Broken (Endurance) (39 page)

"Are you okay?" Nelson asked Cora.

"I think he scratched my arm," Cora said, looking at the blood oozing from the scratch.

Nelson shoved Cora behind him when he saw the man getting up.

Tamarius stood patiently behind his wife, waiting for the drunk loser talking to her to notice his presence.

Makayla ignored Tamarius as he folded his arms across his chest. Unfortunately for the guy trying to pick her up, he made the fatal mistake of touching Makayla, causing Tamarius' fist to come flying around Makayla and hit him right in the face.

Maxwell didn't hesitate to pull his fiancé away from a pimp reject. Max had already put his wife in the car while arguing with another man who seemed to believe that Mei was interested in him.

"You girls sure know how to make a scene." Maxwell laughed as he opened the limo door for Cressida.

"Not our fault." Cressida smiled while getting in the limo. She laughed as she saw Jasmine already sitting inside. "I think we had more excitement out here than in the club."

"I know. My husband came right over and shoved me in the limo, not a word." Jasmine smiled.

"Men. We could handle ourselves. They act like this is new," Cressida said as the door opened and Makayla entered the limo, sliding across as she looked at her cousin and smiled. "Is everyone okay?"

"Cora?" Mei said.

"Nelson is walking her over now." Makayla smiled.

The limo door opened and a blushing Cora entered. Nelson leaned in. "Are you ladies all right?"

"Yes, we are," they all answered.

Nelson looked over at Cora and smiled. We wanted to touch her and tell her the things she’d not allowed him to tell her before. He was tapped on the shoulder by Tamarius
who wanted to speak to his wife. Tamarius leaned in and looked at Makayla.

She turned to look at him and shook her head as she tried not to smile.

"I'm sorry about earlier," he said.

"I will see you home, sweetie." Makayla smiled.

"Goodnight, ladies," Tamarius said before closing the door.

"Let's go to the diner. I am so hungry," Makayla said.

"Didn't you eat at the party?" Jasmine said.

"Yeah, but I need real food," Makayla replied.

"Yeah, I'm not ready to go home just yet," Cressida said. "I have to sleep alone tonight."

"Well, it will be the last night you sleep alone." Jasmine smiled.

The men headed for the mansion thinking the women would already be there. They were disappointed to find out they’d stopped to eat. Hungry themselves they scavenged the kitchen making themselves sandwiches and joking over the night’s events.

Tamarius waited anxiously for his wife to return. Max and Maxwell went to bed, too tired to wait any longer and leaving Tamarius no choice but to wait up with David.

"Why don't you guys spend the night? I can have Winston set up a couple rooms. Nelson is already sleeping here. He practically lives here."

"Nelson is staying?" David asked.

"Yeah, he kind of has a room here. Nelson has been coming here since he was in elementary school. He's part of the family," Tamarius replied.

"I don't know if I should. Cora..."

Tamarius smiled. "I would be the same way if I had a daughter. I understand, but Nelson is a good boy."

"How do you know?" David asked.

"Max and Nelson are so close, when I would school Max, Nelson was right beside him. Not that he learned everything, but I knew that one day everything would sink in," Tamarius said as he took a sip of his drink.

"Cora is the only child I have. It's hard to let her go," David replied.

"I can't say that I know how you feel, but I had to step back from Max many times and remind myself that I'm not his father. I love him like he was my own, but at times I had to let go. It's not the same, but I can understand."

"I guess I’ll take that room," David said, feeling better about spending the night.

"I’ll take you. No need to bother Winston."  Tamarius got up from his chair and led David out of the kitchen.

"So how do you feel about Cressida?" David asked as they walked to one of the guest suites.

"I've always liked Cressida and I think they’ll make a great couple. I'm happy for them."

"She seems like a really good person. And how is married life?"

Tamarius smiled as he thought about his wife. "I met my match. Makayla is everything I've been searching for."

"Those are the ones to hang onto," David stated as they reached his guest suite.

"I’ll leave a note for your wife and daughter," Tamarius said before saying goodnight.

As he said he would do, he left a note on the front door for the girls then headed upstairs to take a shower expecting Makayla to be back by the time he came out. When he came out of the shower he was happy to see his wife walking through the door, her high heels in her hand.

He stood by the bathroom door brushing his teeth as Makayla began to undress. She walked past him and turned on the shower. Tamarius finished brushing his teeth and walked into the room. He dimmed the lights then slipped under the covers. He sat up in bed and waited for her to come out of the shower.

After her pre-bed routine she stood across the room watching Tamarius. "Had fun tonight?"

"Not really," he replied. "I did have fun watching you in that outfit you had on."

Makayla smiled as she walked to the bed, pulled the sheets back and got in. "I hope you enjoyed your lap dance," Makayla said, turning off the lights.

"Come on, I didn't want that on me." He curled up next to her.

"You didn't need to punch that guy."

"He asked for it. He saw me standing there."

"Still."

"You knew I was there, too."

"I love you."

"Yeah, say it now to save your butt." He smiled. Tamarius gently placed his hand on her stomach and kissed her neck whispering, "I love you."

They fell into a deep sleep.

Tamarius found himself in a dream, holding a little boy.

The Archangel Michael approached him saying, "The time is near for your son to be born. You will name him after King Solomon. He will seek and find wisdom. I will warn you, a battle is ahead, but you and Makayla keep God first and you will always succeed."

Tamarius awoke to the sound of Winston calling his name. He cracked open his eyes to see him laying out his suit.

"Good morning, son." Winston placed Tamarius' shoes next to his suit. "Your wife is helping the bride dress. I must go help your brother. His nerves are on edge," Winston informed him before quickly leaving the room.

Winston made his way down the hall to Maxwell's room where David Pennington and Nelson were helping him get ready.

Maxwell paced back and forth in his suit, excited and nervous about the day. "Nelson, I got Mei and Uriel birthday gifts. It's been so crazy this month and with them away at college we didn't really get to plan a party," Maxwell said, pulling out a small jewelry box. "I will most likely forget, so could you please give this to her?" He handed it to Nelson.

"Sure, no problem."

"No fear, the best man is here!" Tamarius announced playfully as he entered the room.

"Finally," Maxwell replied.

"Ah, look at you… a nervous wreck. I remember my wedding day as if it were yesterday..."

"It was yesterday," Maxwell mumbled.

"Hey, don't be nervous. Cressida is a beautiful woman and you two will live a long, beautiful life." Tamarius placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

Maxwell relaxed. Just having his brother there was comfort enough. "Thanks, Tampon." Maxwell smiled.

"Tampon?" David laughed.

"Anytime, Maxi Pad," Tamarius snapped back while everyone laughed.

"Hey, Dad, are you almost ready?" Max asked, walking into the room.

"Yeah. How are the women?"

"Cressida looks breathtaking as always. They all do. She’s is nervous too, so you’re not alone."

Max smiled at his dad.

"Well, I’m ready to head over to the church," Maxwell said. "Oh, I gave Nelson Mei and Uriel's birthday gifts."

"Ah, Dad you didn't have to. We understood you were busy." Max gave his dad a hug.

"I didn't want her to think I’d forgotten."

"Well, we had a nice party for her and Uriel at the college. Don't stress yourself with that. Just enjoy your day."

"Let’s get going." David glanced at his watch.

Down the hall Cressida stood in Mei's suite crying and laughing. Her emotions were on a rollercoaster.

Mei sat next to her and rubbed her back. "Do you not want to get married?" she asked.

"No, I do want to get married to Maxwell. I'm just... I wish my mom could be here and I wish my dad wasn't a jerk."

"Hey, I’m the queen of screwed up parents. As we speak my mom is trying to work out a marriage with Thomas," Mei informed her.

"Oh, my goodness.  Are you serious?" Cressida placed her hand on her chest.

"We’re all human and we make mistakes. I know that you and dad will be very happy together."

"I'm scared," Cressida whined.

Makayla, Jasmine and Cora all gathered around her. "Baby, we are all scared. We wait our whole lives for a decent guy. Some of us got it right the first time around, some of us didn't. Some of us are still trying to run away. We’re all scared. Tamarius still scares me. In the back of my mind I'm just waiting for him to wake up one day and be like, ‘what the heck was I thinking?’" Makayla said, smiling. "In the end, don't you want to just be happy that you shared your life with someone you love... no matter what happens?"

"Yeah, I can't walk away from him," Cressida admitted.

"Neither could we. That’s why we’re here," Mei said.

"Cressida, don't be a chicken like me. I gave Nelson hell," Cora added.

"Oh, he's fine. Now we know for sure he's serious," Jasmine said.

"Okay. Mei, can you fix my make up? I'm ready to get my man." Cressida wiped away her tears.

"That’s my girl. Lock him down," Jasmine said as they all began to assist Cressida with her dress and make up.

A few blocks away Peter Martinez was at the church again to marry yet another nephew. Tamarius and Maxwell laughed and joked with their uncle while Max and Nelson waited outside the church for the bride and her entourage. They watched as the limo turned the corner, slowly making its approach.

Max stepped closer to Nelson. "So, did you and Cora talk?"

"No, not really."

"I think she is coming around now," Max replied.