Chapter 18
I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
With Nayelli meeting her father’s side of the family, I felt like we were making progress.
I walked into the house half expecting to fight or get jumped, but it was surprisingly okay.
His sisters-in-law were so nice. I didn’t owe them an explanation, but they heard me out with no judgment.
I felt like Romi was the person who understood me most.
She shared her story of an abusive ex and how he caused her to go into labor early. My heart went out to her. I couldn’t imagine not leaving the hospital with my baby. Seeing your child fighting for their life is a different kind of pain.
A week had passed since the big meeting, and Nayelli was still talking about it.
She couldn’t believe that her uncles and grandfather had given her thousands of dollars in back birthday and Christmas money.
Since she spent Sunday night with her father, on Monday, they gathered all the kids and took them to the toy store.
She’d FaceTimed me to show me all her new things and tell me how much fun she had.
Then she asked if she could spend the night again.
Kerrion promised to get her to school in time, so I went to drop off her book bag.
When I got there, Nayelli was at her grandfather’s with her cousins, leaving Kerrion and me alone.
It felt weird being alone with him after the embrace we shared in his grandmother’s house.
I felt a spark between us, and I wasn’t sure if he felt it too.
The only thing I could describe the feeling as was .
. . home. Kerrion used to make me feel like I had everything I needed when I was in his arms.
I missed the man I was once in love with, but learning these new things about him made me feel like maybe I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did.
I was sure I would learn this new version as we navigated parenthood together.
This could be a dangerous game. What if I fell in love with him all over again?
What if he never felt the same? Could we have something, or was I just wishfully thinking? Only time would tell.
It was Thursday, and Nayelli had a parent teacher conference to discuss her progress since starting the school year.
We pulled up to the school around 5:45, since our timeslot was at six.
Kerrion came rolling into the parking lot and parked right beside us.
Hopping out of his truck, he stepped around back to grab KJ.
“Sup?” he asked, pulling me into a warm hug.
“Hey. Hey, cutie pie,” I said, pinching KJ’s cheek.
He gave me a smile and whispered his “Hey” in response.
Kerrion kissed Nayelli’s cheek. “Baby girl.”
“Hey, Daddy. Hey, KJ!”
She reached for her brother, and he happily went to her. I loved how good she was with him, and he seemed to love her just as much as she loved him. Whenever he saw her, his face lit up.
“I missed you, little brother.”
“Dang, Daddy can’t get no love?” Kerrion asked, pretending to be offended.
Nayelli giggled. “Of course I missed you, Daddy.”
“I missed you too, baby. How about we grab something to eat after this?” He turned to me. “You’re welcome to come.”
I smiled. “I could eat.”
“Think about where you want to go, Nayelli.”
“Okay.”
We headed into the school, and the first person we saw was Principal Joe. He swallowed hard and forced a smile as he greeted us.
“Nayelli. Ms. Malone. Mr. D-Dillinger.”
Kerrion smirked. “I see we haven’t been having any problems.”
“N-no, sir. No problems at all.”
“Let’s make sure it stays that way.”
Principal Joe nodded and turned to go back into the front office, damn near running into the door in the process.
I stifled a laugh. “You have that man shook.”
“I can promise you he’d shit himself if I had to come back up here.”
We headed down the hall to Nayelli’s classroom and waited outside until the current parents and child left. Her teacher greeted us with a smile.
“Good evening! Come right on in.”
She ushered us into the classroom, and we took a seat in the chairs provided. The classroom smelled faintly of crayons and pencil shavings, the walls bright with student artwork and themed decorations.
Mrs. Palmer greeted us warmly. “Thank you both for coming. And thank you, Nayelli. I’m glad you’re here too. Nayelli is such a bright, wonderful student. She’s a joy to have in my class.”
I smiled as I playfully bumped my girl’s shoulder. “I’m happy to hear that.”
She pulled out a folder and slid it in front of us.
“Grade wise, she’s doing excellent. She’s one of my top-performing students, and she’ll certainly be on the honor roll this quarter.
Most kids who start a new school find it a difficult transition, but Nayelli, .
. . she’s special. She came in and completely dominated the curriculum. ”
Kerrion smiled. “That’s my baby.” He turned to face Mrs. Palmer. “Any problems?”
“As far as behavior, no. I see she’s made a friend with another student. I’m so happy to see her coming out of her shell.”
“Jaiden isn’t just my friend,” Nayelli told her. “He’s my little uncle.”
Mrs. Palmer looked surprised. “Oh?”
“He’s my little brother,” Kerrion explained.
“You know what, now I see the resemblance. Jaiden is a joy. So smart, just a little talkative and loves that cape,” she added with a giggle.
Kerrion chuckled. “That’s him.”
“I saw your parents around five. I guess I can share the news with you both. Jaiden and Nayelli are both being considered for the gifted and talented program. That means, if they test well, they could both skip a grade to give them more challenging work.”
Nayelli gasped. “Really?”
Mrs. Palmer nodded. “Really. I love having you in my class, honey. While I would love to stay your teacher, there may be another teacher that can give you more than I can on the level you learn at.”
“But . . . would Jaiden be in the same class with me? I don’t wanna be away from him.”
Mrs. Palmer smiled. “If you move up, we could certainly see about keeping you together to make the transition easier.” She looked to me and Kerrion. “I’ll have more details for you soon about the program and the process.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m so proud of you, baby,” I said, pinching Nayelli’s cheeks. “I know you’re going to do great things.”
“Damn right she will,” Kerrion added. “My bad. I’m just excited and so proud of her.”
Mrs. Palmer laughed. “It’s okay. I’ve heard worse language during these meetings.”
“I have to tell Auntie Jaeda and Uncle Quaid,” Nayelli said. “They are super smart, Mrs. Palmer. I wanna be as smart as them when I grow up.”
“I know you will be, honey. You have the power to be anything you want in life. Just work hard for it.”
“I will.”
We sat there for a few more minutes while Mrs. Palmer went over a couple more things. KJ started getting a little fussy, so she let us go, and we headed back out to the cars.
“I’m so proud of you, Nayelli,” Kerrion said.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“You thought about what you want to eat?”
“Burgers and wings. Oh, and fries and an ice cream sundae.”
“All that?”
“Yes!”
“Bet. I know a spot. Y’all can follow me.”
We dispersed into our cars and left the parking lot. I sent Dinah a text, letting her know we were having dinner with Kerrion, and she sent back the eyes emoji along with a text saying enjoy family time.
I rolled my eyes.
We were family in a sense, but we weren’t a family. That was a dream that died years ago. I’d just have to settle for being forever connected with him by our daughter.
We arrived at The Burger Joint ten minutes later.
It was a diner type of restaurant that I hadn’t been to before, but the food smelled amazing.
It was moderately packed, so we were seated pretty quickly.
After ordering our food and drinks, we sat comfortably while Nayelli told us about the upcoming science fair.
She didn’t want to do the typical project like a papier maché volcanos or plant projects.
She wanted to build a telescope. I could tell how excited she was about this.
At her old school, they never had science fairs.
One thing I could say about being here, education was taken very seriously.
Her school had all kinds of learning activities for these kids and always found a way to make sure they got their shine.
“I’m sure Uncle Quaid can help you with that,” Kerrion said. “Or Grandpa Hershel. He helped Jaiden build an oven last year.”
“I already drew it out. I wanna paint it pink.”
I chuckled. “Of course you do. Everything is pink with you.”
“I love pink. Daddy, can we paint my treehouse pink?”
“Whatever you want. You know they started building the deck this week. The floor is done. They just have to put up the railing.”
“I can’t wait to see it. Grandpa Stanley said he would help us paint because he’s bored at home.”
Kerrion shook his head. “We’ve gotta find Grandpa a hobby or a girlfriend.”
“Daddy, . . . you don’t want a girlfriend?”
I took a sip of my water as we waited for him to answer.
“I’m more focused on you and your brother. We have a lot of time to make up for, baby girl.”
“But aren’t you lonely?”
“Sometimes.”
Nayelli glanced over at me. “You know, . . . Mommy doesn’t have a boyfriend, and she gets lonely too.”
I almost choked on my water. “Nayelli!”
“What! I’m just saying. You won’t be lonely together.”
I shook my head. “Your father and I are focused on being parents and having a healthy coparent relationship, baby.”
“Well can’t you do that and be happy together so we can be a real family? I mean, I need my daddy, and KJ needs a mom.”
My gaze drifted over to Kerrion. He didn’t seem to know what to say to that. While I knew he and KJ’s mother weren’t a couple, I was sure she meant something to him.
I sighed. “Nayelli. I could never replace KJ’s mom. She held a special place in his and your father’s life.”