Chapter 14
“Burning Blue” by Mariah the Scientist
Ethic entered the room, and it felt like a whole different world.
Everything had been reset. He had no idea he was walking into a landmine.
The vanilla musk that fragranced the air was like a trigger that instantly calmed him, releasing the tension from his broad shoulders.
Candles flickered, filling the room with warmth, and casting a glow over the walls.
Just her presence set a mood in the space, in the entire home, in fact.
Since she had retreated to Susan Street, these walls had felt sterile.
Ethic was a man who enjoyed order. He prided himself on discipline and routine and stillness.
Alani had come into his life like a wrecking ball and brought beautiful chaos into his life.
Without her, everything had been too quiet, too neat, but just being here when he arrived, Alani brought vivacity into this place.
He didn’t know how she did it, or if she even knew that she did it, but the weight of his day was left at the door.
That was a miracle, considering the problems that existed in his life.
Alani sat in bed, rubbing body oil into her skin.
Everything about this woman screamed soft.
The silk pajamas and silk scarf around her head cost more than she would ever allow.
She didn’t know it, though. He had told her he’d picked it up from Target on the way home, but it was the finest fabric from the most luxurious store, for the most precious woman.
Only the best for his lady. With every step he took in her direction, he felt lighter.
She hadn’t even spoken to him yet. She didn’t need to exert any effort to bring him peace.
He felt weightless whenever he walked into a room she occupied.
He saw no one else. He thought of nothing else when she was near.
She was the greatest and most intricate of distractions.
It was a diversion from life’s ills. A mirage in a desert she was.
“You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had,” Ethic stated, removing his watch, and tossing it on his nightstand.
The way he tossed it, you would think it wasn’t worth anything at all.
He could pawn it and pay off three six-figure mortgages, but a man who had it, didn’t covet it. It hit the marble top with a thud.
“Is Yara okay? How’s Morgan?” Alani asked as she casually rubbed lotion into her hands, assuming that’s where he had been. If only she knew the shit, he had been forced to do today.
Ethic couldn’t welcome the outside inside this room. He wouldn’t. This was their sanctuary, a den of love, passion, intimacy, and pleasure. He didn’t even want to discuss it right now.
“No, but nothing’s changing tonight, and everybody’s free and alive. That’s all I can take for today. I’ll fill you in tomorrow. Right now, I just want to shower and lay under my wife,” Ethic said. His fatigue was audible.
“Whatever you need,” Alani replied. Life had a way of throwing challenges at a man, especially a Black man.
He had navigated obstacle after obstacle since the day his father had abandoned him, and now that he had children of his own, he just wanted to provide answers to each of their problems. What was a man worth if he couldn’t fix the problems of his offspring?
His purpose in life was to provide their needs and every want.
His mission: to protect them from every threat.
Threats had come abundantly for Morgan since he had taken her in.
First, emotional with the loss of her parents and sister, then mental with the frustration that came from people not understanding her.
Now, as Morgan navigated love and young womanhood, the threats were physical.
Men desired to conquer her, and their attacks were damaging.
He had expected parenting to get easier as the years flew by.
The older his children became, the more independent they got, but it seemed that parenthood’s difficulty level increased.
When they were younger, Ethic could control everything.
He decided what they ate, where they went, who their friends were, and what they had access to.
Shit was smooth, and the problems were miniscule.
They had kept him busy, but the mental load was manageable.
Now that Morgan and Bella were older, they had their own voices.
They made decisions without him. They chose their circles and put themselves in environments that he would never approve of.
It put him in a constant mood to worry. Even on the most carefree days, concern for the direction their lives would take was stuffed in the closet in the back of his mind.
Eazy was the only one giving him a bit of grace, and the cycle was starting all the way over with True.
I’ve got to make sure I savor the time with those two.
They’re my youngest two, and if I blink, I’ll miss everything, he thought.
The natural growth of his children was enough to make a grown man forlorn, and his head hung low in silent mourning as he undressed.
He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, then walked over to Alani’s side of the bed and leaned down to taste her lips.
It was the longest, shortest kiss she had ever felt, and she moaned a little when his tongue slipped into her mouth.
She kissed him back, but Ethic felt hesitation in her.
She reached for his face. He was clean-shaven, goatee trimmed to perfection.
Her delicate fingers against the side of his face felt glorious.
True rested in the bassinet beside the bed, and he leaned down to kiss her tiny button nose.
“Daddy missed you.” She smelled like Alani, not like her perfume, or her shampoo, or the soap she used, but like her, her scent, her chemistry.
True was made of the same thing. “We make beautiful babies. She really is perfect.” Ethic’s voice was full of wonder.
He turned his attention back to the original.
“Daddy missed you, too,” he said, leaning down once more to capture her lips. “Was everything good here today? How did it go?” He went back in to peck the tender side of her neck, and she stiffened.
“Everything was fine,” Alani replied shortly. His husband gauge sounded as he finally read the room. She was displeased with him. He could feel her disposition in his bones.
The fuck is up with this attitude? he thought. Even when Alani didn’t know herself, his comprehension of her body language was a skill. He was well-studied and fluent in all things Mrs. Okafor.
“You good? Seems like something is on your mind,” he said.
It was the millisecond of pause that told him her next words were untrue.
“I’m good,” she lied. He peered at her curiously, wanting to push, needing to know the source of her discontent, but he had to be careful not to apply too much pressure.
If Alani felt uncomfortable in any way, she would flee back to what was familiar.
He would much rather have her there, moody and distant, than all the way across town on Susan Street.
“If you’re not good, you can talk to me about it.
I’ll do everything in my power to make wrong right for you, baby.
” He didn’t wait for her to respond. It felt like she needed space.
He’d give her the room for the night. He made his way to the adjoining bathroom and flung his towel over the shower door before stepping inside.
He turned on the water and sighed as soon as the warmth hit his tense muscles.
The stream of water was hotter than most people could withstand, but to him, it was perfect.
He would sleep in the basement tonight. Yoga and a good cognac would wind him down and calm his mind.
He would add pussy to the menu, but he was letting Alani have it her way, and he could tell from her disposition that he wasn’t getting shit tonight.
He had somehow been put on her shit list. It was only a matter of time before she revealed why.
He just wanted to wash his burdens away.
Scrub his sins down the drain so they didn’t come back to haunt his family.
Thoughts of Yolly forced him to bow his head under the flow.
He swiped the water from his face. His heart seemed like it found a way to break every time he patched up the last injury.
It came with the territory of being responsible for everyone.
The king of the house, the one whose name everyone bore, took all the arrows; a few had penetrated his shield.
House of Okafor was always under attack, and there was always an inner war that accompanied the conflict.
Ethic washed his body, taking his time, taking care in cleaning himself.
Cleanliness was next to godliness. He let the water run down his head and grabbed Alani’s shampoo to wash his hair.
He knew she’d kill him if she knew he was using it, but such was married life.
He switched to his natural soaps and washed his face before he worked his way south, wrapping his hand around his dick as he soaped up his loins.
He moved to sturdy thighs, and down his legs, finally reaching his feet.
He repeated the process three times before rinsing.
This was the most normal part of his day.
He turned off the shower and wrapped his waist with a towel before rejoining Alani in the room.
“Would you ever lie to me, Ezra?”