Chapter 16 #2
They fell into a fit of laughter. This was what Tachina needed. They laughed until her ribs hurt.
Tachina wiped the tears from her eyes and blew out a deep breath. Addison nudged her again.
“Sooo…when are you gonna test, Momma?” Addison asked.
Fluttering appeared in Tachina’s belly. She toyed with the edge of her oversized t-shirt.
“Well… I’m late. According to my charting, Auntie should have been here,” Tachina admitted. Her cycle was so damn regular that she could plan her vacations and trips off it.
“You already peed on a stick?” Addison squealed.
“No, not yet. He said he wants to be a part of this entire process, so I’m waiting until tomorrow when he comes over after work,” Tachina said.
“You bought more than one, didn’t you?” Addison grinned.
“Four,” Tachina confessed. “Different brands. Expensive ones and cheap ones. I want to make sure when I do test.”
“That’s my girl.”
“Wait, when have you ever taken a pregnancy test?” Tachina asked her friend. This was news to her. She was slightly offended she hadn’t been notified.
“Don’t you worry about that.” Addison exhaled slow and long. There was obviously a story behind this.
“You little hussy!” Tachina’s mouth fell open. “I see how it is. I thought we were best friends.”
“Girl, it is nothing to worry about. When I was with He Who Shall Not Be Named, I had a few scares or two,” Addison admitted.
“Well, this I need to hear,” Tachina said.
“We would need a big bottle of Tito’s for that story, and seeing how you might be expecting, it’s going to have to wait for another day!”
Addison hugged her tightly at the front door. Tachina had tried to talk her into staying to eat with them, but she was meeting a client for dinner.
“Keep me updated,” Addison whispered against her cheek. “I’m praying for double lines.”
“Thanks, sis,” Tachina said.
Addison pulled back and gave a little wave, then was out the door.
Tachina closed and locked it. She turned and made her way to the kitchen.
It was time for them to eat and wind down for the night.
She set the island for two and snagged their drinks from the fridge and placed them down on the counter near their chairs.
“Kian, come eat dinner!” Tachina called out. Hard footsteps echoed through the house. Without looking at the doorway, she pointed to the sink. “Wash your hands first.”
“Okay,” Kian mumbled. He stomped over to the sink and stood on his footstool so he could do so.
She went over to the crockpot and lifted the lid. The aroma accosted her and had her stomach grumbling. The white chicken chili that she’d made looked absolutely divine.
“Eat your heart out, Tony,” she mumbled.
She didn’t have a private cook coming to her house to make her meals.
She wished she did. That would take a lot of stress out of her day.
Work, picking up her son…then the dreaded decision of what the hell to cook for them.
She was sure if she complained to Vic, he’d try to hire one for her, but a woman had to have her pride.
Plenty of women before her had handled their business with no man. She could do this.
Kian jumped down and took a seat at their small island. She quickly plated their food in bowls and set his in front of him. She made hers next and placed it down where she would eat.
“Do we have those chips?” Kian asked.
“We sure do.” She went over and grabbed a bag of tortilla chips from the pantry.
She eyed her kitchen and couldn’t wait to start the renovation process.
She’d already designed at least five different concepts.
She would have to make up her mind on which one she would go with.
Vic was going to regret making that bet…
but then again, knowing how much he was worth, he wouldn’t bat an eye at the amount.
She sat next to her son and nudged him.
“Say grace, sir.”
He gave her a guilty look. He’d already started digging into his meal. He swallowed his food and waited for her.
“Dear God. Thank you for this food. Thank you for my mommy and daddy. Amen.” Quick and to the point as always.
“Amen.” She grinned and ruffled his hair. She loaded some napkins with their chips for them to enjoy with their meal.
Kian hummed after every bite. The kid really wasn’t too picky when it came to food.
She was lucky. She watched him—his light curly hair, light complexion, brown eyes like hers, full lips—and for the first time she pictured another face beside his.
Maybe rounded cheeks like hers…brown complexion, dark hair…
maybe a girl who would claim the world like Kian had.
She sent up a prayer of her own.
Healthy. That’s all. If this is meant to be, let it be.
Kian caught her smiling.
“Whatcha smilin’ about, Mommy?” he asked.
“Just remembering your amazing wheelie trick.” She reached over and wiped some chili from his chin with a napkin.
“It was gnarly, wasn’t it?” He grinned.
“Where’d you learn that word from?” She sputtered. She shook her head. This son of hers never failed to amaze her.
“Leo. He said his brother says it all the time.” Kian shoveled more of the chili into his mouth then popped a chip in with it.
She wasn’t sure how he got so much food into such a small space, but he made it work.
She laughed, and somewhere deep inside her, hope blossomed.
Tomorrow. She would know tomorrow if there would be another little Maxwell.
And maybe—just maybe—the four of them would be a family.
“Mom, can I ask a question?” Kian paused and looked over at her.
He seemed so serious, panic suddenly filled her.
“Of course, baby. You can ask me anything,” she said.
“Why don’t I have a big brother?”
She paused and blinked. Well, that wasn’t what she was expecting. How the hell did she answer this question?
Well, son, your father and I only met a couple of weeks before you were conceived and then we had unprotected sex a few times.
That sure wouldn’t go over well and would certainly open the conversation of the birds and the bees.
“Babe. Not everyone has older siblings. Some kids don’t have any,” she said, voice gentle.
“Like me?”
“Yeah, like you. Sometimes mommies and daddies just only want one kid so they can give them all the love and attention they would need.” She reached over and placed a kiss to the top of his head. She paused and thought for moment. “What about if you had a little brother or sister?”
She hesitated in asking. She had never thought to even ask Kian how he felt if he was no longer the only child.
“That would be so cool. If I had a little brother, then I can show him how to do wheelies!” He grew excited and hopped around in his seat.
“But what if you got a sister?” She chuckled.
“Why would we get one of them?” he deadpanned.
She almost choked on her food. She reached for her drink and took a sip.
“We don’t get to decide. God decides if mommies and daddies have girls or boys,” she tried to explain.
He thought about it then shrugged.
“I guess a sister would be okay, but where would we get me a brother or sister from?” he asked.
She sighed and seriously didn’t want to go into how babies were conceived while eating dinner. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought up the question.
“It’s complicated,” she said.
“Can we go get one tomorrow?”