Chapter 19
“Baby,pick up your things. Mr. Gentry is on his way with pizza!”
“Pizzaaaaa! Yay!”
I chuckled at Kizzie’s excitement about pizza. She was picking up her dolls at lightning speed to ensure she would get to sit and eat as soon as Gentry arrived. We’d moved back almost two weeks ago, and things had been perfect. The kids and I had fallen into a comfortable routine. They went to school and day care as usual, and we enjoyed time together, just the three of us, until Gentry got home.
I always fed them while he was at work because, most times, he didn’t get home until around seven. By then, they were bathed and fed, nearly ready for bed. We spent an hour together as a family while Gentry and I ate, and they had a light snack before they went to bed. Then Gentry and I got our alone time until we conked out for the night. He seemed extremely pleased with our arrangement. I knew I was.
This was the life I had been craving, but I’d let Clayton derail my plans for my life. The day the kids and I moved back, I promised Gentry that I would do my absolute best to be transparent, letting him know my feelings and what I was dealing with. His issue wasn’t the drama, although he hated it. His issue was me not allowing him to be there for me. I didn’t realize how just his embrace could calm all my anxieties.
We had to appear back at Clayton’s attorney’s office tomorrow, and I was so ready to get this shit over with. He insisted that we could come to an agreement without going to court. I didn’t need his child support payments because it was my idea to have kids. He only agreed to do it to give me what I wanted. We were so close back then, and I hated where our relationship had declined to.
This situation had destroyed the friendship we once had. I knew he loved Kizzie and Dakota with everything in him. Dakota was practically his mini-me. His decisions while the kids were with him proved that he wasn’t capable of being a full-time parent. He’d never had to be before. He only usually had them on the weekends. He alternated full weekends, so one weekend they spent one night, and the other weekend, they spent two.
He didn’t realize just how much responsibility was involved in caring for children full-time, and when he did, instead of being a man and saying he bit off more than he could chew, he allowed his pride to almost traumatize my babies. I refused to allow that. However, he was still their father, and I didn’t want to take them from him completely, despite how my petty was saying fuck his negligent ass.
“Mommy, I got all my toys picked up!”
“Good job, princess.”
I smiled at Kizzie as I heard Gentry’s car in the driveway. Her eyebrows lifted while Dakota smiled big and ran to the back door. They did that every day, and I could tell that it touched Gentry’s soul, although he hadn’t said so. They would always be so excited to see him when he got home. He was their dad away from their dad. It would only be a matter of time before they started calling him dad. Dakota typically followed Kizzie’s lead. If she called him dad, he would too.
When the back door opened, they started hopping up and down in excitement as Gentry laughed and picked them both up. “Hey, Princess Tiana! Hey, D-Man! What’s up, y’all? I missed y’all.”
He hugged them to him tightly, causing them to scream with laughter before setting them on their feet. Kizzie frowned slightly. “Daddy, where’s the pizza?”
Gentry stared up at me as a tear slid down my cheek. I knew it would be happening soon, but I didn’t expect it to be today. He brought his attention back to Kizzie and said, “You won’t believe this. I was so excited to come inside to see my family, I forgot the pizza in the car!”
He slapped his head with his palm, pushing his head back dramatically, as the kids hopped up and down with laughter. “Daddy’s sorry,” he said softly then looked up at me with a slight smile.
I made my way to him and asked Kizzie, “Can I kiss Daddy before he goes back outside?”
She giggled. “Mr. Gentry is our daddy too, but he’s not your daddy, Mommy. He’s your husband!”
I smiled big as I turned back to Gentry. I swore he wanted to cry. His eyes were somewhat glossy. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body into his, practically molding our bodies into one. Being body to body with him was always the perfect aphrodisiac. He lowered his head and softly kissed my lips. “This is perfect, baby,” he said after pulling away. “She called me daddy.”
He looked down at Kizzie’s hopeful eyes then stooped down to her. “I’m so happy you want to call me daddy. Just know, I’m not trying to take your dad’s place.”
“I know! We have two daddies!”
“Da-dy!” Dakota said as he reached for Gentry to pick him up.
He picked Dakota up and showed him more love as he laid his head on his shoulder while hugging him. It was such a sweet moment. Gentry kissed his head and closed his eyes for a moment. Seeing him this happy with my kids only increased my desire to have more, just for him. I failed to tell him that I had stopped my birth control pills a week ago. I knew he wouldn’t have a problem with that.
Just from our conversations, I knew he wanted kids, and it didn’t matter when it happened. I didn’t want to waste time. I already had kids, so it wasn’t like we got a lot of privacy anyway.
When he set Dakota on the floor, he said, “It’s pizza time! Y’all, come help me!”
I laughed as they happily followed Gentry outside to get the pizza from the car. Placing my hand on my chest in an attempt to slow my rapidly beating heart, I thanked God for supplying all my needs. He allowed me to go through everything I did to make me a better person… a better mother and a better wife.
When I saw Dakota carrying a box and Kizzie a pizza box, I chuckled. Making my way to the door, I opened it to let them inside. Once they got to the island, they turned to Gentry. He took the boxes from them, and they ran to the table. After setting them on the countertop, Gentry pulled me in his arms and said, “I got you some lemon pepper wings from Sweety Eaties.”
“You’re the best, baby. Thank you so much.”
I kissed his lips, allowing it to linger. He always thought of me, knowing I wouldn’t eat pepperoni pizza because of my sabbatical with beef and pork. His consideration for me was unmatched. “You can thank me later. I love you so much, Elle. I can’t wait to tell Arranged Hearts how right they got this shit. I’ve been all in since before I even laid eyes on you. But when I did see you, I knew you would take my heart and fuck that shit all up… in a good way.”
I kissed him again. “Well, we go for our three-month follow-up interview next month. I can’t wait to tell them how amazingly they executed God’s work. They had to have executed His plan to the T, because we are perfect for each other.”
He kissed me again as Kizzie whined. “Daaadyyyyy! We’re hungry!”
He laughed against my lips, breaking our kiss. He pecked me then got plates from the cabinet. “I’m sorry, baby. Your mama distracted me with her beauty.”
He bit his bottom lip as I licked mine. Damn. I was gonna fuck him straight to sleep later.
“Thankyou for agreeing to join us here to discuss custody arrangements. Do you have a plan set out already?” Mr. Oxford asked.
Clayton was seated next to him, his head lowered. I could tell he was embarrassed by his behavior. He was avoiding eye contact with all of us, even his attorney. Shy said, “Yeah. I think what Giselle outlined in the agreement is beyond fair.”
He slid the paperwork over to them. I’d only gone back to our original arrangement. That had worked for us. It was Clayton who changed things up. Since he didn’t disagree with what Shy had said two weeks ago about being jealous of Gentry and the relationship he could possibly form with the kids, I had no choice but to believe it was the truth.
He and his attorney read over everything, and for the first time since we’d been here, Clayton stared up at me. He glanced at Gentry then brought his attention to me again. “G, I’m so sorry. Thank you for not taking them completely. You’re a good woman and were a great friend, and I destroyed that.”
He took a deep breath and turned to Gentry. “It was never about you, man. I mean, it was, but indirectly. G hasn’t been in a serious relationship since the kids were born. She dated, of course, but nothing to where she really had to introduce a man to our kids. I let my insecurities with who I was as a father cause me to act uncharacteristically. That’s why my behavior caught Giselle off guard. Hell, it caught Paul off guard. I can tell you’re a good man.”
He slid his hands down his face, and for a moment, I saw my friend again. He brought his gaze back to mine. “You did good, baby girl. I was so scared that my children would be calling another man daddy that I forgot to just be happy for you. While I was slightly hesitant about the situation, I was never concerned about their safety. Taking care of children full time is hard. I realized that I’m not even cut out for it. I didn’t appreciate you enough. I destroyed our friendship. While it was your idea to have these beautiful children, I agreed to be a parent as well. I filed child support on myself. You can put it in a savings account for them if you want.”
After taking a deep breath and wiping the tears that had fallen down his face, he said, “You could have taken them away from me forever after the shit I pulled. Thank you for allowing your heart to speak instead of giving me what I basically deserved. I’m sorry for what I put our kids through too. They didn’t deserve that.”
I nodded. “Thank you for showing me the Clayton I know versus the one I got acquainted with for the past month and a half. The kids are fine and have come out of this unscathed. Mama has talked to them, and she assured me that they were fine. I want us to be able to go back to how things were with the kids. That was their routine. As far as our relationship is concerned, I already know it won’t be as it once was any time soon. With time, we may can get back to that.”
He nodded and extended his hand to shake mine then Gentry’s and Shy’s. There was nothing the attorneys needed to say. I supposed they were only here for the legality aspect of it. Clayton signed the papers, and we both retained a copy. After more formalities, Clayton agreed to pay my attorney fees, although Shy wasn’t charging me, and my lost wages from work to make these appointments.
Everything worked out in the best interests of the kids, and that was all that mattered. They loved their dad, but Kizzie realized he didn’t know what the hell he was doing when they lived with him for that brief time. She was ready to go home, but that didn’t make her love him any less. He was still her dad.
He would be picking them up tomorrow evening from day care, and I would get them Saturday evening. The next weekend, he would have them the entire time. While I was somewhat nervous about what he would be allowing my kids to see or hear, I knew they needed him. If Kizzie witnessed anything, I would be adamant that she told me. Unfortunately, we would have to revisit this agreement if she told me something I didn’t like.
“Things went really well,” Gentry said as we walked out of the lawyer’s office.
“Way better than I expected. I was ready to engage and tell his ass to be grateful we weren’t pressing charges for what Kizzie witnessed. Good for him,” Shy said. “I hope you cooked because I’m starving. I need to see my uncle while I’m in town too. Oh, Vegas and Jungle are on their way out here too.”
“Yes, I cooked, Shy, but I didn’t cook enough for all y’all niggas. I’ll have to go to the store.”
“Okay. Well, make that happen.”
I rolled my eyes as he patted my back. “I may as well invite our parents out too, along with Daniel and Jorielle,” I said.
Gentry chuckled. “I love you, baby. I’m glad we can get to what will be our normal.”
“Me too, baby. I need to tell you something.”
He looked at me as he took a deep breath to brace for the worst. He stopped walking, so I stopped too. “What’s up?”
I gave him a slight smile. “I wasn’t going to tell you at first. I was just going to wait to see what happened, but I want you to know that I stopped my birth control pills a week ago. Whatever happens, happens.”
His lips parted slightly as he stared at me. Grabbing my hand, he pulled me closer to him then embraced me. “Damn, baby. You ready to have my hardheaded babies?”
I giggled. “I’m ready to do life with you, whatever that entails. I love you so much, Gentry.”
“Mm. That’s good to know. We need to make a trip home to celebrate the outcome of this meeting before we go get the kids from day care.”
“I thought you had to go to work?”
“Shiiiid, that’s what I have an assistant vet for. Girl, ain’t nothing more important than fertilizing your garden right now. Then you can go to the store to prepare for the family later.”
“Okay, husband. Let’s make it happen.”
Gentry grabbed my hand as Shy stared at us while standing at the car. “’Bout time y’all bring y’all asses on. It’s fucking hot out here.”
I laughed and said to Gentry, “Please hurry and unlock the doors so we can get this nigga to his hotel.”
“Hotel? I told you I was hungry, girl.”
“Shy, you can come to our house if you want to, but I need to go worship my man. So if you wanna hear all our action, then come on, because I refuse to restrain my screams when he tearing my?—”
“Hell naw. Take me to my hotel. I’ll do DoorDash or something and get with y’all nasty asses later.”
“That’s what I thought.”
Gentry slowly shook his head as he drove off. The drama was over, and the sun was peeking through the clouds, revealing the rainbow that had surfaced after the storm. Life was ours for the taking, and I couldn’t wait to see what all would manifest for our new family unit. Yeah… family.