Poems For Daniel

Twenty-Four

Christmas had finally arrived, and everything was going well... Joshua was over and the fireplace was going. Presents were opened, and I received my car keys back along with my phone. Mom was cooking and Serene and Josh were talking on the couch. I sighed while sitting at the kitchen table... It's been days since I've last seen Jeremiah, and I've failed to ask him if he was going to come over for Christmas...

The doorbell rang. "I got it," Serene called from the living room. I looked out the kitchen window to see Jeremiah's Jeep parked near the mailbox. My eyes widened as butterflies fluttered in my stomach. "Safaree!" my name was called. I went into the living room to see Jeremy with a high stack of presents. He set the presents down. "Jeremiah," I nearly teared up when I saw him. He smiled before pulling me into his arms. "Safaree," he said. "I didn't think you'd come," I told him. "It's Christmas. Why wouldn't I?" he kissed my forehead. "I got everybody presents," he smiled before pulling away from me. "Serene... I know we've had a bit of a rough patch especially that one morning in the kitchen, but I got you something anyway," he smiled. "Thank you, Jeremiah," she hugged him. Jeremy looked at me, a bit puzzled by why she was hugging him. "It's cool. It's cool," I reassured him. "Oh, okay," he chuckled. "Safaree, my love... I got you these two," he handed me a medium sized box and a small box. "Don't open those yet," he winked at me. "Where's Ma?" he asked, moving a few boxes. "Mom! Get in here!" Serene smiled. She eventually made her way into the room, looking at Jeremy then at me. "I know what happened a while ago was awful, and I promise you it'll never happen again. And, to reassure you, I got you this," he smiled, handing her a box. She hesitantly took it and unwrapped it. Her jaw dropped as she opened the box... It was a gorgeous necklace. "Jeremiah, you didn't have t--." "I wanted to. Thank you for taking me in and accepting Safaree and I's relationship," he said. She smiled slightly before Jeremy hugged her. I smiled at the sight before they pulled away. Everyone gathered to watch me open my gifts. Jeremy smiled and stepped closer toward me. "Don't open the small one yet," he whispered into my ear. I nodded before opening the bigger one first. It was a crew neck sweater with a black and white picture of us on the front. "I love this, Jeremiah," I smiled. "Yeah, I know you like corny stuff like this," he chuckled before I playfully hit him. He took my hand into my his before taking the crew neck sweater from my grip gently. He led me into the kitchen for a bit of privacy. "Open your present," he instructed with an eager smile. I unwrapped the small box, glimpsing up at him every so often while doing so. There, in my hand, was a small black box. The material that was covering the box was suede. Jeremiah took the box from my fingertips carefully before getting down on one knee. My heart dropped as my breath hitched in my throat. "Jeremy, what are you do--." Words stopped flowing from my lips as the lid of the box was lifted, unveiling a ring with a HUGE rock. Tears made their way into my eyes as I looked down at him. "Safaree, I know this has caught you off guard, and I know how much you hate being put on the spot... but, I just feel like this the perfect time to take that step that we've talked about taking... Safaree, I couldn't imagine myself with anyone else, and you've really changed me for the best. You have encouraged me to take the right path, and you have even disciplined me, sometimes," he chuckled. "Now, you know how I've been brought up, and where I'm from, a guy would usually say that they want you in their team, but Safaree... I want us to become a team, and to make it official, I want you to have this ring... Safaree, will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Jeremiah Vincent?" he inquired. I looked up to see everyone crowded in the kitchen's threshold. Serene was nodding her head, urging me to say yes. Josh was pretty much doing the same. I didn't even have time to look at my mother because that was the moment that I began hearing my heart beat in my ears. It was going 90+ miles per hour and everything began slowing down. I looked at Jeremiah, a puzzled expression on his face. I began panting heavily as he slowly stood. He began talking, but I couldn't understand what was being said seeing as though his speech was so slow. My eyelids became heavy. Everything darkened...

I awakened in Jeremy's arms. I looked up at him as he dabbed a wet face towel on my face. "Are you okay, Baby?" he softly asked. I nodded, taking in my environment. We were sitting on the kitchen floor. My head nested in his lap as he began caressing my face and hair. "Is she up?" Serene came into the room. "Yeah," he nodded. "Good. I'll go tell Ma," she spoke before leaving again. I slowly sat up before Jeremy pulled me close. "Yo, you scared the fuck out of me, Safaree," he confessed. He kissed me over and over again, making my knees a bit weak. Damn, it felt good to kiss him again. "I love you," he whispered. "I love you too," I smiled slightly. He pecked my lips before taking my hand into his. He assisted me with standing before my mother made her way into the kitchen. She hugged me tightly. "You're always doing something to worry me," she smiled slightly at me. I smiled back before she hugged Jeremy. "Thank you for taking care of her, Jeremiah."

Later on, Jeremy and I were left to our on privacy. He held me in his arms as we softly conversed about things that didn't matter. He gave me occasional kisses as I messed with his fingers. "Safaree," he spoke, interrupting my pointless yapping. I looked up at him, waiting for him to speak. "You never said yes or no," he spoke very modestly on the subject. I knew exactly what he was talking about it. "I was just really overwhelmed," I sighed. "If you wanna sleep on it, I'm okay with that. It's fi--." "Jeremiah, I love you so so much, and you know I do. I can't live without you, and I know because I've tried," I laughed slightly. He only cracked half a smile before continuing to listen to what I had to say. "I don't know if I'm ready for this. I mean, we're only sixteen and seventeen. We have the whole rest of our lives to get married... Shit, I'd marry you even if we waited until we were eighty years old," I admitted. "So, it's a no," he spoke disappointedly. "Don't say it like that, Jeremiah. Don't even think of it like that," I placed my hand on his shoulder. He didn't look up at me. He just sat there looking sorry for himself. "It's not a 'no'. It's a 'later'," I told him. "Yo, I'm going to go ahead and go," he spoke softly. "What's the rush?" my eyebrows furrowed. He didn't reply. He just stood and kissed my forehead. "Jeremiah," I spoke, gripping articles of his clothing and trying to keep him with me. "Jeremiah, talk to me. Don't do this to me," I struggled to make him stay and I struggled to gain eye contact.

He ignored me before I forcefully pulled him by the hood of his hoodie. "Yo, chill!" he shouted, facing me and showing his teary, red eyes. "Jeremiah, I am so sorry. I can come over later, if y--." "You know what? Distance is good. Distance is so fucking good right now," he spoke. "Jeremy, please," I looked into his eyes. He stared into my eyes, his facial expression becoming cold to conceal the fact that he was crying. "Distance is not good, Jeremiah. You know it isn't," I told him. I took his hands into mine before pecking his lips. "It's not a 'no', J," I reminded him. He remained quiet as I sat him back on my bed. "I didn't mean to disappoint you," I spoke softly. "Nah, you good. I was trippin'... I just expected you to say yes. I mean, you even said that you'd say yes if I asked--." "I know. I know, but let's just slow it down a bit, okay?" I softly spoke. He sighed before replying. "Fine." "I love you," I whispered. "I love you too, Baby," he caressed my cheek. His touch alone sent my mind in a frenzy. "You're turning red," he smiled slightly. "You know what you do to me, Jeremiah. Don't sound so surprised," I replied. He smiled before beginning to kiss my lips. His arms wrapped around me as he began kissing my neck. Goosebumps made their appearance all over as waves rippled from all directions. "You cold or something?" he asked quietly as his hands ran up and down my body. "I'm anything but cold," I managed to answer. "You got these goosebumps though," he whispered as his hands rapidly rubbed against my bare thighs. "Am I helping?" he asked. I bit my lip and nodded my head. He looked up at me before smiling slightly. "You're getting turned on. Aren't you?" he gave me a suspicious look. "Maybe," I blushed. He shyly smiled and chuckled.

I kissed his lips and pulled him closer to me. "You know what you do to me," I whispered into his ear. "Refresh my memory," his hand rested on my hips. "You make me--." "Safaree," my name was called from my door way. It was Serene. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she smiled slightly. "It's fine... Wh-What do you want?" I inquired as Jeremiah pulled away from me. She motioned me over as if it were very urgent. I sighed before walking over toward her. She closed my bedroom door behind me with an excited smile on her face. "Did you say yes?" she inquired. "Serene, you know I love Jeremiah with all my heart, but--." "So, you said yes?" she smiled even broader. "Serene, just listen to me--." "Oh my fucking gosh. You did! You did it!" she shrieked and began jumping up and down. "Ma! Ma!" she ran down the hall and toward the kitchen. "No, Serene! Please!" I called after her. I groaned... She wasn't listening to me and was already too far gone to hear me...

I returned back into my room. "What was that about?" Jeremiah inquired as my back was pressed against the closed door.

"Apparently.... We're getting married," I answered.