15. Jasoni Ward
JASONI WARD
Two years later . . .
“Let’s go, Kinga!” I hollered out after seeing the ball soar through the air before gracefully falling in the net. A startling cry made me freeze mid-celebration. “Shit!” I cursed because I forgot that I was supposed to be being quiet.
Glancing down at my beautiful little chocolate drop, I made sure that she was still sleeping.
Thankfully, she was, so I sat back and started back rocking her car seat with my foot.
Jalani was officially three months old with a very strict schedule.
It was currently her nap time, and as a very present and aware father, I knew she would be fussy for the rest of the night if her sleep was disturbed.
Since I couldn’t catch the game last night, I had recorded it.
I already knew the outcome, thanks to social media, but I needed that play-by-play, and so far, my boy Kianis Kinga hadn’t let me down.
He was retiring this year, and the boy was playing his ass off.
His name would surely go down in the history of the game.
My attention shifted toward the hallway when I heard little footsteps headed my way. “Daddy, I poop!” our toddler, Mahogany, yelled out in excitement. Her little voice was so adorable that I forgot she was talking about her literal shit.
“Really, baby girl? Did you use your big-girl potty?” I asked her when she finally came into view. Her hair was in the cutest little afro, and today, Oaklyn had put on a little sparkly head band that matched her oatmeal-colored sweater dress.
Mag went to take a potty break and adamantly assured me that she didn’t need any help.
Because I knew support was important at her little age, I allowed her the space to handle her business like a big girl.
We had only been potty training her for a few weeks, yet she took to the process well because of her princess seat.
Oaklyn had said it would be worth the money, and she hadn’t lied.
Her little head bobbed up and down. “Yes!” she cheered.
Knowing that I had to go verify, I paused the game and made my way to the bathroom. Sure enough, little droplets of poop floated in her potty, along with pee, thankfully. After taking the time to dump it, rinse it, and clean it, I washed my hands and headed back out front.
I paused at the entryway, watching Mag sit on the floor beside her sister.
She rocked her seat back and forth while staring lovingly down at her.
I could already tell my babies would be the best of friends.
Considering they were only a little over a year apart in age, it was to be expected.
Mag had the big sister role down pact, and I couldn’t fathom how her little tail already understood the concept of protecting and watching over her little sister.
Walking back to my seat, I plopped down and extended my arms across the back of the couch.
Mag got off the floor to climb in my lap, so I took back over rocking Bean’s car seat.
Glancing at my Apple Watch, I saw that it was going on noon.
Oaklyn was supposed to be home a while ago and had yet to make it.
If it weren’t for the fact that I knew she was with Journi acting up, I might’ve been worried.
“Where is your mommy?” I questioned Mag before tickling her armpits.
Her laughter pulled at my heartstrings and made me smile. “Idk, Daddy.”
Hearing her use the acronym correctly had me howling.
She was already so smart that I was always in awe of the things she could comprehend.
I expected to have a wild child, but our baby was very relaxed.
We didn’t get the usual rough start to parenthood that people talked about.
Mag loved to sleep and wasn’t very fussy when she was awake.
Now, that damn sister of hers was paying us double for what we’d missed out on with Mag. It was a part of the reason we were planning a trip to Graceland in the coming weeks.
“Daddy, I watch a mystery?” Mag asked, cuddling deeper into my side.
If it wasn’t her mother snuggling me, then it was her, or sometimes, it was both at once.
I didn’t mind it though, so I had an open arms policy for my girls.
Since I couldn’t watch the game the way I wanted to, I went ahead and found a mystery video for her to watch.
That was what Mag called unboxing videos on YouTube.
We had no clue what made her start calling them that, but since we knew what our baby was asking for, we never tried correcting her.
Mag was already a little diva in the making, and I blamed her spoiled ass mama.
They would lay up in bed at night, watching mysteries together.
While other babies liked to watch things like Ms. Rachel, my baby liked to watch women unbox Prada shades, Gucci slides, and Chanel purses.
I was paying for her expensive taste already, but there wasn’t anything she couldn’t ask me for, and she knew it—another thing she picked up from her mother.
Seeing her completely focused on the video had me picking up my phone. Going into the Find My Phone app, I checked Oaklyn’s location. Thankfully, it showed that they were only a few blocks away now. At least they were safe, which made me feel more at ease.
Sinking deeper into the couch, I watched the mystery with Mag until I heard keys in the front door.
Seconds later, laughter spilled from the foyer into the living room.
Hearing her mother caused Mag to jump up and sprint toward the front of the house.
She was not a daddy’s girl at all, even though I knew she loved me.
Oaklyn was her whole world, and I loved to see it.
Since Lani was sleeping peacefully, I left her to walk through the house.
I shook my head seeing Oaklyn and Journi stumbling in the entryway.
Oaklyn was trying to take her heels off and pick Mag up at the same time.
Before she could do either one, she stumbled over her foot and would’ve gone crashing to the floor if I didn’t catch her.
“Hi, handsome,” she cooed with glassy eyes.
“How much did y’all fucking drink?” I fussed with a frown.
She waved me off as I steadied her on her feet. “Just like one or two lemon drops,” she replied.
“And four shots of tequila,” Journi added with a snicker.
Oaklyn popped her on the arm. “Girl, shut up before you get me in trouble.”
Journi squinted her eyes at her. “What can he really do to you?”
Oaklyn glanced at me over her shoulder, and I raised an eyebrow, waiting for her response.
She rolled her eyes at me, then turned back to Journi.
“It’s not about what he can do; it’s about what he won’t do.
Just stay out of married people business, and learn to keep your mouth closed.
You’re supposed to be my diary. That means you keep secrets, ho. ”
Journi cackled like a mental patient with a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, sisss.”
I shook my head at them. “Keep it down before y’all wake up my baby.”
“It’s strict around here,” Journi teased while jokingly standing at attention.
“Act like you know this is Fort Ward. Come on, Mag. You can’t be caught hanging around these alcoholics, because you have class.”
I took off running when I heard Journi and Oaklyn both chasing after me. I laughed my way right to hide on the other side of the couch. When my eyes landed on Oaklyn, I saw her flipping me off. Mag followed suit, and when Oaklyn noticed, she yelped before pushing her little finger down.
“Bad influence,” I mumbled, making her jump over the couch to wrap her arms and legs around me. I tried to put her down, but it only made her hang on tighter. “Get off me. You don’t care about me, or you wouldn’t be out all night with that girl.”
“That girl?” Journi interjected. “Really, Jasoni?”
Oaklyn snickered in front of me. Her lips on my cheek was the only reason I turned to look at her. “Don’t be mad at me, baby. I needed this.”
I gave her a small smile. “I know you did. You had a good time?”
She nodded, but it was Journi’s voice that spoke next. “If anyone should be jealous, it’s me because we got so tipsy from drinking everything back-to-back because someone was in a rush to get back home.”
“Next time, call me to pick y’all up. Y’all too old to be driving around drunk and shit.” Turning my attention to Oaklyn, I said, “And you have a whole family to make it home to. Do better.”
She nodded excitedly, trying her best to butter me up and make me forget about this.
Everyone’s attention fell to a wailing Lani in her car seat.
“I got her!” Journi called out. She reached into her seat and scooped her up.
She was still so small it made my heart melt.
“Come on, Mag. We can watch mysteries in the room.”
She held Mag’s hand with her free one and led them down the hall to Mag’s room. Slowly, I turned to Oaklyn. “I bought you something,” she shared with me. She wiggled for me to let her down, but I wouldn’t, so I carried her back to the front of the house where they’d set down their shopping bags.
“Which one?” I asked, eyeing the many designer bags, knowing there was at least one thing for all of us in them.
She pointed to a Saks bag that I squatted to pick up before carrying her back to the living room. I sat down with her in my lap to look through the bag. Inside was a black leather duffel bag covered in the Louis Vuitton logos.
“Now we can be twins on our flights.”
I chuckled because I knew she was dead ass serious. “Thank you, baby.” I kissed her on the cheek. “I actually have something for you too.”
“What is it?”
I smirked. “Follow me outside.” I held her hand as I led the way to our back patio. The motion sensor lights turned on when we stepped back there, where she could see the lanterns laid out on the table.
“Baby, what’s this?”
“It’s currently the lantern festival in China,” I shared with her because she was very much still into the genre. I wanted to take her on a trip there, but having babies back-to-back halted our traveling plans for the time being, but one day, I would get my baby out there.
Tears flooded her eyes with each step that brought her closer to me.
She wrapped her arms around my waist. “You are literally the best husband a woman could ask for.” Once we found out Oaky was pregnant with Lani, we had a small, intimate wedding with just our loved ones.
I popped my collar for emphasis and struck a pose.
She popped me in the chest with a laugh.
I watched her attention float over to the lanterns. “We get to write on them?”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am, then we’ll send them to heaven.”
She became a giddy little girl who loved arts and crafts right before my eyes. We got busy writing our wishes on the lanterns. Oaklyn wrote way more than I did, but that was because she was dramatic like that. When she finished, we walked deeper into the yard so we could set them free.
Pulling the lighter from my pocket, I lit them both. “One . . . two . . . one, two, three, release ’em,” Oaklyn joked, making us both double over in laughter after letting the lanterns go.
I grabbed Oaklyn’s hand and snatched her into my chest. With my arms wrapped around her, we watched the lanterns lift slowly into the sky. “Oh, wait. I have the perfect song.”
I pulled out my phone, went into my music app, and played the very first Chinese song Oaklyn had ever played for me. The one I even allowed her to play at our wedding last year.
“I’m so into you,” I sang along with the artist. Oaklyn spun around in my arms, wrapping hers around my neck. We began to sway in tune with the music while singing back and forth to each other. “I’ll find you. I’ll protect you.”
“I love you,” she sang back to me, and I knew it was true.
Since reuniting with Oaklyn, everything had been going right in my life. Even on the bad days, it never felt like anything I couldn’t handle. It was a blessing to build this beautiful life with her, with two children we both adored and strived to give the world to.
“Do you know when I’m the happiest?”
I shook my head, rubbing my nose against hers. She lifted on her tippy toes after palming my face. Her lips landed on mine, and for a moment, I forgot she even asked me a question and that I was waiting for an answer.
“When I’m alone with you,” she whispered against my lips.
When she pulled back, I saw nothing but pure joy in her eyes. This woman was my entire world, and I was so glad I decided to fight for her. From friends to strangers to lovers, we’d been through every storm imaginable and knew that if we had each other, we would survive it all.
“Being alone with me is how you got two under two,” I teased lightheartedly, but it was also a warning. She knew when it came to her, all self-control went out of the window.
She beamed with pride, wearing a smile that was identical to mine. “And I’d do it again.”
The End