“Tellme how you managed to finish an EP, do all these photoshoots, help Andrew through his tests, start Sanaa in dance classes, decorate the house and have time to get the last minute gifts?” Jahlil asked, sitting on the other side of the bed wrapping the last minute gifts Emani scored while he was away. After thanksgiving, Jahlil was on the road for back-to-back games, leaving her and Aunt Violet to lock in with the kids schedules and get things done. Even if that meant recording in the closet for a few hours so she could be at the house to do the morning shift and sleep while Aunt Violet took over the night.
The women made it work and neither one bothered him about the details. Emani tied a bow around a box for Andrew and pushed it to the side. “Honestly, I don’t know. EP drops New Years Eve and then I’m back in the studio getting the album finalized. I’m on autopilot right now. I guess it’s the same as playing back-to-back games. One – I’m hungry. I’ve been waiting on this moment to lock in with a producer that gets me and my sound. Two – I’m being loved properly so my mind isn’t on what you are or aren’t doing, who you’re with, and you’re not blowing my phone up with dumb shit. Three – I gotta win now because later, I’d like to just sit home comfortably and make sure our kids grow into well-rounded and responsible adults.”
Jahlil finished wrapping the last gift while Emani talked. When the path was clear, he grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her across the plush carpet to him. Without missing a beat, she settled in his lap.
“All you had to do was say please,” she softly giggled, resting her head against his chest.
Jahlil kissed the top of her head and hummed. “I love the way you love them. I love the way you love me. It’s a direct reflection and you don’t complain, even on the hard days.”
“These hard days, compared to what they were without y’all, are nothing. Seriously. Like the four of y’all is the best gift I could’ve gotten. It literally saved me.”
“You saved us. For real. We make sense. We’ve always made sense.”
Emani picked up his hand, laced her fingers in his and brought them to her lips. Kissing the back of his tattooed hand, she hummed. “We do. We just lost ourselves for a minute.”
“I promised Andrew I’d asked you if you’d. be willing to adopt them. I’ve noticed that you’ve gone from Mani to mommy,” Jahlil muttered.
“It’s more like mami, because she heard someone call me that. What do you mean adopt though?” Emani asked, turning completely around to see his face.
“Like be their mother for real. You’ll be theirs, they’ll be yours.”
Her heart began to pound against her chest, not for anything other than an overwhelming feeling of belonging. “Don’t we have to be married or something for that to happen. Are they sure they want me? I-”
Jahlil’s body rumbled with laughter. “I mean being married would make it easier. And yes, we all are sure we want you. You don’t need to give me an answer now and if you say no, I won’t press it.”
“I wouldn’t say no. I just…” she paused as her lips trembled. “All this damn crying…ugh. Get it together, Emani, get it together. I love y’all, like with my whole being and adopting them just tells the courts they’re mine. They’ve been mine.”
Jahlil reached up and swiped her cheeks. “Oh, this soft life got you so soft. I love it.”
She swatted his chest. “Be serious, you just asked me to be your kids mother.”
“I’m going to get you one way or another.”
Emani laughed. “Asking me to adopt them is a no brainer. When you’re ready, I’m ready.”
Jahlil kissed her face and took his time with her lips. “Thank you for loving us.”
“Thank you for loving me. Now listen, you can get some lovin’ or some sleep, either way we’re going to be woken up by Sanaa and her life-sized Barbie in a few hours.”
Jahlil stood with her in his arms making her quietly yelp. “Get my lovin’ and fall asleep in it. Ashton can keep his ass out my room.”
Emani laughed as he placed her in the bed. “Come get what you need, Daddy.”
When morning came, it was ushered in by a scream from Sanaa. Emani had woken up an hour before to mark up the floors as if Santa had traipsed through in the dead of night. The remaining gifts were placed under the tree and now, she was in the kitchen alongside Carson, making breakfast.
“You know you’re glowing,” Carson pointed out. “This shit looks good on you.”
Emani beamed, balancing her attention between Carson’s words and Sanaa running through the massive house to wake everyone up. “Thanks. I think I’m living my dream with my eyes wide open.”
“You’re not dreaming, baby. You are in exactly what you prayed for. I don’t ever want you to look back.”
“I promise…whose going to look after you now?” Emani asked, realizing that the days of them being tied at the hip were going to change. “I just realized it’s kinda been us in our bubble for the last seven years.”
“We’ll still have our bubble when you need it. When you need a reset or a reminder of who you are. But you got your nigga and your family now and you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be cool.”
“You’re bullshitting. You’re not going to be cool because you aren’t cool right now. You forget that you’re my best friend and I can feel you?” Emani asked, pausing dipping the toast in the red velvet batter to look up at him. “There’s a shift in you. Tell me.”
Carson paused his flipping to grit his teeth. “Jahlil told you?”
