There was a brief moment of silence before my mother looked back up at me. “As much as I hate to say it, you’re making the right decision. We don’t need you going to jail too.”
“Yeah, we definitely don’t need that. Dakota needs me, and I need her.”
“So true,” she replied with a nod. “Well, I guess I’ll get out of your hair. Make sure to bring my baby over to the house at one o’clock sharp. I want to grab some lunch before we head out for the day.”
“Will do,” I said as I walked my mother to the door.
“Love you.”
“Love you too.” Hugging her, I planted a soft kiss on her cheek and closed the door behind her.
As usual, my mother had put a lot on my mind.
“So, you’re thinking about moving back?”
“Oh, damn.” I spun around to see Nova standing in the middle of the kitchen floor.
Great…this is exactly what I don’t need.
4
Nova
Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping on the conversation between Don and his mom. But when I finally woke up and decided to go check on him, I walked in on his mother questioning him about his possible return. All of which was news to me, and seeing as we talked about everything, I was feeling some type of way.
Still standing in the kitchen, I eyed him while waiting for his response to my question.
“So, are you going to give me an answer? Or are you just going to continue looking at me like I’m crazy?”
“My bad,” he said, a smirk appearing on his face. “I just got caught up in how fine you look this morning.”
Tightening the knot that my braids were in, I shook my head. “Nope, what you’re not going to do is sweet talk your way out of giving me an answer. What’s going on? I heard your mother mention something about not needing you to go to jail too. Who else is in jail?”
“Damn, how much did you hear?”
“A lot. Now, tell me what’s up.”
“Honestly, it’s a long story that I don’t have time to get into at the moment.”
“Why is that?”
He motioned his head towards the back as tiny feet trampled across the hardwood floor. “Morning Daddy,” Dakota yelled, her frizzy afro blowing in the wind behind her.
She leaped into his arms and playfully pulled his face towards hers, allowing him access to her little brown cheeks. Knowing his cue, he sprinkled them with kisses and said, “Good morning, peanut. Did you sleep good?”
“I slept great. I love my new unicorn bed.”
“Good. G-Ma went all out to find that for you. She’s going to be excited to know that you love it. I’m sure you’ll tell her all about it while at the aquarium, huh?”
Nodding, she said, “Mmhmm, I will.”
The smile on her face was so big. She was so cute that I just wanted to pinch her little cheeks, but I didn’t. Instead, I gave her a gentle kiss. “Hey, gorgeous.”
“Hey, Titi Nova. Are you going to the aquarium too?”
“I’m sorry, munchkin, I can’t make it this time. Maybe next time.”
“Aw, man.”
