“My birthday is coming up in a few months. When this baby is ten, I’ll be forty-eight. When he graduates high school, I’ll be fifty-six with a head full of gray hair.”
“Where is this coming from, baby?”
“Our age difference. The fact that I spotted a gray hair in my beard this morning when I shaved.”
“So what?”
“Just thinking about how women always worry about their biological clock ticking, men have one, too, whether we want to acknowledge it or not.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah. I mean, I can only throw a football, run bases, or dunk on somebody for so long. This kid will have to catch up with me fast.”
I laughed. “Detective Fullwood, you’re going to be just fine. You wake up and work out seven days a week, and you work out almost every evening. You eat healthy, for the most part, you have great genes from what I have seen of your parents and siblings, and you don’t really have a lot of stress in your life, aside from your job. You’re a low-key, chill person. You have nothing to worry about. Now maybe a little dementia might be a thing,” I sassed, pinching my index finger and thumb together.
“What? Man, please. My brain will always be sharp, even when my body wears down. I exercise and challenge this brain daily, especially as a detective.”
“Hmph. Then why did you fail to remember to let the toilet seat down this morning after you used the bathroom? Not to mention you left your lunch the day before yesterday.”
I had been spending the night at his house a lot, which was another reason why it was a good idea for me to move back in.
He twisted his lips as he looked at me. My technician lifted my foot and gently massaged my ankle. I relaxed in my chair as I smirked at him.
“I didn’t forget to let the toilet seat down. I simply decided why can’t you let it down for a change? And I didn’t forget my lunch. I was running late for work because someone wanted to exercise their right to morning extracurricular activities,” hereplied, glancing at his technician who glanced at mine and they both smiled.
“So, you’re saying that you didn’t have time to grab your lunch on the way out?”
“Exactly.”
“See, if you weren’t getting so old, your joints would be in perfect working condition. You would have been able to dart to the kitchen, grab that lunch bag, and rush to the car without a problem.”
“That’s how you want to play it? Okay, I’ve got your senior citizen.”
“You need me to get you a little blue pill, baby?” I spoke in a baby voice.
“Oh, it’s like that now?”
I laughed. “I’m playing.”
“I was about to say. Let me run over to GiGi’s house later. I’m sure that she can help me get it up just fine by wearing those triple X thongs, and I won’t need a little blue pill.”
I smacked his arm and whined, “Deeeuccee!”
He laughed and leaned over. He kissed my forehead and declared, “That’s why you love me.”
“I do.” I groaned.
TWO MONTHS LATER
The beautyof marrying an older man in some ways was that he had a different perspective on life than I did. Whereas I was just entering adulthood a few years ago, he had experience, and he was planning for his later years.
Deuce had a large savings, had invested in some properties with his cousin Frost, and he had made other investments with his money that paid off. He was set for retirement and had also created a special savings for the baby and me, if anything should happen to him on the job.
It had taken a while before we finally confirmed the pregnancy with his sister and shared it with his parents. I wasn’tready to rush into sharing the news with everyone. Partially because I didn’t want to jinx things, and I wanted to make sure that I made it through the first trimester. I needed to ensure that I was having a healthy pregnancy.
Another part of me held back the news for selfish reasons. I had no one in my life to share the news with other than Waverleigh, but she was genuinely worried about her mother’s health at the time. The last thing that I wanted to do was take her attention away from that. She had been there enough for me for a while, and it was her turn to give back to her family.
When we finally did make the announcement, everyone was happy for us. Over the last few months, not only had I built a friendship with Amani, but also with Wynter and Autumn. The sisters were wonderful, and even GiGi had come around. She still teased me from time to time, and I still kept a watchful eye on her, but she was very nurturing toward me.
