Eternal Love: Beynika Oneshots

If You Need Me XI

Beyoncé Knowles
NYC

Misery loves company, they said. Whoever they were was positively correct. For the last four days that Onika l had been adjusting to her new home and out of the office, I'd been adjusting to the misery her absence had caused, and all I cared to have was her company.

Somehow, my mind had conditioned itself to believe that she was slipping away from my grasp. Initially, her time at the office with me had dwindled, and my original assistant was back on duty to whip the office into shape. Then came the apartment situation, where the comfort of her closeness ceased. To make matters worse, she'd helped me to understand the insanity that was going on in my chest and in my mind for all this time.

Having a seat between the two plots dedicated to my parents, I combed my hair with my fingers. It was a habit I'd adapted when attempting to conjure words that I didn't quite have. Currently, I was searching for the correct adjectives to describe such a beautiful soul, but I felt as if none would suffice.

Taking a look at the manicured lawn around their enclosure, I reminded myself to thank Braelyn, Brooklyn, and Bia for the upkeep. Since the day we'd laid them to rest, I hadn't been back. I'd made a promise to make them both proud and had been on that mission for the last twenty years. While I was booming in business and had made a name for myself in a predominantly white field and male, there was one piece of my happiness that I had yet to access.

Love. It was their final wish for me, sensing that I would be so wrapped up in my siblings live and becoming enslaved to my success that I would miss the opportunity when love presented itself. And, I almost had.

My parents wanted me to find someone who could fight the battles I'd left unscathed due to me fighting for others. They wanted marriage for me and for my children to carry on the family legacy. Each of my siblings had been given tasks - or wishes as we call them - to complete before accessing their personal fortunes.

They'd all made our parents proud. But, for me, coming by love was harder than building a multi-million-dollar company. I refused to settle for anything less than perfection, in my eyes at lease. Thankfully, I'd done well by myself. She'd come in the nick of time.

"I found her."

I had no more words. There weren't any on this earth to adequately describe her or what she'd meant for my life in the short amount of time that she'd been with me. I know that my mother would be proud. My mother would boast about me finally finding love while they collectively planted seeds in my head about marriage and a shitload of children that I wasn't sure if Onika even wanted to have. The thought of her brought a smile to my face.

"Onika. Onika is her name."

Shaking my head, I wondered how foolish they probably figured I was, not able to put together a simple enough conversation to tell them more about the woman I loved. Some things just never changed.

"I'll bring her by to meet you two sometime so that you can see her for yourself. I can't do her much justice. She's waiting, so I've got to get out of here."

I stood from the ground and dusted my pants. It was a Friday evening, and Onika was waiting - nervously - at home for me to pick her up for dinner. My family was in a hast to meet her, and I didn't want to keep them waiting forever. I'd already canceled the first, knowing that once Braelyn got ahold on Onika, I'd have to beg for her back. He was so damn overbearing.

"I love you two."

__

Without knocking, I used my key to enter Onika's place. She'd given it to me for emergencies, but I considered each of my visits to be just that. The lights were dimmed, and she was nowhere in sight. But, amongst announcing my presence, she came prancing out of the back with a dress much similar to the one we'd had our first dinner in. After expressing how much she'd wanted to keep it and how bummed she was that I had ripped it, I had my seamstress to create more, all in different cuts and colors. Tonight, she was wearing a pink piece.