Vegarro “Vega” Moretti
Saint’s bakery, The Sainted Oven, smelled too damn good the second Sonnet and I walked in. She’d been craving sweets all day, and I’d heard Saint finally opened. I had to see this shit for myself before she and I headed to my parents’ house.
We had gotten word that morning that Lowe was finally getting released from the hospital, so we were all getting together to celebrate that.
Saint stood behind the counter in a black apron, looking prouder than I’d ever seen him. Zahra sat near the register with their baby boy in her arms.
Saint looked up. “About time you came through.”
I grinned as I looked around the spot. “You know I was coming to check this motherfucka out for myself. You wild for this.”
When my eyes finally returned to Saint and Zahra, I noticed them watching me hold Sonnet’s hand.
“This is my woman, Sonnet,” I told them.
Though Saint had heard of her and saw her at the hospital, she deserved an official introduction.
Saint came from behind the counter and hugged her. “Good to finally meet you.”
Zahra smiled. “I’m Zahra, and this is Czar.”
Sonnet’s attention went straight to the baby. “Oh my Gooood.”
Czar had round cheeks, wide brown eyes, and enough hair to make Sonnet softly run her fingers through it.
“He is so cute,” she cooed. “Can I hold him?”
“Of course.”
Zahra handed him over, and Sonnet adjusted him against her body, then smiled down at him with so much softness that I forgot where we were.
Knowing Sonnet was carrying our baby turned every future I’d never allowed myself to imagine into something I wanted with everything in me.
She wasn’t only the woman I loved. She was home, family, and the beginning of a life I’d protect until my last breath.
I couldn’t wait to watch her become a mother.
Saint clapped his hands. “Come on. Let me show y’all what we got.”
He led us toward the display cases while Sonnet carried Czar beside me.
“I got s’mores cupcakes, turtle cheesecake, peach cobbler cupcakes, carrot cake, taffy apple cake, banana pudding cake, and red velvet brownies.”
Sonnet’s eyes darted excitedly across the shelves. “I need all of it.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Saint said.
Zahra folded her arms. “Don’t encourage him.”
Saint looked back at her. “Why you hating?”
“I’m not hating. I’m irritated that you actually opened a bakery.”
“You knew I was opening it.”
“I thought it was another one of your temporary obsessions, but you decided you’re a pastry chef. How are you planning to run a drug empire, be a fucking killer, and own a bakery?
Saint didn’t even pause while cutting samples for us. “Time management.”
She stared at him.
“Don’t hate because I got layers, baby,” he added.
“You got issues. That’s what you got.”
Saint cut slices from several cakes and placed them on small plates. Then he set cupcakes, cheesecake, and brownies in front of us until the counter disappeared beneath desserts.
I took a bite of the turtle cheesecake and stopped chewing for a second.
Saint watched me eagerly. “What you think?”
I had to take a step back and smile. “This shit good.”
His face opened into a grin. “I told you!”
“Nah, this ain’t regular good.”
“I know, my half-nigga.”
Zahra shook her head, but pride was beneath her irritation.
Sonnet tried the peach cobbler cupcake while gently rocking Czar.
Her eyes closed for moment. “Saint.”
He smiled. “Yeah?”
“This should be illegal. This is really good.”
Czar made a small sound and grabbed at the neckline of her shirt.
She laughed and adjusted his hand. “You trying to take my clothes off already?”
I stepped closer and looked down at him. “Watch yourself, little man.”
Saint jokingly glared at him. “You threatening my son, bro?”
I shrugged. “He grabbing on my woman.”
Zahra reached for Czar. “Give me my child before Vega starts a beef with him.”
Sonnet handed him back, giggling.
I wrapped one arm around her waist.
“You ready for ours?” I whispered.
Her smile softened. “I’m getting there.”
I kissed the side of her head.
Saint slid a box toward us. “I packed one of everything.”
Zahra looked at the box. “You’re supposed to charge people.”
“They family.”
“You said that about the last six customers.”
“They was family too.”
“Saint, how will we ever make a profit if—”
He leaned over and kissed her before she could finish.
She pushed his face away, but her mouth curved into a smile.
I picked up the box while Sonnet grabbed another cupcake for the ride home. Watching her with Zahra made me want the day I could call her my wife to hurry up and get there.
Lowe still had months of physical therapy ahead of him and had to learn how to walk again, but he was out of the hospital. That was enough for Renee and Denise to turn the house into a full celebration.
When Sonnet and I walked in, the room was already loud with conversation. Renee, Denise, Marcus, Sal, Carla, Lux, Prodigy, and Wise were spread throughout the living and dining rooms. Lowe sat near the center of it all in his wheelchair.
Sonnet went straight to him.
“I’m glad you’re home,” she said, leaning down to hug him carefully.
“Me too. These people getting on my nerves already, though.”
Renee called from across the room, “So! And I’mma keep getting on your nerves!”
Lowe shook his head, but his smile gave him away.
Sonnet and I went around the room, hugging and greeting everyone. I watched her laugh with them while my hand kept finding her back or settling over her stomach. Nothing showed yet, but knowing our baby was there had me touching her every chance I got.
Wise noticed. He looked at my hand, then at me. “You got something to tell us?”
The room gradually quieted as everyone watched the guilty look on my face.
“Yeah, we do,” I said, taking Sonnet’s hand. “We’re having a baby.”
For half a second, nobody moved or said anything.
Then the room erupted. My mother screamed.
Denise covered her mouth before rushing toward Sonnet.
My father pulled me into a hug, then grabbed the back of my neck and told me how proud he was.
Marcus slapped my shoulder hard enough to push me forward a little.
“My first grandbaby,” my mother cooed, beaming.
Denise had already taken Sonnet’s hand. “How far along are you?”
“We don’t know exactly yet,” Sonnet answered.
“Don’t let him stress you out,” my mother warned, pointing at me.
“Ooo, we get to plan a baby shower,” Renee continued.
“It’s too early for that,” Sonnet said.
“It’s never too early to start planning,” Denise replied.
All three women talked over one another. Carla was already asking whether we’d started thinking about names. My mother and aunts had already claimed the pregnancy as family business. They discussed doctors, nursery furniture, and who would keep the baby when Sonnet returned to work.
She hadn’t agreed to any of it, but she also couldn’t stop smiling.
Then her eyes filled with tears.
I noticed before anybody else did. Everyone else was too busy in their own conversations to notice.
I pulled her against me. “You good?”
She nodded, but her breath trembled as she looked around the room. “I’ve never had people this excited about anything happening to me.”
My heart went out to her. Instantly, I felt protective, wanting to destroy anyone who had ever caused her pain, made her feel alone, or who didn't think she was worthy of being loved. She’d spent most of her life without anybody claiming her, while I’d grown up surrounded by people who treated every problem and victory as their own.
I held her closer. “They’re your family now too.”
She looked up at me. “That’s overwhelming.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “In the best way.”
She’d entered a complicated, intrusive, ruthless, deeply loyal family that had chosen her as completely as I had.
I smiled at the appreciative tear. “Give me your keys.”
She frowned, asking, “Why?”
“Just give them to me, baby.”
She took them from her purse and handed them to me, watching me curiously.
She watched me reach into my pocket and slide a new key onto the ring.
“What’s that?”
“A key to the house and proof that no door in my life will ever be locked against you again.”
I watched her chest start to rise and fall with emotion, and the tears in her eyes returned.
“You don’t have to keep proving I’m yours,” she told me.
“I’m proving I’m yours too.”
I handed the keys back to her. Then I gently grabbed the back of her head, brought her forehead to my lips and softly kissed it.
Before Sonnet, commitment had never interested me.
I’d dealt with women, enjoyed them, and kept moving without ever wondering what forever with one of them might look like.
Then Sonnet entered my life, and my heart instantly recognized her before I understood what I was feeling.
I wanted her close. I wanted her safe. Before long, I wanted every ordinary day that came after the chaos too.
She hadn’t only become the woman I loved. She had become the person I wanted beside me for life's ups and downs. I wanted the life that came after surviving everything—the years, the family, and every version of us we hadn’t met yet.
Looking at her, I finally wasn’t afraid of her being taken from me. I was looking forward to the future waiting ahead of us.
Sonnet had spent most of her life wondering whether anybody would choose her and keep choosing her. I planned to answer that question every day she gave me.