Epilogue

(Vanessa)

It was not an easy time for us over the next few weeks. First of all, Tom flew us to Las Vegas and we got married (I was pretty sure that he had sown his seed inside me the night before). We had a one night honeymoon, before we had to come home and face the music.

My father was furious. He wanted to have the marriage annulled until I told him that there was a good chance I was already pregnant. My mother on the other hand, was surprisingly supportive. She and Tom had a good long talk behind closed doors and they emerged laughing. It turned out that she had had a white lover when she was young. She loved my father very much, but had always wondered what would have happened had she married her first love.

My two brothers were split on me. My oldest brother Richard, was the oldest child. Like me (and two of my sisters), he was well educated and was a mechanical engineer who worked for a defense contractor. Richard was about a couple years older than Tom and they seemed to hit it off really well.

My youngest brother was also the youngest child. He washed out of Howard and was really militant. He threatened to kick Tom's ass and I was kind of scared for a while. It took some time that night, but Tom eventually won him over when he managed to successfully argue against my father that Rap was a form of poetry and that good Rap will be remembered that way. Jamaal hugged Tom as he left and patted him on the back. I overheard him whisper to Tom. "You love her, right?"

"I do and if I ever hurt her, you'll hurt me."

"Something like that," Jamaal grinned evilly.

Tom laughed and I caught his eyes looking into mine as he responded. "I've been looking for someone like your sister for years and luckily I finally found her. I've given myself to Vanessa completely."

"Better you than me," he laughed.

Tom never stopped looking at me and turned his attention back to my brother. "You're young. One day, you'll meet a woman who's sheer perfection. If you're lucky, she'll capture your heart like Vanessa captured mine."

I smiled. Tom was mine. I had never felt so appreciated, loved and yes, happy.

It turned out that two of my sisters, (Wanda and Tasha) were happy about me and Tom too. Tasha (like me) went to Smith and was worried that perhaps I liked girls too much. She was ecstatic that I had gotten married, but was a bit miffed that she could not have attended. We promised her that we would have a small family ceremony in church to "legitimatize" our marriage. Wanda was a Comp Lit major like I was, but she went to Howard. At first, she had been ambivalent about Tom, but after she saw us playing our little "quote games" she admitted she was jealous. "I wish I could do that with Neil, but we usually just wind up talking about 'the Hawks'," she lamented. When we were about to leave, Wanda took his hand in hers and uttered, "'Parting is such sweet sorrow'."

Tom kissed Wanda's hand and finished the quote, "That I shall say good night till it be morrow."

I laughed, now knowing that Tom had won over everyone in my family with the exception of the youngest of my sisters and my father.

My sister April was two years older than me. She had made the mistake of getting pregnant out of wedlock in high school; losing a promising college volleyball career and a likely college scholarship along the way. In my mind, she compounded her sin by marrying the father of her child. Trey was a good-for-nothing, lay-about who sponged off of my father. God knows why, my father preferred Trey over Tom (despite Trey knocking up his daughter out of wedlock and my husband being independently wealthy). Poor Trey was always one step away from a good job and constantly discriminated against. April further maintained the illusion that Trey was a good guy, despite the occasional bruise that showed up on her face.

"Have you no shame, bringing a white boy into our family?!" she yelled at me, after pulling me aside.

"My husband is a good man. I don't need to defend him from the likes of you!" I snapped, with a new found confidence that shocked her. I soon heard and felt a slap across my face. As it turned out, the slap was heard by a number of other people. It turned out that Tom was one of those people.

He quickly turned the corner where April and I were talking and took my hand.