Chapter 16 Kairo
Kairo
I told myself I’d done the right thing. It was the thought that I’d clung to all day.
I handled my meetings, finished my paperwork, and let Kemi take over the calls I didn’t have the patience for.
I moved through the rest of the day on autopilot, telling myself that calm was better than conflict that would leave us both saying things we couldn’t take back.
By the time I pulled into the driveway that evening, I just wanted to love on my family and get a good night’s rest. Inside, the house smelled like dinner had been cooked but the kitchen was too clean.
Khloe’s purse sat where she always dropped it, but her shoes weren’t kicked off nearby like usual. They were lined up neatly by the door.
I found her in the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed, scrolling on her phone. She looked up when I walked in and smiled.
“Hey,” she said softly.
“Hey,” I replied, leaning against the door frame. I was waiting but she never mentioned what happened earlier that day. I sat beside her, close enough that our knees touched. When I reached for her hand, she laced her fingers through mine.
I lifted her fingers to my mouth and kissed them. “I’m sorry about earlier,” I said, turning to look at her. “If you want to talk about it, we can. And if not… that’s okay too.”
She stared down at our hands. “Thank you for apologizing,” she said. “But we don’t have to talk about it.”
The silence that followed felt awkward, and I hated it. I hated that I didn’t know how to move us out of it without saying the wrong thing.
“I walked in the house and it smelled good,” I said, choosing to change the subject.
She laughed lightly, shaking her head. “Yeah, I cooked pasta. I figured you were gonna come home and avoid me, so I just put your plate in the fridge.”
I was man enough to admit that she wasn’t wrong. When I didn’t want to argue, I stayed late at work or took my time finding things to do. I would let the house quiet down enough that she’d already be asleep by the time I crawled into bed.
I didn’t realize how obvious the pattern had become… until she said it out loud.
“Did you eat?” I asked.
“I ate a little while I was cooking,” she replied. “Didn’t really have much of an appetite.” Then she smiled. “Kennedi ate two bowls though. Hungry ass.”
That made me laugh, and it reminded me why I loved being home, even when it felt hard.
I brushed her hair back from her face, my thumb caressing her cheek, and for a second we just looked at each other.
“Come downstairs,” I said. “Eat with me… or just sit there and watch me eat.”
She smiled. “Let me change first. I’ll be down.”
I stood, kissed her forehead, and headed to the kitchen.
As soon as I pulled my plate from the fridge and slid it into the microwave, I heard footsteps running in.
“Daddyyyy!”
Kennedi came flying into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tighter than usual.
“I missed you,” she said. “You’re the best dad.”
I gave her that look because I wasn’t stupid. “Alright… what do you want?”
She laughed, pulling back just enough to look at me. “My friends are going to the movies tonight, and I really wanna go.”
“On a school night?” I asked.
“Daddy, it’s Thursday,” she argued. “And the movies are half off if we bring our school IDs.”
I sighed. “Is your little friend gonna be there?”
“Yeah,” she said quickly. “But girls too!”
I wasn’t convinced. “I don’t know, KK.”
She gave me those puppy dog eyes. “Pleaseeee. Uncle Kendrix is going.”
That gave me pause.
“Niv’s going?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yup. She’s taking her brother and little sister.”
That explained everything. I trusted Kendrix, even if he pretended not to have sense half the time.
I took my food out of the microwave and exhaled. “Alright. I guess so, KK.”
She lit up instantly and hugged me again. “Thank you, Daddy!”
Then she added, “Oh—and Uncle Ken is picking me up and bringing me home, so you and Mom don’t have to worry about that.”
I turned around slowly. “So you already had transportation arranged… and didn’t even know if I was gonna say yes?”
She laughed as she backed out of the kitchen. “Love you, Daddy!”
I shook my head. That girl was slick.
Khloe walked into the kitchen wrapped in her robe.
“Transportation for what?” she asked.
My mouth was full, so I covered it with my hand before answering. “She wanted to go to the movies. She was just saying she already has a ride there and back.”
With the look Khloe gave me, you would’ve thought I said Kennedi was planning to hitchhike across town.
“A ride there and back?” she repeated, placing her hands on her hips. “She is not just getting in the car with anyone. I don’t know how these kids drive, or their parents.”
“Baby,” I said calmly, “Kendrix is who she’s riding with. Relax.”
Her face shifted a little, so I kept going before she could cut back in.
“Niv’s taking her brother and sister too. She’ll be with all of them.”
Still, she didn’t look convinced.
“She’s already staying the night at a friend’s house tomorrow,” Khloe said, walking to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water. “She can sit tonight out. Besides, I don’t even know if there’ll be boys at this movie.”
I sighed, just wanting her to lay off some. “Khloe… she’s almost sixteen. You gotta loosen the leash a little. You already went over to that same friend’s house and did a full walkthrough like we don’t know those people. You’re doing too much.”
She rolled her eyes and twisted the cap off the bottle.
“Well excuse me if I’m just trying to make sure my daughter doesn’t fall into the wrong crowd and make decisions that’ll change her life forever.”
Khloe was always thinking ten steps ahead, guarding against futures that hadn’t happened yet.
She micromanaged Kennedi’s life, thinking that if she didn’t, history would repeat itself.
And the more she did it, the more it made me feel uncomfortable.
Sometimes it felt like she hated her life.
It was like she hated that Kennedi came.
She resented that we had to grow up faster than planned, even though we never truly struggled the way others have.
It was Khloe’s decision to refuse help from my family and her own. She hated when I asked for it and took pride in doing everything on her own, even when it made things harder than they had to be.
She took a sip of her water, then added, “But I guess you’re the cool parent. That’s why she didn’t come ask me because it’s a school night and she knew it would’ve been a hard no.”
I released a long breath through my nose. I’d rather discuss the Mrs. Nikki situation all over again than circling the constant reminder that we didn’t parent the same way.
Khloe didn’t understand that Kennedi was an only child so she needed someone in the house she could talk to without feeling interrogated.
She needed someone she could come to without already knowing the answer would be no.
Hell, when I was growing up and my parents or school pissed me off, I had brothers to vent to. Someone to stand beside me.
Khloe was an only child too, so making her understand that would never happen.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
I pulled it out and glanced at the reminder Kemi had sent. There were two weeks left in the month and every day was packed tight.
It was all intentional since I was slowing down from work.
I just hadn’t told Khloe because I honestly wanted it to be a surprise when she’d notice that I was home for days at a time. I slid the phone back into my pocket and took another bite of food, choosing to keep that part to myself.
Kennedi came back into the kitchen a few minutes later, halfway through a bag of chips. Her phone was pressed to her ear while she laughed so loud and carefree. When she noticed her mom standing there, she paused mid-chew.
“Hold on,” she said into the phone. “I’ll call you back.”
She hung up without waiting for a response.
I laughed under my breath and Khloe rolled her eyes so hard. She hated being on the phone around her mom since she asked so many damn questions.
Kennedi walked over to the counter, still digging through the snack cabinet. Then she looked at me.
“Daddy,” she said softly, “you heard anything else about Big Papa?”
I set my fork down and pulled her into me while she melted into my chest.
“No change yet,” I said, rubbing her back. “He’s still in ICU. Stable, though.”
She nodded against me. She was the oldest grandchild and great grandchild, so she was pretty close to everyone.
“We can go see him tomorrow if you want,” I added. “Before I head out for my work trip.”
I felt Khloe’s eyes before I heard her voice.
“Work trip?” she asked with one brow lifted.
She was just smiling at us a second ago looking at Kennedi and I bond, and it was like the word ‘work’ had flipped a switch.
“Baby, it’s on the calendar,” I said, pointing toward the expensive digital display mounted on the wall. The one I bought specifically so she could see my schedule without having to ask. “I put it on there weeks ago.”
She looked at the calendar then back at me. It was obvious she hadn’t seen it or maybe she had and didn’t care enough to remember. Either way, the look on her face wasn’t too pleased.
I opened my arms anyway.
“Come here Khlo.”
She hesitated. I could see her pride fighting with her need to be close, but then she stepped into the hug, sliding under my arm while Kennedi stayed tucked on the other side.
I kissed both of them on the forehead, breathing them in.
Khloe pulled back first. “So both of y’all just gon’ leave me in this house by myself tomorrow?” she asked.
I laughed. “It’s just one night. I’ll be back around noon on Saturday. I was planning to take you on a dinner date.”
She smiled like that was the perfect compromise. Then I added, “Or… you could come with me.”
She laughed. “To sit through all those boring meetings? Absolutely not.”
Kennedi smacked her lips and looked at me like she was letting me in on a secret.
“She just wants to stay close so she can be FBI and stalk me.”
Kennedi laughed when she said it, but I caught the seriousness underneath.
Khloe rolled her eyes but never denied it, so I smiled, shaking my head.
Yeah. There was definitely some truth in that.