Chapter 9
NINE
The mall was a jungle this close to Christmas, and I was starting to regret not knocking Lucky’s gifts out earlier but between the private gigs, the kids, the surprise baby…
life been moving fast, and I was just tryna keep up.
I had two bags on one arm and a peppermint lemonade in the other, tryin’ to ignore the way the floor felt like it was moving every time I blinked.
“You good, baby?” my mom asked, glancin’ at me from over a rack of jackets.
“I’m fine,” I lied. “I just?—”
The sentence didn’t finish. My hand shot out to steady myself on the edge of a display, breath catching like my body forgot how to move for a second.
My mother was at my side instantly, one palm on my back, the other to my forehead.
“Oh, no baby, you burnin’ up.” She narrowed her eyes.
I gave a tired smile. “It’s this damn baby.”
She let out a soft gasp before grinning so hard her cheeks lifted her glasses. “Another grandbaby?”
I nodded slowly.
Her face lit up like it was Christmas morning right then and there. “You pregnant again?”
“You’re not mad?” I asked, breathing out, finally letting the question escape. I didn’t even know it had been sitting in my chest like that until now.
She looked at me like I just asked her the dumbest thing in the world.
“Hell no, I’m not mad,” she said, wrapping her arm around me and guiding me to sit on one of them little rest benches near the escalator.
“You are a married woman. Who is loved on and catered to. During and after havin’ babies.
Lucky is everything a woman could ask for, and you got him, baby. Just like he got you.”
Tears burned the back of my eyes. I leaned into her, slow and full of gratitude.
“I just… I don’t always feel like myself since Jenie,” I admitted. “Like my body hasn’t caught up to my spirit yet.”
“You don’t gotta feel like your old self, Jream. You a new woman now. A mama of almost three. And you still got that man wrapped ‘round your finger like you did when y’all became official. So, stop second-guessin’. You were built for this. All of it.”
I smiled for real then, eyes closed, heart feeling full in a way that didn’t have nothing to do with gifts or Christmas.
“Let’s go home,” she said, standing up and offering me her hand. “We’ll finish this later. You need rest. Lucky’ll be just as happy with you safe and glowing as he would be with another box under the tree.”
And she was right. He always was.
By the time we pulled up to the house, the sun was already starting to dip low, casting that golden light Lucky always said made me look like a dream. I didn’t feel like no dream right now though. My skin was sticky with sweat, my curls clinging to my neck, and every bone in my body felt heavy.
Lucky opened the door before we could even get all the way up the steps, eyes narrowing the second he clocked my face.
“What's wrong?” he asked, stepping forward and easing the bags from my arms like they were too much for me to carry. His hand came up to my cheek and I watched his jaw tick when he felt how hot I was.
“She has a fever,” my mama cut in before I could answer. “And she’s not cooking shit this year. I don’t care who’s comin’.”
Lucky looked at her, then at me, his voice low and sure. “Bet. Dinner’ll still be here, but Jream not doin’ nothin’ but layin’ up and gettin’ spoiled.”
I sighed and dragged myself inside, easing onto the couch as he helped me out of my shoes. “I really don’t feel like hearin’ your mama mouth, Lucky…”
He snorted and stood up, walking to the kitchen for a cold bottle of water before handing it to me. “Her ass is uninvited.”
That made my head jerk up.
He leaned on the edge of the couch, arms folded, mouth tight. “She solidified that when she made that slick comment about your weight a few days ago. I haven’t forgot.”
“Lucky…”
“Nah. I don’t care if it’s Christmas. She not bringin’ that negative shit into our house. Pops comin’ through with Ms. Norma anyway and I already know she gon’ try and show her ass the second she sees them together. So that just give me more reason to tell her not to come.”
I blinked. “Wait—Ms. Norma, Ms. Norma? The one from his job?”
He smirked. “Yup, apparently, they been sneakin’ off to jazz nights on Thursdays.”
I let out a tired laugh, head falling back onto the couch cushion. “Whew… this Christmas already a mess.”
Lucky crouched beside me, brushing the hair off my forehead and placing a kiss there, soft and sweet. “Nah. It’s perfect. You home, you bakin’ a baby, and you not liftin’ a finger. That’s exactly how I want it.”