INTERLUDE: FIRST ARGUMENT

AUGUST 13TH 2010

CROWN POINT TOBAGO

CLYDE & MIRIAM

“Major Clyde Jacob, I’m not signing that!” Miriam yelled the last two words, fuming from exasperation, “I don’t believe in those things. I never have, and I never will. If that isn’t enough for you, then we really should have a real conversation about tomorrow.”

Clyde looked at the long-time love of his life. She was his whole world; he had never seen her so mad. It was kind of cute.

They met at a class he had to take that she happened to be teaching at the time. He fell in love the first day. She didn’t even really notice him until the second to last day of their course.

When the class was on a leadership outing, they all went to a sushi restaurant, and Clyde found a chance to sit beside her. She had finally seen him for the first time. The flirting started that day, but both were professional and patient enough to wait. After the course was over, they went on their first date.

They were inseparable after that.

After almost a year of dating in the mid-2000s, Clyde started to meet her friends and family. It wasn’t because of any other reason but Clyde was always deployed somewhere with the Army. Every other year, he was in Afghanistan or Iraq. He was on leave when he met Miriam’s Mom and Dad for the first time.

They were Korean immigrants who were not aware that Clyde was of African descent. Their looks said it all, and Miriam’s reaction was the reason they were having their first argument six years later.

She was an only child and her parent’s princess. So when they told her that they would stop supporting her if she stayed with Clyde, she disowned them that day and left with him, never to look back.

They have lived together since that day. She spent many years alone, though, because of Clyde’s schedule, but that gave her time to herself. Her Teaching career took off to the point that she became a tenured Professor at Rutgers University, where she moved after discussing it with Clyde while he was on an extra-long deployment.

Clyde would visit every few months, and they would explore their local area. It was an excellent time for them. Although they were both swamped, they made time to speak to each other every day. The cell phone bills were outrageous initially, but they ensured the cost was within their budget.

Time moved forward, and Clyde proposed to see her on one of his trips. She said yes but wanted to get back in touch with her parents again to see if he was okay with it because she was pregnant, a bombshell she had dropped on him a few weeks later.

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She unblocked them, and they both read all the messages they had sent over the last five-plus years. Her parents were primarily apologetic, and Miriam decided they deserved to see their grandkids. The conversation that followed was one full of tears and forgiveness.

Clyde was glad to have the entire family involved in the wedding. He was a big family man, and that was the reason they were having an argument.

Clyde Sr. had left his children a living trust that they were unaware of until the youngest two children (Clyde and his twin brother Andre) were twenty-five. After that, all siblings had to get their significant others to sign a prenup or denounce their stake.

Clyde looked at his fiancé with love, care, and worry in his eyes. Her tanned skin was from being in the Caribbean sun for the last week as they planned their wedding in Tobago. Her short black bangs perfectly accentuated her face; even in her frustration, he was blown away by her beauty. He had only dated three women in his life, and the first two lasted less than a year. This one was for keeps.

“You don’t have to then, Miriam,” Clyde said picking her face up by the chin.

She looked him in his eyes; her tears ran freely down her cheeks. His eyes welled up with their own tears, threatening to start falling.

“Thank you. I know it isn’t you, but it makes me so mad.” Miriam said relaxing.

“We can’t get married, though,” Clyde said, quickly raising his hand to stop her retort. “I can’t force you to sign a prenup, Miriam, but I also cannot betray my family’s trust. They love you and are welcoming you to the family. But the family’s finances are not just our generation’s. They are for all generations of Jacob’s to come.

“While I know that you won’t betray that trust, money changes people, and my family is well aware of that. So now we won’t be getting married, that doesn’t mean we’re not gonna have a wedding though. I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me that you’re my wife. I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me that you’re the love of my life. I don’t need a piece of paper to show you my love. Unfortunately, my family needs a piece of paper for the living trust. But if we don’t actually get married, they don’t need anything, you trust me?”

“With everything I am.” She answered without hesitation, crying happy tears at her soul mate. “I‘ve just been so emotional lately.”

“I am sure that is just...”

“If you say hormones, I will kick you in your nuts, Major Clyde Jacob Jr. I already got what I needed from them.”

“...just being human.” Clyde pivoted away from that hormonal minefield. “You have been under a lot of stress, my love. We can only handle what we are prepared for; everything after that is going to slowly break us down unless we have support. Human beings need help. We are social creatures. Let me take some of that burden off you. I love you and can’t see another mother of my child.”

They hug each other.

“Well... this is awkward.” a voice said from inside their closet.

Miriam squeaked in surprise. Clyde rolled his eyes. “Soto, Why are you in my closet?”

“That was because Angel was already under the bed,” Soto replied, opening the closet door with a shit-eating grin on his clean-shaven face.

“Nigga!” Angel’s exasperated voice came from under the bed. “Did you just snitch on me, for real?” The yell caused Miriam to jump again. Angel started to crawl out from under the bed.

“I told you, Angel, your cousin ain’t built for jail. He will always snitch,” Clyde said, helping the big Puerto Rican man out from under the bed by pulling him.

“AYO! Chill, that hurts! I got feelings too, you know, and my leg ain’t supposed to go that way.” Angel complained. “Yo, stop pulling so hard.”

“That’s what you get!” Miriam said, laughing at the two.

Soto walked up next to her. “Welcome to the family, sister Miriam.”

“Thank you, brother Anthony.”

“Don’t call him that. His name is Soto.” Clyde said, smirking.

“Okay, Jacob.” Miriam teased.

Clyde bristled, “Okay, call him whatever you like. Just don’t call me that again. You make me sound like my father when you do that.”

“That is true.” Another new voice startled Miriam. Andre walked out of the bathroom with a smile.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, army boys?” Miriam yelled, holding her heart.

“I meant to tell you, anywhere Angel is, there is an almost 100% chance there is an Andre. A Puerto Rican always comes to the black friend, after all.” Clyde smiled at his twin.

“They are standard issues in the Army and Da Bronx.” Andre walked up to Miriam and picked her up in a hug. She yelped at the ease at which he did it. She felt like a rag doll; how was he so strong? Andre pretended to squeeze her butt, looking straight at Clyde. “Welcome to the family, sis. Your assets are exactly what we need moving forward.”

Clyde pulled his twin brother off of his fiancé. “Okay, Mr. Touchy feely, relax. Don’t make me send you to HR Chef Jacob.”

Andre quickly looked between the two of them when he released his hug. “Congratulation! I didn’t know y’all were pregnant. Hell of a summer present for both of us, huh?”

Clyde groaned, Miriam’s eyes widened, and Anthony and Angel chuckled.

“What is this a family reunion or something?” Roger uncamouflaged from his floating position on the ceiling, scaring the living crap out of Miriam and making the rest of the room break out in ruckus laughter and joy.