Chapter 25 - Steel
Watching Neha with KJ had a nigga feeling all warm and shit.
My lil’ nigga was just smiling and shit as she talked to him while we floated around the lazy river. KJ was fascinated with the sights. He clung to Neha as his little head searched from side to side.
“He’s a curious little guy,” she said, nuzzling his cheek.
“He’s nosy as hell. Don’t let me have my phone. He’s right in my screen like he can read.”
“He’s precious.”
KJ’s bright eyes found hers, and he touched her face again. I didn’t know what he was telling her, but he was telling it all.
“His little babbles are the cutest thing,” she said, bouncing him. “Whatchu talking about, dude? I loved when Nayelli started talking. Every time she said a new word, I swear I cried.”
Hearing that stung a little, but I shook it off.
“Between Ms. Rachel, me, his grandparents, and his aunt, he’s gonna get it. Jaeda and Quaid have been teaching him sign language, though.”
“That’s adorable. Has he caught on to it?”
“He knows milk, eat, and more. As you can see, he lives up to his name. Right, Fat Man?” I poked KJ’s stomach, causing him to giggle. “He’s gonna take after me and Smoke’s big ass.”
Neha turned him around so he could see everything. He rested his fat self against her, kicking his feet like the happy little guy he was.
“He really likes you,” I noted. “I don’t have him around too many people that aren’t family, but I’ve never seen him be this friendly.”
Neha grinned. “Babies love me. Babies and dogs. I don’t know what it is.”
I smirked. “He likes laying up on them titties. Like father, like son.”
She playfully slapped my arm. “Shut up.”
“For real, though. Look at him. Lil’ man is chilling without a care in the world.”
And he was. As we floated around the river, he was acting like this was a five-star vacation after working seven days a week for months.
“I like him too,” she admitted.
“I guess it’s a plus he’s comfortable with you, since you’ll be around.”
“To let you tell it, we are just friends. Maybe a little more.”
She giggled. “The more was what we did the other day. Friends don’t fold me up the way you did, and they don’t bite friends’ asses.”
I laughed. “Listen. There are things I’ve witnessed Salima and Shar do that I didn’t think women did with their friends. I don’t put anything past y’all. Besides, we ain’t the same kind of friends they are. And for the record, you’re wearing the fuck out of that bathing suit.”
She blushed. “Thank you.”
When I took that sarong off her, it took everything in me not to have her spread eagle and bury my face between those thick ass thighs.
She wore a leopard print swimsuit. The top was a halter style and had the peekaboo opening in the middle, showing off a sliver of her breasts.
The high waist bikini bottoms accentuated her hips and ass.
It didn’t help that they weren’t full coverage in the back.
Her semi exposed cheeks were taunting me, and that was why I bit them.
“Hey, Daddy!” Nayelli said excitedly as she and Jaiden made their way into the river with their tubes. An older couple, I assumed her parents, waited nearby while they caught up to us, before leaving.
“Hey, lil’ bit.” She jumped to hug me as she neared me. “How are you? You weren’t around when I pulled up.”
“I’m good. Jaiden almost lost his glasses in the funhouse when the big bucket tipped over.”
I mushed Jaiden’s head. “I told you to put the straps on those things. You know you’re just as blind as your sister and uncle.”
Jaiden frowned. “I’m not blind. I just can’t see that good.”
“Same difference.”
He splashed water on me, then rushed to grab a double tube for him and Nayelli.
They forgot all about us as they hopped on and floated around ahead of us.
Neha had her phone in a waterproof pouch, so she snapped several pictures of us and the kids.
They were having the time of their lives, and it was good to see them so happy.
It wasn’t long before the kids were complaining about being hungry. We got out of the lazy river and made our way back to our area. In true Emelie fashion, she’d made friends with Dinah and Nayelli’s parents. They were all chilling by the kiddie pool, chopping it up and playing with her.
“I see y’all got to meet,” I said.
Pops nodded. “We did.”
“Mom, Daddy, this is Kerrion and his son, KJ,” Neha said, introducing us.
Her parents offered us a warm smile, and her mother stood to hug me.
“It’s nice to finally put a face to a name. We used to hear so much about you.”
“Same. I felt like I knew y’all back then. It’s crazy we never met each other’s parents.”
Her dad chuckled. “Neha went off to school and forgot her way home at times.”
Neha rolled her eyes. “I was living the life, Daddy.”
Pops laughed. “My boys were the same way. Now, my oldest daughter was home every weekend.”
“’Cause Jaeda ain’t have no friends, Pop,” I jested.
“Leave my baby alone. She didn’t need any friends when she had me.”
Mrs. Malone smiled. “You close with all your kids?”
“I am. They drive me crazy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“This little cutie your youngest?” she asked, pinching Emmy’s cheek.
Pops grinned. “Oh, no. I’m her godfather. I had nothing to do with conception. She’s Kerrion’s baby sister on his mom’s side.”
“Oh! Well, isn’t that something.”
“It’s ghetto,” I said. “My son will be in school with his auntie. My daughter is already in school with her uncle.”
We all shared a laugh as my phone chimed with a text. It was Ms. Anita, letting me know that she was coming through the gate. I looked around until I spotted her and waved her over. She approached the group with a warm smile.
“Hey, Ms. Anita,” I said, hugging her. “You know most everybody else, but Mr. and Mrs. Malone, Dinah, this is KJ’s grandmother. Ms. Anita, these are Neha’s parents and her sister.”
The Malones gave a cheerful greeting.
“Nice to meet you all,” Ms. Anita said with an awkward smile. “I hope I’m not intruding.”
“Nonsense,” Mrs. Malone said. “The more the merrier. We were just about to grab the kids some food.”
Ms. Anita looked at KJ, who was comfortably resting in Neha’s arms like he had been.
“Hi, baby!” she cooed, trying to take him.
KJ started whining and held on to Neha tighter.
“Awww, KJ, don’t be like that. Come to Grandma.”
She tried to take him again, and this time, he screamed. Neha gently bounced him and rubbed his back.
“He might be a little cranky from all the sun,” she offered.
Ms. Anita’s jaw flinched. “I see.”
“Why don’t we get something to eat first?” I suggested. “He’s always in a better mood after he eats.”
Ms. Anita didn’t say anything, just nodded.
Absentmindedly, I grabbed Neha’s hand as we all started walking over to food stands located in the park.
The prices were outrageous for the portion size, but we made do by ordering extras.
KJ refused to leave Neha. He sat comfortably on her lap, trying to steal food from her plate and smacking his gums when she gave him a taste of anything.
“He really likes you,” Mrs. Malone said to her daughter with a smile.
Neha grinned and kissed Fat Man’s cheeks. “This is my little friend.”
“You’re around him often?” Ms. Anita asked.
“Well, he’s typically around when Kerrion visits with Nayelli, so yes.”
“So you two are officially a thing?”
Neha looked to me, and I nodded.
“We’re working toward it,” I answered.
“Forgive me. I’m just trying to understand—” She paused as she looked from me to Neha. “Never mind. It’s not my business.”
“Ms. Anita, I really would like it if you two could get to know each other.”
She looked at me like I was crazy, then looked at Neha. Her expression said she had no intention of getting to know her at all.
“Can I speak to you privately?” she asked me.
I sighed heavily as I stood from the table. Ms. Anita walked out of earshot and stood with her arms folded. When I got closer to her, I could see angry tears in her eyes.
“What are you doing?” she asked me.
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“My daughter hasn’t been dead a year, and you are already trying to replace her.”
“Ms. Anita—”
“She looks like her, Kerrion! Like she could be her twin. How do you think that makes me feel?”
“I met Neha before I even knew Donna existed—”
“So is that why you chose her? Because she looks like someone from your past? What, you thought you were getting a do-over?”
“Ms. Anita, . . . I cared about Donna. I loved her as the mother of my child and my best friend. Me moving on has nothing to do with replacing her because we were never in a relationship for me to replace her. Neha is the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We have a second chance, and I’m not gonna miss out on that because I’m trying to spare yours or anybody’s feelings.
“Do I miss Donna? Yes, I do. I wish every day that my son had his mother. I wish she was here to see him grow up and witness all his firsts, but she’s not.
Do you know what your daughter told me? She wanted me to be with someone who would love KJ the way that she would.
That was in life and in death. Neha isn’t here to replace his mother.
She’s the mother of my child, too, and I know she’ll be good to him.
You don’t have anything to worry about, Ms. Anita. ”
She laughed. “You’re carrying on a relationship with a woman that kept your child from you, from what I gathered. A woman that looks a hell of a lot like my daughter. It’s weird that you would even be with Donna, given the resemblance. You . . . you used her.”
“No, I didn’t. I stand ten toes down on the fact that I loved Donna, and I still love her. She was my best friend, and she gave me my son. She’ll always have my love and respect.”
She shook her head as she backed away from me.
“This is too much. This is all too much for me right now.”
“And I get that. I’m gonna say this as respectfully as I can.
I respect your grief, but you have been in and out of my son’s life since he took his first breath.
If you’re gonna be around, you have to be consistent.
KJ deserves more than a part-time grandparent.
If you can’t commit to that, then maybe we need some space. ”
“Are you saying that I can’t see him?”
“I would never say that. You are the closest thing he has to his mother, and he needs you. What I am saying is we are still here. Life is still moving and happening for us. We still have a piece of her here. Time didn’t stop because we lost Donna.”
“Say that to me when you’ve lost a child, . . . when you’ve had to bury the child you carried and nurtured. Pray that you never have to know this pain.”
She walked away from me toward the exit of the water park. I wanted to go after her, but there was really nothing I could say to make this better for or make her understand where I was coming from. She felt a pain I never knew and prayed I wouldn’t.