“And I want themarriage,” Knuck replied, calm but solid. “I want the moment too, but I want it wit’her, not wit’ 200 people we barely know.”
“She deserves her day,” my mother shot back at him.
“And I’ll give it to her,” he said. “Whatever she wants. But we gettin’ married by the end of next month.”
Carl finally spoke. “That means y’all got some quick planning to do, my guy.”
Knuck looked at me. “I ain’t stoppin’ you from havin’ the vibe you want, baby. I’ll do anything for you. I just ain’t waitin’ for the social media lavish shit for us to be official.”
“I want my day to be perfect,” I said. “I wanna be your wife now, but I also want arealwedding, Keon. I’m not budging on that.”
His jaw locked, and he gulped down the rest of his mimosa. Then, he stood up. “I gotta take a piss.”
Rolling my eyes, I shook my head, and Carl sighed as he reached for my hand. “It’ll come together, Ny.”
My mother sipped her mimosa but didn’t look happy. “This is crazy.”
???
T h ec a rr i d ehome was filled with tension. Kassim was snoring in the backseat and I leaned up against the passenger door, scrolling through my phone just to keep my hands busy. My nails tapped softly against the screen, but my mind wasn’t on anything I was looking at. I was mad as fuck.
Lunch had not gone the way I imagined it. My mother came full-speed, pushing her ideas like she had already paid a deposit somewhere. Knuck didn’t budge one bit or even try to sugarcoat it. His ass didn’t care how it made her feel or me, for that matter.He just shut everything down in front of everybody like it wasn’t a big deal.
We barely made it out of the restaurant before I grabbed the baby and walked ahead. I didn’t even want him to open the door for me. I got Kassim settled in the car, then slid in the passenger seat without a word, and I hadn’t said one since. Now we were halfway home, and he hadn’t said shit either.
Knuck didn’t ask if I was good. He just sat there like everything was cool, one hand on the wheel, the other resting low on his thigh, eyes straight ahead like he didn’t just embarrass me in front of my family. I turned my head and looked out the window, letting my lips press into a tight line. I was so deep in my head I didn’t even notice the music had gone low until I heard his voice.
“You got some shit you wanna say?” I remained silent, still scrolling my phone like I was too unbothered to care. He turned the music all the way down. “I’m talkin’ to you, Ny.”
I let out a slow breath. “Don’t start with me, Keon.”
“Nah, fuck all that. You been actin’ like you got an attitude since we left that table.”
I turned to him slowly. “Because Ido.”
He laughed once, all dry and sarcastic. “For what? ‘Cause I ain’t let your mama plan our whole fuckin’ weddin’?”
I snapped. “Because youembarrassedme! You made me look powerless in all this! You can’t just disrespect people like that, especially mymother!”
“I talked to her like a man who ain’t gon’ let nobody else dictateourshit.”
“It wasn’t aboutdictating. It was about respecting the fact that I have a vision too! One that doesn’t include you shutting it down like I’m stupid for wanting it.”
He sucked his teeth and shook his head, jaw tightening. “Man, here we go…”
“No, hereyougo! You always tryna control shit like your way is the only way! You’re so stuck on being in charge that you don’t even realize when you’re hurting the people around you.” Kassim stirred in the back seat, then started fussing loudly. I turned back, trying to rock his car seat with my hand. “Shhh, baby. It’s okay.”
Knuck tapped the brakes harder than necessary at the red light. “You done?”
“I was done before you turned the damn music down.” I unbuckled my seatbelt and flung the door open.
“The fuck you doin’?” Knuck barked. I stepped out anyway, slamming the door behind me as I stormed off down the sidewalk. The wind slapped me in the face, but it didn’t cool me off, not even a little bit. “Nyomi!” his voice echoed behind me. “Get your ass back in this truck!”
I didn’t even look back. I just kept walking.
“You think this shit’s a game?” His voice was closer now, windows down. “Keep playin’! You not gon’ walk off on me like I ain’t that nigga who’ll come snatch you off this damn sidewalk!”
I kept walking, mad as hell.