Heir shot an annoyed glance in his mother’s direction.
“Mama, you ’sposed to call me Heir.”
“I’m sorry, baby.” She hid her smile because he was so serious.
“She not sorry. She do that when she want to be funny,” Heir muttered, making Heavy chuckle as he rolled his eyes and walked out.
“Huey! Huey! Come back, Huey!” Harlee jumped up and chased after Heir.
Giselle couldn’t help it; she burst out laughing while taking a few towels from a leftover box.
“Harlee, leave him alone!”
“You named him after me?” Heavy’s tone was low when he stood.
“You’re his father.” She didn’t look at him as she removed the last towel. “I wanted them both to have something from you. I knew you liked cars and working on vehicles, but I wasn’t about to name my daughter Chevy or Lexus. Harlee suited her. Plus, if you haven’t noticed, she’s always scowling like you, and it starts with an H.”
“I don’t even know what to do with this,” he confessed.
Pausing, Giselle held the towels against her chest. She saw the panic and concern on his face and laughed a little.
“You look like me the day I got the ultrasound and found out it was two of them. You’re doing fine. They like you… and you would know if they didn’t. All this is just an adjustment. I realized that today. They were deprived of it all. The aunties, uncles, cousins. But… they love it. I spent my whole life fighting the balance between the world my parents created for me and Southwick.” Giselle set her towels beside the box and took in the average living room that she couldn’t wait to transform.
“It took a lot of reflecting… and growth but… I see the charm. It was Daddy who thought we needed to elevate and mix it up with the people in Leawood. I remember right before mama died, she said she wished she had moved me to Southwick with Remi for a ‘normal life’.” Giselle took a breath. “At some point, I realized I was doing the same things to my kids. Alonzo didn’t love them like a father was supposed to. Me and them… we were nothing but a fixture for him. I created that environment for us. So… it’s all my fault. I was prepared to take the heat. I just hoped that you all would love them more than me, and it worked out.” She perked up.
“Ain’t no loving them without you, princess,” Heavy spoke up.
Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she half smiled.
“It’s time for their baths. I usually read them a story after, and they have a snack.”
“Mama, can we sleep in here next to the fire like a real camp?” Heir asked from the doorway, holding his clear tote bag full of all his cars and trucks he’d collected over the years.
“I think that sounds like a fun idea. Remi sent graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars, too. How about we make some s’mores, and I can read you a story?”
“Yeah! Heavy, you want to see all my cars?” Heir held his bag up.
“Fa sho.” Heavy rubbed his hands together and got on the floor with Heir, who dumped every single car out of the bag.
“Ugh, great.” Giselle groaned, knowing he would leave them all scattered there and not clean them up.
The boy would fall asleep playing with those things all night if you let him.
“You two have fun. I’m going to give Harlee her bath. Heir, you’re next.”
“Okay, Mama!” He didn’t even look up as he picked up car after car, showing them to Heavy.
Let him tell it, every car was his favorite, and he loved that Heavy was able to name the make and model. For a while, Giselle hovered in the doorway, watching them together in their own little world. She never thought this day would come, but she was beyond grateful for it. Once she got both kids bathed, she set up their sleeping bags in the living room, where Heavy had thrown another log in to keep the fire going.
When she bathed Harlee, Giselle also took the time to wash the day off, slipping into her navy silk pajamas and slippers. She washed her face and did her skin care routine before letting her hair out of that ponytail for the day and allowing it fall past her shoulders in loose wave curls. After Heir was bathed ,and they were both in their pajamas, the four of them settled in front of the fire with the s’mores ingredients spread. Heavy roasted themarshmallows while the twins nibbled on extra graham crackers and talked their ears off.
“What y’all reading?” Heavy picked upLittle Man, Little Man, a novel by James Baldwin and studied it.
“We’re reading about TJ.” Harlee took a bite of her s’more.
“He lives in Harlem with WT and Blinky,” Heir elaborated.
“That’s right.” Giselle encouraged them with a grin. “And where is Harlem?”
