Page 86 of Senior

“I’m not done!”

Deuce motioned for her to continue.

“I appreciated his restraint, because if he didn’t have it, I probably wouldn’t have either.”

I smirked to myself, remembering her tell me that in the maze before she kissed me.

“I love your father, Deuce. I’ve never stopped loving him, I just had to learn when I could give him all my love without fear. I didn’t settle for this man. I wasn’t manipulated or any other nonsense. I love him and want to be with him. I want to see if we can finally get this shit right and I wanna do that without fighting with you about it. This is my life and I want to spend whatever time I have left on this earth being happy. You don’t get to crucify me for that, Stanley.”

Deuce raised his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry, Ma. I just wanted to protect you and your heart. I love you, woman. I don’t care who it’s against, I’ll always protect my mama.”

She stared at him, her lip trembling. Not speaking to him impacted her more than she wanted to admit. Deuce stepped closer to her and reached for her hands, but she slapped them away.

“Ma,” he said, taking them anyway. “I’m sorry. You do deserve to be happy.” He looked at me. “Both of you. If that happens to be with each other, I just have to get used to it. Honestly, I don’t think the old man would make it if you left him again.”

“Shut up, Stanley,” I said.

He chuckled, then turned to his mother again.

“Can you forgive me, Ma?” he asked. “I’ll never disrespect you like that again. Can you give me some love, please? I haven’t hugged you in a minute and I don’t like that shit.”

He tried to pull her into his arms. She was reluctant at first, but she finally went. He hugged her tightly, lightly kissing the top of her head. I had to shake my own head. He was protective, but more than that, he was a big ass mama’s boy. He loved to be babied by her, just like the rest of my boys loved to be babied by their mamas.

I prayed that this was the end of the rift between them. If it went on any longer, I feared I really would have to kick my son’s ass.

With all the drama finally behind us, we were able to move forward with dinner on a positive note. When Deuce walked into that living room, part of me wanted to choke slam him while the other just wanted to hug my baby. I spoke to my son every day and saw him three to four times a week when he wasn’t on a mission.

We’d never been on the outs, even when he was a teenager and thought he knew every damn thing. I always reminded him that I wasn’t one of his little friends, but the truth was he was definitely one of my best friends. Make no mistake, I was his mother first, but we did have a friendship too.

Dinner was over and we were eating dessert. I’d made the kids’ favorite, double fudge brownies with a side of homemade vanilla ice cream. They were busy tearing it up while the adults made conversation. Karen, Salima’s mom, had joined us not long after they got here.

Salima stood from the table and tapped her spoon against her bowl.

“Can I have everyone’s attention?” she said, causing us to quiet down. “I um… I wanted to wait until everything was peaceful before I made this announcement.” She smiled as she looked around the table. “I’m not gonna beat around the bush with it so here goes.” She reached in her back pocket and pulled something out. When she released it, a row of ultrasound pictures fell open. “I’m pregnant.”

Both her mother and I gasped. Senior grinned, and Deuce’s eyes widened.

“You’re having a baby!” Darlyn exclaimed.

Salima nodded. “I’m having a baby.”

“I’m gonna be a big brother?” Liam asked.

She smiled as she stroked his hair. “You are, Bubby.” She turned to Deuce and his hands instantly went to her belly.

“We’re having a baby?”

“Yes, Deucy.”

“When did you stop taking your birth control?”

“A few months ago when you told me you were ready for another baby. If I calculated correctly, it happened around that same time.”

He stood to his feet and cupped her face. “Thank you, Salima.” He kissed her lips several times. “Thank you, baby.”

Dropping back down in his seat, he kissed her belly. He mentioned to me a while ago how he wanted one more baby. It was clear how much he loved and respected his wife because he was ready for another right after Liam was born. Salima said she wanted to wait a while so she could focus on the kids they had and expanding her business.

She did just that and now we were getting a baby!