Chapter 29 #2
I smiled before thanking him. He really didn’t have to come and do that for us, but I loved that he did.
He opened my front door, pulled me into a hug, and then tapped my lips before he walked off.
I stood with the door open, watching him descend the stairs until I couldn’t see him anymore.
Once he was out of sight, I closed my front door and pressed my back against it.
“Whew…”
I had to release everything that had unfolded from last night.
This man… this man was everything that I had wanted.
With everything that I had been going through, I prayed more than I ever had.
Somewhere between me asking for strength, clarity, and peace, I must have snuck the words a good man in there, and God had to have been listening.
I felt like the devil saw me struggling in the love department and sent Orion to finish me off.
But this man, Kassidy, came from God. Even after all the nasty, unspeakable things we had done when we were both panting and trying to catch our breath right before my eyes closed for the night, I heard that man praying. He was so perfect.
Knowing that he was coming back tonight, I thought of what I could make him for dinner.
It had to be something that Oriana would enjoy, too, but I wanted to impress him with my skills.
Cooking was one of my love languages, and this was the time for me to show him what he would get if he decided to stick around.
When I made it back to my bedroom, I stood in the doorway and looked at the mess of a room that he and I had contributed to. Flashbacks of the night before played in my head.
“Mmm,” I grunted, not meaning to.
I sighed before pulling myself together. I had to change the sheets, straighten up the house, and then run to the grocery store for what I wanted for dinner. I was thankful that it was still early. Orion never woke up early, so I knew I had more than enough time before he dropped Oriana back home.
By around two, I was buzzing Orion into the building and tending to things in the kitchen.
I decided to go with some barbecue chicken, baked mac and cheese, green beans, and corn bread.
It was Sunday, and it had been a while since I really threw down in the kitchen.
A midnight blue citrus candle from Bath and Body Works burned in the living room.
That scent mixed with the aroma coming from the kitchen had the entire house smelling good.
“Damn, it smells good in here,” Orion said as soon as he walked through the door with Oriana.
I wiped my hands on the towel that hung from the stove before rushing over to grab Oriana.
“Hi, baby!”
She rushed out of her father’s grasp to get to me. “Hi, Mama!”
I snuggled my face into her little neck and then placed kisses all over her. Orion stood on the sideline, just looking at us.
“Hey,” I finally gave him a dry greeting.
I thought I would be mad when I saw him about the whole him and Brandi thing, but I wasn’t.
“Uhh… she ate breakfast but not lunch, and here’s her bag. She got a few outfits in there and two pairs of sneakers.”
I really wasn’t expecting him to do any more than what my child support payment allowed. Still, he was doing additional things as well.
“Thank you,” I said as I grabbed the bag from him.
He stood there for a little minute, and I looked at the door behind him. He had brought my baby home; now his ass could go. He looked like he wanted to say something to me, but he didn’t.
“Well, thank you for the kid-free weekend.”
Hopefully, my statement would prompt his ass to get the fuck on.
“Whenever you need a break, let me know.”
He made eye contact with me, and I tried to read him. I didn’t know if he was being sarcastic or if he really meant it. Either way, the message was heard.
“Got it. Get home safe. Give daddy a kiss, Ori.”
She leaned out of my arms to kiss her dad. He smiled after receiving the love that he looked like he needed. He opened the door and then stopped midway through the threshold.
“I gotta text you the pics of her from the shower.”
And he had to say something that pissed me off.
“Make sure you don’t send the ones with Brandi in them, please.”
He turned around and stared at me. I locked eyes with his ass.
It was a liberating feeling to address this shit without the emotion attached to it.
His eyes softened, and before he could even open his mouth, I pulled the door out of his grasp and opened it wider so he could leave.
He just shook his head up and down before walking fully out the door.
I closed the door and locked it so quickly that I was sure I closed it on his back.
“Whew…” I sighed as tears started to build in my eyes.
I wasn’t going to let them fall, though. I got all that pain the fuck up off me, and now I was in a better position.
Everything in life seemed to be going right for me; the only thing I had to do was obtain my dream job, and then I felt like my entire life would be back on track.
“Let’s get you cleaned up, little girl.”
I sat Oriana down and quickly put the candle out.
I didn’t need her roaming around and accidentally burning herself.
I ran her bathwater and tossed her favorite toys in.
The house was cleaned up, dinner was done, and once I had Oriana cleaned up, I just had to worry about myself and wait for Kassidy to come back.
Kass
By the time I finished running around with Nana, I was exhausted.
She had my ass go to BJ’s, Food Bizarre, and a couple of corner stores.
It was just me and her in the house, but she always made sure to stock up.
When we were on Pitkin Ave, I saw this cute little Doc McStuffins toddler bed that I just had to get.
Realizing that I was coming to spend the night, I wanted to make sure Oriana had her own special space to sleep.
I wasn’t too sure if Cayla would be okay with all of us in the bed, so I was making sure not to overstep.
The furniture store had given me a deal on the bed, mattress, and the matching sheets.
Her rag in the bathroom was the same character, so I figured it was something she liked.
I told the manager in the store that I would come back for it because I didn’t have any space in the car.
Nana had all her groceries in my trunk and back seat. When we made it home, I brought in all the bags and helped her unpack them.
“You're moving all fast. Where are you rushing to?” she asked when I quickly unpacked three bags and started placing the items on the kitchen counter.
“I’m gonna stay by Cayla’s tonight.”
She stood there, smiling at me.
“What?” I stopped unpacking to look at her.
“You do know you have an entire two-bedroom apartment down there, right? With your own entrance.”
“I do.”
I didn’t understand what she was getting at.
“You might have a need to finally put that kitchen down there to use. I already see that staying there and here will wear you down. Down the line, making one place home would be smart.”
I kissed my teeth before I finished unpacking the groceries.
“Alright now, old lady, everything is out of the bags. I’m out of here.”
I walked over and kissed her on the head before rushing downstairs to pack my bag.
I made sure to have my work uniform. Usually, I would take the leftovers that Nana made for lunch, but I figured I would spend money on lunch the next day.
I tossed everything in my car and headed to the furniture store before they closed.
As I drove over to Cayla’s, what Nana said played in my head.
Ever since we had the basement apartment renovated and I moved down there from upstairs, I had probably turned my stove on twice.
I didn’t even know if Cayla knew how to cook, but shit, it didn’t matter either way.
I was sure Nana wouldn’t mind teaching her a thing or two.
Then I thought of the vacant spare bedroom that I had down there.
The apartment as a whole was spacious; it was just empty because I didn’t put much in there.
I had a futon in the living room space with a television.
And a bed in the bedroom with another TV in there.
Honk!
I was zoned out at the light. I felt that Cayla would think I was crazy if I asked her to move in with me this early on.
The crazy thing is, this thing between us didn’t feel early or new simply because I knew her for what felt like forever.
I’d wanted her since high school. As I parked in a spot right in front of her building, I figured I would wait.
I couldn’t bring everything up in one trip, so I decided to come back down for little Mama's mattress.
My backpack and her actual bed could come up this time.
Instead of giving Cayla a call, I pressed the buzzer and waited to be let in. When I made it to her floor, she was already standing in the doorway, wearing colorful checkered pajama pants, an oversized black shirt, and some black furry slippers.
“What is that box?” she asked with a raised eyebrow as she held the door open wider for me.
When I got inside, I dropped the box on the floor along with my backpack.
“Ooooo,” Oriana said as she walked over to the box.
“Hi, little mamas… this is for you,” I said with a smile as I turned the box in both of their directions to show what it was.
The sticker on the side of the box had a picture of the Doc McStuffins bed assembled.
“Kass…” Cayla said in disbelief.
“Kassy Kassy.”
“Oh shit,” I said as soon as the words left Oriana’s mouth.
“My bad, Mama,” I quickly apologized to Cayla for the profanity in front of the little one.
At her age, like most kids, I looked at them like little minions who didn’t know shit about English.
“You like this?” I asked Oriana as I pointed to the picture on the box.
She smiled widely, and then I quickly remembered that I had the other stuff to get out of the car.