18. Aziel
“Tammy,can you clear my schedule from eleven to one?” I spoke into the speaker on my desk phone.
Instead of replying through the phone speaker, she entered my office.
“You have a meeting at 12:30 with?—”
“Reschedule it or push it back. I’m having lunch with my wife and daughter.”
She scoffed. “You need two hours for that?”
“Probably not, but I don’t want to rush.”
“It’s the middle of the day. Why isn’t Azaria in school?”
“Desire is homeschooling her until she finds another job.”
“She quit her job? Why am I surprised? She looks like the type that?—”
“Tammy, chill out before you’re out of a job.”
“Whatever, Aziel. You say that every other day. You’ve been acting funny since you got married. I’m starting to wonder if it was a mistake suggesting you do so.”
“Nah, it was just the push I needed to find my forever. Did I ever thank you for getting the ball rolling?”
She rolled her eyes. “No, you didn’t. Why do I get the feeling this isn’t just for votes anymore?”
“It stopped being about votes as soon as I realized I was marrying the woman I’d fantasized about for months.”
“Is she why you were so adamant about dropping off and picking up Azaria from school?”
“Partially, but at the time, I was her only parent, so I was very intentional with everything I did concerning her.”
“You don’t want another term?”
“What did I say that makes you think I don’t want another term?”
“I just thought?—”
“What you think doesn’t matter when I’m telling you what it is. Regardless of how our union started, that’s my wife. This shit is as real as it gets.”
“If you say so. You married a virtual stranger, so you’d better watch your back. You don’t know her, and?—”
“They told me we can come back,” Desire announced upon entering my office.
My wife didn’t try to hide her dislike for Tammy. The look she gave her said everything that needed to be said.
“Daaddyy!” Azaria squealed as she ran into my arms.
“Hey, baby girl. You ready for lunch?”
“Yes, Daddy. Look, Daddy. I wear a dress like Miss Chammies.”
“I see that, and you both look beautiful.”
“Hey, Ria. You’re getting so big,” Tammy said. “Can I have a hug?”
Azaria had never taken a liking to Tammy, which was one of the reasons I never asked her to pick Azaria up from school when I was running behind. My daughter frowned at Tammy’s extended arms as she leaned into me.
“I see you’re still a little meanie,” Tammy continued when Azaria didn’t show her any love.
“No, she’s not mean at all. It’s called discernment. She knows bad energy when she feels it,” Desire said.
Tammy gasped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means?—”
“Baby, let’s get out of here,” I interrupted before Desire hurt Tammy’s feelings.
I kissed my wife’s forehead before taking her hand and guiding her out of my office. Once outside, she tried to snatch away from me, but I wasn’t having that. I put Azaria on her feet and held her hand. I didn’t want her in the middle of our conversation.
“The hell is wrong with you?” I questioned in a low but firm voice.
“I don’t like her.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“She works for you.”
“Her working for me warrants you giving me attitude?”
“I heard her talking shit about me when we walked in, and you didn’t defend me.”
“Had you come in a few seconds sooner, you would’ve heard me telling her what it is between us. I’ll check her ass again when I get back just to drive the point home.”
“You better.”
“Don’t ever snatch away from me again, Desire. You hurt my feelings. Gimme a kiss and make me feel better.”
“Aww, poor baby. I didn’t mean to hurt your little feelings.”
“You know what ain’t little?” I discreetly put her hand on my dick, and her eyes widened before she looked around to see if anyone was watching.
She tried to hide her smile as she tilted her head back and pressed her lips against mine.
“I love you,” she whispered against my lips.
“You better because I love you, too.”
We kissed again and continued to the truck where Mark was waiting. I only used him a few days a week, and today was one of those days. He picked Desire and Azaria up from our house, brought them to me, and would take us to lunch before taking them home and getting me back to work.
“Where are we going for lunch?”
“You’ll see.”
After securing Azaria in her car seat, I helped Desire into the truck on the back passenger side, then I rounded the car and sat behind Mark. We rode in silence while Azaria played a game on her iPad with headphones.
About ten minutes later, Mark parked alongside a park. Underneath the biggest tree that provided the most shade was a large blanket, a basket, a small cooler, and a miniature table. Desire looked out of her window and immediately noticed the picnic setup.
“Oh my God, baby. Is this for us?”
“It is.”
I grabbed Azaria”s iPad and headphones and put them in her bag to take with us before removing her from the car seat. After I helped Desire out of the truck, we walked to our picnic area.
“Look, Miss Chammies. Us having a picnic!” Azaria exclaimed when I put her down.
“We are, and do you know whose idea this was?”
“No.”
“Your daddy did all this for us. Isn’t he nice?”
“Yes, Daddy. You nice.”
She ran to me, hugging my legs before we all sat on the blanket. After sanitizing my hands, I reached inside the basket and began pulling out sub sandwiches, chips, and small containers of pasta salad.
“When did you have time to do all this?” she asked.
“There wasn’t much to do, baby. I made a few phone calls, told them what I wanted, and here we are.”
“This was very thoughtful, and I appreciate you.”
“You were feeling a little down about your job search and not being pregnant, so I wanted to do something to cheer you up.”
It had been two weeks since she’d lost her job, and although she’d applied at several preschools, none of them were hiring. On top of that, her cycle was late, which gave her hope that she might be pregnant. When it came a few days ago, she couldn’t hide her disappointment.
“Thank you, baby. This cheers me up a lot. What are we having for lunch?” she asked while helping Azaria set up her iPad.
I removed the paper plates from the basket and put them on the table to plate our meal. Desire and I had turkey sub sandwiches with all the trimmings, while Azaria had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I put some barbecue chips on my daughter’s plate while Desire and I had pasta salad.
“OC Grill has some of the best food in the city,” she commented after taking her first bite.
“Always has. I’d eat there at least four times a week in my younger years.”
“I didn’t go that often, but it was definitely the go-to spot back in the day.”
We ate silently for a few minutes, and I couldn’t take my eyes off my wife. Her beauty was mesmerizing, and I would happily stare at her all day, every day, for the rest of my days. However, she was so much more than her looks, and I’d enjoyed every moment thus far getting to know her.
“You’re always staring at me.”
“You’re always looking so damn beautiful.”
“I’m sure I don’t look beautiful stuffing my face.”
“Baby, there hasn’t been a time I’ve laid my eyes on you that you haven’t made my heart skip several beats.”
“You’re such a charmer.”
“I may be, but I’m not a liar.”
“Whatever. How’s your campaign going?”
“I didn’t bring you here to talk about work, but we’re still in the beginning stages, and it’s going well. Actually, there’s a fundraiser I want you to attend with me next weekend. You down?”
“Of course, but I need to find something to wear. I can’t be looking like the unemployed teacher I am in front of all those rich, uppity people. You know those bougie-ass women will have a million questions.”
“You may be unemployed, but your husband ain’t no broke nigga, and he’s the mayor. Whatever I got, you got, and I got a lot.”
“I know, but what am I supposed to say I do for a living?”
“First of all, none of their asses have jobs, so you ain’t gotta say shit. Secondly, if they gotta know something, tell them you keep the mayor of this city fed and properly fucked.”
“Baby!” she exclaimed.
“What? That’ll teach their nosy asses to stop asking so many damn questions.”
“You’re a mess, but I’ll happily attend the fundraiser with you. It’ll be our first big event as husband and wife.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Can you get some discount tickets for my sister and their husbands?”
“Of course. I’ll add them to my guest list. They can attend for free. My whole family will be there, too.”
“Oh, nice. Thank you, baby. I’m excited now. I’ll tell them as soon as we get home.”
“I’ll do anything to keep that smile on your face.”
“You do, and you prove to me how serious you are about it every day. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
We continued to talk while finishing our lunch. Azaria had been eyeing the swings since we arrived and eventually talked me into taking her over there. I wasn’t dressed for the occasion, but there wasn’t much my baby girl couldn’t convince me to do.
“We’ll be back in a few minutes. Will you be good here?”
I leaned forward and kissed her lips before she could answer.
“I’ll be fine. Go push my baby on the swings, but not too high,” she warned.
I kissed her again, appreciating her protectiveness over my daughter. It was just one of the many reasons why I fell in love with her so quickly.