"Celisha," Micki said into her cell phone. "Guess what?"
Celisha took a guess. She figured that Micki was happy about being able to go public with her relationship with Vincent, especially after the last conversation she had with him about it. But Micki was quick to tell her how wrong she was.
Micki took a deep breath before saying, "Celisha, Vincent asked me to marry him last night and I said, yes."
"Really? That's fantastic, Micki. You must let Aaron and I take you two out to celebrate. This is a special moment and calls for a celebration. I'm so happy for you, girl."
"Thanks. I'm sure Vincent will accept your offer when we get back."
"Get back?" Celisha was confused. "If you two love birds done went and eloped without me, I will be so mad."
"No, we haven't eloped." Micki giggled. "We're in Orlando at the MGM studios. We drove up here on a spur of the moment thing. This is like our private celebration. I'm having the time of my life and I've never been more happy with Vincent. Instead of going back to the house last night, after shopping for rings, we went shopping for clothes too and decided to get a hotel and spend the night . The next morning, we woke up and decided to have a little fun."
Celisha could hear the excitement in Micki's voice while at the same time her voice began to break.
"Don't start crying on me, Micki. I can hear it in your voice. Where is the lucky man?"
"I'm not gon' cry," Micki assured her before clearing her throat and gaining her composure. "Vincent is gone on that ride where that jaws thing jumps out. It looked too real to me, so I passed on that one."
Celisha laughed. "Girl, you are something else. But look, what time are you two expecting to be back?"
"We should be back home by eight tonight, if not earlier. We can't stay too long or Rex and Rocky D will destroy the place." They hadn't thought to let the dogs out before they left. "I don't know how I'll act when he slides an engagement ring on my finger." Her voice began to quiver again. "We went looking last night, but not too many places were open."
"Keep it together, girl. Now, do me a favor and try to keep your stomach empty for tonight. I'll see if I can pull a few strings to get us a table at the Tantra Restaurant.
Micki, I'm really happy for you, and I mean it."
"Thank you, Celisha. You've been such a true friend since day one." Micki wiped her eyes. "I never knew being in love would feel this good."
"It only gets better," Celisha told her. "It only gets better."
Micki was on the phone the entire trip back to Coral Gables. Spreading the news about her engagement to Vincent was a special moment to her. As for Vincent, he made only a few calls. His longest was with Celisha. His friends greatly outnumbered his family members that he called. They only included his cousin Erica, and his aunt, Diane. He was estranged from the rest of his family since getting locked up. Although nobody had hollered for him when he was down, the minute they saw his name on the Essence Magazine bestseller's list, they started claiming him as their peoples. Vincent was straight on that.
"Vincent, I've been thinking about something," Micki said. "Now that we're engaged, and about to do this thing under God's eyes, I think we should abstain from sex until our honeymoon."
Vincent looked at her, only to see that she was serious. "Fine," he said as the Welcome to West Palm Beach sign came into view. "We'll get married tomorrow."
"I'm serious," she pouted.
"Okay. It's April. How long do you want to put the wedding off?"
She leaned over, rubbing his hard bicep as he drove with one hand. "I don't know yet. How long has Celisha been engaged to Aaron?"
"Going on a year, I think. That's too long. Micki, I hope you-"
"Uh uh," she interrupted. "I wouldn't even dream of stringing our engagement on that long. Baby, I've never done anything like this before, so let's just enjoy it, okay? There's no need for us to make this stressful."
"I second that idea." He leaned over to give her a quick peck on her lips.
"What about us abstaining from sex? Will it be an issue?"
"Nope," he replied truthfully. "What I feel for you isn't built on sex. I know we are two freaks," he smiled, "but straight up, I love you for your mind. . .and your behind."
"Aww," she smiled. "My man, the romantic freak."
She slid her hand up his arm to play with his ear.
"You know that's my spot, baby." "Ooops." She stopped.
Changing the subject, Vincent asked, "What did your family down in Buenos Aires say?" He checked his speed, then switched on the radar cruise control.
"They were all elated. Everyone said how happy my mother would have been if she were still alive." Micki suddenly lost the glow that had been prevalent on her face. Vincent reached for her hand in a comforting gesture.
Before Micki had moved in with Vincent, she told him about her mother being killed in a car crash. Micki was thirteen at the time. A year later, she left Argentina to stay with her brother, Sierra, in the United States. Sierra was a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Marines, a soon to be brother-in-law that Vincent looked forward to bonding with.
"Did you reach your father?" Vincent asked.
"No. I have to try again later." She leaned back into the seat and closed her eyes. "Turn on some music." Micki hit the recline button on the side of her seat and relaxed.
Seconds later, they were riding down I-95 South with BBD, "When Will I See You Smile Again" flowing through the speakers. This was another quality she loved about her future husband. His taste in music was unrivaled. Later on that night, Micki stood in front of the mirror in a satin, royal blue, chiffon dress. She had her hair piled up on top of her head with a few strands hanging. This hairstyle showed off her flawless neck that sported a thin, diamond choker. She knew she was filling out the Oscar De La Renta dress like nobody's business. She was spraying on Rosamor perfume when Vincent walked into the bedroom.
"Micki, you look good!" He walked toward her.
"I'm your woman; of course I look good," she smiled. He stood behind her, softly rubbing her hips. "Why did you have the bathroom door locked when you took a shower? I told you about doing that. What if you slip and fall or something?"
Vincent's inquiry had caught her off guard. She'd meant to unlock the door after she finished doing what she had to do, but obviously she had forgotten. "Baby, relax. I guess I locked it by mistake," she lied. "Take that shirt off, 'cause it's so not related to those slacks." She pointed to his slacks. "Put on that dark brown Salvatore Ferragamo shirt I got you from New York. And you're wearing your glasses too. I hate seeing you squint to see things far off." She turned to face him. "You should just go on and have laser surgery to correct your vision."
Vincent smiled. "You like bossing me around, huh?" "I'm good at it, right?" she giggled, rubbing his face.
"I'm the boss."
"You can boss me around all you like." He kissed her then walked toward the lit walk-in closet. "But come the time when we become parents, I ain't changing no funky diapers. I'll be in The Room chilling. Besides, I let you boss me around because it's cute."
Micki whopped Vincent upside his head with a pillow. He turned around, picking up the pillow while she laughed.
"Oh, we throwing pillows now?" he said, grinning. You're safe right now. Since you're all dressed up, I'ma let you get off for now." He tossed the pillow back on the bed, then turned back into the closet.
"Baby," she giggled, You're talking crazy if you think you're not changing any diapers. You deserved to get hit in the head."
"First things first," Vincent told her. "Let's get down the aisle first, then we'll argue about who's gonna change our son's diapers later." On that note, Vincent felt the pillow bop him upside the head again.
"You mean daughter," Micki smiled as the two finished getting dressed. The two would have to argue about that later as well.