“A’ight.”
“I love you,” I told him.
“I love you too,” he said, softer this time.
When the call ended, I stared at my phone for a second ‘cause I knew my husband. I knew when he was givin’ me the summary version and when he was holdin’ the rest inside. There wasn’t no tellin’ what else they laid on him in that courtroom, what arguments got thrown around and what words got said.
Pluto watched my face. “He good?”
“They pushed it back another month,” I said.
She shook her head. “This shit crazy.”
“Yeah,” I replied, rubbin’ my stomach again. “And I know it’s more he ain’t sayin’.”
She stood up and wrapped her arms around me careful. “Go be with him.”
“I am,” I said.
I grabbed my purse and headed out. A few minutes later I was in my car, drivin’ through the open gates and back home to my husband, my hand restin’ over my stomach while I tried to prepare myself for whatever mood he was in.
When I finally made it home to ‘Lo, I walked straight into his arms. He was already standin’ there waitin’ on me when I came through the door, and the minute he saw me he pulled me in so tight my purse slid down my shoulder. His arms wrapped around my back and his face buried into the side of my neck like he had been holdin’ himself together all day and now he could finally breathe again.
Neither one of us said a word about court. We both knew that whole situation was heavy, and the last thing either of us wanted was to bring that shit into our house the second we saw each other. Instead he lifted my chin with his finger and kissed me slow, and the way he did it made the whole day melt right off my shoulders.
His hands slid down my back and rested on my hips while I wrapped my arms around his neck, and after a few minutes of that he guided me toward the couch without breakin’ the kiss.
We ain’t even make it all the way laid out properly before we ended up knockin’ out.
One minute we was talkin’ about random stuff and laughin’ and the next minute we was both dead asleep right there in the middle of the afternoon like two people who hadn’t slept good in weeks.
And when I say we was sleepin’, I mean we was out. It was that good type of nap where you wake up confused about what day it is.
At some point I opened my eyes and realized the sun had moved across the room and the TV was still playin’ low in the background. My head was laid across Kay’Lo’s arm and his other hand was still restin’ on my stomach.
I pushed myself up a lil’ and looked down at him. Hewas sleepin’ so hard his mouth was open and his chest was risin’ slow like he was in the deepest sleep of his life.
When I moved my head his eyes cracked open and he looked at me for a second before squintin’ like the light from the TV bothered him.
We took a long shower together and by the time we came back down the house felt calm again.
Kay’Lo had on some royal blue silk pajamas, and the shirt was open so his chest was out the way it always is when he wear those. I had slipped into one of my long gowns that hugged my body and showed my stomach.
Every time I walked past him, his eyes followed me.
After a while he went into the kitchen and started pullin’ stuff out the fridge.
Kay’Lo didn’t cook, and he’d tell you that himself. But one thing he could make was a good salad.
He grabbed a huge bowl and started buildin’ it like he was puttin’ together some masterpiece. First he chopped up fresh romaine and baby spinach, then he added sliced cucumbers,cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots, red onion, avocado chunks, and roasted corn. Then he tossed in quinoa and a lil’ bit of farro along with sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and crumbled feta cheese.
I leaned against the counter watchin’ him while he worked.
“Look at you,” I said.
“Gotta feed my babies,” he replied without lookin’ up.
After that he grabbed two dressings from the fridge and drizzled them over the top, a lil’ balsamic vinaigrette and a honey mustard blend he always used, and then he mixed everything together until the bowl was big enough for both of us to share.
