Sunday
Three Years Later
“ W e need two more bwooberries, Mommy. Daddy says seventeen is the magic number.”
“Good job, Aspen. Can you count to twenty?”
“I can count to twenty-five, Mommy.”
“Let me hear you,” I encouraged.
“One. Two. Fwee . . .”
Aspen continued to count as I stirred the blueberries into the pancake mix. There were actually more than seventeen, but that was because I’d sliced them in half. That was the secret to ensuring the texture remained consistent.
I oiled the pancake griddle and then poured two pancakes onto it.
“Daddy says he likes bwooberry pancakes, Mommy. They’re his faborit.”
I smiled as he mispronounced his words. We worked diligently with Aspen, and he had an excellent vocabulary for an almost three-year-old, but he still mispronounced words from time to time.
“I know, and he loves mimosas for Sunday brunches.”
“Mommy, I wuv Sunday brunches.”
I dabbed a little pancake mix onto Aspen’s nose before I kissed it away. “Me, too, baby. Daddy always makes Sunday brunches special.”
“Always?”
“Always. When I first met your daddy, I used to get up to eat breakfast early every Sunday. The first Sunday we lived together, he found me up early and told me that I was doing it wrong. He said that Sundays were very special and deserved to be treated with ease. We used those Sundays to get to know one another better and build a strong bond and friendship. Your daddy believed if you weren’t going to church, then Sundays were made for sleeping in late, having brunch, and taking it slow and easy because they were the most beautiful day of the week. ”
“Like your name?”
“Like my name.”
“You’re a beautiful gwurl, Mommy.”
“Aww, thank you, Aspen. You’re a handsome little king,” I pronounced and kissed his cinnamon-brown cheek. He smelled like baby powder and sunshine.
“I’m gonna be a big king just like daddy when I’m big. I’ma have a little king like me, and we’re gonna have a beautiful gwurl who’s a mommy just like you.”
My eyes teared up at my sweet boy’s words. It made me feel so special that he adored our little family and wanted what we had. I leaned in and fluttered my eyelashes against his cheeks. Aspen giggled.
“I wuv butterfwy kisses, Mommy.”
I kissed his cheek. “I know, baby, and Mommy loves giving them to you.”
We finished the pancakes as we made small talk, and I plated the food.
I had told Cedar to sleep in this morning, because he had been up late the night before.
He had spent the evening in our backyard putting up the tent with Aspen and then camping out.
Aspen had talked his father’s ears off until almost three in the morning when he fell asleep.
They had finally come in around five in the morning when Aspen decided he wanted to sleep in his bed. I promised Cedar that I would get the brunch ready, and he didn’t have to worry about a thing.
“Are you ready to surprise Daddy?”
“Yep!” Aspen hopped happily off the stool he had been sitting on as we cooked brunch. I made some tarragon chicken salad on croissants, blueberry pancakes, spinach omelets, and brown sugar and rosemary glazed bacon.
I placed a couple of platters on a large tray before I returned downstairs to get the others. It took a third trip for me to carry the forks, orange juice, and mimosas upstairs while Aspen carried three plates.
“Do you think Daddy’s still asleep, or is he pretending to be asleep?” I asked Aspen when we walked into the room the final time, and I saw my husband still sprawled across the bed.
“He’s ashweep, Mommy.” Aspen covered his mouth, trying unsuccessfully to hold back the giggles that bubbled up.
“Well, we’ve got to wake him up.”
“Daddy’s tired, Mommy.”
“I know, but I think Daddy worked up a big appetite last night building the tent with you. If he doesn’t wake up, his food will get cold, he’ll miss out on brunch, and then he’ll be a grumpy daddy.”
Aspen’s eyes widened as he stared up at me.
“Someone has to be brave enough to take on the big job of waking Daddy up.”
His round eyes squinted as his dropped jaw turned up into a smile.
“I’m bwave, Mommy. I can do it,” Aspen declared.
“Okay, let me see those muscles.”
He looked at me, and his beautiful cinnamon face, so much like his father’s, crinkled up into a gorgeous smile. Aspen held his puny little arms up to show me his muscles. I gave a firm nod and declared, “Yep. Those guns are big enough to get the job done.”
He rushed to the bed, climbed on top, and jumped up and down. “Daddy! Daddy! You gotta wake up and eat so you not gwumpy. Daddy!”
Cedar growled like a bear and flipped over, knocking Aspen onto his back. He tickled Aspen, who fell into a fit of giggles. I laughed at the two of them, and my heart leaped for joy at the love they shared and showered on me daily.
I was so blessed with these two beautiful guys in my life, and I looked forward to our growth. When Cedar stopped tickling Aspen, Aspen sat up and exclaimed, “Happy Favah’s day, Daddy.”
Cedar pulled him on his lap and kissed his head. “Thank you, little king.”
“Daddy, we got you a Favah’s Day gif.”
“What did you get me?”
Aspen looked at me with wide eyes and a smile. “Give it to him, Mommy.”
I reached inside the pocket of my apron, climbed on the bed beside my husband and son, and then pulled my hand out of my pocket.
“Happy Father’s Day, husband.”
I handed the gift to Cedar and watched as his eyes ballooned.
“Baby?”
“Yes?”
“Baby?”
“Yes, Cedar?”
“Baby! We’re having another baby?” He laughed and pulled me onto his left thigh after he moved Aspen onto his right one.
“Yes, CJ. We’re having a baby,” I confirmed with laughter.
“Aww, baby. This is the best Father’s Day gift you could give me,” he declared as he stared at the pregnancy stick and repeatedly shook his head.
He stroked my cheek and sweetly brushed his lips against mine. I wanted more, but I knew we needed to keep it PG in front of Aspen.
I pulled back and asked, “So, you’re happy?”
“Man, I’m over the gahdamn moon! I’ve been waiting for this since my king here was one week.”
“I’ve got more news, but you have to promise not to get upset.”
Cedar’s face scrunched up as he mugged me for that statement.
“Why you wanna try and mess up my day with bad news after something like this?”
I smiled shyly and bit my lip. “I know that I promised I would never hold a secret back from you again, but I did. You know my cycle is irregular, right?”
He nodded.
“So, I didn’t think anything of it until a couple of weeks ago when I still hadn’t had a cycle, but I was getting sick again.
I already had an appointment for my annual checkup.
I mentioned it to the doctor, and they gave me a test. At that point, they were able to tell me that I was ten weeks pregnant, and they also knew the gender. ”
“Ten weeks, Mrs. Jackson?”
“Yeah.”
“What have you been doing during that time, wife of mine?”
“Well, I don’t drink or smoke. I eat healthy, so there’s that.”
“Yeah, but your ass has been lifting and carrying Aspen, and that’s gotta stop right away.”
“He’s two.”
“I’ma big boy, Mommy.”
“Right, li’l king. Not to mention, you were lifting Amara on your hip last weekend when we visited Bryan and Layla. Then you were also holding Bjorn and Sarah’s baby, Michael, and that’s one big boy.”
“He’s only ten months, CJ.”
“I don’t care. He’s too big for you to be carrying around, knowing that you’re pregnant.”
“Okay, you’re right. I won’t do it again.”
“Wait. You said they knew the gender. Do you know?” His eyes ballooned as my comment finally dawned on him.
I nodded and chewed on the inside of my cheek.
“You’re gonna tell me?”
“Do you wanna know.”
“Hell yeah!”
“Hell yeah!” Aspen repeated.
“Aspen!” Cedar corrected.
“CJ!” I warned.
“What?”
“You know he’s going through that phase of repeating things.”
Cedar nodded. “AJ, you can’t be repeating everything that you hear, okay?”
“Okay, Daddy.”
His little downturned expression tugged at my heart, and I was about to lean over and kiss him for comfort until Cedar did it. His face brightened once more.
“So, what’s the gender?”
“Are you sure you want to know and not have a gender reveal?”
“Woman, don’t you think you’ve done enough keeping this from me for so long?”
“You’re right. I just wanted you to be sure, though, baby.”
He furtively slapped my ass and demanded, “Quit playing with me, woman.”
“Yeah, quit playing with him, woman,” Aspen remarked.
“Okay, AJ. Watch it. Don’t get yourself in trouble,” I warned. “Go ahead and get dressed. Your clothes are on your bed.”
“Where we going, Mommy?”
“I told you. We’re going to Papa Paul’s and MèMè Sylvia’s for the Father’s Day dinner,” I explained.
“Yayy!”
“And guess what, AJ?”
“What?”
“Tyrus will be there for you to play with.”
My little boy fist-pumped and jumped off the bed.
Taylor and Monica also had a little boy who was just a little younger than Aspen.
Over the years, we often saw Taylor and Monica because of Taylor’s friendship with Tiffany.
In time, hearts were healed, and people were forgiven.
We had a pretty good friendship with them now, and our boys often played together.
Cedar mugged me again after Aspen ran out of the room. He grabbed me and pulled me down onto the bed, wrapping me in his arms. He sprinkled kisses all over my face.
“You gonna keep holding out on me, woman?” he asked as he tickled me.
“Okay, okay.” I laughed. When he released me, I sat up and reached inside my other apron pocket. Removing two tiny, cute pink booties, I showed them off to my husband.
“I’m having a princess, Sunny?”
“Yes, you are.”
He closed his eyes, leaned his head back slightly before dropping it again, and then shook it. I knew that he was overcome with emotion at the moment. I wrapped my arm around him and kissed his temple.
When he opened his eyes and stared into mine, I saw the slight moisture coating his eyelashes. Cedar kissed me.
“Thank you for making my dreams come true, baby.”
“You made mine come true first.”
We shared a sweet, subtle kiss before Aspen ran back into the room and crawled onto his daddy’s lap.
“You happy, Daddy?”
“Yeah, big guy. Daddy’s happy.”
Cedar kissed Aspen’s forehead and then mine before he shared a smile with me.
Our initial connection wasn’t built on attraction but a pure, genuine friendship.
Our bond was forged and secured through mutual trust and a path that had previously been paved with pain.
Something as simple as Sunday brunches taught us the true meaning of friendship and trust when we didn’t know how to let others in.
I was about to throw it all away, but love wouldn’t let me. Every dream we both held in our hearts came true because we decided to trust, love, and protect one another. Once we got past that small rough patch, things had been smooth sailing. The road had been easy, and the journey had been light.
We had both endured difficult relationships. But through it all, we had found freedom to love and acceptance of our mistakes in each other’s arms. We were able to find peace in moving forward from those who had hurt us and learned once again to take a chance on love.
Our friendship had allowed us to build a love that was relaxing, peaceful, and easy, like a Sunday morning.
THE END