Chapter 18
I'd never been as nervous as I was right now.
Jamari and I were on the way to my mother's.
While his siblings chatted in the back, I was too wired to do anything.
It had been so long since I had brought a man to meet my mother.
When I called and told her that Jamari wanted to meet her, she was surprised.
Surprisingly, she agreed to the meeting and said she'd prepared brunch.
Now here we were, and it felt like my head wanted to explode.
Jamari reached out and touched my thigh. I turned to face him, gnawing my bottom lip.
He gave me a small smile. "Everything's going to be okay. Remember, it was my idea to meet your mom. If I feel like things are going badly, we'll leave, okay?"
I gave a stiff nod. "My mother isn't that bad."
"Oh yeah. Tell me about her."
For the next ten minutes, I spoke about my mother. "One thing you should know is that she speaks her mind. She's not afraid to tell you what she likes and doesn't like about you."
"Oh boy," he mumbled. "I hope she likes me."
I smiled. "Even if she doesn't, I love you, and that's something that will never change."
He reached for my hand, and I gave it to him. He kissed the back of it. "I love you too, Chy."
That was what mattered most to me. The love he had for me. I was still shocked that he admitted that to me two days ago. Now, I felt like nothing could ruin our relationship. He had been so supportive and a great baby daddy so far. Even with me being pregnant, he made sure I was good.
When we pulled into my mother's driveway, her front door was open.
I knew she more than likely had the screen door locked.
My heart was pounding so fast that I could hear it.
This could go wrong or go well. I didn't want or need any negativity around me, not when I was in a good place in my life right now.
Jamari turned off the car and looked in the back seat at his siblings.
"Y'all go in there and behave yourselves, ight?"
"Yes, sir," they replied in unison.
He had raised them so well. They had a lot of good manners.
They knew they were about to be an auntie and an uncle.
It nearly brought me to tears with how happy they were about it.
I had several months to go, but I was enjoying my pregnancy so far, minus the morning sickness.
I didn't get it often, but when I did, it kept me in bed all day.
The screen door opened as we exited the car. My mom stepped out onto the porch, smiling. At least she was in a good mood. Hopefully, she didn't embarrass me today. With the way my attitude was set up nowadays, it was best she be on her best behavior.
"Come on inside," my mother insisted as she opened the door for us.
Jamari took the door from her and held it open for us.
She gazed at him in surprise, and I wanted to shake my head. Jamari was a sweetheart and a gentleman when he wanted to be. With me, he was always both. I'd never seen him get out of character besides that one time when that man roughed me up one night outside the club.
Everyone piled into the living room, and a silence enveloped us. It felt a little awkward, which was something I didn't want or need. Everyone had to get along since the baby and I would be in their lives forever. I should make the introductions to get it out of the way.
With that in mind, I introduced everyone. I stood up with a smile on my face. I pointed to Jamari first.
"Mama, I want you to meet a special friend of mine, Jamari Broomfield.
You can call him my man since I refuse to call him a boyfriend.
Eeeyuck! Here is Rylie, who's like a sister, I've always wanted to boss around.
And this little sweetie pie is Zach. He's my little helper in the kitchen when I need him.
Y'all meet my tell it like it is mama, Camisha. "
They all stared at me, dumbfounded, but I could only smile back. I liked the way I introduced everyone since it was true. I never made a simple introduction. Nah, I have to let people know what they were getting into, especially when it came to my mother. She was hell on wheels by herself.
My mother stood up with a shake of her head. "That was some introduction." She narrowed her eyes at me, causing me to duck my head to my chest. "It's nice to meet all of you."
Jamari nodded. "It's nice to meet you, too."
"Come on in the kitchen. I have brunch ready."
We ambled to the kitchen, and the aroma had my mouth watering. My mother had a whole spread laid out on a couple of counters. She must've thought she'd be feeding an army.
"Goodness, Mama. Why all the food?" I asked, going to the sink to wash my hands.
"Aye, y'all go wash your hands," Jamari instructed his siblings.
"We don't know where the bathroom is," Rylie voiced.
She had a point. With a smile, I turned to them. "Come on. I'll take y'all."
Once they had washed their hands, we came back into the kitchen to see Jamari and my mother laughing. It had me wondering what they were laughing about.
"Haha. What's funny?" I asked, making my way to the counter to fix plates for Zach and me.
They exchanged looks, but they said nothing.
At least they talked and laughed together.
Hopefully, that would ease some of the tension that was in the air.
After I fixed Zach a plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon, I took his plate to the table.
It was a shame that I wanted everything spread out. My mother has outdone herself today.
I piled my plate high with hash browns, bacon, eggs, and pancakes. I'd go back for some fruit and garden salad she made.
"Make sure you take some food home too, Chy," my mother mentioned.
I nodded slightly. "Will do."
Once we all sat down to eat, my mother blessed the food. It had been a while since I had a family meal with the people I cared about. Even though I had a family dinner with Jamari and his siblings almost every night, it felt different to have my mother with us, too.
"Jamari, I won't get into any hard conversations around your siblings. I just want you to take care of my baby girl."
Jamari nodded, taking my hand in his. "You have nothing to worry about. I love Chyanne and will always have her best interests at heart."
My heart warmed at Jamari's words. He showed me how much he cared for me, so I had no doubt he'd take care of my heart and had been doing a good job of it so far.
I couldn't wait to see how far our relationship would go.
Since we'd made things official and found out I was pregnant, he had been there through it all.
Even when I tried to push him away, he was there.
That was more my fault than his. I had doubts, but now they have been erased from my mind. I had Jamari to thank for that.
My mother nodded. "That's all I want to hear. What do you do for a living?"
Jamari lifted his head and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. I knew he hated talking about himself. I wished there was a way for me to change the subject, but my mother wanted to get to know him.
"I'm a home remodeling contractor."
"Oh, that's nice. You like to rebuild stuff."
Jamari gave a stiff nod before lowering his head back to his plate and eating his food.
"Mama, have you heard from Dad lately?"
I talked to him, but I haven't told him about my pregnancy yet.
We still hadn't spoken in the way I'd like us to, but it was more so me than him.
After what happened with his wife, I wanted to stay as far away from his house as I could.
I wanted my father and I to have a relationship.
It was something I prayed about all the time.
She shook her head. "Not since last week. He went back to work, so I know that has a lot of his attention."
"Oh yeah, he told me something about going back to work," I stated.
Our eyes met and held. "You need to let your dad know he's about to be a grandfather."
I dropped my head, breaking eye contact. "Yeah, I know. I plan to go over to his house to tell him."
"Oh boy," she muttered.
I laughed. "Don't even say that. I don't have his wife on my mind. I just hope I go there on a day when she's not home. It would make everything alright if I didn't have to see her face."
After what happened at my father’s house, Brenda was dead to me. I wanted nothing to do with that woman. With me being pregnant, I knew it was best I stay far away from that lady.
"When she goes to see her father, I'll make sure I'm there with her," Jamari butted in.
My mother smiled at him. "Thank you. She'll need it."
I rolled my eyes, not liking that they talked about me as if I weren't there.
After brunch, my mother and I stayed in the kitchen to clean up, and the smile on her face warmed my heart.
"I owe you an apology. I should never have judged Jamari the way I did. What I should've done was be supportive of you. You're having my first grandbaby, which is a blessing by itself. You're about to be a great mother to your child."
Tears filled my eyes as my lips trembled. "Aww, Mama."
A tear slipped out of my eye as she opened her arms for me to walk into them.
While my mother hugged me, I sobbed tears of joy.
Those were the words I needed to hear from my mother from the beginning.
They brought the same kind of joy I knew it would've brought if she'd told me the day I shared my pregnancy news with her.
Later that night, Jamari and I relaxed in his bed with my head in his lap. He massaged my temples, and it felt so good. I tried not to moan out loud, but it couldn't be helped.
"I like your moms. She's cool. Like you, she doesn't hold back on speaking her mind," Jamari commented.
I smiled. "That's who I got it from. I've always known her to say what she wanted to say. She's never cared how someone viewed her."
"As she shouldn't. You handled the kids well, too. I don't think they like to share you with me." He chuckled.
I smiled. "Especially Zach. I love that, though."
And I did. I enjoyed having Jamari's siblings around, getting to know them. My mother told me she enjoyed them too. She wants them to come back and visit.
"Zach is fond of you. I didn't see that coming. He had always been clingy to me, but now with you around, he doesn't have me to think about half the time."
I looked up at Jamari. "How does that make you feel? Do you need me to back up?"
I didn't want to feel like I had taken his place in his siblings' lives, so if I had to back up, I would, even though he hadn't said I needed to.
"Nah, man. What you're doing is amazing. Zach had always been under me, wanting me for everything. He's never had a mother figure in his life, so what you're doing is a favor to me. I appreciate you more for that. Don't back up. Continue to take those steps."
I sighed in relief. "I hate it feels like I have to talk, walk, or even do anything with kid gloves around you. I feel like you'll bolt from my life one day. I hate feeling that way." I ran a hand over my face.
"You have no reason to feel that way. I'm locked in with you for as long as you have me.
Since you walked into my life, I knew I wanted you to stay.
My love grows for you each day. What you've done for me, no other woman has been able to do.
I'm grateful to have you in my life." Jamari lowered his head and kissed my forehead.
I loved a forehead kiss, and he gave the sweetest ones.
"I don't want you to talk like that again.
Give me the benefit of the doubt to know that I'd never hurt you in any way.
I gave you my heart. I want you to hold on to it and never let it go.
You're a part of me now. You have a part of me growing inside you.
I've never had happiness like this before.
You've lit up my world since you've come into my life.
Don't ever again think I'll walk away from you.
I'm here to stay, man. You just gotta be the one to believe that. "
Tears leaked out of my eyes as I sat up. I got on my knees in front of Jamari and cupped his handsome brown face in my hands. I leaned forward and touched my lips to his. This pregnancy had me crying a lot more than usual, which I didn't like because I wasn't a crybaby.
Jamari gripped my waist and squeezed it, pulling me until I straddled him. I felt his erection as it got harder underneath my butt. No matter what, this man always wanted me. I loved that. With the way my hormones were set up, I wouldn't mind having sex every day. It would be a first for me, too.
"I love you, Jamari," I expressed.
He smirked and leaned in and kissed my lips again. "I love you too."