Page 16 of Fervor
I put my hand to my chest in a playful manner. “Don’t disrespect our colors like that, woman.”
We laughed as baby girl stirred in my arms.God.I wanted this so badly I could taste it. When Arranged Hearts called me yesterday evening, I knew I was one step closer to what I wanted. I couldn’t believe they’d matched me so quickly. It hadn’t been but three days when they called. I literally had stopped breathing when I saw their name on my caller ID. They had to call my name out twice after they said they’d found a match for me.
All the planning would be up to me. The groom had only asked to be consulted about things before final decisions were made. However, he wanted the day to represent whatever my dream wedding looked like. I’d had a permanent smile on my face since then, and I had immediately called Giselle to tell her the news. Of course, once I talked to her about it, since she referred me, I called Keke.
She was so excited for me, along with Sasha. We’d called her on three-way. Her fiancé was finally home from prison, so itwasn’t often she was available to talk. I was surprised she’d even made a trip out here without him. Since he’d gotten out early, he couldn’t leave the state. My mama had promised to fly in early to help me with everything once I picked a date. This was just so overwhelming. I needed to calm down and let the news sink in so I could function.
I kissed the top of Akia’s head then felt my phone vibrating. I figured it was probably Keondra. They were supposed to be on their way here to see the baby. We would be going out again tonight since they were leaving Sunday morning. Tomorrow, we planned to spend the day here, cooking and enjoying family for their last day in town. I was shocked they’d stayed as long as they did. They’d been here over a week.
All the Berottes had left a couple of days ago. They had to get back to their lives. I couldn’t wait to make my way to Beaumont to hang out with them. With my wedding pending, I knew it would be a while before that could happen.
I quickly pulled the phone from my pocket, and when I saw Arranged Hearts on the caller ID, I quickly answered. “Hello?”
“Hello! Doctor Mott?”
“Yes. How are you?”
“I’m great. This is Kerri from Arranged Hearts. How are you?”
I noticed her voice lacked the excitement it normally had. Itwasa Friday evening, so maybe she was just tired. “Yes, ma’am. I’m ecstatic. I’m holding my beautiful god baby.”
“Aww, I can’t wait to meet her in person.” She paused for a moment, and that caused my smile to dim. “Umm… so I hate to have to inform you that your groom changed his mind about going through the program. His family was giving him an extremely hard time about it, and he said no woman deserved to go through the ridicule that could stem from that.”
My smile dropped from my lips, and my heart sank to my feet. “O-okay,” I said as I could hear my voice quiver.
“Don’t worry. You will be matched again. This wasn’t your fault or ours. It’s rare that something like this happens, but ithashappened before. I would much rather this than him marrying you and it not working out. So this is for the best. We had quite a few clients come in this week, so the pool has been refreshed.”
“Okay. Thank you so much.”
“Please don’t let this get you down, Yunique. I’m pretty sure there’s another great man out there you will be matched with. Our team is working over the weekend, hoping to have results by Monday or Tuesday. I feel like your name will pop up again in those results. We definitely made sure to make you of high priority. You will be considered for matching before any other bride. Please accept my sincere apologies.”
“No apology needed, Kerri. Like you said, this is for the best.”
“Okay. Talk to you soon.”
I ended the call and allowed the tears I was restraining to fall down my cheeks. “Whoa! Nique, what’s going on?”
“The man I was matched with backed out.”
I couldn’t even stare up into her eyes. I was so hurt and, for some reason, embarrassed. I didn’t understand why that emotion was present, but it was. I held Akia closer to me and just rocked her as Giselle approached and knelt in front of me.
“Look at me, sis.”
I shut my eyes tightly for a moment then stared into her face. “G, this was like being told the day before graduation that you didn’t pass a class you needed to graduate. What will I tell everyone?”
“Baby, just tell them the truth. This isn’t on you, so please stop acting like it is. That man doesn’t even know who you are. Don’t take this personal, because it’s not, sis. He knows nothingabout you. If his family is behaving badly enough to make him change his mind, then consider this a dodged bullet.”
“I don’t even know if I want to go out now. I’m not in the mood.”
“Oh, hell naw. You are going to go out with Vegas, Jungle, Kee, and Chelsea and have an amazing time. Don’t let that get you down. You’ll probably get an even better match. Do I need to call my mama to come over and talk to you? You know I will.”
“I know. She’ll have the entire crew in tow. It just stings a bit. I’ll be okay. You’re right. I’m tripping.”
“That, you are! Now unhand my child so you can go home and relax before your night of festivities.”
I smiled slightly and handed Akia back to her. I could sit here all day holding her. She squirmed as Giselle stood with her, then got comfortable in her mother’s arms, releasing a small humming like noise. She was the cutest and could give a woman going through menopause the fever. I stood and grabbed my cross body and kissed G’s cheek then Akia’s foot.
“I’ll talk to you later. I can promise that I’ll probably get drunk tonight though. I just want to forget about that phone call altogether.”