Chapter 10
Amaze Jr.’s 2 nd birthday…
The sound of engines roaring had my baby boy on his feet. He jumped up and down, squealing like crazy as the Dirty Strykers gave him a birthday salute. I didn’t care for all the noise, but my baby boy loved it. Amaze climbed off his bike, shaking his hair as he walked toward us. He was as sexy as ever as he moved in our direction. Before I could grab his little shirt, Junior took off running for his dad.
“Daddy!” my son yelled with outstretched arms.
Seeing the pride and joy beaming through Amaze’s smile made me so happy that I had given him another son. Every day, I watched him father our sons filled with the same pride that flowed through him.
I was so grateful that Amaze had gotten a second chance to raise a child from infancy after having missed that opportunity with Anthony. My boys were my life, all three of them. Amaze scooped Junior up before continuing my way and planting a kiss on my cheek.
“You better not have had my son out cat walking on that bike again,” I said, looking past him to where Anthony was talking to some of the guys in the motorcycle club.
Ant had been going down and learning the ropes with Amaze. He was even talking about majoring in business in college so that he could take the business the club ran to new heights. His dream of playing basketball was still there, but it felt good to know that he was exploring his options instead of putting all of his eggs in one basket.
“Not yet, but soon, he’ll be ready.”
“You better be glad it’s Mazie’s birthday, or I would tell you something.”
“You know I’m not gon’ let the boy get hurt, baby. I’m teaching him all of the safety stuff first. Of course riding comes with its own dangers, but Anthony is going to be one of the safest riders on the road.”
“He better be. I’m not playing with you, Maze.”
“He’s a good kid, baby. Let him grow up.”
I rolled my eyes at the suggestion that I was babying Ant. Maze loved to say let him grow up, but it was hard on me. I had been there with him his entire life. It would be tough seeing him go off to college in the fall, but I would be so occupied with other things that I was sure I would manage.
One thing about Black people, we knew how to turn a children’s party into an adult party. Aside from Mazie and a couple of the other rider’s kids, there were only adults at the party. The motorcycle club had shown up for my boy in a big way.
Aside from the little leather vest with his name on it, he had been given a ton of gear that included a rechargeable motorcycle that he could ride. My baby was only two years old, and the love for motorcycles was already running through his veins. My face lit up as I watched Ant jog across the field to where we were. Soon, my baby would be going away, but right now, I didn’t want to think about that. I wanted to relish every moment I could with him while I could.
“Don’t fuss at my son, Wesley. He’s been careful,” Amaze counseled me.
“I won’t, my amazing husband,” I said in a mocking tone as I rolled my eyes.
“Thank you, my amazing wife.”
“Ma, the food ready?”
“Ant, speak to my wife before you start asking for shit.”
“Hey, Ma. Is the food ready?”
“Yes it is. Can you tell Lade and your uncle AJ to put me a plate aside. I don’t feel like eating right now.” Instead of just taking my words at face value, Ant turned to look at his dad for approval.
“Bring her a hot dog,” Amaze told him.
“I can decide if I want to eat or not.”
“You sure can, but we will make sure you have the option.”
“Well, thank you, but I would prefer a burger with mayo, barbecue sauce, and sauerkraut. Maze, did you make sure we had coleslaw? I know Brandy made the potato salad. If you see some potato salad and coleslaw, get those, please. I’ve been wondering how they would taste mixed together.”
“What the hell?” Amaze mumbled, turning to me in slow motion.
“Mom, that sounds disgusting.” Anthony grimaced.
“You good, baby? You don’t have anything you need to tell me, do you?” Amaze asked me.
“Um, no,” I said, knowing that Amaze would see through the lie.
“Ant, take Mazie over there and get him a hot dog. I’ll fix your mom’s plate,” Amaze instructed.
“No, stay,” I said, chuckling under my breath as I reached down and picked up Mazie’s travel bag off the ground. “I have something that I wanted to tell you guys once we made it home, but as usual, you have ruined the surprise.
“What kind of surprise? Are you going to let me go to Europe?” Anthony asked a little too enthusiastically.
He had been begging me to let him launch a program where young adults rode motorcycles all over Europe. So far, he had a few people who were interested. Even Amaze was on board with the idea and had pledged to donate twenty-five thousand dollars to the cause. Ant was insistent that it wouldn’t mess up his future plans since the trip would be over summer break. He also claimed that it would also lead him to be more well rounded and cultured when he started college. I didn’t hate the idea; I just didn’t like the idea of him going without any adult supervision. On paper, he was eighteen years old, but in my heart, he was my baby.
“Not now, Ant. Don’t give me a headache while I’m trying to tell the two of you some good news.”
“What is it, Wesley?” Amaze questioned.
“I have something for you,” I said, passing each of them a box.
Amaze stared at me, looking confused, but Ant didn’t waste a second tearing into his box. When it was open, his brows knitted together in bewilderment.
“What is this, Ma?”
“It’s a shirt,” I enlightened him.
“My mind can’t process these words. What do you mean I’m about?—”
“Wait a minute, Ant. Let’s let your dad see what his shirt says.”
“What you got going on, Wesley Johnson?” Amaze asking, finally opening his box. “I’m… I’m about to have a daughter?”
“Yes, baby,” I said, just as big teardrops dropped onto my shirt.
“Ma, you need to stop having all of these kids. This shit is really sickening. You want people to know you’re still having sex?”
I burst out laughing through my tears when Amaze slapped him on the back of his head. “Boy, stop talking to my wife like that, and you know better than to curse in front of your mother.”
“His bigheaded ass doesn’t need to be cursing around anyone at all. You don’t have a big enough vocabulary to not have to use profanity? Maybe we need to cut down on some of these sports and get back to the books.”
“Ma, come on. Now you’re tripping. I just want you to hear what I’m saying. It’s almost time for you to be a grandma, and you’re still having sex.”
“Boy, shut the hell up.” Amaze shook his head.
“And I’m gon’ keep having sex because I’m grown as hell, and your daddy is fine as hell. Boy, you just make sure you know that there are things that come with having sex. I don’t plan on being a grandma no time soon.”
“You and Dad are living proof of that.” Anthony cackled. “Nah, for real though, I’m excited about being a big brother again. We need another girl around here. I didn’t think I would want a sibling. but when little Mazie Junior came around. I fell in love with him. Now that’s my guy.”
“I’m going to have a little girl?” Amaze asked again.
“Yes, baby,” I said, holding his face in both my hands.
After pecking my lips, he said, “I fucking knew it. I didn’t want you to bite my head off for saying you had picked up a little weight, but I knew you were pregnant. I was just waiting for you to tell me. I had no idea you were far along enough to know what you’re having.”
“I found out about a few weeks ago and wanted to wait until I knew we were in the clear to tell you. When we saw that it was a girl, I knew I wanted to tell you guys in a special way.”
“Thank you, baby. Thank you for coming back to me and making this chapter in my life the best one. I could never thank you enough.”
“Don’t thank me, Maze. Thank God.”
“You’re right. Thank You, God, for bringing my family back together and keeping us safe. Continue to show me how to lead them. Help our love grow stronger every day, amen.”
“Amen,” the rest of us said in unison.
“Amen! Amen!” Mazie sang, oblivious to what was going on.
“Come on, Junior. You and your brother go with me to tell me we are having a little princess.”
Rubbing my belly, I kicked my feet up and watched as my boys took off to spread our good news. I was as happy as I had ever been and couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life like this every day.
The End