On Top Of The World

What does one think on one's wedding day? It's the second most important day of one's life...The first being your day of birth, the second being your wedding day and the third being the day you die....At least that's what I was thinking as I got ready to enter the rooftop of the Flomar Building....Where I, Keith Porterhouse Wallace was about to be married to Carlotta Anna Maria Rodriguez...

In the moments before I ascended the stairs and headed towards the podium where we would be married by both her Preist, Rafeal Santiago and Pastor John Struthers...I appeared thoughtful..

"Hey Keith...You alright man?" said Duke Baylor...

"Yeah,you look like you got a case of the cold feet" said my best man, Robert Foxworth.

"Nah man,I was just thinking.."I said.

"He's a thoughtful dude like that." laughed Tyriq Pile....

Kevin Morris laughed...

"Don't worry about it Keith..I was the same way, the day I got married...Don't worry, We all got your back." he said.

I smiled.

Surprisingly, my other groomsmen, Jimmy Barlow, usually one for humor at times like this, Chance Howard and Cole were silent...Perhaps they were thinking about their own moments of truth , which their women, Angie Belton, Anita Jenkins and Nicole Butler would certainly be hinting around and bringing to their attention soon...

Then, Deacon Basil Robinson walked into the foyer and smiled...

"Okay gents...as they say...It's showtime.." he said.

"Let's Do this." said Ernesto...Carlotta's cousin and also one of my groomsmen...

We walked up the stairs , down the hall and up to the rooftop.....It was all in slow motion to me...

I saw the Bridesmaids as they entered the rooftop from an entrance on the opposite side of the rooftop..It was like a daze!!!

The first person I saw was the maid of honor, Carmen Rodriguez, Carlotta's sister...She was even more gorgeous...If that was possible, today!...and then there was Sissy!!....Sissy was drop dead gorgeous on most days, but today....even more so....Our good friend, Bridget Jones rounded out the first group of lovely ladies I saw.

 Mercedes Rodriguez...Carlotta's  sexy cousin walked up next... and Angie Belton and Dr.Hazel Hunter.. two people I see everyday, but who looked extra gorgeous today followed her.!! There was Kevin's beautiful and sexy wife, Sepia and Robert's third and also very sexy wife, Bonita  bringing up the rear...Lawd...I had some of the sexiest bridesmaids in the city...

It was all slow motion to me...I peered out over the crowd and I saw,

"88" and Mabel Jenkins Moore, his wife, Clerow and his wife, Corabeth, Vanessa and Deacon Larry Weatherford, Anita Jenkins, Blake and Cherish, Paris and his date, Nicole Butler, Sean Jackson and Sheila...Walter "Kool Kat"Jones and his girlfriend,Chelsea,Cock Robbins,Vanessa, Conrad Nelson and his wife,Jill...and Hairdresser, Bernadette and her husband, Harry Charles.

Chris Thompson and his date, Chess and his wife, Rell, Donald Smooth and his wife, Gus, Eddie and Andrew and their dates, Honey Brown and B-Flat, who had just gotten married themselves earlier this year...Kevin's friends...Owen Todd,Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson and their dates....

I was amazed at the array of people who were here....I saw my Mom and Dad and my sister Keisha sitting up front....My Mom was crying profusely....She always cried at weddings...She cried at both of Keishas...But this was different..I was her baby boy and I was getting married for the first and hopefully, only time!

I saw Eddie C...and my musician friends... Reed Nelson and his wife,Debbie, Downtown Rob Brown, his girlfriend, Delores...Meek Rollins and his date, Bone Hampton and his girlfriend, Ella...Brooke Taylor and Ingrid Rhodes and their dates...

The band was to the west of us I suppose...Symphony Sam and The Josie's House Band was playing the music...B-Flat on the Organ, Blind Piano player,Chazz Gillison on Piano, and Sissy's father, Dutch Van Buren on the Sax were the featured players...

My good friends, Cherry Johnson, who managed the Victoria's Secret was here also as was her boyfriend, Calvin who sold me my smartphone at Verizon..where he worked as a manager....

A surprise guest was Sam Mother....Who owned the local diner....Carlotta especially wanted him here... It was Sam Mother's diner where (she reasons) we had our first date.. I bought her breakfast there during a case...It was the first time I had had the nerve to ask her out to anything...and I used breakfast as an excuse..

Another surprise guest was Gangster, Natividad Diaz...I hadn't invited him and I didn't think Carlotta would invite him...but there he was ,sitting there...I suppose he wanted to know if it was indeed true that Carlotta was actually going to marry me...

Better him than Mickey Lolo, who she had actually been engaged to at one time...

Carlotta's cousins from San Juan were all in attendance..They smiled and waved at me as I approached....

I was in a daze... Then B-Flat began playing the wedding march on his organ.. He really jazzed it up...So much so that Pastor John Struthers gave him the side eye and then smiled sheepishly.

I looked behind me for a minute and there she was...Carlotta! !!!!!! It hit me....

"This is for real....It just got real." I mumbled...

"What you say chief?" said Robert Fox worth...

"Nothin man....I was uh..I was uh just mumbling..."I said.

"Relax Keith, you're almost there baby...Top of the World..."he said and winked...

II-

Carlotta looked beautiful...Stunningly beautiful...More beautiful than I'd ever seen her before if that was possible...I couldn't believe that this was happening...This woman who I'd lusted after for three years before I even had the guts to say anything other than ''Good morning detective"to was actually marrying me today..right now!!

I'd always thought that she'd never date me....That she'd consider me too bourgie for her..or square....How nice it was to learn that she'd always liked me too and was waiting for me to make a move...

Her father walked her down the aisle...

There was no sign of his pregnant girlfriend...He hadn't brought her up for this trip...

Again...the whole ceremony was in a crazy type of slow motion for me.. I don't believe I heard a word either the Priest or the Pastor said until they said in English and Spanish..

"The rings please... Do you Carlotta Anna Maria Rodriguez take this man, Keith Porterhouse Wallace to be your lawfully wedded husband in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, for better or for worse ,forsaking all others until death do you part?"

I heard a snicker in the crowd...

"Porterhouse?? His middle name is Porterhouse??" said someone.. That Someone who turned out to be my Uncle Wayford...

"Will you shut up Wayford?...They're saying their vows."said my Father...I was so embarrassed... Carlotta smiled and held my hand tightly and whispered...
"It's okay baby...we are almost there..."

"Top of the world.." I said and smiled..

Carlotta looked at me and squeezed my hand tighter....

At that moment I was filled with so much love for her it wasn't funny...

Carlotta smiled, then said "I do."

Tears began to stream down her face....I was finding out that my new wife, A tough as nails Homicide Detective, who had stared into the eyes of killers without blinking, could cry at the drop of a hat if she was emotionally moved by something....It was a side of her she never showed on the streets or at work...but that she allowed me to see many times when the two of us were alone...

"Do you Keith Porterhouse Wallace take this woman, Carlotta Anna Maria Rodriguez to be your lawfully wedded wife in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, for better or for worse ,forsaking all others until death do you part?"said Preist Santiago in Spanish....and Pastor Struthers simultaneously in English.

"I do" I said....

Then I heard from the crowd...

"Porterhouse??...What kind of name is that? Mary, you named the boy Porterhouse?"said my Aunt Lucille

"His Father liked steak..Now would you shut up?"said My Mother.

"Okay..I'm just sayin..."she said.  My Uncle Wayford giggled... I could've gone through the floor at that moment...I glanced at Carlotta and she was holding her head down, smiling a little...She rubbed my arm..and said softly...

"We are there baby...We are there...Top of the world..."she said...

I looked at her and I managed to laugh a little myself..Carlotta could make me laugh when I didn't want to...Another thing I loved about her!

Pastor Struthers gave both Aunt Lucille and Uncle Wayford  the side eye.....Then continued..

"By The powers granted to me by Almighty God and the State of Pennsylvania on this day...I now pronounce you...Husband and Wife.... Ladies and gentleman, Introducing
Mr. And Mrs. Keith and Carlotta Wallace." said Pastor Struthers....

The crowd broke into applause...

I whispered to Pastor Struthers...

"Thank you for not saying my middle name again..."

"You're welcome...I must admit...That's a hell of a middle name son...Oh, ah, excuse me." he said....

"It's Okay...I plan to legally drop it when I come back from my honeymoon....Did you hear that Robert?" I said to Best man, Robert Foxworth...

''Awww man, please.How would like my middle name...Lazurus!" was all he would say...

Lazurus??? I never knew that that was his middle name...I cracked up...

I kissed Carlotta like it was going out of style....

"I guess I'm Carlotta Wallace now!!! Mrs.Carlotta Wallace" she said smiling....

"Yes you are babes....Yes you are!" I said smiling....

Carmen, Sissy and Angie surrounded us....

''Welcome to the family Handsome" said Carmen who kissed us both...

"Congratulations to you both" said Sissy who had tears streaming down her cheeks...

''Don't cry Boss lady, you'll make me cry again." said Carlotta as she hugged Sissy.

Mercedes hugged us both and stuck her tongue out at Kevin Morris who was behind us and then laughed.... Later ,Mercedes caught the bouquet! Kevin gave her a thumbs up!

I wondered what that was about? Did they know each other?? 

Tyriq and his wife,Sirena hugged Carlotta....

"Top!!!!....Top ..I am so happy for you..." he said.

''Hey Girl...I'm so happy for you too... Can't wait til you guys move into your new house....We are only a few blocks away." said Sirena...

Duke smiled ,then gave Carlotta a bear hug and lifted Carlotta off the ground spinning her around..

"My girl.....You made that move!!...You got your man." he said...

"Put me down!!!!, Put me down Duke!!!. You are so crazy!!!..." she said laughing.....

Jimmy hugged her slowly...

"Congrats to the best partner I ever had..." he said.

"I'm not going anywhere Jimmy..I just got married...I'm still your partner..." she said.

"And mine too!" added Tyriq...

Carlotta laughed...

"So many guys , fighting over me...Aye Caramba.."she said jokingly...

"She's off the market guys." I joked....We all busted out laughing....

Duke, Tyriq, Kevin Morris, Ernesto, Jimmy,Hop and Robert Foxworth all gave me dap  as did Gus...

Kevin and his wife Sepia and Robert Foxworth and his wife Bonita came up to us and hugged us...

''Wow..You guys are going to be like our neighbors soon...You're just three blocks away."said Sepia.

"Thank you so much for all of your help." said Carlotta.

"That's our job honey.I'm so happy for you both...Can't wait til we are all neighbors..." said Bonita....

We hung out with all of these people and for so long ,both of us lived so far away from them all...Now at last we both would be part of the community...I felt good...I felt warm and fuzzy.

And then Natividad Diaz walked up to both of us...

"I wasn't invited,I know, but I had to come and see if it was true... I didn't think you two would last this long...BUT...and I mean this from the bottom of my heart..I'm glad..No for real... If you had enough game to get Carlotta, then you have to be a man worthy of my respect... Be good to her man...She's a great girl..."he said and offered me his hand...

I shook his hand....In his own way...he had a style and a swagger that I had come to respect!

He hugged Carlotta..

"Happy for you mami.." he said...

"Thank You Natividad..." she said.

"Oh and by the way...This probably isn't the place.. but is your sister Carm seeing anybody?" he asked.

Carlotta gave him the side eye...as Carm walked by, oblivious that she was being discussed.

"Just kiddin baby." he said, grinning sheepishly....

"No you're not..." she said and laughed...They both laughed.

Natividad looked at me...

"Always a cop....You got your hands full with this one." he said and laughed...

I looked at Carlotta and laughed.....then I whispered in her ear...

"I can't wait to have my hands full of you...I haven't seen you in three days.."

She smiled...

"Ouuuuuu..You are soooo bad" she said and then busted out laughing...

"Bad is sexy..."I whispered in my deep guttural voice.

Carlotta had been staying at Angie Belton's house the past few days...(Angie had been staying with Jimmy!) I hadn't seen Carlotta or even called her...I was really jonesing for her as you can imagine.

Ralph Scallion and his daughter and his girlfriend, Minay catered the entire event and Symphony Sam and the house band and his cousin, the D.J. provided the music...

Between the food, the liquor and the music...Everybody was having a great time!

III-

Carlotta and I stood on the terrace and looked out at the entire city as everyone else partied and had a good time...We were quiet for a long while....

"I can't believe this.. I can't believe I'm actually here and with you." I said.

"I can't believe it either...After Mickey Lolo and I broke off our engagement, I thought I was cursed, I didn't think I'd ever get married... And now I am...I'm happier than I've ever been." she said.

''Me too." I said.

''Are you really Keith?"

"I don't know when I've been happier.'' I said.

"I'm glad I make you happy, because you certainly make me happy." she said.

I held her and kissed her gently....

"Top of the world baby." I said in beween kisses..

"Top of the world papi!" she said...