Chapter 31
Lyric adjusted the strap of her diaper bag while Cady grabbed one of the suitcases from baggage claim.
Between the luggage, strollers, car seats, and twins, traveling with babies was a lot more work than she ever imagined.
Throughout the entire trip, she found herself thanking God that her mother had agreed to come.
There was no way she could've managed everything alone.
After spending two hours on a plane with two five-month-olds, Lyric was happy to finally be on solid ground again.
As she stretched her arms above her head, trying to work the stiffness out of her body, her eyes landed on a short man dressed in a black-and-white suit holding a sign with her name on it.
"Ma, I think he here for us," she nudged Cady and said.
"Look like it," she replied as they approached him.
"Ms. Young?" The man smiled.
"That's me."
“Ma, I think he was talking to me,” Lyric giggled.
“Aw.”
"Welcome to Oklahoma, ladies!"
A few minutes later, he took their luggage and led them outside. Parked at the curb was a black SUV waiting for them. After securing the luggage and helping them load the twins into their car seats, the driver climbed behind the wheel and pulled away from the airport.
For the first few minutes, the conversation remained light. The driver asked about their flight and how the twins had handled traveling. Eventually, he glanced at them through the rearview mirror and asked.
"Have y'all ever been to Oklahoma before?"
"No," Lyric answered.
"Well, you're definitely headed to a beautiful place. Nichols Hills is one of the nicest areas around."
Just a week ago, Lyric was sitting at home trying to make sense of the conversation she and Zaire had. Now she was flying across the country with her mother and daughters to meet his family.
After discovering the matching crescent-shaped birthmarks, Zaire wasted no time. Within days, first-class plane tickets appeared in her email.
At first, Lyric refused, but then she thought about the twins and agreed.
"So y'all visiting family?" the driver asked.
"Something like that," Cady replied.
The conversation faded after that, leaving Lyric to stare out the window.
The farther they drove, the more she found herself comparing everything to Chicago.
The roads seemed wider, the traffic was lighter, and everything looked cleaner.
Even the houses were different. Back home, people lived on top of each other.
There, it felt like everybody had space.
For most of the ride, Lyric stayed lost in her thoughts, occasionally checking on the twins and responding to one of Cady's random comments.
Between the early flight, the nerves, and the uncertainty of what awaited them, her mind was everywhere except on the road.
The conversation around her faded into the background as she replayed the same thoughts over and over.
By the time the SUV rolled to a stop, she had barely noticed the drive had ended.
It wasn't until she heard the doors unlock that she realized they had arrived.
"Damn," she looked up and whispered.
The building in front of them looked more like a luxury hotel than a place somebody actually lived in. Glass covered most of the exterior, and expensive cars filled the parking area. A doorman stood near the entrance while people came and went, carrying shopping bags.
"Welcome home," the driver joked as he helped them out of the truck.
Lyric laughed nervously as she got the twins situated and climbed out. The driver led them through the lobby, and somehow, the inside was even nicer than the exterior.
"Lord," Cady muttered under her breath.
"I was just thinking the same thing."
A few minutes later, they stepped onto a private elevator that required a key card. The ride didn't last long, and when the doors finally opened, Lyric found herself staring at a set of double doors. But before she could knock, one of them swung open.
"Y'all made it," Zaire smiled.
Before anybody could say much else, he grabbed both car seats and carried them inside. A few seconds later, he came back for the luggage while Lyric and Cady followed behind him.
His condo was just as impressive as the building itself.
Between the high ceilings, oversized windows, and view stretching across the city, Lyric wasn't sure where to look first. She could hear voices coming from farther inside, but before she could wonder who was there, Zaire answered the question for her.
"Come on. Let me introduce y'all to my OG and my twin."
Following him into the living room, Lyric spotted two women kneeling beside the car seats.
"Oh my God, Zaire, they are beautiful," his sister said as she started unbuckling one of the twins.
"They look just like you, Zaria, when you were babies."
"Ma… This Lyric and her mom, Ms. Cady. Y'all, this my OG Dominique and my sister Zaria."
"It's nice to meet y'all."
The greetings came naturally as everyone exchanged hugs before Dominique's attention quickly returned to the twins.
"Oh my God, I am obsessed. Who is who?"
"This is Lyra, and that's Ariya."
"How can you tell them apart?" Dominique asked.
"Well, Lyra has one deep dimple, and Ariya doesn't."
"Oh my God, just like me and him," Zaria replied, pointing at Zaire.
The twins quickly became the center of attention. Dominique and Zaria sat on the floor playing with them, making faces and talking in baby voices while Lyra and Ariya soaked up every second of the attention.
At one point, Ariya shifted in Dominique's lap, causing the collar of her shirt to slide slightly.
"Oh my God, look at the birthmark," she said with a smile before going on.
"When Zaire first told us about it, I couldn't believe it, but seeing it on this baby's neck is crazy."
"What's crazy is the fact that all y’all got the same one,” Lyric laughed.
"Well, one thing is for sure, ain’t no need for no DNA test. Them my grandbabies for sure."