And we stayed like this for a long time on the couch, just holdin’ each other while his hand rested over my stomach like he ain’t wanna miss another one of his daughter’s kicks.
Trill-Land, ‘LoLux Estate
Days later…
Once again, me and Kay’Lo and his parents was gon’ sit down and try to get along, and this time I ain’t know if I was supposed to brace myself or actually believe what Treasure had said on the phone.
She had called Kay’Lo earlier in the week tellin’ him things would be different this visit, and I heard it in her voice when she said it. Treasure never spoke in a careless way, so if she said somethin’, she meant it. Still, history ain’t disappear just ‘cause somebody decided they was tired of fightin’.
Me and Kwame had never screamed at each other or disrespected each other outright, but the distance between us had always been there. He looked at me in the beginnin’ like Iwas temporary, or like I was some ghetto ass bitch his son was gon’ grow out of, and even when he stopped sayin’ it in so many words, I could still feel it hangin’ between us.
But I wasn’t temporary…
I had been with Kay’Lo for years. I held him down when shit got ugly. I married him, and now, I was carryin’ his daughter.
I took my time gettin’ dressed, smoothin’ my gown down over my stomach and lookin’ at myself in the mirror for a second before headin’ downstairs. Kay’Lo had already been movin’ around the house like he always do when his parents come over, actin’ cool but lowkey on guard.
“You good?” he asked when I walked into the livin’ room.
“I’m good,” I told him.
He looked me up and down slow and nodded, then stepped closer and kissed me on the lips real soft before rubbin’ my belly.
“Whatever happen, I’m not goin’ back and forth today,” he muttered low enough for only me to hear. “I’m tryna keep it peaceful.”
“I know,” I said. “And I ain’t either.”
The doorbell rang right then, and I swear my stomach flipped.
Kay’Lo squeezed my hand once before walkin’ toward the door, and I followed behind him.
When he opened it, Treasure was standin’ there with that warm smile she always had for me, and I ain’t hesitate. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her.
“Hey baby,” she said, holdin’ me tight.
“I missed you,” I told her.
She placed her hands on my stomach before she even pulled back. “And how is my granddaughter today?”
“She been active,” I said, smilin’.
Kwame was standin’ beside her holdin’ grocery bags, and for a second I braced myself out of habit. But then he looked at me different.
“Hello Toni,” he said.
His voice was warm, and not stiff, forced or tight like usual.
I blinked for a second before respondin’. “Hello.”
“How are you feeling?” he asked. “And how is the baby?”
That caught me off guard more than the greetin’ did.
“She’s good,” I said slow. “She been movin’ a lot.”
“That’s good,” he replied, noddin’ like that information mattered to him.
Kay’Lo stepped aside and let them in, and the four of us moved into the kitchen together.
