Page 24 of Fervor
“Yeah, she probably smacked your ass for that comment.”
He chuckled. “She tried, but I dodged that shit.”
We laughed. I slid my hand down my face and decided to clue him in on what’s been going on. “You remember the Pattersons and Vegas?”
“How could I not? Those niggas were everywhere.”
“I met up with them in Florida. Vegas’s mom, sister, and brother all live in Tallahassee. His sister had a baby, and they were all there to spend time with her. He and Jungle are both married with families.”
“No shit? I never thought those niggas would leave the game.”
“Me either. I hung out with them a couple of times.”
“That’s cool.”
I nodded, trying to figure out a way to tell him I was getting married. Nothing came to me, so I decided to just say it. “I’m getting married.”
His head turned to me so fast he should have gotten whiplash. “Nigga, what?”
“The road, Harlan.”
He frowned as he turned forward. “When the fuck you got a girlfriend you didn’t tell me about?”
“I didn’t have a girlfriend, I?—”
“Then how the fuck you getting married?”
“If you let me finish.” He took a deep breath and slid his hand over his mouth in disbelief. “I went through a company called Arranged Hearts. They matched me with someone. We meet at the altar.”
His head spun to me again then quickly went back to the road. “That sound like shit white people do, nigga. Since when you got into shit like that? People lie. What if you get hooked up with a serial killer?”
“It was a risk I was willing to take. I’m sick of ratchet shit. Plus, they do extensive background checks. I even had to have bloodwork done to make sure I’m clean. I just… I need you there to be my best man. You the only family I got.”
“Nigga, this is crazy as fuck, but you know I’m gon’ support you. This ain’t the first crazy thing you’ve done. I’ve always had your back. That shit ain’t gon’ change. I just hope you know what you’re doing. How did you hear of them anyway?”
“A chick I was trying to get with got matched through them. She turned me down because she was getting married. Plus, Vegas’s sister went through them too. She’s been married for two years or so, and they just had their first baby together.”
“I knew it had to be a woman.”
I smiled slightly. “And her ass is from here. Her sister is married to Vegas.”
“Well, shit. What if y’all get matched to each other?”
“She got matched before my interview even happened, but she had to be rematched. So, I guess it’s possible, but what’s the probability?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “You never know, nigga.”
“Right,” I said then rubbed my hand down the top of my head.
I was trying to get Yunique off my mind, but I allowed the conversation to veer and put her right back on it. I didn’t feel like we would even get matched. My interview was too freshwhen they were searching for her another match. They probably hadn’t even analyzed my answers to the questions yet.
We went to Harlan’s house for me to put my bag down and for me to shoot the shit with Charmaine, then had her drop us at the Dodge dealership to purchase two trucks. One of them had to be left there to get a bed installed on it. Harlan would swap them out once it was ready. I put an ad on Indeed and updated our website to where it would accept applications. I looked mainly for CDL drivers, ex-truck drivers. They knew the rules of the road, and most times, they knew how to strap loads down on the flatbed when necessary.
When we got back to his house, Charmaine was watching TV. Before I could even sit down good, Harlan said, “This nigga is getting married to a woman he’s never seen.”
She frowned. “Like that showMarried at First Sight?”
“Something like that. Yeah.”