery, Nola hadn’t seen her mother outside of her granny’s house in years.

  “M
ama,” Nola cried. She broke away from Jerry to throw herself into her mother’s arms where she sobbed her heart out.

  “You’re so beautiful baby,” Gwendolyn cried.

  “I can’t believe you’re here,” Nola cried. “You’re here in Nashville!”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  “You look so good, Mama. I love you,” Nola sniffled.

  “I love you too baby. Now go up there and marry that man.”

  That man. He stood there in his all white linen looking more delicious than she had ever seen him. The white fabric complemented the richness of his smooth milky complexion. He looked like a chocolate candy bar in a white wrapper.

  He wore a smug smirk on his face that tickled her soul. She tried to laugh through her happy tears, but it wasn’t working.

  She could kill Bebe for doing this, but she loved every bit of it. It was the best surprise a girl could ask for.

  When Jerry handed Nola off to Bebe, she wrapped her arms around him tight, never wanting to let him go. He held onto her, comforting her as she sobbed with joy. Everyone witnessing the moment was moved to their own tears.

  “Baby, it’s okay,” Bebe whispered to her.

  “I know,” she cried. She tried to stop and wipe away the mess she made on her face. Bless tiptoed over to the rescue with tissue and blotted at her face, before giving her more tissue and hurrying back over to take her place as one of the bridesmaids.

  Nola finally gathered herself together enough to whisper, “I’ma kick your ass for this.”

  “I already know, but you gotta admit, I did good.”

  “You got me.”

  “That was the whole idea. I love you, Nola.”

  “I love you too, Bebe.”

  And in that moment, she was so thankful and grateful that he had trusted her with his shattered heart, because her heart had been broken, and made whole in the process of loving him.

  Happy endings, everyone!

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6