The Flower Shop

Chapter Twelve

           "Jalil, I look at you and see God's provision. Because when He sent you to me.... when He sent you to me..." Nadia paused. She looked at her scrap piece of paper and shook her head in frustration at her vows.
          She'd been working on them for the last week and while she and Jalil had only recently set a wedding date for next year, she wanted them to be perfect.
           Sighing, she closed her notebook and put it on her dresser. Laying back on her bed and looking at her ceiling, Nadia prayed silently.
          
Lord, please help to write these vows. I wanna express how much I love Jalil verbally on our wedding day. Speaking of wedding day- God I still can't believe that I'm getting MARRIED! Can You? Well of course You can because You ordained it. Thank you, by the way. I know I say it every day, but God I can't help it. So, thank you. In Jesus name, Amen, Nadia prayed.

           Once she was done praying, Nadia sat up and felt peaceful. She knew that stressing over her vows was not beneficial. Instead, she'd just pray and ask God for guidance when writing them.
           Her phone rang and she picked it up, seeing that Jalil was calling her.
           "Hey there, fiancé." Nadia said as she answered the phone. Putting it to her ear, she stood and searched for her work binder, realizing that she had to finalize a paper order before putting it into her system.
           "Hey baby. Can you do me a favor and look outside on your front porch? I sent you something and they just told me that it was delivered." She heard Jalil say.
           "Ooooo baby not you getting me a surprise." Nadia said as she found her bedroom slippers and slipped them on. Going out of her front door, Nadia looked down at her welcome mat and only saw her the same old same old.
           "Baby there is nothing here." Nadia said, folding her arms across her chest and looking around at the trees that were planted around her apartment complex. She could tell from the browning leaves that the plants were not getting enough water or the roots were not deep enough.
           She heard Jalil laugh. "Baby, look straight ahead to this black truck." Nadia did so and focused on a brown truck in front of her. The paint was fresh and although it was an older vehicle, Nadia could tell that the owner took good care of it.
           Looking closer, Nadia spotted a figure in the car and soon recognized the neat braids on her fiancé's head. A smile graced her face and Nadia walked over to the drivers side. As soon as she did, Jalil opened the door and greeted her with a peck on her lips.
           "Is this what I think it is?" Nadia asked, excitement rising in her voice.
           "Yes, meet Buster- my newest baby." Jalil said, wrapping her arms around Nadia's waist, standing behind her.
           "Well, I guess I can't be mad at you calling someone else baby. Hi Buster welcome to the family." Nadia said as she waved at the car. Jalil laughed as he placed his head in the crook of her neck, his chin hairs tickling her neck lightly.
           "Come on, let's go for a ride." Jalil whispered to her and Nadia nodded yes eagerly. She quickly walked around the car and got into the passenger side of the car. Jalil got in and cranked up his truck, backing out of the parking spot.
           The mid-October air was cool as Jalil drove and Nadia checked out the upholstery in his truck.
           "What year is it?" Nadia asked as she fingered the maroon leather dashboard.
           "It's a 2010. This truck was fashioned after the 1950's chic style. Can't you tell by the door handles? It's definitely more on the classy side." Jalil explained and Nadia nodded, taking in his every word. The door handles were sleek and crème colored, making Nadia arch her eyebrow in surprise. The seats were crème leather and were smooth.
           "Babe where are we going? I forgot that I have on my house slippers."
           Jalil smiled. "Look in the back seat." He nodded his head towards the back and Nadia turned, looking. She gasped when she saw a wooden picnic basket.
           Hearing her gasp, Jalil chuckled and glanced at her frame which was still turned around.
           Nadia turned around and looked at Jalil. "You are full of surprises today, huh?"
           Jalil grabbed her hand with his free one and kissed it. "Yes. For you, yes."
           Nadia blushed and squeezed his hand tighter, rubbing her thumb across his knuckles.
           Soon, Jalil pulled into a vacant lot. Looking around, all Nadia could see was flowers as the open South Carolina land stretched out before her. As it was getting clear that summer and now out and fall was in, the browns, reds, and yellows of trees made Nadia stop and admire God for his creation. And while she wasn't in the upstate of her home state, she still saw hills and valleys stretched out before her in a glorious way.
           "I've been in this state all my life and I have never seen anything more beautiful." Nadia said as she got out of the car and exhaled.
           "I know the owner of this land." Jalil said and Nadia looked at him with a confused look on his face. "It's Mr. Ruffin. He said he and his wife saw it one day when they were dating and had to have it. It took them years to buy it but they finally did."
           "Mr. Ruffin is out here buying land and building generational wealth. See, that's the level I'm trying to get on." Nadia said as she nodded her head yes to herself. "Yeahhh, I'm definitely trying to have multiple streams of income."
           Jalil nodded his head in agreement. Now that he was officially off parole, he felt as though he could truly start building himself up. And one thing he wanted to do was to figure out how to invest and really build himself up financially.
           "Me too baby." Jalil said. "Come on, let's grab the picnic basket and blankets. We're gonna lay them out on the bed of the truck."
           Nadia did as Jalil instructed and soon the back of the truck looked like a makeshift pallet. After spreading out the materials on the bed on the truck, Jalil intertwined their hands and prayed over the food.
           "Baby I'm so happy you got a canteen." Nadia said as she poured hot water into a mug. She opened the tea packet and allowed the smooth scents of chamomile to fill her nose.
           "I knew you'd want your tea." Jalil winked at her before biting into a chicken wing.
           "So, how do you feel being a truck owner?" Nadia asked.
           "Good. Real good, baby. Like I see God's provision and I an so blessed. I'm excited to take you out on dates." Jalil said.
            Nadia smiled at the mention of dates. "Please don't tempt me to become excited." Nadia said.
           "Please be excited. You deserve all of it." Jalil said.
            The pair finished eating and with one another, wrapped up in the blankets. The fall air was crisp but comfortable as Nadia lay her head on Jalil's chest, stroking it with her hand.
           "You know, I know you had been quiet for a while, but I didn't think you were planning this." Nadia said as she watched the sun start to set.
           Jalil put an arm behind his head and allowed his free hand to rest on Nadia's slender waist.
           "What do you mean?" Jalil asked.
           "What I mean is that you've been quiet for a few days. I knew you were hiding something, and it turned out to be this truck. But I ain't mad. I love seeing you win."
           Jalil chuckled, the vibrations from his laugh radiating off of his chest and making Nadia smile.
           "Thank you. And yeah, I was quiet. But my quietness didn't come from the truck. I was processing a phone call I had gotten a few days ago."
           Hearing that made Nadia sit up and look at Jalil. "Are you ok."
           Jalil looked into her eyes which were laced with concern.
           "Yeah. I'm ok. To be honest, my grandmother called me. And she invited me up to spend Thanksgiving with her. I told her about you and would love if you came with me."
           Nadia's eyes widened in surprise as she eagerly nodded her head yes. She had heard many things about Jalil's grandmother and knew that meeting her was very special.
           "Jalil I'm excited. Nervous too. I hope she likes me." Nadia said.
           "Nah baby, don't be nervous." Jalil said kissing Nadia's hand. "If anyone is nervous, it should be me. I put that lady through some mess." Jalil said as he looked at the shadows that the setting sun was casting onto the land. His mind raked over his past- of all the times that he hurt his grandmother. And yet no matter what he did, she always loved him.
           Nadia touched his chin, causing him to look at her. "It's gonna be fine, baby. From what I hear your grandma is an amazing lady. Annndddd you also get to take me to the pizza spot you keep talking about."
           "You talking about Joe's?"
           "Yep. You always hating on our foods down here in the south. At least we like our sweet tea- sweet!"
           Jalil laughed. "Aye look, girl." He licked his lips, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer to him gently. "The only sweet thing I want is you." He murmured as he kissed her lips gently.
           The kiss grew and Nadia straddled his waist, her hands holding the back of his head.
           Breaking this kiss, the pair pressed their foreheads together breathing heavily.
           "You better be glad I'm saved." Jalil said as he looked into Nadia's eyes. Lately, she'd been more beautiful to him and their kisses had been more and more intimate. While he knew Nadia had never been intimate with a man, he had been intimate with a woman before and his flesh wanted to do some things to Nadia. However, his spirit was telling him other things.
           Nadia smiled at him, moving off of his waist and sitting back against the truck. "I am glad. We've been getting closer since the engagement and I can't lie to you, there are times where I want to go further." Nadia said.
           "I feel that. Shoot, so do I. But I want to respect you Nadia. More importantly, I want to honor God."
           Nadia nodded her head in understanding. "So, how about this. How about we have a codeword. When things get too carried away? That way we can both stop- pray- and focus on what's ahead of us."
           Jalil nodded his head in agreement. "Ok bet. So, what should the codeword be?"
           Silence fell between the two and they watched the sun hide behind the South Carolina sky. Suddenly, a word came to both of them and they looked at one another simultaneously.
           "Sunset!" They both said at the same time. A smile came to both of their faces as they realized what they had done.
           Jalil intertwined their hands. "So sunset it is, huh?"
           "Sunset it is." Nadia said as she nodded her head in agreement, laying her head on Jalil's shoulder and watching the the remnaints of the sunset.