She covered her mouth for a second, then dropped her hand and looked at me like she could not decide whether to cry, laugh, or take me right there in that empty bedroom.
I stepped closer and put my hand on her waist. “Happy birthday, BB.”
AVA REYNOLDS
We landed in Thailand twenty-seven hours later.
We had been flying for so long that we had had plenty of rest. So, since we landed in the morning, Thailand time, we hit the streets.
Cairo was with us. Leaving him home for two weeks hadn’t been an option. I couldn’t do it, and neither could Reek, even though he tried to act like he had only agreed because I wanted Cairo to come. The same man who had spent months swearing he didn’t want anything to do with a baby had packed half of Cairo’s things like we were moving to Thailand instead of visiting. He had checked the stroller three times, argued with TSA about how they handled the car seat, and kept Cairo strapped to his chest through the airport like somebody was plotting to snatch him.
Now we were here, in the steaming heat, and Reek was looking around frowning at the different exotic foods on the carts of the street vendors.
“You’re smiling too hard,” he said, walking beside me with Cairo against his chest in the carrier harness. “That mean you got some bullshit planned.”
“I do.”
“I knew it.”
I laughed and adjusted the thin strap of my dress on my shoulder. “You remember all those foods I told you about when I was here?”
“The ones I told you I wasn’t eating?”
“Yes.”
“I’m still not eating them.”
“You are.”
“Ava.”
“Reek.”
He looked down at me through his shades. “I’m not eating no bugs, fermented fish, meat I can’t identify, or anything that got a smell.”
“You’re going to try what I put in front of you.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are, because you love me and because you’ve been acting like you’re cultured ever since you figured out how to say thank you in Thai.”
He smirked. “Khop khun.”
“That doesnotmake you bilingual.”
“It make me something.” He looked down at Cairo. “You hear how your mama talk to me? This why we should’ve left her in Chicago.”
Cairo kicked his little feet and made a noise like he agreed with that bullshit.
I pointed at RoRo. “Do not start picking sides this early.”
Reek kissed the top of his head without thinking about it. It was natural now. That was the part that still got me. He didn’t have to remind himself to be a father. He reached for Cairo without being asked. He checked his diaper bag. He kept his blanket tucked right. He looked for shade before I did. Reek hadbecome the man he was scared he could never be, and he still had no idea how much that healed in me.
“I have meetings tomorrow with my distributors,” I told him as we walked down the sidewalk.
He glanced at me with a raised brow. “So, I’m here as your man or security?”
“Both.”
