Her eyes began to glaze over. Her vision blurred as she saw Emerson lying on the ground. He wasn’t moving. There was blood.
Stone grabbed her face between his hands. She saw the tears in his eyes. She tried to focus.
“Antoinette. Look at me. Stay with me, baby.”
“Emerson?” she whispered.
“Stay with me. Don’t leave us, baby. Fight for us. Fight it, baby,” he said and she closed her eyes.
Her last thought was on Emerson and whether he was dead or alive.
Epilogue
Everyone cheered as Emerson, Toni, and Stone walked into Bliss. Emerson was released from the hospital three weeks ago, after sustaining a bullet wound to the shoulder, as the first bullet hit him and then the car. It went through the back of his shoulder straight through his muscle and out the front of his shoulder. Toni, on the other hand, had to have major surgery to repair the damage to her chest, where the bullet lodged, mere inches from her heart. It was touch and go for a while, but she pulled through. Nearly two months in the hospital, two months resting and doing physical therapy to heal her arm and shoulder, and finally she could come visit Bliss.
It had given the three of them time to take in their lives, what they all meant to one another and how important they had become. Their bond was strong, and their love and commitment to a future together even stronger.
The regulars were cheering and smiling. They had tears in their eyes, and she thanked them for their prayers and gifts. It was a nice celebration with her family around, the people in the neighborhood, and all of her friends and staff.
“It’s so good to see you back. We missed you,” Tina told her as a tear rolled down her cheek.
“I missed you, too. Don’t worry, I heard that you’ve been doing an excellent job in my absence,” Toni said.
“She sure has been. She hasn’t stopped to read any of those raunchy sex novels of hers,” Mia teased.
“That’s because I’m living the real thing. No need to fantasize anymore,” Tina stated, and Toni thought Charlie looked a bit flustered and happy. They laughed.
“So, when will you be back to work?” Farah asked.
“She’s not coming back for a while. She needs to take it easy, and she won’t be able to do that here,” Emerson said, as he squeezed her shoulder.
“Yeah, she’ll push it, and we’ll worry. So we’re going on vacation,” Stone told them.
“Really? Where?” Tina asked.
“Hawaii,” Toni said.
But then Stone said, “Fiji.”
She turned to look at him and Emerson.
“I thought we discussed Hawaii.”
“We did, baby, but you’re going to need a lot of time off, so we’re going to spend some time in Fiji, too.”
“Wow,” Tina stated.
Toni smiled. “I know that you’ll take great care of Bliss for me while I’m gone. Stone and Emerson and I really need this time together. It has been a hell of a time trying to recover, and build on this relationship we have. Spending more time with them on vacation will bring some normalcy to all the craziness we’ve been through.”
“You can say that again,” Farah stated.
“Hey, get some of these orders out. The boss is around and she’s going to get mad,” Charlie teased and the women scattered.
Stone and Emerson helped her into one of the seats by the coffee bar.
“This is where we first met,” Emerson whispered, holding her hand and giving it a squeeze.
“I think you asked if I were on the menu?”