Scared To Love You Again

66

Leila

"I don't wanna go home." I fake cried into my best friend's lap. All of us took the jet back to the states. Ugh it's so ghetto over there. I wanna stay in Europe forever. The last couple of days were truly amazing and memories I'll cherish forever. I wish I could just go back and relive Damian's proposal. That really explains why he was acting so weird. Ahhhh! I'm gonna be a Romano!

The women sat and talked in the back of the plane while all the men were playing card games in the front. "You have toooo. We gotta start preparing for a wedding." Imani advised.

I blushed when she mentioned that word. "Oh my God!" I shouted with excitement.

"So what theme are you thinking about, sweetheart" Mama questioned.

"I don't know, mama. This is all so new. I mean he proposed a couple days ago."

"Right. I'm sorry, baby. I'm just... so excited." She begins to grow teary eyed.

"Mama, what was your wedding like?" Nia asked. I'm just as curious.

She chuckles. "Ohhhh, my wedding? Well, I was uh eighteen years old and pregnant with Domenico at the time. Our wedding wasn't huge. In fact, we got married on a sneak tip. My parents didn't like the idea of me dating outside my race, but I didn't care. Angelo was the most attractive Italian man I've ever met."

"So did you marry him for his looks?" Imani asked.

"No. That was just a bonus compared to who he truly was... is. I married him, because he loved me. He listened, didn't treat me like shit around his friends and family. Never talked to me crazy. He always made sure I came first. Pun intended."

"Ha haaaah!!" I laughed along with Imani and Nia.

"But seriously." She continued. "Angelo was always there as I was for him. Despite my background. I didn't grow up in the same neighborhood as he did, but it didn't matter to him. He accepted me for who I was and not where I came from. Angelo is like the water that always puts out my fire. Now look at us, married for thirty years and I'm still obsessed with him."

Whew, she ain't told a lie yet. "Cheers to that!" We clinked our mimosas together. Damn thirty years? Mama and Angelo still look good for their ages. They can definitely pass for at least twenty five. Can't say the same for Emilio though.

"So mama..."

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I've always trusted your judgment. Why don't you plan our wedding?"

She gasped dramatically. "Me? You want me to plan it?"

I laughed. "Yeah."

"Y'all must love seeing me cry or something. Y'all know I'm extra as hell."

The girls giggled. "We know."

"Of course I'll plan your wedding, baby." She embraced me emotionally.

"Thank you, mama."

"I need another damn drink." She announced.

I downed the rest of mine and stood to my feet. "I need to go check on my father. I forgot he's afraid of heights." I left the backroom to head to the front and noticed all the men were drinking, including my father. "Daddy?"

Damian and my father both turned their heads towards me. Wow, I forgot. Not this time, fiancé. Damian chuckled and reverted himself back to their card game.

"I came out here to see if you were okay."

"Oh, yeah. I'm alright, Just playing spades with the fellas."