Crouching before the headstone, Isaac was careful not to muddy his tuxedo pants. He smiled softly, and brushed away a few dead leaves and pulled a few weeds. It was already meticulously manicured, but anything to make the site even prettier than what it was.
   "Happy birthday, D." He whispered softly as he replaced the two dozen white lilies in the plastic vase with newer, fresher ones.    Blinking rapidly, he kept his tears at bay and took in a deep breath. "I have a lot of news for you." He admitted, as his hands fidgeted and his feet went numb.
   "It seems Syrus had much more hate inside him than we could even imagine. He's the one that took you away from me." Isaac started blinking again, and sniffled a couple of times. "Man… D, I still miss you so much, you know? And God, you should see our girls. They're so beautiful. They're so like you."
   Clearing his throat, his eyes shifted away. "I met someone, D. And I know you won't hate me that! But there are times when I hate me for it. Which, thanks to Zac and Mackenzie, I'm aware of isn't all that logical. We loved each other so much we wanted each other to be happy. Even if it wasn't with each other." He sighed, "And this girl, she… sometimes she just reminds me of you so much and my heart is near exploding with the joy. I'm so worried she'll realize I love her because she's like you and leave."
   Isaac swallowed with great difficulty, "I don't know if I could handle losing the one I loved so greatly again, D."
   Clearing his throat again, he shifted so the pain would lessen in his legs. "Tay's getting married soon." His laugh was watery as he kept his tears in check, even though his throat swelled with them. "Him and Randy are going to be so happy together." Standing, he grimaced when his legs began to tingle painfully as the blood rushed back into them.
   "I love you, D. Always will." Kissing his fingertips, he touched her headstone with them and stepped back.
   Turning, he smiled weakly as he saw his brothers and Arie standing around in the background. "I hate to think I'm so predictable."
   Zac grinned as they all walked towards him. "Well, it's just on certain things you're predictable." He commented, before hugging him and slapping his back.
   Mackenzie smiled and hugged him as well. "She was a major part in so many lives, Ike. We were going to visit her today anyhow."
   Smiling gratefully at him, Isaac nodded and looked at Arie. "She missed you a lot, you know? When you moved away with Essence and had Jesse so far away, she always missed you."
   Unable to summon a smile, in fear of crying, Arie jerked his head and hugged Isaac quickly. Giving a sharp slap between his shoulder blades. "I teased her about loving you, because she always cared about you most. That you were always happy no matter with who, or what, or wherever you were at that moment."
   Coughing, Isaac choked back everything and took in deep breaths before looking up at Taylor who hung back noticeably.
   Smiling at him weakly, Taylor handed over an official envelope. "It came the other day, but I swore the others to secrecy so that I could give it to you as a wedding present."
   Isaac laughed, "I think you're confused, man. See, I'm supposed to give you the wedding present, Tay."
   Smiling anyway, Taylor shrugged off the tradition. "It is my wedding, and this is what I wanted."
   Nodding in agreement, Isaac took the package and ripped it opened with care then scanned the contents. He smiled with great relief, and didn't bother this time to hold back his tears. "Syrus has been arrested and charged with business espionage, insider trade information, bribing a medical doctor, and three counts conspiracy of murder."
   "That got all that in three weeks?" Zac asked in surprise, whistling low under his breath.
   Isaac shook his head, his hands clutching the paper. "Herb left a lot of evidence behind when Mr. Whithington discovered his cause of death, and Arie's people caught the guy who was skimming profits, and he sang real pretty when they told him what he was going to be charged with. So they didn't have to go digging up a lot of information since it was all basically right there."
   Taylor put his hand on Isaac's shoulder and looked over the papers as well. His eyes quickly slid back and forth over the typed words. "The proceeding's will take a while unless he tries for a plea."
   Isaac shrugged, "All I care about, is that he gets charged for D and Kasha."
   Taylor squeezed his shoulder, "That's all any of us care about, Ike."
   Looking up, Isaac smiled and folded the papers and put them back in the envelope then placed it in the pocket inside his coat. "We have a wedding to get you to, Tay." He announced, "And I don't think Randy would like it if you were late."
   Taking the lighter moment, Zac ran and pushed on Taylor's shoulders. "Yeah, man. Being late for your own wedding, can basically guarantee you ain't gonna get married."
   Laughing, Taylor elbowed Zac and the group started walking back to their cars.
   Mackenzie bumped his shoulder against Isaac's. "You know, she loves you, right? They all do."
   At his odd look, Mackenzie smiled. "D, Charm, Angel… Lilah."
   Smiling, Isaac got into his van, and the group managed to get back to the house in time before Randy started down the make shift aisle that lead from the back porch into the garden.
   Preparing himself to watch his daughters toss flowers, then Randy and her father, he relaxed once the vows were being made. He could almost picture him and D voicing their vows as he squeezed Lilah's hand in his.
   He was for sure everything was going to be okay now.

   Life will always throw us a curve. Nothing will always go your way.
   So make the compromises. For even though sometimes you will get burned by the fire that is love, you will freeze without its warmth.