Diana got in bed, followed by Ashton, and proceeded to tell him about Trechial's behavior. He let out a boisterous laugh at Diana's overzealous storytelling of their daughter's outlandish behavior and Devin's ostentatious lips.

Then it got serious.

They talked about Ashton selling his share of the restaurant to his partner, Myron, and him taking a leave of absence from work to take care of his health.

Ashton's dark chocolate skin glowed under the lamp on the nightstand. His strong cheekbones lifted, revealing a perfect small gap-toothed smile.

Oh, how she loved that man, how she loved his adoration for sunsets, heart for God, his integrity, and the need to do the right thing no matter the cost. Most things Ashton touched were triumphant, not just income- wise but his friendships, business relationships, and their marriage. Yes, Diana and Ashton had their arguments, mostly about minute things such as Ashton leaving the toilet seat up or giving Trechial sweets before bed. The last big argument they had ended in Ashton sleeping on the sofa a little before the sunset, and then he made his way back into their bedroom and said, "The good Lord said 'do not let the sun go down on your anger,' so here I am." He'd said it with a nervous chuckle that Diana couldn't help but fall in love with all over again.

Ashton hated going to the doctor, but after their argument, he agreed to go. A person would think after passing out four times in a week— twice in one day––the hardheaded man would use common sense and go to the doctor, but no, not until Diana chewed him out. He ended up going, grunting and mumbling to Dr. Bowman, the family doctor, and got an instinctive test run—bone marrow, imaging x-rays, and blood test.

The prognosis: Myelofibrosis.

Ashton's life expectancy: five years with treatment.

It grieved Diana's heart that she hadn't paid attention to Ashton's weight loss or his extreme fatigue, which she assumed was due to his overworking and stress. As one of the Civil managers over the new bridge they were preparing to construct along with keeping the books for the restaurant, there was little time for him to rest. In a few days, Ashton would officially be on vacation for a month, and Diana planned on waiting on her husband hand and foot and forcing him into some form of hibernation as often as possible.

Ashton lifted up on his elbows. "What's wrong honey?"

Diana blinked two tears down her cheeks and looked over at her wonderful, beautiful, loving man, and smiled. "Promise me you'll take advantage of your time off."

He pulled Diana down onto his hairy chest, and his heart thumped against her ear. The beating heart of the working-class black man. Her king.

Ashton beat the pavement for her and Trechial, never making excuses as to why he could not do something. He pushed himself to a higher standard, which led him to become the only black civil engineer manager working for the state for the past two years.

"Myron cut the check today," Ashton said, trailing Diana's arm with a finger and cutting through her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah." Diana could care less about money unless it could buy back her husband's health. She wanted to enjoy another fifty to sixty years with him rather than lose him at a ripe age.

"One—" he began.

Silence.

"That's nice, honey." Diana brushed him off.

Ashton bent down and whispered in her ear, "––Million"

Diana's eyes stretched into saucers. "Dollars?"

There was no way that measly mom and pop shop, Daisy's, sold for that insane amount of money.

"Why on earth would someone pay you that type of money for that hole-in-a-wall?"

She knew Ashton and his partner, who was also his best friend, Myron, were thinking about selling the business, but she would have never thought it would have sold so soon. And for a lucrative price. Yes, it was popular in their hometown of Carlsberg, NC. But Carlsberg was a tiny blip on the map and the only people who knew about Daisy's Soul Food Eatery were either truck drivers passing by on HWY 42, tourists who made a wrong turn on their way to the beach, or the local folks of Carlsberg. It was a town of seven hundred people. The grocery store, auto shop, and daycare shared the same shopping center. And Daisy's shared a building with the only gas station for twenty-two miles.

"Myron took out a loan and bought my half of the restaurant."

"Yeah, but where did Myron get a million dollars?" Diana lifted her head, her face twisting into fear.

Ashton laughed.

"Seriously," Diana said, what did Myron do to write a check this big, and should I start packing me and my daughters' bags— ya know, looking for an underground safe place or something?"

Ashton's shoulders continued to rumble, and he wiped a tear forming in the corner of his eye. "You bring me so much joy, Diana."

She frowned. "I'm serious, honey."

"Fine, fine. A fancy-schmancy business restaurateur happened to be on his way to the beach and got lost. After tasting Nana's pot roast and roasted red mashed potatoes—"

"One meal made him invest—" Diana's face contorted into confusion.

One side of Ashton's mouth twisted to the side and he did his infamous eyebrow wiggle, "It was the cherry pie?"

"No way!" Diana continued in disbelief. The worst item on his grandmother's insidious diabetic menu was the cherry pie.

"He hated cherry pie until he tasted Nana's."

Diana rolled her eyes heavenward. "It's sugar with a hint of cherry."

"Aw, don't be like that."

"Nana terrorized me in the Huan. Nana's way or the highway." Diana mocked.

"Nana loved you," Ashton said. "That was why she was so hard on you. And" ––His lips spread into a wide grin–– "it's also why she gave you that house as a wedding gift."

Diana shot up eyes a mixture of anger and amusement. "It was an outhouse, Ashton!" She playfully slapped him.

He hollered with laughter, knowing fully well his Nana had given Diana a hard time. Diana grabbed a pillow and took aim at him. Trechial, whom Diana caught out the corner of her eye, etched her way into their room with her tan kola bear dragging behind her and a cautious expression on her face. Probably under the assumption Diana was still angry with her for her earlier actions at the park. In truth, she was not, but Trechial would apologize to little Devin when she saw him again. It was not her first go-round with little Devin, and she was sure it wouldn't be her last, and the same went for their apologies to one another.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Diana cut her eyes to Trechial, who was at the edge of the bed. She grinned at her daughter. "Or are you gonna help me get Daddy?"

Trechial's face brightened up like the sun. She slung the kola bear over her shoulder and climbed on the bed. Ashton continued to roar with laughter as Trechial's little self grabbed a pillow, almost falling backward when she steadied the pillow over her head and swung, hitting her dad.

"I'm going to get you, Daddy." She giggled.

"How could you turn my princess against me?" Within a flash of an eye, Ashton escaped the pillows and had the girls on the run in the king-sized bed. He grabbed Trechial and began tickling her, and her laughter filled the room. She kicked her legs, trying to remove Ashton's fingers. Diana laughed, hitting Ashton in the head with a pillow, Ashton snapped his head to Diana and wiggled his thick brows, then gave chase, tackling her onto the bed and tickling her next.