“Now who’s nervous?” He squeezed her hand. “You’re gorgeous.”
Before they reached the door, it opened wide, and Malik’s niece Jade and nephew Kamran ran out.
“Uncle Malik!”
“Hey!” Malik scooped them up, one at a time, and hugged them, careful not to hurt his shoulders. “Kamran, man, look how big you are! Jade, you’re just as pretty as your mama. Are you two doing well in school?”
Jade nodded, her braids bobbling, her gaze fixed on Kristi. “She’s pretty.”
“Thank you! I think you’re pretty, too, Jade. I’m Kristi. Nice to meet you, Kamran. I think you’re going to be as tall as your Uncle Malik.”
Malik watched, proud to be the man in Kristi’s life. She had such a natural way with people, no matter how young or old they were. But before she could say another word, the door opened, and Amira, one of his two sisters, let out a loud squeal.
“Is that my baby brother?”
“Hey, Amira.” Malik hugged her. “I can’t believe how much your kids have grown.”
“If you’d visit more often, it wouldn’t come as such a shock.” Amira turned to Kristi and hugged her, too. “Welcome, Kristi. Let me see that ring.”
Kristi held out her hand. “Malik picked it out on his own. I just love it.”
“Malik picked this? It’s gorgeous!”
“Is that Malik?” That was Jasmine, the older of his two sisters. “They’re here, Mama!”
Jasmine rushed out and joined everyone else on the sidewalk, her husband Dustin and their two kids, Cade and Caitlyn, watching from the open doorway. “Let your big sister get a good look at you. Are you keeping out of trouble?”
“Iamthe trouble.” Malik met Kristi’s gaze and found her smiling. “Jasmine, this is my fiancée, Kristi.”
Jasmine hugged Kristi, too. “It’s so good to meet you.”
His mother rushed outside, a big smile on her face, and threw her arms around him. “Malik! Hug my neck, son.”
Malik hugged her tight. “It’s good to see you, Mama.”
Then his mother turned to Kristi. “Welcome to our home, honey.”
“Let the man come into the house!” Malik’s father called from the doorway. “Give him room to breathe. Good gracious sakes!”
“Hey, Dad.”
They piled back inside, everyone speaking at once. Kristi kept up with it all, answering a barrage of questions and seeming to enjoy the kids, who competed with the adults for her attention.
“We met at Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole where I was the station RN. You have a hamster, Kamran? What’s its name? What a pretty toy pony, Caitlyn. Yes, Antarctica. It will be two years ago in April. You want to be a ballerina, Jade? I wanted to be a ballerina, too.”
Jasmine walked over to Malik. “Well, she’s holding her own. In this family, that’s something.”
Yeah, it was.
Then it was time for dinner—roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and pecan pie. That’s when Malik’s father started on Kristi, asking about her education, her job experience, her faith, her family.
“Dad, give it a rest.”
“I’m just getting to know her.”
After dinner, Dustin took the kids outside to play so that Kristi and Malik could tell his parents and sisters the whole story—how they’d met, how much they’d missed each other, how they’d gotten together again.
Kristi held tightly to Malik’s hand as she told them what she’d done to free Malik. By the time they’d finished the story, his mother and Jasmine were in tears and his father and Amira looked stunned.