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“Babe come on!!!!! We are going to lose our reservation,” I heard my husband scream from outside through the bathroom window.

“Okay, okay, I’m coming,” I said very softly to myself as if he could hear me.

I checked myself out one last time before I headed downstairs. I had put on this fly red dress that was draped in the front, showing just enough cleavage for all the men to go crazy, and the back wide open that dipped so low that I had to say to myself “Damn, Venice! Now that’s sexy.” I did my makeup real natural as always because Leo hated when I put on too much makeup; he said I was much more beautiful without it. My loosely curled short hair had so much bounce to it, I had to tip my beautician, Kerry twenty dollars; she always does such a nice job with my hair.

After I had sprayed a little Jimmy Choo perfume on my neck and both wrists I slipped my 5 inch heels on, grabbed my purse, turned off all the lights, set the alarm and hurried out to the car.

When I got in the car Leo didn’t say a word to me, didn’t even look at me. I knew he was mad because I’m always late but he knows how I am after 4 years of being together and 3 years of marriage, so I didn’t pay him no mind, I just kissed him on the cheek as he backed out of the driveway.

“Did you call the kids?” he finally said as we merged onto the expressway.

“Aw shoot! No, I’m about to call them now.”

 That’s ‘cause your ass was too busy fantasizing about yourself in the damn mirror,” he mumbled.

He knows me way too well, “whatcha say?”

“Nothing, I just said, I love you.”

“Hmmmm mmmmm That’s what I thought, I love you too.”

He winked at me and smiled. He can never stay mad at me too long.

I grabbed my phone out of my purse to call Leo’s mother Ira, who was keeping the kids for us. It rung and rung and rung and then finally went to voicemail.

“You know she goes to bed early, and makes the kids go to bed early too. I told you to call them earlier,” Leo says a little irriated.

“Hello, you have reached the lovely Ira. Sorry I wasn’t able to answer the phone, but I’ll call you back as soon as I can. Byeeeeeee”

I responded, “Hey Ma, I was trying to catch the kids before they went to sleep, but I guess you guys already hit the sheets. Tell them we love them and will talk to them first thing in the morning. Thanks ma, bye.”

“You know I hate when neither one of us talks to Jayda and Jayden before they go to bed when they are away from us.”

“I know, I know hun, I’m sorry. It slipped my mind earlier.”

He just shook his head.

Leo is so sensitive and overprotected when it comes to the twins. He is crazy about them, and the best father a woman could ask for.

Forty five minutes later we were sitting at the same exact table, at the Wilshire Restaurant in Santa Monica, California which is the same place that he proposed to me four years ago.

The Wilshire Restaurant was very elegant and beautiful. That was one of the things I loved about Leo is the fact that he loved to do things and go places that most black men wouldn’t do or go and I must admit he does spoil the mess out of me.

As we finished up our dinner, he reached for the glass of wine, held it up and said, “Venice, baby. I love you. I love you with all my heart. When I met you eight years, I knew that one day I would get the opportunity to be your husband. You have treated me like a king, you have made sacrifices for me that other women probably would have not done, blessed me with two beautiful kids who have changed my life and my world. I just want to tell you, I appreciate you, I love you and will always love you and I look forward to many more anniversaries to come.”

“AWWWWWWWW baby, I love you too.”

Our glasses clinked, and tears began to run down my cheeks. He reached over and wiped them away.

“Ay, Ay, Ay stop all that crying, this ain’t no damn soap opera,” he said laughing.

“You really know how to break up the moment, you know that?” I said beginning to laugh too.

My husband was such a sweetheart, but he was a straight up fool too. But, that’s why I fell in love with his crazy butt in the first place.

Dinner at the Wilshire was only the kick-off to a long romantic weekend together. Because he always wanted things to stay fresh in our relationship every year he would not tell me what else he had planned for our special weekend, but I do know what always follows dinner at Wilshire on anniversary night. That’s how I popped out the twins 9 months later. I was too ready to get home.

When we pulled into the driveway of our 4 bedroom home in Lawndale California, I was about to get out of the car until he grabbed my hand.

“What, Leo?”

“What’s that on your neck?,” he said looking like it was some type of bug on my neck or something disgusting. I started to panic.

“What Leo? What’s on my neck? Get it off get it off!”

“Hold still, woman!”

He held me tightly as he leaned over to the passenger side extremely close, seemingly to examine what was on my neck. He then started sniffing my neck and said, “Is that Jim Choo? Damn that smells good.”

“Boy get off of me. I thought it was something really on me,” I said pushing him off me.

He started laughing as I reached for the door handle.

“Wait, wait boo. I got this.”

He quickly got out of the car and pranced around to the passenger side and opened the door.

“For you madam,” he said in his fancy white person voice holding his hand out.

“You so silly.”

Before I could fully get out the car, over Leo’s shoulder I saw the light on in the kids’ room.

“Babe, did you leave the light on in the kids’ room?”

He turned around, “Naw, I didn’t. You were the last one in the house and I thought you cut off all the lights.”

“I did,” I said slightly confused.

He turned back around towards me to continue to help me get out of the car. As soon as he turned toward me, once again I looked over his shoulder and the light went off.

“Babe, babe. The light went off. The light went off! Someone’s in the house! Someone’s in the house!”

He quickly turned back around and indeed the light had gone off.

“Neicey baby, stay here. Let me go check it out around the back. No, wait, matter of fact head to the neighbors and I’ll be there in a sec.”

My heart began to beat so fast and so hard, “NO!” Come with me to the neighbor’s and we’ll call the police there,” I whispered.

“NO, Niecey. Just head to Joe and Martena’s and I’m just going to go check around the back. Okay. Trust me. Just go.”

When he says “trust me,” I know he is serious. So I quickly ran over to the neighbor’s side door and waited for Leo.

No sooner could I ring the doorbell. I heard two loud gunshots. I froze and stared into the darkness towards where my husband disappeared to.

When I snapped back into my senses, I banged on the door so hard and so fast. I have never banged on a door so hard in my entire life.