Chessica Luckett--It's You

It's You is a romance story about a man that finally realizes that the one he was meant to become one with, was right in front of him.

And just like that it was over. Christian Smith, like so many other men here in Austin, Texas, was a fool. A fool because he let the only woman that ever set his soul on fire, get away. He splashed water on his face to wash away the truth, to wash away what was so clearly being shown in front of him. Christian ran out of the restroom and into the chapel.

"Stoppp!" He yelled out.

"Lacey, you can't marry him!" Christian stated.

"What are you doing Christian?' Lacey asked.

"I'm getting my beautiful queen back!" Christian said.

"Baby, pleaseee!" Christian pleaded.

"I can't!" Lacey screamed as she approached Christian.

"What do you want from me?" She finished.

"Your heart!" Christian yelled.

Lacey looked at Christian, back at the man she was going to marry, then she ran out of the chapel.

*Pow!* Robert, Lacey's fiance, punched Christian.

Robert ran out of the chapel to find Lacey as the couple's guests shook their heads in disappointment as they left.

Christian laid there in disbelief as he watched the love of his life be chased by another.

The preacher approached Christian.

"Young man, what was it that you thought you could accomplish here today?" The preacher asked.

"Well sir, I love that woman that you were just about to marry but I didn't realize it until I saw that she was serious about another man." Christian said.

"Why is it that we always wait until a person has moved on to want to treat them the way that they deserve?" The preacher asked.

"I know what you're thinking sir but that isn't the case with Lacey and I ." Christian stated.

"Then what is the case young man?" The preacher asked. "What's the story?" He finished.

Christian started to tell his story:

" A couple of years ago, I met a woman that silently changed my...life. That woman was Lacey, the woman you were going to marry to that man, Robert." Christian explained.

To be honest, I saw her but I didn't SEE her. Lacey was the type of woman that was often overlooked because she didn't put her beauty on display like the other women in town. Actually, I don't even think that she knew just how beautiful she was because she always got mad when someone commented on her appearance as if what they were saying was a joke.

When we first met, I was interested in Lacey because she was like a mystery. She rarely associated with anyone which is where the mystery came in at. It was as if her silence drew me in because I just had to talk to her.

"Hey Lacey!" I would say.

"Hi!" She would say while staring down at her feet.

"Can we hang out some time?" I asked.

"Um, I don't know!" She said.

After she finally decided to give me a chance, I started to fall for her. That woman was self less, intelligent, and she was beautiful inside and out. We started hanging out at her mother's house and at the park. Lacey and I would sit and talk for hours at a time as if we were the only two on the planet. Sometimes I'd look at her like I just knew that she was mine, my wife that is.

The preacher started to look concerned as Christian is telling his story.

"What?" Christian asked.
"Nothing!" The preacher said.

"I already know what you're thinking sir. For me to know that right then, how could I just let her slip through my fingers? How could I let another man treasure MY treasure? Christian said.

"Sometimes we have to lose to realize the loss..." The preacher stated.
"In this day and age, you youngins are so concerned with proving that you don't care only to realize you should have cared." He finished.

"I know sir, I know! However, I'm trying to change it but I can't change it until I admit all of the truth, all of what happened." Christian stated.

"Okay, finish your story!" The preacher said.

"Okay!" Christian responded.

One day I met a woman whose beauty captivated me within one glance, she stole my heart within our first meet. When I met her, I just knew that she was the upgrade from Lacey. It was like I knew Lacey was the one because of who she was but I figured God was giving me someone ten times better than her. The truth is I was wrong. The woman that I met didn't even want to be with me which made me back track and go back to my old ways. I started back hanging out with the wrong people, doing the wrong things, and I stopped promoting positivity. In short, I became apart of the problem instead of becoming the solution I was originally aiming for. I think that says a lot about who you choose to pursue when it comes to your life whether it is a friend or more than a friend.

"Hey Lacey!" I would say.
"Hey!" Lacey would respond.

It was as if that "Hey" was enough for her to forgive me and give me another chance because she did. When she gave me another chance, I basically did the same thing to her again which should have told her that I didn't deserve her, her time, or her love.

Fast forward a year, I lose everything from my job to my vehicle to my friends. Lacey became my backbone. I used her to bounce ideas off of. I used her for financial reasons. I used her for pep talks. I used her for her love. It wasn't as if I just set out to "use" her but it wasn't as if I was trying to stop myself from doing any of those things either. She was just so understanding, she was issuing out some of the things that I was never familiar with. In my mind, I was given even more proof that she was my wife but then my ex showed up.

In my teenage days, my ex was someone I cared deeply about because she loved me or at least she said she did. It was as clear as day that she only wanted me to herself but I couldn't have her. She wanted me to display my love, my affection for her but she never would lend me an encouraging ear during hardships, in fact, she talked to me as if I wasn't worth anything at all. Lacey had to find out once again through social media that I was with her which broke her heart. This is how she ended up with Robert because I was a fool for far too long. I didn't fight for her. I didn't realize that she was the missing piece to my puzzle. It's like deep down inside I KNEW because her love was a love like no other. I knew because her purpose lined up with my purpose. I knew because I knew peace when I was with her. I knew peace.

Christian finished telling his story as the preacher began to talk.

"Son, I would be lying if I said that you had a real chance with Lacey but I'm not saying that you don't. However, I am saying that you really dug yourself a deep hole. Love is many things but one thing it is not is a lie. If I were to sum up what love is, I'd say love IS peace. Love can happen in more ways than one. It can be planned and it can be a spur of the moment type of thing. A lot of people say that it takes a lot of time to "build" love but that's not true. If anything, love happens at any momen but it's the keeping the love happening that takes a lot of time. You can meet someone today that loves you more than someone from your past. There is no one answer when it comes to defining what love is. I think that you owe Lacey an apology but it's up to her to forgive you because you really messed up. I know that I'm suppose to tell you that everything will be alright but even I know that there is a possibility that, that isn't true. Go to her. IF she wants to talk to you, talk. If she doesn't, then leave her be." The preacher said as he walked Christian to the door.

"What am I going to do now?" Christian asked himself.

Christian starts walking down the side walk as he spots Lacey. His heart starts to pound repeatedly.

"I love him, you know?" Lacey yelled out.

"I know!" Christian replied with a sad look on his face.

"What were you thinking Christian? Lacey asked.

"I waited on you and I waited. I was there for you when your friends weren't. I uplifted you. I gave to you when I didn't have enough to give to myself. More importantly, I loved you no matter what struggle came your way and you hurt me more than once. You couldn't even tell me the truth when the truth was all that I asked of you. Why?" She finished.

"Lacey, I was a fool. I want to blame it on my age, on my past, on anything but the truth but I can't hurt you anymore. I lost you because I didn't choose you when I had you. I had you while continuously looking for more as if I didn't already have all that I needed. All I ever needed was you." Christian said.

Lacey started to stare at Christian as if she wanted to scream but she didn't say anything.

"Are you okay?" Christian asked.

Lacey remains quiet.

"Lacey, I'm sorry but please talk to me!" Christian begged.

"Where did Robert go?" Christian asked.

Lacey still remained quiet.

Christian started to walk away but Lacey stopped him.

"He called off the wedding." Lacey said.

"Oh!" Christian replied with no sound of sympathy within his voice.

"He still wants to marry me but he wanted me to come to end all ties with you!" Lacey stated.

"What?" Christian yelled.

Christian gets down on his knees.

"Baby no, I can't lose you! I can't!" Christian said with tears in his eyes.

Lacey turned her head away from Christian's.

Christian grabs her hand to turn her around.

"Baby!" Christian said.

"I love you! I love your personality! I love your uniqueness! I love your morals! I love that you no longer put up with anyone's bull! I love that you found your worth but not in me or any other man!" He finished saying.

"Chris, you know that I've always loved you, right?" Lacey says as she helps Christian up.

"But I can't do this with you anymore! I won't!" She says.

"You didn't value me! You treated me like an option compared to everyone else but then you would always find me when you needed me. I'm done Chris, I'm done!" Lacey says as she walks away.

"Will you marry me? Christian blurts out.

Lacey turns around.

"What?" Lacey asks.

"Will you marry me?" Christian asks proudly.

"Why now?" Lacey asks.

"You said that you couldn't do what we've always done anymore so why not start a new chapter with me? Why not be with me? Here, now, forever, always? Will you marry me?" Christian asks again.

Lacey starts to cry.

"Christian, I love him!" She says again.

Christian starts looking confused.

"Lacey, you just said that!" Christian says.

"Christian, I love him but..." Lacey pauses.

"But what?" Christian asks.

"I'm still in love with you!" She says.

"What?" Christian asks with excitement.

Lacey steps up closer to Christian.

"Why do you think that I'm here right now? Why do you think that I stayed to listen to all that you had to say? When I told you that I loved you all of those years ago, I meant it. My love is eternal! My faith in you increases as the days go by. I never stopped believing in you, I never stopped praying for your miracle. To be real, a part of me is scared because this would make the third time that I have given you my heart. How do I give my heart away to someone that has proved to not know how to cherish it? This heart aches for you! This soul longs for you! But I'm not your toy. I'm not someone that you can just walk all over whenever you want to." Lacey says to Christian.

"I know you aren't and I promise that I will never abuse your heart again if you decide to give me a chance. Let me love you. Let me hold you like I did when we first hung out. Let me be the one to listen to all your concerns, the one to inspire you, the one to cater to you. Let me show you that I'm not the same man that I was back then. Don't you believe in growth?" Christian asks.

"Of course I do!" Lacey replies.

"Then let me prove to you that I have grown in more ways than one. Let me show you that I am capable of being with only one woman." Christian says.

"Okay Christian, I will be your girlfriend." Lacey states.

"Girlfriend?" Christian asks.

"Isn't that what you want?" Lacey asks.

"No, I was serious!" Christian responds.

"Yes!" Lacey screams.

Christian picks Lacey up and kisses her.

"What about Robert?" Christian asks.

"He knew!" Lacey said.

"What?" Christian asks with curiosity.

"He knew from the moment I approached you in the church that you were the one that I wanted to marry. Robert told me that it is possible for someone to change even after so many times of wrong doings. He knew that deep down inside, I still wanted you but he didn't want to admit it because he was scared of losing me. But how could he lose what he never fully had?" Lacey says.

"When do you want to marry me?" Lacey asks.

"Tomorrow!" Christian responds.

"Okay, see you then!" Lacey says as she walks away.

Christian smiles widely as he heads back inside of the church. On his way in, he sees the preacher sitting in the pew with a smile on his face.

"You already know, don't you?" Christian asks the preacher.
"Yes, I know! I knew when you left out that she would give you another chance because real love knows no limit." The preacher says.

The preacher gets up to shake Christian's hand.

"Good job son! And the answer is yes!" The preacher said.

"What do you mean?" Christian asked him.

"Yes, I will marry you and Lacey!" The preacher said.

The two of them shook hands as Christian left the church.

Christian heads to the apartment to meet up with his brother.

"I did it!" Christian yells out.

Christian's brother, Terrance, runs out of his room.

"Man, you scared me!" He says.

"I did it!" Christian says again.

"Did what?" Terrance asks.

"I got my queen back!" Christian says as he breaks down in tears.

"Man, I'm proud of you! Maybe now you can stop having those dreams!" Terrance said.

"We're getting married tomorrow! We're getting married tomorrow!" Christian says repeatedly.

"I told you to go and tell her how you feel! I told you that type of love doesn't just vanish in spite of the time that has passed. But bro, you can't do what you've always done or you'll lose her for good this time. Look at what ALMOST happened, I know that they said that almost doesn't count but it really does count. That woman is your forever! She is the one you are suppose to be with so you can't treat her as if she is average." Terrance explains.

"I know Terrance! Trust me, she will never have to worry about my actions not matching my words anymore. Seeing her almost marry another nearly tore my soul out. I can't let that happen again or I don't know what I'd do." Christian tells Terrance.

"Do you know what vows you will say to her?" Terrance asks.

"Yes, I do!" Christian said with enthusiasm.

"What are they?" Terrance asks.

Christian goes into his room and pulls out a piece of paper from under his dresser.

"Man, what's that?" Terrance asks.

"My vows!" Christian states.

"Wow!" Terrance says as he is reading Christian's vows.

"I know!" Christian says egotistically.

The evening turns to night as the night turns to day.

Christian stares into the same mirror he was looking in when he thought that he had lost his queen.

"Today is the day!" Christian says as he walks out of the restroom and into the chapel.

Christian watches Lacey as she walks down the aisle to him. He takes her veil from her face as the preacher asks him to recite his vows. He needed to see her face, her eyes, he needed to see HER.

"Lacey, my queen! I never told you this but you silently saved my life. You helped me realize my purpose, my dreams, my goals. you helped me become the man I am today. You loved me when others didn't. You supported me when others didn't. You are the definition of strong. You are my strength when I am weak. Through you, compassion has made its home. Through you, unconditional love flows through your veins. Your smile heals wounds that existed from long ago. Your patience is distributed profusely amongst all. You are everything. You are my everything. I need to apologize once again for taking so long to realize your worth. I need to apologize for taking so long to realize how much you mean to me. I need to apologize for pushing you away when I needed to be pulling you close. I need to apologize for being one of the people to overlook you. I need to apologize for telling you ahead of time that it is and it has always been, you."

As Christian finishes his speech, the preacher pronounces them husband and wife. The two take it upon themselves to seal the deal with a kiss. A kiss that took a second but felt like forever.

My name is Chessica Luckett. I am a Certified Life Coach for the Youth and the Owner of Luckett Life Values. My poem, "Take a deep breath" was published in an Anthology Book of Blue Mountain Arts called "You are stronger than you know". Aside from this poem, I have no other publishing credentials.