I immediately cleared out the suite, evacuating bridesmaids and makeup artists alike, while Bleu shuffled out Axel and my mother showed herself out. After peeling Isa out of her wedding dress and getting her into some comfortable clothes, I turned to her with concern written across my face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I wanted to so bad, but I couldn’t find the words….”
“You’re my other half. Don’t ever feel like you can’t tell me things.”
She forced a half smile. “I know.”
“Besides, we’ve been through everything else together, and we always get through it. This is no different.
“This is a baby, Imani. A whole fuckin’ life that I’m responsible for now. Everything is different.”
“Isa, who’s the father?”
“His name is Elijah. Elijah Stone. He’s a chef. A uh, pretty popular one.”
“What are you gonna do? Are you gonna tell him? Does he already know?”
Isa sighed. “He doesn’t. And listen, Imani, I know you have a million questions, and I promise you that one day I’ll give you a million answers. But right now, I don’t wanna think anymore. I just wanna go home and sleep for a week. Can you get me home?”
“Yeah, I’ll get you home,” I assured her, “wait here.”
∞∞∞
Two and a half hours later, I was just as stressed and upset as I’d been when everything started to unfold. I worked alongside the wedding planner to ensure we got all the guests out of there after she announced that there wouldn’t be a wedding. With my phone in hand, I sat in the passenger seat as Bleu drove me back to my hotel while clicking away at my screen to reschedule my flight.
“You okay?” Bleu asked, taking his eyes away from the road.
“I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“I said I'm fine. Stop asking!” I snapped.
Bleu shook his head. “Nah, I'm not gon’ stop until you tell me what's wrong, and don't try lying to my face anymore either. That shit don’t work with me.”
“Who are you, my father? If I said I’m fine, then I’m fine, okay?”
“Yo, chill. I’m not tryna be your father, Imani. I’m just tryna be an adult and talk to you like one, but if you wanna sit over there and keep actin’ like a child, then you do that.”
“I’m just tired, okay? Today was the day from hell. I’m worried about my sister, plus I have to get back to my hotel and finish packing. I already had to delay my flight once. I don’t want to do it again,” I grumbled.
“Was that so hard?”
“It was, especially when I made it clear that I don’t wanna fuckin’ talk right now, Bleu!”
“Is this how little you think of me?”
“Excuse me?”
“This shit between us is still unresolved, and you wanna put me on ice like I’m not worth a few minutes of your time.”
“Are you kidding me right now? You wanna talk about us when my sister is sitting at home pregnant with a broken heart on what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life? You wanna talk about us when my mother single-handedly ripped my fuckin’ family apart?” I yelled.
The last thing I could focus on was my own happily ever after, even if every time I looked at him, it was like when the Grinch's heart grew three sizes. There would always be something about Bleu that I couldn’t quit, but I had too much on my plate to even try to sort through my feelings for him with all the chaos surrounding me. I knew I had to say something I couldn’t come back from for him to let me go.
“What do I gotta do to convince you to stay?” Bleu asked, pulling up to my hotel.
I shook my head. “Convincing me to stay would be a waste of your time. We don’t want the same things.”