Page 111 of Quasim II: King Inferno

Meer helped him down the steps as Elijah faced us walking backwards. “See you down the aisle, Anjo.” He saluted like he had seen Sim do multiple times and ran behind them.

Zoya had walked August Mae down to her seat, so she wasn’t standing too long. Papa and Mina stood there. “It’s only right for the former King and Queen Inferno to walk down the new Queen Inferno… our daughter.”

I rushed into both of them and hugged them. “Beautiful,” Mina dabbed my face with the back of her hand.

As we came down the steps, I gasped, seeing the set up. The chairs were filled with so many people, and there were sunflowers. There were rows of sunflowers lining the aisle andthe altar. Each chair had a sunflower on it, as everyone turned to see us. Music slowly started and ‘You’ by Jesse Powell started to play.

I held both Mina and Papa’s hands and took a deep breath. The waterworks hadn’t stopped since the moment I opened my eyes today. “Pop figured the red could rest for one day.” Papa whispered in my ear.

From where we stood, he couldn’t see me yet, but when we walked further toward the aisle, that’s when he saw me, and Meer was singing softly. He stood to the side as he sang into the microphone. His hair was freshly twisted, and he looked at his brother, and then down the aisle and nodded for Sim to see me.

The minute that our eyes met, he looked away and walked a few steps. Cappadonna stood in the middle, as our officiant, and squeezed his shoulder. He closed his fist and brought it to his mouth as tears fell down his face, watching me coming down the aisle.

“I wanna be yours from this day forward.” Meer hit the high note, with his vein bulging in his neck as tears fell down his face.

His voice carried on this beach as my face was wet with tears. Mina was crying as she held onto me tightly. Capri was a mess as she watched her husband. Even Cappadonna had to use the handkerchief in his suit to wipe his tears.

He cleared his throat. “Who gives this woman away?”

“We do.” Both Mina and Quinton said, as he took his own son’s hand, and put my hand into his, and Sim helped me up there with him.

My entire body was shaking as I looked into his eyes and saw the emotion. I saw the love in his eyes as it poured down his face. All the time I questioned how he felt about me, and if I was his one, were put to rest today.

Every time he showed up for me when he didn’t have to, showed me that he loved me. Every night we both slept apart,praying and wishing on a star for a love that could heal us, he was that one.

“This is off script for me, but I have to speak my little shi… stuff.” Cappadonna corrected himself. “I have to speak for everybody here, we been waiting for this. Waiting for our guy to find his one. I remember when he came to visit me in prison, and he told me that he was good on love. Said that he didn’t need it, and he was good. I knew he was hurting then, and I couldn’t push him on it… couldn’t force something he wasn’t ready for. When Blair entered our life, I saw something in him come alive again. We had many talks, and I knew your fear and I had those same fears. Sim, you deserve love… deserve this woman here. I’m really happy that you both didn’t book me last minute and got the right price to have me here with you?—”

“Leroy!” Alaia scolded.

“You ready for that? A man my size be getting barked on by her short ass, and I like it.” He winked at his wife and licked his lips. “She runs the show, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My heart, my love, and everything. Today, you become one, and she becomes your everything.”

Quasim kissed my hands, as we listened to Cappadonna go on and follow his script from whatever paper he printed from online. He put his glasses on and continued to do his best. I stared at my baby and wiped his face as he looked at me.

His hands were steady as mine trembled slightly. “The couple has vows to share with us.”

I took a deep breath as Capri gave me my phone, because I worked on my vows yesterday. I combined all my notes from the encounters we’ve had through the years and composed my vows.

“Simmy Jimmy,” I smiled. “MySimmy Jimmy, I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you. So quiet, but observant. You never spoke much, but the one thing that I noticed was how solid you were. Always one call away from the ones that you love. Rightthere to take on any and everything because that’s the kind of person you are. In Miami, I remember you telling me to never lose the love that I have. Told me it was pure and that the world needs it.” I smiled, as the tears fell. “You mumbled that you needed that, and I never forgot it. Baby, who does the strong one lean on when they can’t be strong anymore? I’m your strength when you can’t be strong, and the love you need poured back into you when you can’t show love.”

“Damn.” I heard Meer behind Sim as he wiped his eyes.

“I promise that you will never have to sleep with your arms behind your head, because you’ll always have me to hold. Your coffee will remain hot and black, because I know it’s your favorite. Pyro will remain in the house because as much as you think she’s a hoe, you love her and saved her, too. Me, Elijah, and our baby are your family. When you’re out there, know that you won’t return to an empty home anymore, baby. We’re home waiting for your boots to cross that threshold because we know they will. I told you I would walk through the fire with you because I know that I’d never feel the heat. I know you’d take it all for me… for us.”

He didn’t bother to wipe his face, as he stared down at me. Both of us were a mess with the tears. “Anjo…my love. The day I saw you in that kitchen, I saw you broken. No matter how much you smiled and pretended to be okay, you weren’t, and I knew, because neither was I. I wanted you so bad, but knew I couldn’t have you. God didn’t want it to happen then, and I started to resent him for it. Each time I made the step; I pulled back because I knew I was disobeying him. There was a reason he wanted me to wait. He knew I would have messed it up, and allowed you to get away from me, because at that time, I was still in my head about a lot. I couldn’t be trusted with someone as fragile as you. In Miami, when you said that I was scared of you, I was.”

“Tell me.” I used his words on him.

“Scared because love radiates off you like no other, and you make me do something I haven’t done in a while… feel. I’ve gotten used to feeling numb, and you changed that for me, baby. I call you my angel because you are my angel on earth. You’ve been through some shit, and you never lost your faith and love. Baby, I promise that I’m all the way in when it comes to us. I promise to always pull you close to me because you overthink and think that I’m mad when I don’t… I promise to always kiss your chin because you start kicking your feet in excitement whenever I do. Most importantly, I promise to love you until I have nothing left. I promise to heal all those wounds that I didn’t put there. My love, I promise to put so many babies in you that they gonna call us the fucking Brady Bunch.”

He paused and looked out at everyone, and that’s when he saw the chairs.

“I promise to love you hard because that’s what you do… love hard. When I walked down the aisle and saw those chairs, I became emotional. Meer told me that you woke him up at three in the morning to find someone to make these chairs. This is the kind of woman that you are. The kind of wife that I want and need. I need you, Blair… there’s no doubt about that. You’re my angel… always and forever.”

I got three chairs made. One for Harley, my mom, and my son with a sign that saidwe would have been here today, if heaven wasn’t so far away.

On Ryder’s flower basket, she had a picture of her cousin wrapped around the handle. Harley was still part of our lives.

Cappadonna went on another love spiel, and we all listened because the man had good advice. He had a million so-called jobs, but his advice was usually solid. “I now pronounce you husband and wife… kiss your wife, nigga.”

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