I frowned. "Why not?"
Before Jamari could reply, the server came and set our food in front of us.
When she walked away, he gave me his attention again. "I want him to have his own name and identity. Who's to say, he'd even like the name Jamari?"
I shrugged. "So, and? He's not here yet to decide for himself. That's why we're here to do it for him."
Jamari chuckled, taking my basket of wings and fries, and he set it in front of me. "You're saying all that, but I still stand on what I said. I want our son to have his own name. It can either start with a J or a C. We can think of some as time goes on."
I got excited all over again. "Okay, cool. When do you want to start baby shopping? We should start soon."
"How about this weekend?"
I nodded, reaching for one of the lemon pepper wings. "Okay, that's cool."
If this were normal for us, without any drama, I'd love it. Jamari and I hardly argued, but when we did, we were quick to fix the mistake. We'd have minor disagreements, too, but I loved the fact that we could always bounce back from an argument. We didn't let it get too out of hand.
"We might have to start looking for a new place soon, too. My place will not be big enough to raise a baby," Jamari stated.
I thought that too when I moved in. Even though my townhouse was no better, I knew I wanted my own house one day.
"I also thought of something," Jamari voiced after minutes of silence between us.
I lifted my head to peer at him. "What's that?"
"Let's do something for the kids. They've been in the house a lot, so I think it's time we took them out for some fun. What do you think?"
Rylie and Zach would love that. They were always in the house if they weren't at school or the park. I was glad Jamari wanted to do something with them.
"I thought about the arcade that opened a few months back."
I had a feeling the kids would love that, especially Zach. I bought him a train set for his birthday, and he has been playing with it since. I loved that he enjoyed it. Zach had a thing for trains and dinosaurs. Meanwhile, Rylie was into fashion and doing hair. Whenever I needed my hair flatiron, I'd go to her. Plus, I'd pay her for her services. She didn't want to take it, but I wasn't about to not pay her. She did a fantastic job, too.
"Okay. We can do that for them. I'm sure they'll love it."
Mari picked up his drink and took a sip of it. "Yeah, I have no doubt. Zach would have a ball. As Rylie gets older, she wants to hang out with her friends more, but I don't trust people like that."
I sighed deeply. Jamari always talked about not trusting people, yet he never took the time to get to know them. It was one of the arguments we'd have. It wasn't my place to speak on what he should do about his siblings. When he talked about it, the only thing I did was nod or shake my head. He'd want my input, but I wouldn't know what to say. I'd never try to overstep when it comes to the way he raised his siblings.
I continued to eat my wings and fries. Knowing me, I'd probably won't eat all of this and end up taking it home to eat later.
"Chy?" Jamari called my name, causing me to look up at him.
"Hmm?"
"What do you say to Rylie going out with her friends?"
My eyes nearly bucked out of my head. What the hell was I supposed to say? He couldn't be serious right now. "Mari, I don't know what to tell you. It's what you want to do. I don't want to say the wrong thing, and you get mad at me."
There! I'd leave it at that. He got mad at me when he asked for my opinion, and when I gave it, he didn't like my answer. Yeah, I'd sit this one out.
He lifted an eyebrow. "I won't get mad this time. I need your help on this one."
I sighed deeply. "Okay, here goes nothing. I think you should let Rylie go out with her friends if she wants, as long as you know where she's going and you have her location. You'll have to let go, or she'll sneak and do it. You wouldn't want that to happen."
He narrowed his eyes, but I shrugged and went back to eating my food. As I said, he never wanted to hear the truth. I'd just have to sit back and watch what happened next.
"When Rylie brings up her wanting to go out again, I'll let her go. I don't want to be too hard on her. She's growing up now."
