“I love you.”
“I love you.”
It had been four days since I’d been shot, and I was being released from the hospital. The surgery to remove the bullet fragments was performed three days ago, and it went well. Next week, I’d start rehab and would hopefully be as good as new in a few months.
My mother was ecstatic when Noelani and I told her we were having a baby, and I was convinced it was the only reason she was speaking to me. Her energy toward me was off until she found out she would soon be a grandmother.
Noelani had just arrived to pick me up from the hospital, and we were waiting for my discharge papers. I sat on the edge of the bed, and she stood in front of me between my legs. While we kissed, my free hand caressed the baby bump that was barely there.
“Any more morning sickness?” I asked when we disconnected.
“It’s actually any-time-of-day sickness, and I’ve noticed it’s never bad when I’m with you.”
I smiled and lifted her shirt to expose her belly. “You like being around Daddy?”
“It definitely seems that way. I don’t feel sick at all around you.”
“That’s because?—”
“My bad, Nephew. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I wanted to catch you before you were discharged.”
“It’s cool, Unc. Wassup?”
“I want you to know, I spoke to your mother about this, and we made the decision together.”
“What decision?”
He turned and pulled the door open, and two very familiar faces entered. One of them, I’d recently seen from afar, and the other was like looking in a mirror.
“Rocky? Russ—Oh my God.” Noelani looked back and forth between me and Russell. “Y’all could actually be twins.”
Noelani’s words seemed to run together as I stared into the faces of my father’s sons.
“Why the fuck did you bring them here?” I spat.
“Because it was time,” Uncle David said.
“They can go right back to pretending I don’t exist like they’ve been doing for the past twenty-eight years.”
“Hold up. We ain’t know shit about you until your uncle showed up at the center this morning,” Rocky said.
“Bullshit. Owen told me?—”
“We don’t care what that nigga told you. We didn’t know you existed until an hour ago,” Russell refuted.
“I can attest to their surprise when I told them,” my uncle affirmed. “They insisted on seeing you for themselves.”
“You’re twenty-eight?” Rocky asked.
“I’ll be twenty-nine next Friday.”
He exchanged a quick glance with Russell. “You’re a year younger than Roman. He’s our?—”
“I know who he is, and I’m sorry for your loss,” I told him.
“How long have you known about us?” Russell asked.
“My entire life, but he told me y’all wanted nothing to do with me because I was the product of an affair.”
