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Not mine.
Carlos drove us to the Batcave. The ride was mostly silent, but that was my Carlos.
My Carlos.
It still amazed me that he wanted me, of all people. I mean, look at him. He's gorgeous. He could have any woman, but he chose me. He chose me to be his wife, his best friend, his lover and the mother of his children.
"And I'd choose you over and over again." He said, grabbing my hand, kissing my knuckles and rubbing circles on my palm.
"How do you do that?" I asked.
He smiled. "It's written all over your face. That and you said a little bit of it out loud."
I blushed. He smiled at me and we lapsed back into the comfortable silence. We pulled up a few minutes later and before I could open my door, he was swinging me into his arms. I giggled and nuzzled his neck. He groaned, opened and shut the door quickly, set the alarm and ran for the bedroom.
"When do you want to start making plans about the wedding?" Carlos asked me the next morning as he laced our fingers together.
I was floored. Carlos wanted to talk about wedding plans?
"Uh…um…" He chuckled.
"Not big plans, Babe. Do you want a small wedding? Big? Invite all of Trenton?"
"My mother will want to invite the whole town, but I think I want a small wedding. Close family and friends only."
He nodded.
"What about you?" I asked.
"Whatever you want."
"No way. Nuh uh. This is our day, not mine. I don't want the focus to be on me."
"Babe, you're the bride. It's going to be on you no matter what."
"I think that we should make it less about the bride anyway. I don't want all that pressure."
He chuckled. "What about a date?"
I bit my lip. I wasn't sure how he was going to react to my answer. "Soon?"
He looked at me. "How soon?"
I'd get married to him tomorrow if it was possible.
"That soon?" He asked with a big smile on his face.
"I really have to work on that."
He chuckled, shook his head and then got serious. "Do you want to get married tomorrow?"
I sighed. "Yes, but I still want everyone to be there."
He nodded. "How about August."
It was early June. "Two months?" I asked. "You're okay with that."
"Personally, I'm with you. I could get married to you tomorrow."
I smiled at him. "How about we make it August 12th? That way you'll never forget."
"Babe, I'm not like other men. I think I can remember the day I married my dream girl."
I kissed him gently. "That's sweet."
"And the truth."
"I know you always tell me the truth, but what if I ask you if my jeans make me look fat."
He laughed full on this time. "Are you trying to change the subject?"
"Maybe."
He smiled at me. "What about August 8th? That way I can get my honeymoon and birthday in one week?" He had a wolf grin on his face.
I blushed. "I actually like that. 08-08? It's awesome."
He smiled. "It is pretty awesome."
"Anything else you want to talk about or can we have sex?"
He rolled on top of me. "Sex, definitely."
We spent the weekend, making love, cuddling, watching tv, eating straight from the refrigerator, making love, reading the paper and making love. I was sad to leave on Sunday, but we both needed to get back to work. Monday morning, as I was leaving the office, Lula called.
"White girl, I need you to bring me some things."
"Sure, I'll be right over." She gave me the list and we hung up.
I picked up her things and went over to Lula's apartment. The house where she was renting it was recently painted purple again. It didn't quite fit Lula, but it was where she lived.
"Oh, good, you're here." She said when I knocked. Lula pulled me into her apartment.
"Watch it! I need both of my arms!" I said.
"Sorry." She said. I held out the bag and she scurried into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came back out.
We sat in silence for a minute. "What if it's positive?"
"Do you want a baby?"
"I never really thought about it."
Neither had I, until Carlos and I talked about it. Of course, everything in my life changed with Carlos.
"What about you?" She asked me.
I shrugged. "Can you keep a secret?"
"Uh-oh. This sounds big."
I nodded. "Carlos and I are going to try."
"Wait who's Carlos? I thought you were dating Batman? Did he already break your heart? I'm going to kick his ass and…"
"Lula! Ranger is Carlos. I just call him Carlos now since we're getting married." Oops, that wasn't supposed to come out.
"WHAT? YOU AND BATMAN ARE GETTING MARRIED?"
"Jeez, Lula, I don't think they heard you IN CHINA."
"Sorry," she said, lowering her voice. "I can't believe it."
"What?"
"I just thought after Dickie…"
"That I never get married?"
She nodded.
I smiled. "Things change."
"And you're happy? You're not getting married 'cause he already knocked you up, right?"
"No, we're just going to try." I told her everything, from the miscarriage, to the talk that we had and the days after that. She sat there quietly, taking it all in. It was a little scary, since Lula always had something to say.
"I'm so sorry white girl, I had no idea."
"Neither did we." I looked down at my hands, wondering what the child that almost was. I took a deep breath and concentrated on the children that would be. Okay, child and we'll see how that one goes.
The timer rang and we looked at each other.
"I can't look." She said.
"Okay, I will." I took a deep breath and picked up the stick. "It's positive."
CRASH.
"Uh oh." I picked up my phone. "Tank? Can you get over to Lula's?"
"Is she okay?"
"Oh, fine." Sorta.
"I'll be right over." He said.
"What happened?" Tank asked when he got there.
"Uh, you guys need to have a talk." I said, inching my way out the door.
I drove my POS Honda back to the RangeMan building and met Carlos in the elevator.
"Hey, Babe." He gave me a quick kiss. "Meet me for lunch later?"
I smiled wickedly. "On seven?"
He kissed me again, harder this time. "You read my mind."
Lester coughed at us.
"Gotta go, Babe. We're picking up a skip."
"Be careful." I said.
"Don't go crazy." He followed Lester to the SUV.
"Don't get shot." I whispered as I watched them leave. Those word s mean more to me now than ever.
