Chapter 18

I smiledas I walked into the exam room and saw the cutest little girl with a big curly afro, dressed in a Wonder Woman costume, sitting in the dental chair. She looked nervous as her mother gently rubbed her hand. I closed the door and pulled my stool over to her.

"Good morning! I'm Dr. Mitchell. What's your name?"

She looked from me to her mother.

"Tell her your name, baby."

"Shana."

I extended my hand, she was hesitant to shake it.

"It's very nice to meet you, Shana! I love your hair. How old are you?

"I'm six years old."

"Wow, six years old! You're such a big girl. Is this your first visit?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm a little scared.

I smiled. "That's okay. It's normal to feel a little scared your first time, but I promise, I'm going to take really good care of you, and I'll explain everything we do. Okay?"

She relaxed a little. "Okay."

I stood, then went to wash my hands and put on a pair of gloves.

"Can you open your mouth really wide for me, like a big lion roar?

She giggled and opened her mouth wide. "Roar!"

I chuckled. "That's perfect! I'm going to use this little mirror to check your teeth and make sure they're all healthy. I promise it won't hurt at all."

She squeezed her mother's hand as I performed the oral exam. Most kids that came in had a mouth full of caps or cavities. Shana's teeth were perfect, and I could tell mom was doing an amazing job keeping them clean."

"You're doing great, Shana! Your teeth are very healthy. You must brush them every day?"

She boasted proudly as she held up two fingers. "Yes, twice a day!"

"And do you floss too?

She hesitated. "Sometimes, when my mommy helps me. Sometimes I do it too hard, and it makes my gums bleed."

"Well, we don't want that. Flossing is important for keeping your teeth and gums healthy. I can show you an easy way to floss on your own so that it doesn't hurt. Would you like that?"

"Yes, please!

I grabbed an unopened box of floss and pulled two pieces, handing one to her.

"First, take a piece of floss about this long and wrap most of it around your middle fingers, leaving a little space between."

She tried to wrap the floss around her fingers. "Like this?

I moved to assist her with the proper technique.

"Yes, just like that! Now, hold the floss tightly between these two fingers. Remember to leave the space in between."

"Okay, got it!

"Perfect. Now, gently slide the floss between two of your teeth, all the way down to your gums. Slide it up and down the sides of both teeth."

"Like this?"

"That's great, Shana! Make sure you're being gentle and not snapping the floss into your gums. It's important to clean both sides of each tooth. Always use a clean section of floss as you move from tooth to tooth. Don't forget to floss behind your very back teeth as well. It might be a little tricky at first, but with practice, you'll be a flossing pro."

I watched as she demonstrated what I showed her on a few teeth. She was very cautious and a good listener.

"There you go! You're a quick learner. Now, how about we clean your teeth? You have such a beautiful smile already, and I want to keep it that way. I'm going to use this special toothbrush to clean them really well. I just need you to sit back and relax for me. How about I put on some music for you? What do you like to listen to?"

Her mother chuckled. "She's an old soul. She loves listening to gospel with my grandmother."

I smiled. "What's her favorite song?"

"Blessed and Highly Favored."

"Excellent choice!"

I pulled off a glove and retrieved my phone from my pocket. Going to my gospel playlist, I turned on the song and watched Shana smile as the instruments dropped. She relaxed into the chair and opened her mouth. After reapplying a new glove, I got right to work cleaning her teeth and singing along to her. It took me no time to wrap up her cleaning.

"All done! You did an amazing job, Shana. Your teeth are sparkling clean!"

She smiled brightly in the mirror as she examined my handy work.

"That was easy!"

"You were a very brave little superhero today! And because you did such a great job, you get to pick a prize from our treasure chest.

Her eyes widened. "Really? Yay!

"Absolutely! Even superheroes like prizes. Keep up the good work with your brushing and flossing at home, and I'll see you again in six months for another checkup.

"Thank you, Dr. Mitchell!

"You're welcome, Shana! My assistant will be right in to set up your next appointment and take you to get your prize. Have a great day, beautiful."

I left them with a smile and headed to my office. We were about to close for lunch, and I was starving. Since breakfast was cut short, I hadn't eaten anything else. I grinned to myself as I slipped my wedding ring back on. I realized that I couldn't wear it with gloves on during my first appointment.

As I thought about this morning, I couldn't help but blush. That man loved me… he really loved me. I'd been on a high all day long thinking about those three little words. This feeling was so unreal, but it felt so damn good.

I opened my office door, and the smile dropped from my face. Sitting there was my sister. When I stepped in, she stood, offering me a slight smile.

"Hey, little sister."

I was hesitant as I closed the door. "What are you doing here, Ebony."

"I was hoping I could take you to lunch and we could talk. We can go to The Juke Joint."

I folded my arms. "Now you wanna talk after Myra cursed you out?"

She raised her hands. "Your little friend overstepped her boundaries… but she made some valid points. Please. I just wanna talk."

I hesitated for a moment before grabbing my purse.

"Fine. Let's go."

She stood as I opened the door and walked out. I followed her out into the front lobby and the front door to her car. The ride to The Juke Joint was taken in complete silence. I sat in my thoughts, thinking about just what I wanted to say to her. I thought back to the moment she told me that she and my brother-in-law were going to elope.

His family had given them so much gripe about wedding planning that they just went ahead and did it by themselves. I supported her. I'd even gone with her to be a witness because I saw how much in love they were and how bad they just wanted to be together.

I stood in the courtroom with a smile on my face as they recited their wedding vows, and I couldn't have been happier for her. Because my heart wouldn't let me, I hadn't thrown that up in her face, but she seemed to have forgotten that when I needed her.

That ended today, though. She was going to get a piece of my mind. We pulled up to the restaurant about ten minutes later and headed inside. Since this was one of my favorite places, I didn't need to look at the menu to know what I wanted ,and neither did she. We placed our orders and sat in silence until well after the waitress had left.

Finally, Ebony cleared her throat.

"How have you been?" She asked.

"Eb, I don't feel like the small talk. Say what you need to say so I can say what I need to say. As a matter fact, I'm gonna go first. It's fucked up that you couldn't stand beside me on the most important day of my life when I was right by your side six years ago. When you told me you wanted to elope, I didn't try to talk you out of it. I didn't tell you it was tacky or a waste of money to still get married in an expensive ass ceremony later. I was right there because you needed me."

She hung her head. "I know. I'm sorry. You have to admit that this whole thing was crazy, Kachelle."

"As crazy as it may have been, I've never been happier. My husband may have been a stranger at first, but he's the most loving, caring, kindhearted, and sweetest man I've ever met. I love him, and I will not continue to defend my marriage. Not to you, not to mom and dad… not to anybody."

"You… you love him? Already?"

"Yes. It was a shock to me, too. I can't help but feel like it was supposed to be like this. As crazy and unconventional as it was, I found my soulmate. This whole thing has taught me that sometimes you have to put faith and trust in the unknown to receive your blessing."

Ebony eyed me curiously. Her face softened, and she smiled.

"Looking at you, I can't help but be happy for you." She reached out and grabbed my hands. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you like I should have been. You're right. You stuck beside me and Omar with no questions asked. I should have been there for you. I just… you marrying a stranger scared me, Kachelle. You just broke the news to us on a whim, and it was a lot to process. Like, if you had talked to us about it beforehand, we might have been a little more receptive. You'd already decided to do it and had your interview. You only told us when they matched you."

"You think this was an easy decision, Ebony? I went back and forth about it for months. I had so many moments of self-doubt about it. In those moments, I talked to God because I knew none of you would ever understand."

"I want to understand, now. I know it's too late, but I'm willing to give Jacob a chance. He said we would love him if we got to know him. I want to love him for you because I can see how much you adore him. I've seen your pictures on Instagram. I've seen the cute little videos of you two. I've never seen you look as happy with anybody as you do with him. You're glowing, sis. Are you sure that's not more than a happily married glow? Am I gonna be an auntie?"

I tried to hide my smile. "Well, as much as we've been getting it in, I wouldn't be surprised if my birth control failed me."

"Damn, it's like that?"

I bit my lip as I nodded. "It's just like that. I can't get enough of him."

She giggled. "A good man with good dick that treats you well? You can't beat that."

"I wouldn't even try. I know things won't be perfect, but life with him is beautiful, Eb. We're moving into our first home soon, and I can't wait to fill it with memories and babies."

Her smile widened. "I love that for you. I really do. Please forgive me, Kay. I've missed you so much."

I fought back the tears stinging my eyes. "I've missed you too, sis."

We both stood from the table and embraced each other in a sisterly hug. It did my heart so much good in this moment. I loved my sister, and I'd always hated being at odds with her, ever since I was a kid. I hated drama and confrontation. Hopefully now that we had squashed things, my parents would be next on the list.