One obstacle down, one more to go. This was the evening that I'd be getting proposed to and my new life as a fiancée will start officially when the ring slides onto my finger. I still felt satisfied about finally standing up to my mother, CJ would scream her head off if she ever knew. Funny how I still wanted to tell her everything but I'd be telling Kwashie and there was no doubt about that. My phone started ringing and without looking at the caller I.D, I answered the call.

"McGlashan speaking," I said into the receiver.

"Ahh, are we back to the formalities Ms McGlashan?" I heard CJ say from the other end.

"Carter Jones, I never expected to hear from you." I said feeling my satisfaction grow.

"I have a proposal, I know how much you love proposals." She said and I chuckled.

"You know me so well, what is it that I can do for you?" I asked.

I heard Richard clear his throat from the other end of the car and I looked over at him. He looked displeased and I shook my head trying to reassure him.

"Be with me, I'll not coax you into running away. I just want you to be with me. I know you'll never be with a man like you do a woman, so be with me." She said.

"And what is it that you shall receive from this proposal?" I said trying to maintain professionalism.

"You, the love of my life will be in my arms again." Both her and Kwashie are killing me with their sweet words.

"I don't see how this would be beneficial to you giving the history that we have as best friends," I said also remembering that my mother was in the car as well.

"I know but please, I just need you and I know you need me too." She said.

I cleared my throat and said, "Carter, if you can be happy with the decision that I am currently making please join my family and in laws for dinner this evening."

"Would this make you see that I am serious?" She said.

"Yes, if you can manage to sit through this without getting upset at my decisions then I will consider your proposal." I said.

"Very well, send me the address and I will come." She said.

"Please do." I responded.

"And Carter Jones."

"Yes?"

"Please don't embarrass yourself." I said right before I disconnected the call.

I sighed and dropped the phone in my lap, I unconsciously ran my hand through my hair as I always did when I was stressed.

"Please do not mess your hair up," I heard my mother say from beside me.

"It's the only thing that is making you beautiful right now." She continued.

I looked over at Richard and he shook his head as if telling me to not respond then he said, "so Zim, I couldn't help but to overhear. Would you mind bringing me to the light of said proposal between you and Miss Jones?"

"She just wanted to rekindle our friendship that's all," I said.

"You guys stopped talking?" My mother asked.

"Didn't think you'd care," My answer was short and curt.

"I don't, I'm glad you finally got rid of the bad influence." She chuckled.

"Well lucky for you, she will be present tonight and I can bet she'll be in a suit as well. Something nice and well put together, maybe a Gucci suit. Yes, that sounds boujee," I said and I heard Richard laugh.

"Quite boujee," Richard said continuing his laughter.

We arrived at the restaurant moments later and went for our reservation, the Ekubans were on time as usual. I was walking behind Richard and we surely turned heads, I made eye contact with a stud and winked at her. Her cheeks immediately turned red and she held her head low, her friends caught onto her weird behavior and looked around at me, I flashed them all a perfect smile and continued my journey to the more private area of the restaurant. You had to be of a certain class and wealth status to be here but you had to be packing way more to be able to get into the private section. Richard was wealthy but he wasn't private table wealthy so I'm assuming this is where Mr Ekuban came in, being together got them to the top and if that meant joining family by a marriage then they'd surely do so without a doubt.

The other tables in the private area were filled with families or men in suits having business talks. We got to the table and Kwashie was the first to spot me even though I was hidden behind Richard.

"The McGlashan family, I'm beginning to think you guys show up late on purpose." Mr Ekuban said with a laugh.

"Well, we are the family of the bride. Fashionably late as the young kids like to say these days," my mother chimed in. She was stuck up but she knew how to be a great host.

"I see where your daughter gets her sense of humor from," Mr Ekuban's laughter continued.

"Ahhh Zim!! You look divine," he said when he finally saw me.

"And you as well, Mr Ekuban." I responded.

He had on a black suit with a black button down underneath, even though the shirt was buttoned up to his neck he didn't sport a tie and he had an African print hanky in his breast pocket.

Kwashie had gotten up and is now helping me into my seat. She had on a dark green suit- this suddenly felt like a planned thing- with a black button down underneath that was buttoned up to her neck, with the same African print hanky in her breast pocket as her father, the suit sat well on her and my sexual frustration presented itself in full force. We locked eyes and both smiled, we had come to an understanding these last few months and we were getting closer and closer every day. Richard had helped my mother into her seat and was now sat beside me.

"Father, isn't my asantewaa the most stunning of them all?" Kwashie said.

"I agree," his father answered while smiling.

"Please, you are too kind." I said with a blush.

"Let us in on the conversation, what is asantewaa?" Richard asked.

"It means queen mother and that means a woman who is strong and empowered. Your daughter is the embodiment of who we would call a queen mother back in Ghana, this suit that she is wearing speaks volume. It takes a lot to be strong in femininity in a male dominated world and I wholeheartedly respect and support her." Mrs Ekuban gave me a light closed mouth smile.

I was slightly baffled to say the least because I never expected to hear such words from her even though I had no reason to believe otherwise because she has shown me nothing but kindness ever since we met. My mother didn't speak, what Mrs Ekuban said had rendered her speechless and I was doing somersaults in my mind along with victory dances.

"I agree," Richard said.

"I agree," Mr Ekuban chimed in.

"I agree," Kwashie said from beside me.

We all ordered our dishes and had small conversations amongst ourselves. I was cracking jokes with Kwashie and she was attempting to be funny. I told her about how I stood up to my mother and she didn't believe me so I drew for my witness which was Richard and he quickly threw in his two cents before going back to his business related conversation with Mr Ekuban. An extra chair was brought up to the table between Richard and I. I ordered food and advised them to bring it out afterwards when the person came. Not long after Carter was escorted to the table and was sat at the empty seat. She was dressed in black fitted slacks and a white button down with a dark blue blazer. Her hair was flat ironed as usual and framed her beautiful face.

"Carter, these are my in laws Mr and Mrs Ekuban and this is my fiancé Kwashie Ekuban. Guys, this is my best friend Carter Jones." I introduced her to them.

"I apologize for not showing my face sooner," Carter said.

"We understand, no explanation needed." Mr Ekuban waved his hand fanning away her apology.

Kwashie was tense beside me and when I looked over she was giving CJ death glares.

"Calm down sweet cheeks, there's no threat here." I said to her.

"Why did you not tell me prior?" She asked.

"Late notice," I shrugged my shoulders.

"Zidania, if we are going to work we will need to build a platform where there is trust and communication. I rely heavily on communication both small and large, okay?" She asked.

"Je suis desolé," I apologized in French and kissed her on the jaw.

"So, Kwashie how old are you?" CJ asked.

"18. You?" She answered.

"Same," CJ smiled.

There was an awkward tension coming from both sides and I was in the middle enduring it all.

"So when will you be leaving for school?" I asked her.

"January," she said.

"Why?" I'm sure I had a puzzled look on my face.

"I recently got some new information and I planned to use it to change something before I leave but it might take awhile so that's why January." She explained.

"I'm doing this so you could come for January too," she whispered and I almost didn't catch it.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing..." she smirked.

We all ate and I listened to all of the conversations around me, especially the back and forth banter that was happening on both sides of me. I had to make sure it didn't blow out of proportion so I tried to keep the air and conversation light with my humor. I hated it sometimes because I didn't really know if people liked me for me or for the joy I brought them, that humor has a root of depression and people seldom saw pass the jokes and gimmicks.

"I see why you are smitten over her," Kwashie said after CJ excused herself from the table.

"She's beautiful, those eyes are like a Venus Fly trap flower." She continued.

"Then why hasn't she eaten me or something?" I asked.

"Because they don't eat the insects that pollinates their flowers," She said.

My breath caught in my throat and I started coughing from the unexpected feeling. I wasn't expecting either, the statement nor choking on my breath. Could she be right? Her eyes were definitely something that I've fallen in love with and to think of it, it was the first thing that I loved about her. Did I pollinate her? Was I really doing her more good than I thought? Well if she's still here then I guess I was but I still didn't believe that I was the best thing for her.

"I bet you guys weren't even compatible," she said.

"We were," I defended my past relationship.

"Mhm. It might've seemed that way but I bet you guys were never really on the same page. Someone loved the other more or someone was a user. Maybe you both were users, you were broken and depressed from all of the changes you were going through with your family and she was there to make you feel whole. She has an inappeasable need to feel wanted because maybe her parents aren't always around to make her feel some sort of love or presence and you were there to make her feel wanted." She concluded.

Wow, I felt thoroughly draped and I had nothing to say about her assumptions.

"Why so silent, my love? Didn't think I'd hit so close to home?" She had that smile on her face, that victorious smile when she knew she was right and currently I hated it.

"I have no comments," I cleared my throat.

"Please excuse me for a moment babe, I have something to attend to." Kwashie said and rose from her seat.

Once she walked off, CJ walked up and sat down.

"Where's hubby going?" She asked.

"Matters to attend to," I said in a flat tone.

"You two seem quite close, closer than I expected." She said.

"I guess it's because we have to spend the rest of our lives together," I shrugged my shoulders.

"I guess." She started, "or you were never gay in the first place and is now considering taking dick" She said.

"Woaaah, slow down speed racer." I said and she laughed.

"Sexuality is fluid, no need to be ashamed." She said.

"I am not ashamed. No one has to know that I am gay except my fiancé and we have come to a compromise, so yeah we are definitely getting along fine," I snapped.

"I'm sorry, that was a stupid thing to say. I'm happy for you." She said.

"By the way, I love this suit. I remembered when you bought it last year behind your mom's back and it seems that luckily she hasn't gotten to it." She said and I laughed.

My mother has a history of going through my closet and shredding or throwing out any masculine clothes I buy. I was lost in thought when I felt CJ's elbow in my side.

"What?" I asked as I looked up from my empty plate.

I looked over to where she was pointing and saw that Kwashie was standing on the stage with a mic in her hand. The woman at the piano started playing a familiar song and I wondered if Kwashie was going to sing or give a speech.

"Can the love of my life Zidania come to the front, please." She said.

I rose from my seat but not before seeing the hurt and jealous expression on CJ's face. I walked up to the front of the stage and a waiter came out with a chair and placed it behind me. I sat and folded my legs with my hands in my lap. I knew everyone's attention was on the dark skin beauty on stage, they saw a man but I saw a woman staring back at me.

"Isn't it weird that the girl is in a suit?" I heard someone mutter from behind me.

"She's very beautiful regardless, I understand why he doesn't mind." A feminine voice said.

"My girlfriend would never dare come to dinner with me in a suit," I heard from a masculine voice.

"Why would she disrespect him like that by wearing a suit?" I was surprised this came from a female's mouth.

"Wow, it's sad that she's straight because she could definitely ruffle my feathers." A female said and I held in my laughter.

"Wise men say, that only fools rush in. But I, can't help falling in love with you." Kwashie started singing and the chills that ran down my spine were no joke. I knew that my hands had goosebumps on them despite being covered by the jacket.

"Shall I stay? Or would it be a sin?

For I can't help, falling in love with you."

The low awes from the crowd was playing with my emotions, this was all for me and I was jealous that they were experiencing this as well. Her voice sounded as if it was laced with silk, she never told me that she could sing.

"Oh, like a river flows surely to the sea.

Darling, so it goes. Some things were meant to be."

She came off the stage and was now inching closer and closer towards me. Our eyes were locked onto each other and neither of us wanted to break the gaze, afraid that we'd lose the momentum.

"Take my hand and take my whole life too.

Oh for I, can't help falling in love with you."

I took her outstretched hand and leaned forward into my seat unfolding my legs.

"Oh for I, can't help falling in love with you." She sung the last line slowly while going down onto one knee. The crowd gasped and for the first time ever, I was glad I lost a bet.

I knew the speech to come was going to be a bluff just to sway the crowd so I prepared myself for it.

"Zim, do you remember the first time we officially met? I saw you at the park but you didn't see me because you were too busy running from an attacking goose." She said. The crowd started laughing just as I had expected.

"So I ran to the goose and I said, Mr Goose, I demand you to stop chasing this woman." He continued dramatically and another fit of laughter erupted from the crowd.

"Tell them what happened next, my love." She turnt the mic towards me.

"The goose stopped chasing me and looked around at you with a ridiculous expression completely shocked that you'd even try to defend me so he started chasing you around instead." I said and the crowd burst into another fit of laughter.

Kwashie winked at me and pulled out the ring box from her jacket pockets. She rested the mic on my lap so that she could open the box and I instantly fell in love with the ring that comfortably sat between the cushions.

"I went back to that park to thank Mr Goose and we sat and talked about you. I fed him biscuits while I drank my beer. I told him all of the reasons why I loved you and why I would never be afraid to propose to you in public, most men would be frantic about it because you are androgynous but that is the number one reason why I love you, you don't allow yourself to be defined by any labels. Number two is the passion you hold in your eyes and number three is the fire in your heart that you have, Ive seen it and I'm glad that you've shared it with me because I've gotten over my fragile masculinity and traditionalist ways for a long time now and I love everything that makes you Zidania McGlashan aka Invader Zim." She said.

"Will you marry me, asantewaa?" She asked in her thick African accent. I'm sure the women in the crowd were drooling.

"Yes," I said, voice thick from crying.

Her face lit up and she took the ring from the box and slid it onto my finger. She got up and I jumped onto her, she held me firmly and spun me around. The pianist was playing the same song she just sung and was lowly singing the vocals. She sounded lovely but she didn't sound quite as pleasing as Kwashie did. The onlookers were now standing and cheering, wiping tears of their own. I was still crying because I didn't expect this much. We walked back to the table and Richard was wiping tears from his own eyes. Mrs Ekuban had her handkerchief firmly pressed at her eyes and Mr Ekuban had a wide grin on his face. My mother was stone cold as usual and CJ was nowhere to be seen.

"Did you guys practice that?" Richard asked while sniffling.

"No, I didn't even know he was coming with that story," I started laughing and everyone else joined in.

"That's what it means to be compatible," Mrs Ekuban took her hanky away from her face.

"I agree," My mother said. "Lovely voice Kwashie."

"Thank you, Mrs McGlashan." He said with a slight bow of his head.

I stared down at my white diamond mixed with 24 karat gold engagement ring. It had a center oval diamond then two medium sized ones sat on each side, smaller diamonds were scattered around the larger ones filling in the spaces and gaps. I loved it, the band was platinum and it felt great to have on despite the fact that it was heavy from the diamonds the weight seemed nonexistent from my excitement. Persons passed and told us congratulations, wishing us a bright future. I took up my phone and there was a text from CJ.

Carter Jones 💔: You were right, I couldn't bear to witness that proposal but I have a plan and everything will work out. You'll be mine again, I promise.