Chapter 36 #2
After the two of them talked it over for an hour, and Vega agreed not to buy her a brand new car, Jalen conceded, happy that he’d wanted to talk to her about it and didn’t just buy Kodi the vehicle.
Since she hadn’t needed to buy much of anything for Kodi, she’d used some of the money to pay Kodi’s car insurance for a year and set up the rest to deposit a particular amount into Kodi’s account monthly.
Since Kodi started high school, she’d been setting aside one hundred and twenty-five dollars each month to help with monthly college expenses, and she still was.
Kodi would also receive a monthly stipend from her scholarship.
So, Jalen knew she should be okay financially.
Currently, she was saving money for Landon as well. On the chance that she didn’t want to go to college, Jalen would give it to her to do as she wanted with it.
“I know you’re an adult now, but this car comes with conditions,” she started. “Vega and I will cover the payment and the insurance as long as you keep your grades up.”
Kodi nodded. “Of course.” She turned to Vega. “Thanks, Dad. I am extremely grateful.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie.”
“Alright, everyone, let’s load up,” Jalen said. “Kodi, we’ll see you at Christmas.”
Jalen climbed into the passenger seat, and Kodi waved at them as they pulled off.
She’d volunteered to drive since Rohan had driven them up yesterday, and Vega drove the other car, but Rohan told her it was fine.
Jalen looked out the window as they passed the Zenith University sign, reaching up and wiping the tear that rolled down her face.
She wondered if she would feel like this each time one of her sisters, her kids, left the nest.
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Rohan sat at the pool’s edge, watching his mother splash around with the girls. Jalen had to work, and school started in three days. He’d asked Jalen if it was okay for him to take them swimming while she was at work.
She wouldn’t get off until eight, so he made a day out of it.
The girls had slept in, and when they’d woken up and gotten ready, he’d taken them to lunch before allowing Landon to drive them to his mother’s house to swim.
Once they finished swimming, they would go to the store and get ingredients for a taco night.
Nathan, who wasn’t entirely confident in her ability to swim without her arm floats, approached him.
“Come play with us,” she requested before splashing him, and Rohan chuckled, sliding into the pool. He picked her up and tossed her a couple of feet. She shrieked but laughed after making a splash in the water.
“Can I have a turn?” Omari asked, swimming over.
“Sure, Bitty,” Rohan responded. He wasn’t sure when, but he’d picked up Jalen’s nicknames for them at some point.
“I’m Itty,” she told him.
Rohan shook his head at her. “No, you aren’t.”
“Just checking that you won’t forget.”
He picked her up and tossed her as well. He thought it was funny that they only tried to confuse him when he used their nicknames. The twins were identical, but that didn’t make it hard to tell them apart. He first learned their mannerisms and used those; then, it became second nature.
It was close to four when they got out of the pool, and he had intended for them to get out sooner than that.
“Mikal, can you wash your own hair?” Rohan questioned.
“Yeah, I can,” she responded, drying off.
He nodded as they all headed into the house. He asked his mother if she would be okay with him taking the twins to her bathroom since it had the largest shower. Rohan knew she wouldn’t mind, but wanted her permission. He walked both girls to her en suite when she gave it to him.
He started the shower, turning the temperature to warm before looking under his mother’s sink to find shampoo.
She had a few different ones, and Rohan looked at the ingredients, deciding on the shea butter one.
He’d remember seeing Jalen use a shea butter spray on their hair and figured it would be safe.
“Rohan, can we get in?” Nathan asked.
“First, I’m going to wash your hair, and when I’m done and leave, you can take your suits off and shower, okay?”
Both girls nodded at him, and they stepped into the shower. He’d just started washing Omari’s hair when his mom walked in. She grabbed her blow-dryer and some ponytail holders.
“Rohan, don’t get any shampoo in their eyes,” she informed him, and he refrained from rolling his eyes. It wasn’t the first time he’d washed a child’s hair.
When finished, he got each a set of towels and gave them some vanilla body wash from under his mother’s sink before leaving them to get undressed and shower, telling them he’d put their clothes on the bed.
He knocked on the guest room door where all the girls had changed. He called Landon’s name, and when she didn’t respond, he knocked again.
“Yeah?” she called after a moment.
“Can you hand me Omari and Nathan’s clothes?”
“Okay, one second.”
Rohan waited, and it wasn’t long before Landon opened the door, dressed, with a towel draped over her head, and she handed him their clothes. He thanked her and returned to his mother’s room, placing the clothes on the bed and closing the bedroom door as he walked out.
With the twins situated, Rohan went into his bedroom, which hadn’t changed from his teenage years, and into the Jack and Jill bathroom it shared with Trent’s room. He started the shower, stepped inside when it heated, and washed his hair before bathing.
Once he’d dried off and got dressed. His hair still damp from its towel dry, he went into the living room to find Landon combing through Mikal’s hair.
“Rohan, do you know how to braid?” Omari asked as he sat on the couch.
“I do not, but I do some pretty cool space buns.” He knew what they were called because Alynn had gone almost six months when she was five, wanting nothing but those done to her hair.
“Okay, you can do space buns,” Omari approved with a nod.
Landon handed him a brush that didn’t look like a brush. Rohan knew that Jalen and Kodi used it to detangle the girls’ hair.
Omari stood in front of him, and Rohan put the brush down, grabbed the comb between him and Landon, and sectioned her hair gently, then detangled each section before putting it up in two buns.
“Wow,” Landon started. “I won’t lie. I thought they would look bad, but they’re cute.”
He laughed. “Have some faith in me.”
“Can I have space buns too?” Nathan asked.
“Of course,” Rohan responded.
By the time all the girls’ hair was done, it was almost six-thirty. Rohan told his mother they were heading out and that he’d see her later. They needed to stop by the store before returning to the apartment.
They were having steak and chicken tacos with Mexican rice, and they got everything they needed. Rohan even allowed them to talk him into getting sugar and chocolate chip cookies.
When they walked through the apartment’s front door, they carried the few bags they had into the kitchen. He figured there was no need to put anything away since they would use it all. They had half an hour before Jalen was due to get off.
“Landon, will you put all your bathing suits in the washer?” Rohan asked.
“Okay. Do you need help cooking?”
“I’ve got it, kiddo. You can put the cookies on in about half an hour.”
Landon nodded and headed out of the kitchen, the twins following behind her, telling him they were going to watch television. While he began taking everything out of the bags, he looked over and found Mikal standing at the bar.
“I finished the comic you recommended.”
“Did you enjoy it?” he asked.
“Yes, but I’m a little confused about one of their origin stories.”
He nodded, knowing exactly the one she was talking about, and for the next forty-five minutes, while he cooked, they talked about it. Landon came in to put the cookies on as he and Mikal started setting up the dining room table, taco bar style.
When Jalen walked through the front door, a quarter after eight, Rohan was pulling the cookies from the oven.
He could hear the twins telling Jalen to look at their space buns and then her surprise when they told her he’d done them.
She walked into the kitchen, taking in the setup on the table before turning to him with a smile.
“Hey, babe.”
“Hey, baby. How was work?” he questioned.
“It was okay. I only had a few kids.”
“Well, the food is ready, and the girls have already washed their hands.”
“I’ll do the same, and we can eat,” Jalen responded.
A few minutes later, the six sat around the table.
Everyone made their tacos the way they wanted, and Rohan thought back to when he first met Jalen.
He didn’t know he’d be sitting there with them almost a year later.
With him being accepted as a part of their family, and them as part of his.
And to think, it all started because he’d wasted a cup of coffee.