Epilogue
“Aye, slow down,” Nico shouted, and then under his breath he mumbled, “Bad ass mothafuckas.”
His three daughters raced toward the front doors of their mama’s restaurant. They nearly knocked a couple of guests over in the process, which made him have to mumble a hasty “My bad.”
The thing about having kids was they made Nico have to man up on some shit he didn’t even do at least twice a day. One time, when the twins were toddlers, they pulled a patch of fur out of a puppy and left the nigga with two bald spots. Guess who got stuck paying for the grooming bill?
Parenting was so ghetto, but he wouldn’t trade it for the world.
They made it into the restaurant, and Nico immediately smiled.
The space had a cozy feel with the best elevated comfort food in the city.
His wife had made him beyond proud. She pushed four bad ass kids out of her pretty ass coochie and raised them well.
Anything she wanted was hers, so a year ago when she came to him about opening up a restaurant, he didn’t hesitate to make it happen.
Back in the kitchen, they found Remedie and Isaiah, their youngest and only boy, cooking up a storm. There were other chefs running around, but Nico and his three girls zeroed in on their loved ones.
“What y’all cookin’, Ma?” Kira, the eldest twin, asked as she hopped up on a stool and kissed Isaiah on the cheek.
She was his fighter. Imagine his surprise when they found out Remedie was pregnant with twins all those years ago.
He had been a bit down when he found out it was two girls.
Although he didn’t fight himself anymore, he wanted Gramps’s legacy to live on through at least one of his kids.
From the time Kira could walk, she proved to be a fighter.
Nico perked up when that happened. He took that shit and ran with it.
They’d just come from the boxing gym where she had a couple of mini fights.
Of course, his fourteen-year-old rockstar won all of them.
Her hands were lethal, but she had a heart of gold, like her mother.
She didn’t black out like Nico, and he thanked God every day for that.
Kyla, the youngest twin, was the complete opposite. She was his introverted baby who loved to draw. She was damn good at it too. They had been scouting her work to art collectors since she was ten, and she had a nice sized piggy bank growing from her talent.
Then there was Teyanna, their wild card.
She was nine and a girly girl, but she had a mean streak too.
She was known for beating boys up and using their lunch money to buy snacks for all her friends.
He couldn’t even be mad at her. She was smart as hell and knew how to work her mind.
His baby was going to be a boss one day and making bank. He’d bet his last dollar on it.
Isaiah was the youngest of the crew. Nico was so excited when he finally got his boy.
They bonded over all types of shit, but Isaiah drew the line at fighting, like his mama.
He preferred spending time in the kitchen with Remedie, and Nico found comfort in that.
He got his fighter, she got her sous chef, and they got two more talented children thrown in the mix. He was blessed.
“Caramel banana puddin’,” Remedie replied before kissing each of her daughters on the forehead. “You guys have time to eat?”
“You know Daddy wasn’t going to feed us,” Teyanna said as she rolled her eyes.
Nico tugged on one of her pigtails as he walked by. She swatted him away, but he ignored his youngest daughter so he could kiss his wife. When he pulled away, he said, “I know you got somethin’ good we can eat up in here.”
“I have a better idea. Let’s go home, and me and lil man can cook there,” Remedie suggested. “I’m exhausted and tired of hangin’ around here.”
Nico pulled back and peered down at her. “You okay?”
She blew out a putt of air that caused a curl in her eyes to pop up and then plop right back down into her face. “You’ll find out anyway,” she muttered as she pulled her phone out of her apron. She unlocked it, tapped a couple of times, and then handed it to him.
He looked down at the screen before he whooped loudly, grabbing Remedie by her waist. He hugged her to him and bent down so he could whisper into her ear. He didn’t want their nosy ass kids to find out just yet. “You having another one of my babies?”
Remedie grunted. “I guess.”
He grinned. He knew she was happy deep down. She acted like this every time there was a positive test. Their lives were busy, and the thought of a new baby always made her anxious, but she got over those nerves rather quickly every other time.
Nico felt alive inside. He would have twenty kids if Remedie allowed it, but somehow, he knew this would be their last one.
He gazed down at her lovingly. “Thank you.”
“For what?” she asked with as much attitude as she could muster, though he saw a smile trying to dance across her face.
“For giving me another reason to live.”
Remedie playfully rolled her eyes, but that smile she’d been holding back finally appeared. “Five kids is crazy, Nico.”
“It ain’t that crazy.” He kissed her nose.
Her smile faded. “I’m scared.”
She always was. She always worried that this kid would be the one they messed up. Nico got over those fears long ago, but Remedie was a mama bear. Worrying was in her DNA.
“Hey, what I tell you when we first met?”
The corners of her lips tugged up. “Love and protect?”
He’d reminded her many times through the years, and it always seemed to calm her because he always followed through with his word. Whatever Remedie wanted, she got. She knew as long as he had breath in his body, she had nothing to worry about.
He grinned. “Let me do that, baby. You love me?”
“You know I do.” She threw her arms around him and melted into him.
“And you know I’m crazy about you.”
“Touched in the head about me.” She giggled.
“Damn right.” He kissed her lips. “You keep bein’ my pretty lil wife, and I’ll keep doin’ my job.”
“Oh yeah? What’s your job?” she teased as she tugged on his grown-out beard.
“To keep puttin’ babies in yo’ fine ass.”
“Hell nah.” She tried pulling away, but he locked her in place.
“To fuck you just like you like.”
He heard her breath catch in her throat. It had been over fifteen years, and he still seemed to have the same effect on her.
“Nico . . .”
He kissed her deeply, hoping to convey how happy he was at that moment. Another life would enter their family, and he couldn’t be happier. He only wished Gramps was still alive to see the life Nico now lived. The old man had died seven years ago, and Nico missed him dearly every single day.
“To always take care of you and those bigheaded babies,” he uttered before he leaned down and kissed her again.
When he pulled away, he brushed her curls out of the way, and she smiled.
“And?” she asked in a sing-song voice.
“And . . .” He mimicked her and smiled down at his lifeline so he could repeat the promise he’d made to her a million times before. “I promise To Love and Protect.”
The End