Well… here goes nothing.
“Kiyah and I have been married for the past seven years.”
Kiyah
We rode back to town in utter silence, not wanting to rehash the disastrous meeting with Uncle Ant and Ms. Simone after our marriage bombshell. Instead of turning fire engine red, all color drained from Uncle Ant’s face, and Ms. Simone had to remind the man to breathe. Once he regained a little composure, he pushed away from the table and limped out of the coffee shop with his cane. Ms. Simone tried to smile encouragingly, but the disappointment turned her beautiful smile into a crooked, misshapen grimace. She stood from the table, gathered her purse, and said they were never there and the conversation never happened. She requested that we be respectful and keep our secret to ourselves untilafterher baby’s wedding. Thenshe left, muttering about how we tried to put her husband in a premature grave.
This is going to be a shit show. If that’s how Uncle Ant and Ms. Simone reacted, then I can’t imagine how Mom and Dad will react.
“I think that went well,” Grant said, parking the car in the driveway. I side-eyed him and unbuckled my seatbelt.
“I’m concerned about your definition of ‘well.’ Uncle Ant looked like he was about to stroke out.
Grant’s lips wiggled as he held back a grin. I mentally prepared myself for whatever foolishness would come out of his mouth.
“At least Granddad would have company.”
“You’re sick.”
He shrugged callously. “To be honest, Ki, I don’t give a damn. I don’t think you understand how relieved I feel that someone outside of us knows. It’s so freeing.”
“I understand, but we shouldn’t leave victims in our wake.”
He narrowed his alluring eyes at me before saying, “We never got your cell phone.”
“It’s fine, Grant. We can get it later,” I said, leaving the car.
“It’s not fine. But I suppose there’s nothing I can do about it at the moment. I’ll have a new one for you by tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. Can you order me an Uber? We should’ve gotten my bike when we had the chance.”
“And we would’ve, but you couldn’t keep your hands off of me,” he said teasingly as he ordered my rideshare. I rolled my eyes and circled back to the backyard. I sat on the teak hanging porch swing bed and tucked my feet beneath me. Grant joined me and didn’t resist smashing me against the gray and white striped pillows. “Your ride will be here in twenty minutes.”
“You picked the furthest one away.”
“You know me so well,” he sighed, nuzzling his face into my neck. I stroked his blonde hair as we swayed gently in the breeze. I was strangely at peace despite the earlier calamity, and being with Grant at that moment felt like Heaven. I pictured lazy weekend afternoons basking in the sun after we stuffed ourselves silly with barbecue. We’d be too tired to move and too content to care.
My nose wrinkled when I felt Grant’s tongue on my neck. “You taste spicy,” he mumbled.
“That would be my perfume.”
He snorted and ran a hand over my abdomen.
“Ki?”
“What’s up?”
“Stay away from Thaddeus Branson. I know he seems nice and charming, but you know who can be nice and charming, too?”
“Who?” I whispered.
“The devil.”
* * *
I was combing my hair at my vanity when I heard a knock on the door. I glanced at my unexpected visitor through the mirror. “Hey, Dad. What’s up?”
“May I come in?”