Epilogue
Even though it was early afternoon when I got off, the day had been a long one.
All the shit I went through during the day was forgotten about when I entered my house.
I kicked my work boots off by the door, then greeted Shadow and Cashmere when they walked toward me.
After showing them some love, I let them out in the backyard for a little bit.
I made sure to take my clothes off in the laundry room, then went upstairs in nothing but my boxers and tank top. Mycah made sure I didn’t enter our room or the baby’s room with my work clothes on.
My heart leaped when I entered the bedroom, and my eyes landed on Mycah sitting up in bed, breastfeeding our little girl. Karisma Bishop had brought so much joy to all our lives.
“Who’s that?” Mycah smiled as she looked down at Karisma. “It’s daddy.”
Karisma’s eyes lit up, and she crawled away from Mycah to the end of the bed, where I picked her up and placed kisses all over her face. At nine months old, Karisma was already a daddy’s girl.
“Hey, Rizz,” I cooed, then kissed her cheek again. I held her in my arms as I walked to the head of the bed. Leaning down, Mycah and I shared a kiss before I sat at the end of the bed. Karisma crawled out of my lap and went back to her mother.
“Hey, how was your day?” Mycah asked as she held Karisma so she could finish eating.
I watched them for a second, feeling every bit of happiness.
“It was good. Busy as hell. I missed y’all. What have y’all been up to all day?”
I listened intently as Mycah told me about their day.
Since she was around seven months pregnant, she had been on leave.
The plan was for her to stay out until Karisma was a year old.
We started looking into day cares but wasn’t sure if that was the route we were going to go.
We had plenty of family to help. My parents could keep her some days.
Mycah’s parents were looking for a house here, so they would help too.
Karma and Koda said they would help too.
Our families loved Karisma, and each one of them spoiled her. Mycah and I weren’t any help either. Mycah’s best friend, Chanel, was Karisma’s godmother, and she had plans on moving closer to us as well.
Things for Mycah and me had been going well. She moved in with me when she first went on maternity leave. Even before then, one of us stayed at the other one’s place, so we were always together. I was so excited about having a baby, and I didn’t want to miss anything.
Mycah’s parents had stayed at her old apartment when they came to town, and they considered moving in there permanently, but they wanted something with a yard so Karisma could have somewhere to play when she got older.
Plus, they said they wanted to be able to watch the dogs for us as well.
One thing I could say was we didn’t have a shortage of help when it came to Karisma or the dogs.
Shadow and Cashmere were protective over their sister, and they would let us know when she cried.
Sometimes, Shadow would notify me before Karisma even had the chance to cry.
I wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did. It came in handy when Mycah was trying to sleep, and I wanted to keep the house quiet.
“Sounds like you had a good day. Do you need me to do anything for you?” I asked once Mycah went over everything she did for the day.
“No. I napped when she did. Everything is clean. I just need to pump, but you can’t do that for me.” She giggled.
“You know I would if I could.”
Mycah didn’t have to work, but she did everything around the house to make our lives easier and comfortable, all the while breastfeeding and keeping our baby safe.
Now that Rizz could crawl, she liked to be all over the place.
Mycah had to keep up with her, and I knew some days were more tiring than others.
I did whatever I could to make her life easier.
If I had to do laundry, clean, or cook, I did.
When Mycah needed to rest, I took Karisma with me.
Sometimes we would just go in the backyard with the dogs, or I took her to see my parents.
We’d even gone to the beach a few times.
My baby loved the sand, so we tried to go at least every other week during the summer.
“I know you would, and I appreciate you for that. How is the assistant coming along?”
Since Mycah was out, I hired an assistant temporarily. It was a guy who was qualified, but he wasn’t Mycah. Maybe I was being biased because I really enjoyed having her there.
“He’s good. It’s not the same as when I would look up and find you sitting there.” I chuckled. “He’s been helpful, though. Why, are you thinking about giving your spot up?”
Mycah looked off to the side and bit her bottom lip. Karisma sat on the side of her, playing with one of her toys. She was in her own little world.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know what I would do, though.”
I shifted toward her and rubbed my hand over her exposed thigh.
Since she had been in the house all day, she only wore biker shorts and a shirt.
I already knew she didn’t have a bra on, because she didn’t wear them in the house.
She said it was easier for her to feed Karisma when she needed to.
I wasn’t sure if she didn’t have panties on either because she hardly wore them when she didn’t have to leave.
“You don’t have to decide now. We have a couple of months before Rizz turns a year old, but even then, if you haven’t decided, that’s okay. We are good.”
“You won’t be mad if I didn’t come back?”
I leaned forward and pecked her lips. Karisma dropped her toy and got in Mycah’s face, then kissed her cheek. She acted like she always had to kiss her mom whenever I did.
“Mad, of course not. I’d miss seeing you at work, but I see you every day before I leave and when I get home. I also have pictures of you in my office, so regardless, I can see that pretty face.”
At some point during her pregnancy, people found out we were together. Nobody even cared, but we still kept things professional at work. Since I no longer had to hide her, I put multiple pictures of her around my office. Most of them included Karisma or Mycah by herself.
“Okay. I’ll figure it out. I might want to stay with her a little longer.” She ran her hand over Karisma’s hair.
My baby had a head full of hair that she hated whenever someone tried to comb. Mycah did it most of the time when she was asleep. She only combed and brushed it so it didn’t tangle. Sometimes she’d put a headband on her, but that was it.
“Whatever you want to do, love. In the meantime, we have a date tonight. How about I go lay her down, then I come back and lay down with you?”
“Sounds good to me.” She picked Karisma up and kissed her cheeks before passing her to me.
Karisma and I left the room and walked down the hall to her room.
She was down to two naps a day, and it was the perfect time for her to take her second one.
She would only sleep for about an hour or so, but it was long enough for me to get my fill of Mycah and rest a little before we had to get ready for our date.
Mycah and I had to find different ways to spend time with just the two of us at times.
The date I planned was special. Mycah didn’t know it, but I planned on proposing to her.
I wanted to do it before, but her pregnancy and Karisma were the top priority.
With Karisma approaching a year, I wanted us to get married soon so we could work on baby number two.
She was adamant about not having another baby until we were married, and she deserved that.
Once I got Karisma settled, I went back into the room and spent time with my love.
A few hours later, Mycah and I were on our date. Karma had come over to babysit Karisma and the dogs. She said she would stay the night if we wanted her to, but neither of us could decide if we wanted to be away from our baby that long or not.
Since we woke up from a nap, and the whole time we got ready, I had been nervous about the rest of the night.
Everyone knew what I had planned, so I had multiple messages wishing me luck and congratulating us before I could even ask the question.
Mycah had no clue, but Karma convinced her to get her nails done the day before.
She disguised it as some girl time, but she told me that she wanted to make sure Mycah’s nails looked good for pictures.
I loved the friendship they had because I knew Mycah missed having Chanel around.
Chanel came to visit a few times, but it wasn’t the same.
Karma never tried to take her place, but she filled in the gap when she wasn’t around.
“Are we going on that?” Mycah asked when we approached the hot air balloon.
“We are.”
Her eyes lit up, and a bright smile covered her face.
She looked so beautiful with her hair up and two loose curls hanging on each side.
Karma talked her into wearing a black dress that sparkled, but it wasn’t overkill.
There was a split on the side that went up to her thigh, and she wore six-inch heels.
She kept it light with her jewelry, only wearing a necklace that had a locket on it with a picture of Karisma, and a pair of diamond earrings I had gotten her one random day when I was at the mall with my brother.
Mycah never asked me to buy her anything, but I did it anyway.
I paid attention to the things she liked and got what I thought would look good on her.
“I’ve never been on one before. This is exciting.” She clapped her hands.
She placed her hand in mine when I reached for her. “I’m glad we get to experience this together, because I’ve never been on one either.”
I racked my brain about how I wanted to propose to Mycah.
I knew I wanted it to be a private moment between us.
I guess it had something to do with the fact that we had to keep it private for so long.
Of course, once she accepted, everyone would know, but I just didn’t want a big production.
It took me at least two months to decide on a hot air balloon.
It would be just us and the guy who controlled the balloon.
I already talked to him, and he assured me that it would seem like he wasn’t even there, but he would take pictures of us if we wanted him to.
“Hello, welcome. I’m Justus. It’s spelled like just us but pronounced justice.
Don’t ask why my mom spelled it like that.
I also know that was useless information, but I like to share anyway.
” The three of us laughed. “I’m the owner of Jus Air.
We specialize in hot air balloon rides, as well as tethered balloons for events.
I just need to go over a few basics with you two, then we’ll be all set. ”
I introduced Mycah to him, then he proceeded to tell us the rules. I was surprised when I looked into this and found out a black guy owned it. He seemed to be young, too, maybe in his mid-thirties.
After he told us everything, he led us onto the balloon.
There was a tray with cheese and crackers, plus a bottle of wine and two glasses.
Mycah pumped before we left, so Rizz would be good.
She could just pump and dump whenever we got back home.
Unbeknownst to her, I packed an overnight bag for us in case we decided to stay out.
I made sure to include her travel pump because I knew the discomfort she felt when she didn’t pump.
“This is nice, Kairo.”
“It is. Wait until we go fully up,” I told her as I walked behind her and wrapped her in my arms. The scent she wore was vanilla. Nothing else mixed in, but she didn’t need it. She smelled good regardless.
We were quiet for a little bit, both just taking in the scenery. Justus did inform us when we got as high as we would go but hadn’t said anything else. It really was like he was never there.
Once we started to coast, I fed Mycah some of the cheese and crackers, and she did the same.
“Do you feel like we are in a good place in our relationship?” Mycah asked after she finished the cracker in her mouth.
“I do. I couldn’t ask for anything different.
Every day I go to work because I love it, but I can’t wait until I can come home and see my girls.
You and Rizz are truly the bright spots in my day.
I never imagined that I would fall in love with the girl who spilled coffee on my shirt.
” She narrowed her eyes at me, and I laughed.
“Or the girl who organized my chaotic workspace. I never thought we would be here in this moment as parents to a little girl who has her mother’s kind eyes.
” Tears streamed down Mycah’s face as she stared at me.
“I love you so much, and there will never be a time when I don’t love you.
” I pulled the box out of my pocket, and Mycah’s hands flew to her face.
I opened the box and lowered myself onto one knee.
Mycah’s chest heaved as she stared at me through watery eyes.
I grabbed her left hand, kissed it, then held it. “Mycah Cooper, will you marry me?”
“Yes! Yes!” Her smile made my chest warm.
I put the ring on her finger, then stood to pull her into my arms. We shared a passionate kiss that might have made Justus uncomfortable if he paid attention. I had to pull away when I felt my dick swell. I held Mycah in my arms and whispered in her ear. “Now we can work on baby number two.”
She giggled, before she said, “Absolutely not. We will wait until after the wedding because I want to fit into my dress.”
“I guess I can wait, but we’ll have plenty of time to practice.” I kissed the side of her neck, and she tried to wiggle out of my arms, but I held her tighter.
Our initial connection was restricted, but our love outweighed the rules placed on us. Mycah was the love of my life, and I would show her that for the rest of our lives.
Fin