Page 126 of The Last Man on Earth
“That’s tough.” She hesitates, then goes in for the question on everybody’s mind. “Is the reason you aren’t together related to your time on the island?”
“Yes,” he answers without hesitation.
“In what way?”
“I think my time on the island changed me in a lot of ways,” he says. “I came back a different man than the one who proposed to her.”
Barbara shifts in her seat. “And Ariana…Ariana Williams, the attendant on your flight…is she—“
“I would like to protect her privacy,” he says carefully. “But what I will say is that…I mean, it’s obvious at this point, so I’ll just confirm that yes, that’s my baby she’s carrying.”
Barbara can’t contain her smile, and my nieces can’t contain their annoying little squeals.
My face is suddenly hot. My heart racing. My stomach fluttering, and not because of the baby.
“Villain, can we be a little corny here and say that your tragedy had a happy ending?”
He smiles at that. “I don’t think we’re at the ending, actually. For me, it feels like the beginning of something.”
Barbara turns to us. “And there you have it, folks. Villain, thank you for your time this evening.”
“Thanks for having me.”
Daddy turns the tv off, then we all sit in silence for about ten seconds before it starts.
“Oh my God!” That’s Jada.
“How do you feel?” my mother asks me.
“He did what needed to be done,” Daddy says.
“He calls you Ari? That’s so sweet!” Janae squeals.
Finally, I just smile and say, “I feel fine. He did very well.”
“That’s all you have to say?” Jada asks, her little teenage heart broken. “What’s tea though?”
Shara shakes her head. “Y’all so nosy. Go find something to do.”
“Go take a shower,” my mother says. “One of y’all is musty.”
We all laugh at that.
After dinner, we all retreat to our rooms, but Shara insists on hanging with me at the foot of my bed. I’d rather go to sleep alone, but I don’t mind her company.
“Okay, wait.” She frowns at her phone. “Jada just texted me and said your man is live.”
“In what sense?”
She laughs at me. “In the TikTok sense.”
“What?”
“How are we the same age but you stay giving old lady?” She hands me her phone, then sits next to me to watch.
And there he is. My man. He’s looking sexy with his tie loosened and a toothpick hanging out of his mouth. He looks happier than I’ve seen him in a minute.
“So what y’all think?” he asks. “Keep the cornrows, start some locs, or cut it low?”
