Chapter 6
Lyrix
As the door to the boys’ room softly shut behind us, Grai tried to rush ahead of me.
I could feel the tickle of her racing mind across my arms. I couldn’t lie; Ace’s questions gave me goosebumps.
They were so unexpected, and the topic was so sensitive, and it had to be handled with care.
I didn’t want Grai to be uncomfortable, so I grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall.
Her chest heaved up and down as she tried her best to avoid my eyes. The attempt brought a smile to my face. She smelled sweet, like some type of candy. I inhaled deeply, trying to download the scent to my memory.
“Stop overthinking, Bubbles. We’re good. I promise.”
She finally lifted her eyes to mine and crossed her arms over her chest. “Why would he ask that?”
I tossed an arm over her shoulder, then dragged her with me down the steps. “Because he’s a kid that wants his mother to be happy. He knows you’re happy when we’re together, Broccoli Head.”
When we got to the first floor, she used all her might to push me. I stumbled into the wall from the force. “I can’t believe y’all be calling me that.”
We began laughing at the same time. The first time I heard Loh call her that, I hollered for a good hour.
He was so pissed off at Grai for cooking broccoli for dinner.
She’d paired it with salmon, which was his favorite.
He knew she was trying to trick him, and he was furious.
Since we were on the topic, I decided to offer some advice.
“And another thing, chill on trying to feed him broccoli. He hates it. Instead of forcing him to eat something he hates, try feeding him more of the vegetables he does enjoy, or introduce him to some new shit.”
I could tell she was thinking about what I said by the way she twisted her lips to the side.
One thing I loved about Grai was that she was never one to hate criticism.
She always handled it well, especially when it came to the boys.
For example, I’d told her to ease up on showering Ace in affection.
She hated the thought of it, but she noticed he was more comfortable around her when she didn’t force him into doing shit he didn’t emotionally yearn for.
On those special occasions when life was kicking his ass, he always reached out, and she was there to comfort him every time. I loved that shit.
Grai was an amazing mother. A lot of people counted her out, but every time I saw her with them, it made my heart stutter.
I always said that when I had children, I wanted them to have a mother like Grai.
She was nurturing, gentle, and kind. She loved to spend time with them and could be patient.
Even when things made her question herself, she kept pushing forward. It was a beautiful thing to witness.
She sighed heavily, allowing her head to fall backward. “Okay, okay. I guess you’re right. I didn’t realize he genuinely hated it. I thought he was just being difficult.”
I chuckled. “Nah, he be big mad about that shit.” I watched her finally begin to put Ace’s questions to the back of her mind when her posture slackened.
It wasn’t something she needed to worry herself about right now.
She was fresh out of a toxic relationship with a bitch ass nigga who wanted to ruin her.
She only needed to focus on healing her heart, and those beautiful boys sleeping peacefully upstairs.
“What you about to do?” I questioned, trying not to think about that kiss and suggesting we do more of that.
She shook her head. “Nothing. Maybe organize some of my things.”
“Wanna watch some TV?”
She twisted from side to side before nodding. “Yeah, sure. Why not?”
I loved the sound of her slippers lightly dragging across the floor as she followed behind me. When we got to the living room, I plopped down on the couch. She tried to sit on the loveseat, but I pulled her down beside me. “Stop playing.” She rolled her eyes but stayed her ass right next to me.
Reaching for the remote, I used it to turn on the TV, but I paused to gauge her mood. “QT?”
She nodded. “Please.” Her voice was so quiet. I knew that meant she wanted to watch our movie, and there would be no talking. I nodded, knowing nothing else needed to be said as I turned on The Wood.
We settled in as the intro began. Grai ended up lying on her side with her head resting on my lap. I didn’t even think before I began to massage her scalp. She sighed heavily, sinking deeper into her Zen state. Leaning back, I got lost in the movie and Grai’s presence.
Her laugh throughout the movie brought a smile to my face. And like clockwork, when we got to the wedding scene, she cried. Like always, I leaned down to kiss her shoulder. I didn’t know how this became our movie, but we’d seen it probably a thousand times, and it never got old.
The start of this ritual was when she found out she was pregnant with Shiloh.
She was nineteen and had just given birth to Ace six weeks prior.
Drey was already showing signs of what was to come, and in true fuck-boy fashion, he reacted terribly to the news, as if Grai had made the baby all on her own.
Grai called me, bawling her eyes out. She was broken because she wanted to get rid of him, but the thought made her physically sick when she looked at how perfect Ace was.
All I could think of was to make her laugh.
I ended up reciting a line from the movie, and she began cracking up on the other end of the phone.
Since that day, anytime one of us was going through something, we weren’t ashamed to say we needed QT, and we always watched that movie.
Once The Wood went off, we turned on Living Single.
Halfway through the first episode, I heard Grai snoring lightly.
Shutting off the TV, I stood up gently, then scooped her up without waking her.
She was so exhausted she didn’t stir at all as I carried her up the stairs to her bedroom.
I lay her down, then tucked her in, just like I’d done the boys, before placing a kiss on her forehead.
After closing her room door, I headed back downstairs to be sure the house was secure for the night.
My house was tucked away down a gravel driveway and surrounded by trees, but I couldn’t be too careful.
When I was sure it was safe, I headed out the back door to go to my shed.
I planned to spend the rest of the night starting on new keepsake boxes for the boys.
We’d started a new chapter in their lives, which meant it was time for a new box to hold all the special memories and moments to come.