pure, brown skin bride | Suds 3

pure, Suds 3 | Episode 15

{Last time on Suds, Lique suffered through an awful nightmare until she was whisked up high into the most promising dream.

Meanwhile, Jeanette was entangled with Garrett Avers who suggested Lique might have a deep dark secret. But more interesting was that little something between the Nette and Garrett that makes us all go... hmmmm. What's really going on here?

Let's find out. Ready, Set... Suds!!}

~

LEILAH shimmied out of the tank top and slid into a summer dress. Her belly poked out. Bloating, she guessed.

The last time she went grocery shopping, a man congratulated her on being pregnant. She almost flooded the ice cream aisle in tears.

Rolling her eyes at the unpleasant memory, Leilah sighed and rifled through her closet for something loose around the waist. At this point, she'd make a potato sack work.

A royal blue shirt dress caught her attention. She held the bright garment up and studied her reflection in the mirror. Then she slipped it on. Pleased with the flow, she hooped bangles around her wrists, and slid on gladiator sandals detailed with hot pink and blue with gold studs.

After getting dressed, she rushed out the back door to her patio and yelled across the lawn.

"JD!" she called over the blasting summer anthem of cookouts everywhere.

JD glanced up from behind a huge barrel grill. A smile shimmered in his eyes and fresh waves crowned his head, glistening under the early afternoon sun.

An easy smile glossed her lips. Every time her brother smiled, she was reminded that he was alive. God breathed life into his lungs. And every breath he shared with them was a miracle.

She turned up her momma voice.
"You ready for these chicken wings?"
"Yeah, bring 'em over."

Leilah grabbed a large bowl of marinated chicken, skipped down her back stairs, and over to JD's yard next door.

They had removed the fence between their homes to create a shared outdoor area for their youngest siblings.

JD lined meats up in neat rows on the oversized grill, singing along with the cookout anthem.
"Ooooh Summertime."

Leilah put the bowl on the table.
"Do we need anything else?"
She scanned their yard.

A monstrous inflatable water slide filled her side of the yard. She hired attendants to keep children from getting too rowdy. Face painting and carnival games dotted the perimeter. Picnic tables and chairs were along the far side of JD's yard by the grill, and the grassy area in the middle was set aside for mingling or dancing.

JD kissed her cheek.
"Nah, we're good now," he said. "You hooked it up, Lei."

She grabbed the tongs from him. "Get dressed. People should be arriving soon."

He scrunched his face. "Alright, bossy."
"You're welcome, Mr. Last Minute."
JD chuckled, skipped up his back stairs and disappeared.

Leilah smiled. Her younger sisters and brothers were finally okay.

JD woke from his coma. Lique was breaking free of her mental prison. Zeniya was taking summer classes at the university. And the family moved Ty, Tyler, and Tutu away from the west side before their teenage years.

Even if she couldn't have a baby, she had raised six children since she herself was a child. Blessed, she already was.

~