“Okay, baby, put it on the counter. I’ll look at it after dinner,” I said as I turned the stove to low heat. The smell of seasoned chicken and sautéed cabbage floated through the air, thick and comforting.
“What you cookin’?”
“Smothered chicken, yellow rice, cabbage, and cornbread. You hungry?”
“Starving,” he said dramatically, grabbing the juice box I handed him and inhaling it in one long gulp like he hadn’t drank since last week.
“Go bathe and put on your pajamas, okay? Everything should be ready by the time you finish.”
I kissed his cheek, the softest spot just beneath his eye, and watched him trot off, mumbling about how he hoped the cornbread was the sweet kind this time.
I stepped into the living room to straighten up a bit, picking up toys and folding blankets. It felt good, I felt really good like the beginning of something peaceful. I wasn’t 100% better the pain still visited, some days more than others but I was healing.
Being home again, back in my space, surrounded by my boys and my chosen family… I’d forgotten how grounding that could be.
Seth had been in and out all day. I didn’t press. I knew he had things to handle, and whatever this situation with Dre was, it had a clock on it. When that time ran out, I believed maybe blindly that we’d be back to our rhythm. Back to what we were trying to build before everything got flipped.
I flopped onto the couch, a small wince slipping out as a dull ache shot up my side. I placed my hand there, breathing through it.
I turned on the cartoons for the boys to watch after dinner, letting the warm flicker of the TV light fill the room. For a new mom, I wasn’t as tired as I thought I’d be. Rich had taken over most of the overnight shifts, and Jo was my angel with wings handling early mornings and late nights like she wasn’t also fixing her own life.
I laid back and let the comfort settle over me. I wasn't all the way back. But I was close enough to feel it.
“Hey. I was wondering when you’d be back,” I called out as Serena stepped through the door, purse slung on her shoulder, keys jingling in her hand.
I smiled, relieved she was home until I saw who was behind her. My smile dropped like dead weight.
Imani. The moment our eyes locked, I stood up from the couch, every nerve in my body going still, then sharp.
“What the fuck you doing here?” I asked, my voice low but steady.
We’d kept it cordial after the fight, unsaid boundaries. She stayed in her corner; I stayed in mine. We never got to the bottom of why she was with Dre. Seth said he’ll handle it. I believed him, so I let him. She was S3’s mother, I respected that. And with the schedule she and Seth had in place, she didn’t have to step foot in this house. He handled pickups and drop offs. We split birthdays and holidays. Honestly, she was barely around, too busy living her life out of state or in somebody’s section.
So why was she here again, unannounced, standing in the middle of my living room, I didn’t understand.
“This is my baby daddy’s house,” she snapped, attitude laced in every syllable like she was daring me to check her again.
“This is Seth and I’s house,” I corrected, standing my ground.
I glanced over at Serena and of course, she was avoiding eye contact like a guilty kid caught in a lie. Suddenly, the silence said more than either of them had.
“Oh, right,” Imani said with a fake laugh. “Y’all had that little wedding, huh?”
She said it like it was a joke. Like it was some backyard ceremony with a plastic table and folding chairs.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling with teeth, “the one you wished you had. What the fuck do you want, Imani?”
Her face twisted for a split second before she caught herself, and then that smug smile came right back.
“My son is here. You know Seth’s firstborn? The one who carries his name, and our blood?”
That smirk she gave me could’ve sliced glass, like she thought sharing a child with Seth somehow made her royalty.
I didn’t flinch. I just smiled harder.
“You mean the same boy I tuck in at night? Help with his homework? Watch cartoons with him on the couch when he can’t sleep? Yeah, he’s here.”
She took a step closer. Her energy shifted like she was ready to start a fire just to see if I’d burn.
