“Surprisingly, it doesn’t look bad,” I whisper.
I reach out to take Amari out of Kai's arms but stop when Kai doesn’t let her go. “Don’t you want to eat?” I ask.
“Yeah. Can you serve me a plate?”
“Yes.”
I set both of our plates down on the table and then reach over to grab Amari. Once again, Kai doesn’t let her go. “Do you want me to hold her?”
“I can eat and hold her.”
My eyes widened in disbelief that he offered to hold her. Usually, I’m the one who holds her while we eat. “Are you sure?”
He nods.
“Okay,” I say and dig into the turkey. “Kevin, I’m impressed that the turkey is edible.”
Kai chuckles.
Kevin looks at Kai and me. “Why are you guys surprised I can cook a damn turkey? I’m the one who usually barbecues around here.”
“Barbecuing is way different than cooking a turkey.”
“That’s the last time I’m going to cook for you assholes.”
“Wow, Kevin. We’re giving you a compliment. Stop getting your panties in a bunch,” I say and reach over for a roll.
Kevin glares at us. “Whatever.”
A few hours later, we’ll all sitting around the living room watching Amari roll over by herself. Every time she rolls over, we all squeal in excitement. Kevin was still butt hurt about our surprise over the turkey, so he wouldn’t help us clean up. Kai and I cleaned and did the dishes while Kevin watched Amari.
It felt like old times—being in the kitchen with Kai. When we first moved into our apartment, he used to always help me clean up after we ate dinner. A lot of times, it would end up with us joking and laughing together. It felt a little awkward cleaning together this time. Our relationship hasn’t felt the same since we had Amari. It became more serious and not as playful as it used to be. I miss playing around with him and acting childish. Even though we are two kids who had a child, I still miss the playful times we had.
These past couple of weeks, I have felt great being with him. There has been less tension. He has been staying home and seems to enjoy staying home with us instead of being out with his friends all night. It feels good. I’ve been less stressed. The shadow that roamed around us when we were under the same roof has disappeared.
The soundof someone knocking on the door echoes through the apartment. “Come in!” I yell.
“It’s locked,” Kevin says.
“I’m surprised you lock it,” I say, and Kevin rolls his eyes at me.
“Hi,” Paige says and gives me an unexpected hug. She usually goes straight for Amari before realizing my presence.
She holds out her arms and moves her fingers up and down. “Gimme, gimme,” she says to Kevin, who has Amari.
She pulls Amari right out of Kevin’s hands and snuggles her.
Kevin’s brows rise as he looks at Paige, shocked that she took Amari from him. “What the hell!”
“What?” Paige questions as she kisses Amari.
“I was holding her.”
“Well, now her godmother is holding her.” She avoids making any eye contact with Kevin.
“You’re not even her real godmother.”
She whips her head toward him. “Excuse me?”
