Page 43 of Without You
When the officiant said, “You may kiss the bride,” he wrapped one arm around Charisse’s neck and kissed her, and kissed her, and kissed her until Bo yelled, “Let her breathe, T. Damn!”
They never issued a formal announcement to the public. Charisse simply started showing up to events with him, and when the press took note of the rings on their fingers, they figured it out.
The stories about their reunion were overwhelmingly positive, and some of the social media comments were interesting and funny.
Why you put him through all that? You know he loved you, girl.
Beautiful family #goals
What a beautiful sight. #blacklove
Of course, not everyone thought their reunion was a good idea.
I give it six months and he’ll be cheating on her again.
Some women never learn. LMAO
So dumb. He hasn’t changed. Guess she gonna learn the hard way. SMDH.
Sales ofAnnihilationsurpassed his previous works. The first release, “Without You,” was a huge hit and set the tone for what critics called a more mature album. Terrence won Album of the Year at the Grammys, and this time Charisse was right there, blowing him kisses and beaming proudly from the audience.
In a couple of weeks, he started rehearsals for the next tour. Fans snatched up tickets fast since they knew this was the last one before retirement. Ennis had decided to take a gap year before he started at Morehouse and planned to travel around the world with him while he toured.
Another big change in the past year was the birth of their daughter, who currently slept under the watchful gaze of the nanny. No one was more enamored with her than her big sister, Chelsea, who made plans to teach her everything she knew about being a princess.
“Come on in the water, baby. Are you going to stay out there writing all day?” Charisse pouted but resumed playing volleyball with their kids. She wore an aqua blue one piece that looked amazing against her skin, which had darkened to a toastier brown after days in the Hawaiian sun.
“One minute.” Terrence wrote a few more lines, noting his thoughts before they were gone. He could perfect the words later, but these verses were a start. He may never share them, but it felt good to write about the joy he felt every day ever since he reunited with his family.
He set aside the notebook and removed his sunglasses. Then he took a running leap toward the pool. “Incoming!” he yelled, and executed a perfect cannonball into the water, eliciting screams and shouts from everyone else.
He waded over to Charisse. “I’m on Mommy’s side.”
“No fair,” Chelsea said. “You’ll beat us.”
“There are three of you and two of us. Bring it.” Out the corner of his mouth, he whispered, “We’re kicking their asses.”
His wife giggled and shook her head.
His wife. Charisse was his wife again.
Her laughter, genuine happiness, and beauty blew him away. Every day he marveled at being given a second chance. Being given the opportunity to make her happy, to wake up next to this amazing woman. Older and wiser, he would never squander his chance again. He was too damn appreciative he actually received one.
He looped an arm around her neck and kissed her cheek. She beamed up at him with water droplets on her smooth skin. He kissed her soft lips, which were his to kiss whenever he wanted, as long as they both shall live. Charisse moaned, teasing him with a little bit of tongue.
Bump.
The beach ball bounced against the side of Terrence’s head. He tore his mouth away from Charisse and glared across the pool at his three laughing children. The boys gave Chelsea a high five.
“Great shot,” Junior said.
“That was you, princess?” Terrence said in his best wounded voice.
“That’s what you get,” Chelsea replied. “You kiss Mommy all the time. This is volleyball time, not kissing time.”
“Oh, it’s like that? Okay, get ready, cause it’s on.”
He picked up the ball and launched it across the water with a powerful serve. With lots of laughter and splashing around, an energetic game of water volleyball commenced.
And there was nowhere else Terrence Burrell would rather be.