Mara’s head swung around at the sound of her voice, and her hands balled into fists, prepared for battle. Her assessing eyes, however, told another story. Underneath the green of envy and jealousy, approval peeked out.
Still, my muscles tensed in anticipation of defending Soraya from Mara’s mouth or hands. Not that Soraya couldn’t handle Mara, I just didn’t want Mara to say or do anything that would make me act out of my character.
“It’s handled,” I answered, staring at Mara until she refocused on me. “We will work this out peacefully. We’re both angry because we love Juss.”
Her jaw tightened as she reluctantly nodded.
Mama moved toward Soraya. “Is Juss still in the car?”
Soraya surveyed the room. “I thought she was up here with you. She saw the text Jashaun sent me about her mother being here and ran ahead while I got our stuff out of the car.”
The bottom of my stomach dropped. “I haven’t seen her. Shit…she heard us.”
Mama rushed to Jussica’s room, calling her name, and I took off past a stunned Soraya and Mara out the door. We were so busy fighting, we didn’t even notice Jussica. I can only imagine the emotional fireball of seeing the three people she loved at odds, tossing ugliness at each other. My adrenaline fueled my pounding heart as I raced past the elevator and practically jumped down the stairs. I knew without a doubt where she would go.Why did I vote against a lifeguard all those months ago?We hadn’t found one yet, and all that Soraya said at that meeting came full circle. Children do wander and leave without checking in with their parents.
Her sobs and the water splashing assaulted my ears as I burst into the warm air. I don’t think I ever ran this fast in my life. I grabbed the iron bars of the fence and held on, trying to re-settle my racing heart and mind. Jussica perched on the side of the fountain, fiercely yelling and splashing, releasing her emotions as Soraya had taught her. I held my hand out, stopping the three women who finally caught up, and I moved through the gate.
Water soaked my clothes as she continued to kick and wail. Easing down beside her, I slipped my arm around her and gently pulled her into me, using my other hand to press against her legs, ceasing her movements. “Shh…shh…I’m here.”
Jussica looked up at me with glistening eyes. “I heard you fighting. I want to stay here with you.”
“I want that, too, little one. I want that always.” I reassured her. “You belong with me.”
She sniffed. “Mama wants me to go home with her. She told me she was coming to get me on the phone last night.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I guess Mara didn’t stop by unexpectedly.
“I didn’t want to go with her. I was afraid you would make me go with her since she’s supposed to take care of me.”
I pulled back. “We’re both supposed to take care of you.”
“Your daddy didn’t take care of you.” She touched my cheek.
“No, he didn’t, and that was his issue. Not mine and definitely not yours. You don’t have to go with her today if you don’t want to.”
She rested her head on my chest. “I don’t want to make Mommy sad either.”
“Yeah, it’s tough when you're in the middle of two people who love you very much.” I rubbed her back. “I’m going to do my best to make sure your mother and I don’t fight anymore, and we’ll figure out how we all can win. I can’t stand seeing you so upset over something we did. But you can’t run to the pool withoutone of us. Even after you learn to swim this summer, you can’t ever be in this pool alone. You could drown.” My voice broke. “Daddy’s heart can’t take it if anything ever happened to you. Do you understand me?”
Jussica captured my concerned eyes with hers. “Yes, sir. I won’t do it again.”
I held her tighter. Grateful for that wild weekend eight years ago that brought this treasure into my life.
epilogue
The pungent smellof burning bacon assaulted my nose, pushing me from a deep slumber to a swift awakening. I popped up, and Soraya murmured in her sleep beside me. I shook her gently. “You smell something.”
Her nose barely moved, and her eyes opened. “Juss. She wanted to make you breakfast for your birthday.”
“You mean burn my breakfast. Didn’t we tell her to only cook if we’re supervising?”
Soraya yawned, her movements without urgency. “She’s nine going on ninety. Burning is a part of learning to cook. If there were a fire, she would be yelling.”
I swung my feet over the side and slid on my sweats. “I’m going to check. You forget she’s me. And at that age, the house could be burning, and I wouldn’t ask for help.”
“Do you.” She snuggled under the covers. “Happy Birthday, hubby.”
“Thank you.” I grinned, leaned back to place a loud smack on her cheek. “My first birthday as husband and wife.”
