Chapter 10 #2
Brazil gave a subtle nod. He was going to be alright.
Even if he didn’t have a support system, he would have figured things out on his own, but he was glad to have people in his corner.
He was also glad that he had his life together and news of Unique didn’t send him running.
She had a father and a cousin that cared enough about her that she didn’t have to be placed in the system.
Brazil’s thoughts drifted back to the day that he met Giavanna, and how going to her home gave him the comfort he needed to share custody of his child with her.
“Looks like a pretty nice neighborhood,” he mumbled when turning into the subdivision.
After following the GPS’s prompts, he pulled in front of a modest home. Brazil walked past the purple Camry parked in the driveway and admired the paint job that glistened underneath the sunlight. The car was beautiful in his opinion and fit the woman that he met at the lawyer’s office.
Two seconds after he rang the bell, Giavanna opened the door appearing frazzled, but she was still sexy which was crazy to Brazil. There was a bonnet on her head, and she was dressed in black sweatpants and a white shirt.
“Hi,” she greeted him breathlessly. I was trying to finish getting dressed, but Miss Mamas is on one today. She’s quiet now but just two minutes ago, her little butt had the devil in her,” Giavanna chuckled as Brazil crossed the threshold of her home.
An aroma resembling freshly baked chocolate chip cookies met his nostrils.
He wasn’t sure if she was baking or if she had a candle burning or some kind of wax melt, but the smell made her home feel warm and cozy.
As he followed her 5’4 frame into the living room, Brazil spotted a swing gently rocking from side to side as the tiniest baby he’d ever seen lay nestled inside.
“Oh wow,” Brazil instantly fell in love with her chubby cheeks that were rosy and the mass of silky hair on her head. “She’s small.”
Giavanna grinned like a proud parent. “That little butt has a set of lungs on her. I don’t know how long you plan on staying, but it’ll be time for her to eat in about twenty minutes if you want to feed her.”
“Yeah, sure. I can do that.”
Giavanna nodded. “I’m going to finish getting dressed and clean my room since I have backup. Let me know if you need anything.” Giavanna disappeared, and Brazil sat on the edge of the couch and stared at his daughter.
She looked so peaceful that he didn’t want to disturb her.
On top of that, he was scared to pick her up.
Unique made Brazil feel like a giant with abnormally large hands.
After staring at his daughter for an extended period of time, Brazil focused his attention elsewhere.
Giavanna’s home was very neat, warm, and cozy.
She had a gray sectional, and the décor in her living room consisted of mostly blue and silver.
There was a picture frame to the left of him on the coffee table, and he noticed a slightly younger Giavanna standing with two other females.
It appeared as if they were at some kind of lounge or restaurant.
She wore a black catsuit that looked painted on.
Her hair was in long faux locs and without a drop of makeup or eyelash extensions, she was still the baddest one in the photo.
Brazil didn’t know a thing about Giavanna, but she seemed like good people.
What other kind of person would offer to look after their newborn cousin and not go after child support from the father that played professional soccer.
Maybe, she was genuinely a good person, or maybe there was an endgame.
Only time would tell. Unique had just started to stir when Giavanna came back in the room with her hair slicked back into a low bun.
Her sweats had been swapped out for black jeans with rips in the knees.
She brought the smell of baby powder and vanilla with her.
She smelled so soft and clean that Brazil’s dick stirred.
He loved a good smelling woman. When he realized that she was arousing him, Brazil pulled his gaze away.
Kera was deceased, but Giavanna was still her cousin.
“I’m going to warm her bottle. You want something to drink?”
“Oh nah. I’m good.”
Patiently, he waited for her to come back. She passed him the bottle and sat on the opposite end of the sectional. Brazil wasted no time looking over at her. “You knew I was Unique’s father. Kera had to tell you that. So, why didn’t she ever tell me she was pregnant?”
“I don’t know if she ever told you, but Kera had been off and on with this guy, Sammie for years.
He’s bipolar, but he refuses to take his medication.
What he would do was drink and get high every day.
More often than not, he was violent and abusive.
As unhinged as he was, the nigga had money, so I assume the way he spoiled her outweighed the way he treated her.
Every time she attempted to leave, he kept pulling her back.
By the time she found out she was pregnant, she assumed it was his until she got an ultrasound and found out she was three and a half months.
They’d only been back together for a month and before that, they were broken up for six months.
She came to me crying saying it couldn’t be his baby and if she told him, he was going to go the hell off. ”
Despite not liking where the story was going, Brazil listened intensely.
“She used to be real sick, and she couldn’t hide the fact that she was pregnant.
He assumed it was his, and when she told him it wasn’t, he broke her nose.
A neighbor called the police, and he was arrested.
He had an active warrant, so he stayed in jail for five months.
For five months, she had peace. When he came home, he apologized, promised to change, and told her he would accept Unique and raise her like his own.
What transpired in the car that day, I’ll never know.
I just thank God that Unique wasn’t inside. ”
The thought of that nigga playing daddy to Unique made his blood boil.
Kera could have accepted whatever she wanted from him, but that nut ass nigga would have never been around his if he knew about her.
And to think she could have been in the car damn near had Brazil foaming at the mouth.
He had to remind himself that it didn’t happen and not to let his emotions go there.
“I read in the news article that he didn’t die in the crash.”
“Nope, but he broke his neck,” Giavanna reported in a flat tone. “He’s paralyzed and more than likely will never walk again. Him and his wheelchair are headed to prison.”
Brazil wasn’t the type to rejoice in a person’s misfortune, but it sounded to him like the nigga got what he deserved.
He was thankful that Kera told her cousin about him and that Giavanna reached out to him.
If she hadn’t, he never would have known that he had a daughter.
When Unique woke up from her nap, Giavanna laughed at the fact that Brazil was scared to take her out of the swing.
She coached him on handling and holding her and then how to burp her when she was done eating.
During the entire feeding, she only opened her eyes for a few minutes, then she was off to sleep again.
That time, Brazil held her close and stared at her in awe.
Giavanna got a phone call and left the room to talk. He wasn’t quite sure how long she was on the phone, but by the time she came back into the living room, he had been there for almost two hours. Brazil decided to leave, but he told her he’d be there to pick her up as agreed when it was his turn.
“And you’re sure that cousin doesn’t have tricks up her sleeve?” his mother’s question snapped Brazil back to the present.
“I don’t think so. She seems pretty chill.
Her crib is nice, and she’s good with Unique.
I can tell she genuinely wants to have her.
I don’t know what her plans are, but I’m glad she told me about Unique because otherwise, I would have never known.
Even if she did ask for some money, I’d probably give it to her just off the strength of that. ”
“Well, I agree that she could have not told you, but you’re the father. Telling you was the right thing to do. She doesn’t need a reward for that,” his mother frowned. She went into mama bear mode real fast when it came to her sons.
Block entered the house and spotted his mother gazing at Unique. “Oh Lord, she finally got a girl. It’s over.”
“Darn right, it’s over.” His mother never took her eyes off the baby as she responded. “I had the pleasure of raising three knuckleheads. I love you all dearly, but Lord knows, I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t have at least one girl. And now, I have her.”
Block looked at Brazil and shook his head. “I hope you know that’s her baby now.”
“It sure is,” she agreed. “Give me about six months to get the hang of this GiGi thing, and you or Lethal can have a baby next.”
That comment got a snort out of Block. “You might want to holla at Lethal about that one because it’s a hard no for me. Maybe once Mario turns eighteen.”
“Mario can’t stress you out that bad,” his mother shook her head.
She left the relationship with her husband mentally way before she left physically.
By the time he met Mario’s mother and had a child with her, Tasha didn’t care at all.
In fact, she always encouraged the boys to love their younger brother the exact same way they loved one another despite not having the same mother.
“I beg to differ,” Block sat down beside his mother. “Plus, I haven’t found the woman that I want to have to deal with for eighteen years.”
“Oh, you’ve met her. I’m willing to bet money that you have. You for whatever reason just choose to ignore it.”
Block elected not to respond. He was over the you need to settle down speeches. He would when he was ready. If he had kids, then he had kids. If he didn’t, the world wouldn’t stop spinning.
There wasn’t a doubt in Brazil’s mind that the older his daughter got, Uncles Block and Lethal were going to have her spoiled rotten.
When his father came home, he would probably be just as obsessed with her as his mother was.
Brazil didn’t know the first thing about being a father, but he was about to learn.