Page 131 of Theirs
“No. I’m good.”
“You sure?”
“Yep. Get away from me.” She laughed and lightly pushed me away. “Go socialize. I don’t need to be babysat.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Ay!” Kiano grabbed my attention. “Can you bring me a water?” He shouted from the card table, Rocky in his lap while he played with Drake, one of my cousins, and Elijah’s old friend.
They’d set up three different tables now and apparently Morocco was making everyone put up a quarter each to buy in.
Walking a water bottle over to Kiano, I saw he and Drake had teamed up to play spades. Morocco and Elijah were still playing dominoes. Leann and some of her girls played pitty pat.
“Thank you.” Kiano took the water and I leaned down without thinking about it. He kissed me sweetly two quick times and looked back at his hand.
It was almost off putting how normal sharing public displays of affection were with him now but I loved that shit.
“You want me to take Rocky?” I asked.
“She’s okay.” He tilted his head back to look at me. “If you want her, you can take her, but she isn’t bothering anything.”
“A’ight.” I plucked her up and he chuckled. He knew I just wanted her.
“Yooooo!” Xy’s loud ass mouth announced his presence and I grinned as he jogged over to us. “What’s up?” He dapped everyone and Elijah stood up to hug him.
“We need to get a damn family photo ’round this bitch,” Elijah said.
“Shit. Let’s do it.” Drake set his cards face down and Morocco snickered.
“That means that nigga got a losing hand.”
Everyone laughed and I shifted Rocky to my other arm as he and Drake climbed up.
“Ay. Let’s take it in the front though,” Elijah suggested.
“Joss! Come here!” I called for him near Jiselle and he shoved the rest of his cookie into his mouth and jogged over.
We headed to the front yard, a few people coming along to get their own pictures.
Morocco, Elijah, and I sat on the top step of the porch—me and Morocco holding our babies in our laps—and Drake, Xy, and Joss sat on the step two below us.
“Everybody say ‘Douglas’,” Elijah called out.
We all yelled our last name and several quick pictures were taken before we climbed up.
People immediately talked and joked as we walked to the backyard. I reached for Kiano’s hand automatically and hegrinned at me as he switched Rocky to his other arm, linking our fingers. I pulled him into me, throwing an arm around Selle too, who immediately laced her fingers through mine.
“You want me to send that picture to your pops?” Kiano asked.
I exhaled. “If you want to.”
“Alright.”
I kissed the side of his head and he grinned.
I wasn’t mad at my pops anymore. I’d taken Selle and Kiano to meet him right before we’d gotten married and genuinely believed he was trying to be a better person. He supported our relationship, not that he had much of a choice ,but I appreciated that he’d vocalized it. He hadn’t met my daughter and wouldn’t be meeting her unless he got out of jail and proved he was worthy. But I’d sent him a picture of her when she was born and Kiano had taken to sending him monthly updates and sometimes money, which was some shit I wasn’t doing. I’d raised that man’s kids. I wasn’t taking care of him too.
Kiano was a good man like that though, and family was important to him, the family we were creating and the ones we’d come from. I squeezed his hand and leaned in to kiss his head again but he turned toward me and I kissed his mouth instead.
Jiselle’s parents weren’t cool with our arrangement out the gate but her mom had come around. Her pops still spoke to her weekly and invited us to family shit. He didn’t approve but he wasn’t outright mean and rude. He made little passive aggressive comments sometimes, but as long as he didn’t upset Selle, I didn’t give a fuck. I didn’t care about how my dad felt. I damn sure wasn’t losing sleep over Selle’s, especially when I was the happiest I’d ever been.
When we walked through the backyard gate, the lights had been turned on and most of my family was rapping along to theDrix song playing through the speakers like that shit was the city’s anthem.
Kiano and I both laughed when Jiselle started rapping too. Slipping her hand from mine, I jumped in, going bar for bar with her. Kiano threw an arm over my shoulder, yelling the lyrics into my ear. My hands went to Selle’s belly, all three of us swaying as we rapped and smiled at each other.
I felt good, better than good even, and I knew it wasn’t the liquor in my system. I couldn’t believe this shit was my life.
With our families merged around us yelling, laughing, and joking, I knew without a doubt that this was where I was meant to be. Kiano and Jiselle were always meant to be mine, and shit, I was always meant to be theirs.
