When All Hell Breaks Loose by Camika Spencer

stomach growl.
    “Hey baby!” It’s Adrian and she’s sitting on the couch leafingthrough some kind of business book. She gets up and greets me at the door. I pull back before she grabs me.
    “Watch out baby, I’m sweaty.”
    She pulls me in to her soft body anyway. “I don’t care. I haven’t seen you all day, and I missed you.” She leans in and kisses me. We embrace and I’m loving every minute of it. She releases me and goes back to the couch. She has on a brown silk tank shirt with tan leggings and brown leather open-toe clogs. Her toenails are painted gold and she has on a toe ring. Her skin looks so clean and smooth, I can’t wait to get showered so I can hold her. “What are you reading?”
    She holds the book up so I can see it. “This is a book about getting business improvement loans.”
    “Read anything interesting?”
    “Not yet. Right now, I’m trying to figure out how to compare interest rates.”
    “Oh.” I retreat back to my room. I grab some fresh clothes and head for the bathroom.
    When I finish my shower and come out, Adrian is in the kitchen taking the pan of lasagna out of the oven. It looks good. The three cheeses she used are melted perfectly and she has chopped garlic, basil, onion, and pepper on top. I grab the dishes and silverware to help set the table. We sit down together and dig in. I notice her engagement ring is not on her finger.
    “Baby, where’s your ring?”
    She reaches in her shirt and pulls out a gold chain with the ring dangling neatly from it.
    “I can’t wear it all the time at work, because of the water and chemicals.”
    I nod my head in agreement. “Good idea.”
    “Actually, one of my clients told me to do this.”
    “Have you set a date?”
    “Yes.” She smiles. “I want us to be married in March at the Botanical Gardens. March twenty-second.”
    “Eight months?”
    “Greg, a year is too long to be engaged. Eight months is perfect, and March is such a beautiful time of year in Texas.”
    “But the engagement time seems a little short. Is that going to give us enough time to get everything together?”
    “We’re having an alternative wedding, Gregory. I’m not doing nothing traditional but saying, ‘I do.’ ” She dips back into her lasagna. “Nontraditional means cheaper, quicker, and different, that’s all. It will be wonderful, you’ll see.” She smiles as she chews. Cute. I melt.
    I feel relieved that she is not interested in a big ceremony. It’s not that I wouldn’t pay for it. I just don’t like all the drama of feeding people I don’t know. “Well, if it’s going to make you happy Adrian, then it’s cool with me.”
    “I would like for your sister to be one of my bridesmaids.”
    “Are you sure? You know you don’t have to do that on my account.”
    “I know, but it will give Shreese and me a chance to get to know each other before you and I are actually married. I know your sister is churchy and all—”
    “Very churchy,” I interrupt. “My sister is symbolic of everything church-oriented. She’s a walking advertisement for the Holy Club.”
    Adrian laughs.
    “Baby, I’m just telling you. I don’t know how she’s going to react to this.”
    “Sounds more like a warning.”
    “No. Just a word to the wise. You may be asking for more than just having her as a bridesmaid. Did I tell you that my sister used to have tent revivals with her dolls in our backyard when we were little?”
    Adrian laughs, almost spitting out her drink.
    “Baby, I’m serious. Shreese would line all her dolls up, pitch a tent with a blanket, and stand outside talking to those dolls like they were real. I didn’t tell you?” I’m laughing, recalling Shreese’s tent meetings.
    “No, you didn’t, but that was a long time ago. I think Shreese just never hung out with a female she could get to know.”
    “Yeah, and before it’s all over, I’ll have two holy rollers on my hands.”
    “Not.”
    “We’ll see. I’ll give you her