Page 31 of Fever: Love In Scrubs

TWO MONTHS LATER

I couldn’t believe a whole two months had gone by since we lost our home.

Since Amandela used an accelerant, the fire spread quicker.

Part of the second floor collapsed and made things worse.

What wasn’t damaged by the fire, was damaged with smoke and soot.

The only thing I decided to take from the ruins was the contents of my fireproof safe that had all of our important documents, keepsakes, and emergency cash.

While we’d settled in at Wynter’s place, I was actively looking for a home for us. Insurance had paid me out and I had enough to buy a house out right. I just hadn’t found anything that felt like home. The other part of that was the fact that I wanted Wynter to feel at home too.

I knew when I bought a home, I wanted it to be for the three of us, not just me and Jamari. I knew things moved quickly between us, but fuck it. We were grown. Within six months of meeting this woman, I knew I wanted to marry, come home to, make babies, and raise a family with her.

The way that she’d showed up for us the past two months was nothing short of amazing. I wanted her with us and I was working on making that happen.

Days that she got off work before me, she always picked Jamari up from her grandparents or my sisters. She made sure her homework was done and that she ate dinner. Jamari didn’t have to be told twice to do something. If Wynter said it, she did it. She set the standard and Jamari followed it.

She spoke to my baby with love and respect, never having to raise her voice to be heard.

Once a week, she bought Jamari flowers fitted with a handwritten note.

On the weekends I had to work, they had their little girl’s day with Kaci, Asia, and my mother.

On occasion, her aunt and cousin came down and joined them.

We were all becoming one big happy family.

My baby was in much better spirits these days.

I’d gotten her into therapy and she was talking out her feelings about her mother.

I gave her privacy with her sessions and allowed her to come to me when she wanted to talk.

Since the whole birthday fiasco, she didn’t want to speak to me about her mama and that was her right.

Wynter had gotten her a journal and she was forever writing in it.

Sometimes she shared what she wrote with us, but we respected her privacy not to go looking.

This was the healthy co-parenting I’d craved. Wynter wasn’t her mother and she never tried to be. Still, she created a safe space for my child and for that, I loved the fuck out of her.

I pulled up in front of The Connection Compass and shut off my car.

I’d take today off because I had something important to do.

I’d gotten up early, made love to my woman to send her off for the day, cooked her and Jamari breakfast before taking her to school, and gotten on the road.

My nerves were on ten for what I was about to do.

The whole ride up here, I’d driven in silence, rehearsing what I wanted to say.

The moment I pulled into the parking lot, my mind went blank.

This could have been a phone call, but it was something I needed to do in person.

Taking a deep breath, I got out of the car and headed inside.

After stopping at the receptionist desk, I headed back to Ms. Kira’s office.

I’d purposely scheduled an appointment with her under a fake name so this would be a surprise.

Knocking on the door, I waited for her to answer. A few seconds later, the door opened and she looked at me with wide eyes.

“Jaxson? Baby, what are you doing here? Is everything okay? Oh, my God, is it Wynter!”

I grabbed her hands and squeezed them. “Calm down. Everything is fine. I just want to talk to you about something.”

She gave a sigh of relief. “Boy, don’t scare me like that! Get your ass in here.”

I chuckled as I stepped inside her office and took a seat. I smiled at the picture of her, Tikayla, and Wynter on the wall. Over the last couple months, I grew to see just how much she loved her niece and cared about her happiness.

“What brings you all the way here?” she asked, taking a seat behind her desk.

I cleared my throat and blew a breath. “Okay, so I… I wanted…”

I had to close my eyes for a minute. She didn’t interrupt me, just gave me a chance to get my shit together.

“You know how much I love your niece,” I began.

“I do.”

“Ms. Kira, she’s been a blessing. The best thing to come along for me and my daughter. She’s one of the kindest, most beautiful souls to walk this earth and her heart is so pure.”

She smiled. “Yes, it is.”

“You are the closest thing she has to a mother. I come to you humbly and with great respect to ask you for your niece’s hand in marriage.

Before you say no, I know this is soon. I know I come with a kid and some recent baggage, but I love your niece.

I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life loving her.

I want to give her a family and a home. You never have to worry about her because she’s safe with me. Her heart is safe with me.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring box I’d been hiding for a month now and slipped it to her.

She was all smiles as she picked it up and opened the box.

Inside sat a four carat, pear shaped diamond engagement ring.

I’d been in the mall shopping with Jamari when we passed a jewelry store.

The ring was on display in the storefront and immediately caught my eye when we walked by.

We’d gone inside and I asked to look at.

Jamari was giddy with excitement at the thought of me proposing to Wynter.

She’d already told me she was open to a stepmother, and she’d made it clear that Wynter was her only choice.

She gave her approval of the ring and I bought it on the spot.

“Jaxson…” Ms. Kira whispered. “This is beautiful. Wynter is going to love it.”

“Does that mean I have your blessing?”

“Absolutely. I’ve never seen my niece this happy. I know how much she loves you and Jamari. I already know you come from a good family, even if Asia is a little crazy.”

I chuckled. “I mean, she’s become fast friends with your daughter, so that says a lot about her too.”

“Hell, I know my child is a little touched. She gets it from me.”

We shared a laugh.

“Seriously,” she continued. “I would be honored to entrust you with my baby.”

I hung my head and blew a breath. “Thank you, Ms. Kira. It was important to me to ask you. You’ve been everything to my baby and I knew she would appreciate your blessing, even if she didn’t need it.”

She smiled. “We have to call Tinka! She’s going to be so excited!”

She picked up her phone and called her daughter on FaceTime. The phone rang three times before she answered.

“Hey, Mommy girl!”

“Hey, baby. Let me show you something.”

She held up the ring and pointed the phone at me.

“Hey, Jax— aaaahhhhhhh!” She screamed so loud into the phone that I had to cover my ears.

“Girl, pipe down!” her mother fussed.

“Stop it!” I could hear the tears in her voice. “Jaxson, you’re gonna propose?”

“That’s the plan. I just came to ask your mother’s blessing.”

“Oh my God!” she whined and cried. “My girl is getting married!”

I chuckled. “She has to say yes first.”

“She will. I know she will. Oh, I gotta get off here. I was not prepared to cry like this. Congratulations brother/cousin in-law! I’m so happy for y’all.”

“Thank you, Tinka.”

I could hear her crying as she hung up the phone.

Ms. Kira shook her head. “That damn girl. Sooo… when are you thinking?”

“Well, I want to take her house shopping with me. I have a few lined up with my realtor next week. I’ve slowly been picking her brain about her dream home so I think we might have some luck. I want to propose in the place where it first started for us.”

She frowned. “The hospital morgue?”

“Okay, maybe not the first place. Come to think of it, not the second place either, because it was the emergency room. The third place for sure. It was in the park. That was our first unofficial date.”

“The park would be perfect.”

“I want everyone to be there.”

“You just give us a date, and we’ll make it happen.”

I was getting excited now.

Engagement ring: Bought.

Her aunt’s blessing: Granted.

All there was left to do was purchase our forever home and get this proposal under way. Life was coming together beautifully.