Page 35 of Someone Like You

Giselle

TWO YEARS LATER

I t was a warm November day in Negril. The sun was setting over the ocean. We never made it on our original trip to Negril because I had been extremely sick all day, every day for several months. So, we decided to have our wedding in Negril.

Since we both had large, elaborate weddings the first time around, this time, we opted for a small, simple affair to celebrate our nuptials. Only our family and friends attended. Two hours had passed since I had become Mrs. Casimir Perez.

Our family and friends still partied on the beach under the canopy behind us.

My husband and I escaped the festivities for some much-needed quiet time.

We were both still attired in our formal wear.

He had discarded his cummerbund, bowtie and jacket, and now had his shirt unbuttoned to the third button and his sleeves rolled up.

“Your pants legs are going to get wet, baby.”

“It’s okay. I can handle anything as long as you’re by my side, Mrs. Perez,” he whispered and wrapped his arm around my waist. Casimir pulled me in closer to him and set his beer bottle in the sand beside us.

I pressed my hand against his chest and pushed him back until he rested on his elbows. Sitting between his legs, I rested my head against his chest as we watched the sun’s warm rays disappear over the Caribbean Ocean, dazzling the sky with radiant reds, oranges, and yellows.

“It’s so beautiful, baby.”

He pulled his fingers through my hair and loosened the bun, causing it to cascade over my shoulders in a heap of curls. I wore my hair in a princess bun with a diamond tiara around it.

My wedding gown was a bold, vibrant red because Casimir had once told me that he loved me in the color red. He said that it was a bold and dramatic color that looked stunning against my dark skin.

Upon doing my research, I found that in some Asian cultures, red wedding gowns represented good luck, prosperity, and happiness.

After what Casimir and I had gone through, we definitely needed our fair share of good luck and happiness.

After the wedding, I removed the detachable skirt from my wedding dress and remained in a short, red fitted dress.

Casimir’s hand moved lovingly up and down my thigh as the sky grew darker.

“Beautiful, just like you, and just like our future,” he replied to my statement moments later.

“And bright,” I added, nestling closer to him.

He wrapped both arms around me and remarked, “Definitely bright. So bright we need some damn sunglasses.”

His businesses were prospering, and I couldn’t be prouder of him. My practice had grown so much that I had taken on a partner to help me with my client list. I no longer did marriage counseling and focused my services on helping grieving children and individuals instead.

I no longer spent time looking over my shoulder.

Casimir’s former in-laws were not even thinking about us.

His former father-in-law was still in prison for one of the biggest white-collar scandals in recent history.

From my understanding, he would be in prison for another eight years.

Their business had been sold off to another company that did everything possible to make the former staff, investors, and the community whole.

Bethany’s fiancé, who was also a senator, had not been as patient as Casimir had been.

Not only did they have children, but they had triplets, all of whom she had carried and birthed.

There was no adoption or surrogacy involved.

That svelte figure she had been so proud of was now a thing of the past.

I saw her at a charity auction that her mother chaired. I overheard her conversation as she whined and complained about her husband’s refusal to hire a nanny. Her triplets were a year old. The minute she saw me, she turned and beelined in the opposite direction.

“Hey, guys. CJ wanted to say goodnight before I took him back to our suite,” my mother said, holding our one-year-old son in her arms.

Casimir and I suspected that he had impregnated me with our son, Casimir Jr., the same night that Casimir proposed.

We initially planned to marry six months after his proposal until we learned that I was pregnant.

Rather than speeding up the timeline, we decided to postpone it until after the baby was born and make sure that he could be a part of the wedding ceremony.

Casimir’s heart was overwhelmed with joy when he learned that not only was I pregnant but that we were having a little boy.

Casimir was prouder of his son than he was of all the businesses that he built and the wealth he amassed.

Nothing could hold a candle to that little boy, who was the apple of his father’s eye.

I pushed up off my husband and stood. I reached down and grabbed his outstretched hand to pull him up too.

“Oh, come here, baby. Give mommy some sugar. I swear that I’m gonna miss you so much, little boy,” I cooed to my son.

I reached for him, and he bounced his arms up and down happily as he leaned out of my mother’s arms and reached for me. His chunky, chocolate cheeks turned up into a smile as he fell into my arms and caused me to tumble backward.

“Whoa, big guy. You trying to take your mama out?” Casimir teased and ruffled CJ’s thick curls.

“He’s okay. Just happy to see his mommy,” I cooed and kissed him on the top of his head before I nuzzled his neck and made him giggle.

Our baby boy smelled like sun, sand, baby powder, and cherries. Cherries?

“Mama, did you give CJ some more of that chocolate cherry cake?” I asked, shifting him onto my hip and bouncing him up and down.

“Honey, it’s a celebration today. He should be allowed to celebrate the union of his parents like everyone else. Don’t go taking that tone with me. I raised you and your sister, and you both came out just fine.” My mother scolded me.

“Yeah, but you didn’t allow us to eat four slices of cake in one day,” I reminded her.

“Four? He’s had four?”

“Mama . . .” I twisted my lips and looked at her like, come on .

“What?”

“You know that I gave him a slice of cake. I saw Mama Yolanda give him a slice,” I said of Casimir’s mom. “And then I saw you give him one earlier. Now you’ve given him another one.”

“Well, I lost count,” she stated and reached for my son.

“Baby, I’m thinking we might want to keep CJ here with us instead of letting him fly back to the States with our parents,” I suggested. I didn’t mean it, but I was giving my mother the blues.

I looked at my husband over my shoulder, and he frowned.

“Woman, let me see my son.”

I handed CJ to him, and he kissed our son and squeezed him to himself.

“You gonna be a big boy while mommy and daddy are gone, CJ?” Casimir asked.

CJ bobbed his head and verbalized something that was a mixture of hums and lip-smacking.

I looked at Casimir and giggled.

“Sounds about right, Son,” Casimir stated. “Listen, we’re going to miss you. But I need you to take very good care of your nana and pa-pa, and your abuelo and abuela. You got that?”

Again, CJ bobbed his head, and his head full of curls shook. I had seen baby pictures of Casimir, and our son was the spitting image of his father.

“I’ll miss you, little big guy,” Casimir told our son as he kissed him once more. He turned back to me and instructed our son, “Give mommy kisses.”

I grabbed my baby boy’s face and covered it with kisses before I gave him one final sweet butterfly kiss.

“Good night, my sweet prince,” I told him as Casimir handed him back to my mother.

“You all have fun and enjoy your time,” Mama said as she juggled CJ from one hip to the next.

“We will. And you all have a safe flight home,” I told her.

“Will do. Oh, and Gigi and Cas?” Mama called out after she took a couple of steps.

“Yes, ma’am?” we responded as one.

“We’ll take two or three more of him,” she said with a teasing grin as she bounced CJ on her hip.

“Mama!”

“We’ll see what we can do, Mama Viola,” Casimir called out as my mama walked away, chuckling.

“Don’t encourage her.” I scolded him with a smack to his chest.

My husband grabbed me in his arms and pulled me close. Bending his head, he kissed my lips and asked, “When are you going to be ready to tell them about our princess on the way?”

He licked along the seam of my lips and grabbed my butt. Casimir pressed his erection at the apex of my thighs and made my body hum.

“After the honeymoon,” I moaned.

We learned that I was pregnant a month ago when I was only six weeks pregnant.

This week, just as I turned ten weeks, we learned the gender of our baby.

I didn’t want that to distract from the wedding, so we agreed to keep it under wraps for now.

Our only focus now was our honeymoon and enjoying one another.

The plan was to return to our hotel suite tonight at the top of the beach, and tomorrow, leave for a private villa for the next week and a half.

My husband knelt and scooped me up into his arms. I released a high-pitched shriek, and our guests laughed, clapped, and whistled as I threw my arms around my husband’s neck.

Casimir carried me further down the beach, away from prying eyes. Their voices grew faint, and we were left with the sounds of the waves lapping at the beach.

“Elle, I love you now until the end of time.”

“And I will love you beyond this life and through the next one, Casimir.”

We stopped at the water’s edge, and my husband let me down. He bent his head, and with the water lapping at our feet, he slowly kissed me again.

My love for this man knew no bounds. I would risk it all for him again and again. For him, I would do it all again. My client. My friend. My lover. My husband. My forever.

The End