Chapter 25
Rohan made a left as four of the girls in the backseat sang along to the song on the radio.
He glanced in the rearview mirror to find Kodi scrolling on her phone and Landon drawing.
The eight of them were going to look for decorations and costumes for Mikal’s birthday party in a few weeks.
Jalen had asked him a few days ago if he would bring Alynn with them when they went, so she could get a costume as well.
They’d taken Jalen’s vehicle so they would all fit.
They had a pretty full agenda for the day and were heading to the party store first to see if they could find some decorations.
He glanced over at Jalen, who was looking out of the window.
She’d ended up working a double yesterday to cover for someone, and he was sure she was more than likely still tired.
Rohan wasn’t opposed to them doing it on Sunday instead, but Jalen stated she wanted to study on Sunday for a test she had on Monday.
Reaching over, he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, placing a soft kiss against it. She turned to him, giving him a smile before turning around as Omari called her name.
“If we have time, can we go to the park after errands?”
“We’ll see, okay?” Jalen responded, smiling at the six-year-old before turning back around.
They pulled up at the party store ten minutes later and all filed out of the vehicle. Once inside, Jalen grabbed a cart, and Rohan looked around for the comic book and superhero section, pointing it out.
Mikal bounced between the different decorations, looking at them, while the twins, who were far from interested in the comic book items, asked if they could go look at Moana things.
Kodi agreed to take them for a few minutes, and the three of them headed off in that direction.
Alynn and Landon stayed to help Mikal with decorations.
“Remember that we’re going to be outside and the wind is more than likely going to be blowing. We don’t want things that are going to fly away easily,” Jalen informed them.
“Okay,” the three girls answered almost in unison.
“Mikal, are there specific colors you want?” Rohan questioned.
“I want a Marvel theme, but I don’t have just a color,” she replied.
He looked around for balloon weights in Avenger colors since he knew Mikal liked them.
He found several weights and balloons and took them back to show Mikal, who bounced in excitement because she didn’t know they had balloons with all the Avengers on them.
He placed them in the cart before walking up behind Jalen, placing his hands on her waist.
“How much sleep did you get last night?” Rohan inquired.
“This morning,” Jalen corrected. “I ended up staying two hours over because someone was running late.”
“Babe, why didn’t you say anything? We could have done this later in the day, so you could have gotten more sleep.”
Jalen leaned her head back against his chest, shaking it. “She was excited about decoration and costume shopping, and I’m fine. I’ll likely go to bed early tonight. Besides, I didn’t want to mess up any other plans you may have had.”
Rohan bit the inside of his jaw, looking at the three going through the racks. He told them he and Jalen would be back in a minute, and not to wander too far. He pulled Jalen away a bit, but he could still monitor them.
“You wouldn’t have messed up any plans I had. I can always rearrange things so that times work better for you.”
“That’s unfair to you. I can’t just expect you to do that, and I don’t. Missing a little sleep isn’t going to kill me.”
“And how often do you miss a little sleep?” he asked with a raised eyebrow, knowing that it was far more than it should be.
“Now and then.”
“Sure,” he responded.
Jalen bit her bottom lip. “Are you mad at me?”
“Of course not, baby. I just know that going to school, working full time, and being a full-time parent is hard. So, rest is needed. Even if that means you need to talk to me less, spend less time with me.”
“I don’t want to do that. I don’t want you to feel as though I’m not putting as much into this relationship as you are.”
“We’ve had this conversation before. I won’t get upset if that happens, because you’re taking care of yourself. I will be upset when you neglect yourself.”
“I’m trying. It isn’t my biggest priority,” she told him.
“Make it one,” he replied.
“Is everything okay?”
Rohan turned his attention to Kodi as she approached with the twins holding either of her hands. “Yeah, we’re fine,” he responded as he went back to where the other three were.
He hadn’t lied to her when he said he wasn’t mad at her, because he understood how much she did, how much she took on. He just worried when she didn’t get enough rest or take any time for herself.
Once they’d gotten all the decorations Mikal had chosen, they went to the costume store on the other side of town. The ride was again filled with the youngest four singing.
They pulled into the parking lot, and once inside, Mikal immediately headed over to the section they needed. She started going through the racks looking for the costume she wanted. Rohan wasn’t sure who she wanted to be, but knew she had someone in mind with the way she was looking.
“I am Groot!” Nathan exclaimed, and Rohan turned to find her holding the costume in her hand. He chuckled as she hopped up and down, waving the costume.
“You can be Groot,” Jalen told her with a smile.
“Then I want to be Spider-Girl,” Omari called.
“I found it!” Mikal announced, pulling the costume from the rack and holding it up.
He was surprised that she’d chosen to be Hellcat, as she was a hero before Mikal’s time.
Though he noticed she read the older comics too.
He was even more surprised that the store had the costume.
“Kodi, will you add some red afro-puffs on my birthday to go with the costume?”
“You aren’t going to wear the mask?” Kodi asked, and Mikal shook her head. “Okay, I’ll do your hair like that.”
“Alynn, do you know who you want to be?” Jalen asked, and Rohan turned to his niece, who was leafing through the costumes.
“Invisible Woman, but I can’t find it in my size,” she responded with a pout.
“Let’s go see if they have some in the back,” Jalen replied, holding her hand out to Alynn.
“I’ll choose your costume for you while you’re gone,” Mikal told her, looking through the racks, and Jalen threw an okay over her shoulder.
“Rohan,” Nathan called, getting his attention. “Who are you going to be?”
“That’s a good question. You want to help me look?” Nathan nodded happily.
“Oh, me too!” Omari exclaimed. “I’m good at helping with things.”
“Then I’m sure I’ll have a great costume.”
Both girls grabbed one of his hands and led him over to another rack, and the three of them looked through it. He honestly hadn’t thought about who he would dress up as, so he had no problem with their choosing for him.
Several minutes later, Jalen came back with a smiling Alynn, who held an Invisible Woman costume in her hand. The twins were still looking for his costume.
“Jae, I found the perfect costume for you. You can go as Storm,” Mikal told her.
She then turned to Rohan. “Which means you should go as Wolverine. Yes, I know they weren’t a thing.
At least, if they were, I haven’t gotten to it.
I’m not super far into the series yet, but I think they would have been great together.
It’ll be kind of chilly, but you both can wear the official X-Men costume. ”
“Yep!” Omari agreed.
“That’ll be good!” Nathan nodded along, but he was sure neither of them really understood.
“Now for Kodi and Landon,” Mikal stated, tapping her chin.
“Don’t worry about it,” Kodi told her. “I’m going as Gamora.”
“Black Panther minus the mask,” Landon informed her.
“Okay, everyone who still needs costumes, grab them, and make sure they’re the right sizes. Then we can go get some lunch,” Jalen said.
They’d had lunch and were currently at the park. They’d been there for a little over half an hour. The younger girls had talked Jalen into going, even though it was chilly out. She’d agreed under the condition that they all understood they would stay an hour, an hour and a half tops.
Rohan had just finished pushing the youngest four on the merry-go-round, and they were now bounding over to the slide, as he went to the table Jalen was seated on top of. Kodi had walked off somewhere to talk on the phone, and Landon was sitting on top of the dome, drawing.
“Are you okay, baby?” he asked as he sat on top of the table, turning towards her.
“I am,” she replied with a smile.
“We can leave if you want to.”
“Did the girls wear you out already?” she teased.
He poked her in the side, causing her to giggle. The wind picked up, and Jalen shrank into herself slightly.
Shrugging out of his jacket, Rohan placed it over her shoulders. He held on to one side while she pushed her arms through it. She was wearing a sweater, but he knew that with the wind now picking up, she might be chilly.
They sat watching the girls take turns on the slide before they called Jalen over, asking her to push them on the swings. Rohan watched her go over, propping his arms on his legs.
He watched her as she pushed Nathan on the swing, as the little girl giggled at how high she was going.
The sun was shining on Jalen’s cocoa skin while she smiled at the six-year-old, and he couldn’t help but be captivated.
Hell, everything about her had captivated him since the moment he’d seen her.
He felt a presence approaching and looked over at Kodi.
The teenager took a seat beside him, and the two were quiet for a moment until she broke the silence.
“You love my sister. Don’t you?”
Rohan would admit that he was a little taken aback by the question.
In the time that he and Jalen had been dating, he would admit that he cared deeply for her.
He’d never put a word to it, hadn’t had a need to because he knew what he felt, and when they were both ready for what the next emotional step entailed, he was ready for it.
But he was never one to lie. So, he answered her honestly.
“I believe you’re right, Kodi.”
She nodded at him. “That’s good and all, but I need you to understand something.
She’s the only mother figure that the twins have ever had.
We all need her. Which means you don’t need to make it hard on her when she can’t spend time with you because she is taking care of them.
I’m not saying you’re going to, but the one time she really tried to date, when she first started taking care of us, it went that way.
You’re a nice guy, Rohan. Jalen enjoys spending time with you, and my sisters like you. ”
“What about you?” he asked her. “Do you like me?”
She pulled her knees up to her chest and laid her cheek on them, looking at him. “I do. So, don’t make her choose, because you’ll lose...okay?”
Rohan nodded at the teenager before smiling and bumping her lightly.
He could respect the fact that she was looking out for her sister.
Looking out for all of them, really, but he knew he would never ask her to choose.
He would accommodate as any real man should.
He was, however, confused about where this had come from.
“What brought this on?” he asked.
“I heard you telling her she needed to make your relationship a priority. Which she does, by the way,” Kodi responded.
He couldn’t help but chuckle. Realizing that she had caught the tail end of their conversation earlier, and had guessed what they were talking about. He could see how it could have sounded that way when the rest of the conversation wasn’t heard.
“That wasn’t what I was telling her to prioritize.”
“It...it wasn’t?” Kodi questioned in confusion.
Rohan shook his head. “I was telling her to prioritize herself. Even if that meant she had less time for us.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I completely misunderstood.”
“Don’t worry about it. I get you want what’s best for all of your sisters. I do too.”
“I believe you.”
He nodded. “Now, let’s go see if we can out-push your sister.”
They got off the table and went to the swings. They spent the rest of the time at the park playing with the youngest four.