Page 20 of Breeze and Melodie

“Is everything okay, son?” Mr. Norwood asked when he stepped outside onto the porch.

“Everything is cool. Do I have your permission to marry your daughter?”

There was no reason to beat around the bush. I wanted to marry Melodie and knew it was important to her that we had his blessing. His eyes widened as his lips broadened into a smile. He folded his arms across his chest before responding.

“Straight to the point, huh?”

“I don’t know any other way.”

“You want to marry my baby girl?”

“I do.”

I looked through the screen door to make sure the coast was clear before pulling the ring box from my pocket.

“You already have a ring? I guess you’ve been thinking about this for a while.”

He took the box from my hand and opened it, nodding his head as if he were impressed.

“I moved to Onyx City to marry Melodie, and I bought this ring before I left Chicago. It’s no secret that she’s been crushing on me for a while.

It took me a while to see her as anything but my little sister’s best friend, but it was for the best. When I started seeing her differently, I had to get some things in order before pursuing her.

She deserved more than I could offer her back then, and I didn’t want to come to her until I had my shit together. ”

“I appreciate that. I’m well aware of your past, but I’ve always known you had a good heart. The way you looked after Raine was commendable. I understand a lot of the things you did and the decisions you made were to make sure she was taken care of.”

“Yes, sir, they were.”

“You never let that life consume you, and I know from experience that it’s not easy.”

“From experience?”

He nodded. “You met me at a different time, but I didn’t grow up much different from you. Becoming a doctor was hard as hell, but it was easier than fighting the demons we encountered growing up in inner city Chicago.”

“Does that mean I have your blessing?”

“I’d be honored to have you as a son-in-law. You have my blessing.”

He offered his hand for me to shake, and when I accepted it, he pulled me into a hug.

“Thank you,” I responded when he released me.

“When do you plan to do it?”

“This weekend, if possible. I don’t have anything special planned, but I know she’d want her family present.”

“What about Raine?”

“Raine would disown me if I proposed without her. Shyne told me to keep him posted with my plans, and he’d have Raine and the others here for the proposal. You think we can have a small gathering tomorrow and not make Mel suspicious?”

“Party planning ain’t my thing, but I’m sure I can put something together under the guise of celebrating my wife’s birthday.”

“Mel said she didn’t want to do anything.”

“She says that all the time, but we rarely pay her any mind.”

“I appreciate you, and I promise . . . Melodie is in good hands.”

“I have no doubt about that.”

“What did you say to my father?”

“Nothing much.”

“You had to say something because I was sure he’d make you sleep in the guest room.”

I laughed because that shit was funny. Melodie and I hadn’t slept separately since the first time we had sex. I had every intention of christening her childhood bedroom while we were here, so it was a good thing her father knew what was up.

“Nah, your pops knows the deal. I’m too old to be pretending like I don’t bury my face and dick in his daughter’s pussy every chance I get, and tonight will be no different.”

“Breeze, I am not having sex with you in my parents’ house.”

“First of all, we don’t have sex. We’re either making love or fuckin’, and I plan to do a little of both before we hit the road on Monday.”

“Are you crazy? We can’t?—”

“We can and we will. You’re lucky we haven’t already checked one of them off the list. Are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

We were headed out to dinner with Melodie’s family.

She and Harmonee, who currently had faux locs and looked more like her big sister than I’d previously thought, decided it would be the perfect time to share Harmonee’s news.

They wanted to do it in a public place, just in case their parents’ reaction wasn’t positive.

I didn’t think they had anything to worry about, but it wasn’t my parents we were talking to.

The two knew their parents much better than I did, so I went along with whatever they wanted.

Everyone could fit in my truck, so we piled in, with the ladies choosing to sit in the back while Mr. Norwood sat up front with me. The restaurant was only ten minutes away from the Norwood residence, so the ride was quick, and we were seated as soon as Harmonee gave the host our name.

We’d been having small talk since we left the house, but there was some nervous energy in the air. I noticed it, so I wasn’t surprised that Mrs. Norwood did as well.

“When you two get together, you’re usually chatterboxes. Today, all I’ve heard is a few whispers between you two. What’s going on?”

We were seated at a round booth, with Harmonee in the center and on the other side of Melodie. She nudged Melodie, causing her to choke on her water.

“Ma, Daddy, Harmonee has something she wants to tell you,” Melodie announced after clearing her throat.

“Mel,” Harmonee whined.

“Tell them.”

“You said you would tell them.”

“I’m just here for support. Tell them, Harm.”

“Tell us what?” Mr. Norwood pressed.

Harmonee sighed as she played with the cloth napkin in front of her.

“Ahem. Umm, so, I completed the requirements to become a licensed cosmetologist, and?—”

“A what? I thought you were in school getting your associate’s in business,” Mrs. Norwood said.

“I was for about a month. I dropped the business classes I was taking right before the cutoff date and enrolled in the cosmetology program.”

“I didn’t know you had an interest in cosmetology. Why didn’t you tell us?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“You do know,” Mr. Norwood said.

“I’ve started and stopped a lot of things over the past several years, and I didn’t want to disappoint you if I didn’t see this through.”

“Harm, we’ve supported you through all the ups and downs you’ve had. Why would this be any different?” Mrs. Norwood asked.

“I’m thirty years old and figured, eventually, you’d get sick of me or give up on me altogether.”

“What? Have we ever given you any reason to think we’d give up on you?

Baby girl, you lost several years of your life to darkness.

When you came out of it, I can’t tell you how grateful we were to have you back.

As long as you’re working toward becoming a better you, we will always support you,” Mr. Norwood told his daughter.

“We’re proud of you, we congratulate you, and we will always love and support you,” Mrs. Norwood said.

Tears filled the ladies’ eyes, while Mr. Norwood looked at his youngest daughter with pride.

I quietly observed the moment, appreciating how they expressed themselves and listened to each other.

It was quite different from the household I grew up in, and I hoped to have this same loving and supportive family dynamic with my own family in the future.

“Is there a graduation ceremony or recognition?” Mr. Norwood asked.

Harmonee looked at her hands. “It was last month.”

“Last month? Harmonee, I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.” Her mother cried.

“It’s not a big deal, Ma.”

“It is a big deal, but I guess there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

“We can have a celebration of our own,” Melodie suggested. “Let’s discuss later. There’s something else Harm needs to tell you.”

“Mel!”

“What? You pulled the Band-Aid off, so you might as well go for it.”

“What else are you keeping from us?”

“Don’t say it like I make a habit of keeping secrets, Daddy.”

“Tell them, Harm.”

“I’m moving to Onyx City to work at Black Reign.”

Harmonee’s words sprinted from her mouth, but her parents heard every word. As they sat there, stunned, the server returned to our table to take our order. Although I was only observing and had prior knowledge of everything shared, I’d had enough surprise announcements for the evening.