I walked onto the court and started shooting some baskets while I waited for my late cousin. I’d almost joined a game with a couple of other guys, when Channing ran clumsily into the gym with his duffle bag bobbing close behind on his shoulder. I gave Channing a look he didn’t even have to decipher.
“Man, what the hell is going on?” he asked.
I thought Kemara would already have some insight on the problem since Tameka and her sister discussed everything. I passed Channing the ball and let out a grand sigh.
“What isn’t going on?” I rolled my eyes. “Last night was supposed to conclude in climaxes, scratches on my back, and pu—”
Channing quickly cut me off from spilling the unnecessary details of my love life with his sister-in-law.
“Okay, okay, I get it!” He laughed a little, and I knew he understood perfectly well how great the sex was post-proposal. He’d had a smile on his face since he proposed to Kemara. “What I don’t get is how a Casanova like you let something get in the way of your special night with your lady. Your smooth talk and moves couldn’t dodge whatever it was that cock-blocked you?” Channing paused a minute and continued, “Wait…was it your pops?”
I threw the ball at the goal as hard as I could, and Channing quickly got serious. “Don’t let him maneuver his way in between you and Tameka. You did right the other day when you left his house. Sometimes, we have to let go. Hopefully, he will come around. That’s why I go over there sometimes, to talk to him about the way what he is doing is making you feel.”
“Oh yeah? Well, how are those talks coming along?” I asked sarcastically.
“About as good as talking to a brick wall, but I do it anyway because your father has always been a reasonable man, and I keep thinking he’ll come around.”
“Yeah, well, what he’s doing right now isn’t reasonable, and I’m not going to kiss his ass to appease him. I love Tameka, and nothing he says will change that.”
“I know, man. It’s just sad to see another part of our family broken because of people hating on love. It’s a fucked up way to be.” Channing started to pace, as if memories came flooding back in from when his father attempted to wedge his way in between him and Kemara. He knew all too well what it was like when family voiced such strong opinions about who you chose to love all because of the color of their skin.
“It is sad, but I’ll have to learn to live without him around. I mean...you were there. You saw how heated things were just because I told him I was going to marry Tameka. He just flat out denied me. All the fucking name-calling, the hate in his heart!” I shook my head. “I won’t tolerate that in my life. I can’t anymore. Tameka and the kids are my family now. I can’t have my father berating me like I’m a child, when he’s the one that has an immature mentality about race.”
Channing stopped taking shots into the hoop and bounced the ball a while. He walked over and patted me on the back.
“Man, if anyone knows how you feel, you know damn well that it’s me. Me and Kemara got your back. Don’t forget, we’re your family too,” Channing expressed while noting simultaneously that things were starting to feel too sentimental. “Uh, we’re getting a little too in our feelings though man, so I’m going to give you some space,” he added.
Channing took another shot and slapped his chest when the ball went into the hoop. “Your big cuz is here for you though, man,” Channing said.
I could imagine how my concerned face transitioned promptly to a smile. Channing cracked a smile too. Then, I remembered that wasn’t the end of my troubles.
“But see, that’s not even the half of it, Channing. Last night, I had planned this great big dinner for Tameka, and I had a surprise for her…”
Channing was bouncing the ball, waiting for me to reveal what the surprise was, but quickly became inpatient. “Um...okay, aaaand…?”
I was a little hesitant to reveal to my cousin what I wanted to ask Tameka. I was nervous that everyone was going to take this the wrong way.
“What? Were you going to present her with the Tinder profile of some chick who agreed to that threesome you’ve been fantasizing about since we were ten?” Channing began cackling, amused at his joke and also at the thought of me asking my new fiancée what she thought about us bringing in a third wheel into our bedroom.
I squinted my eyes at Channing, annoyed that he probably would never drop that story. I cleared my throat and said, “What I was going to present Tameka with were four tickets to Hawaii this summer. I was planning on asking her if she wanted to just go with me, her, and the kids, on an island…to say our vows to each other on one of those white, sandy beaches.”
Channing stopped bouncing and pacing and stared at me in amusement. “You were going to ask her to elope?”
I looked at my cousin and shrugged my shoulders.
“Yeah, so what?”
“Dude. You know how many times I’ve alread
y had to cut my game of NBA 2K short because your fiancée and my wife consumed our living room with wedding plans? And now you want to elope? I’m not so sure how she’s going to feel about that, Jeb,” Channing said, shaking his head in disagreement. “Matter of fact, I know it’s not going to go over well.”
“I know she’s really excited and into planning this wedding, but I just don’t want anything to go wrong, Channing. I mean, I can’t have anyone trying to sabotage her special day. That would hurt her more, and I’m supposed to guard her from that,” I said.
Channing took a step closer to me. I was well-intentioned, and he knew it. “So this is because of your dad? You want to elope because of your pops?”
I tried to stare him in the face as a show of strength and a level of manhood that proved my father had nothing to do with this decision, but I quickly backed down.
“It’s not just because of him, Channing. It’s…it’s everyone. I’m not really dealing well with everyone’s input, you know. Dirty Neil and the rest of the boys have been talking shit when I run into them in town. My pops and my relationship has gone to the tank. And to be honest, I’m terrified of what I may do if someone, who’s heart is full of hate, comes to our wedding and ruins the day. That wouldn’t only break Tameka. It would break me.”