Page 132 of Mia

“Baby, I just got him.”

“You’ve been over here for the last three hours, so that’s a damn lie.”

“He was asleep. He’s awake now.”

“That’s too damn bad.”

“Not y’all fighting over my baby,” Jaeda said, slowly coming into the living room.

Quaid was instantly on his feet to help her into a chair. He spoke softly to her for a moment before kissing her lips. He left the room and headed into the kitchen.

“He’s hogging him, sissy,” Mia complained.

“Jae, tell her I didn’t hold him while he was sleeping.”

Jaeda giggled. “He really didn’t, Mia.”

She kissed her teeth and sat back on the chair. “You got five minutes.”

“He better make it a quick five minutes because daddy just called and said he’s on the way over.”

“Oh, he calls now!” Mia said, laughing. “Usually, he just shows up.”

“Girl, Quaid let it be known a long time ago that nobody was just gonna show up here and walk in anymore because we needed our privacy as a couple. Much to my surprise, they respected it and will call or text first.”

“That’s right, Q,” I said as he came back into the living room with a plate of chicken salad and crackers for Jaeda. “Put your foot down.”

He chuckled. “You know Smoke told me Kunta put his foot down, and it got chopped off.”

“And what did you say?”

“That Kunta didn’t have a gun, and I do.”

“I’m just waiting on the day that y’all square up for real.”

“It won’t come to that. We might fuck around and wrestle a little bit, but he knows I’m not gonna let him overpower me.”

“Remember that time you lifted him over your shoulder?” Jaeda asked with a grin. “He was not expecting that.”

“He didn’t think I could pick his big ass up.”

Mia laughed. “They stay underestimating you.”

“And my man stays proving them wrong.”

Jaeda beamed at him with pride and love in her eyes, and he returned the sentiment. Next to my parents, I admired their relationship the most. They just had a love you didn’t see every day.

The front door opened and Senior walked in with Ms. Tavia and Ms. Stephanie behind him. He stopped briefly to slap hands with me and Quaid, then kissed his girls before going to wash his hands. When he came back, he scooped Lil’ Stanley right up out of my arms.

“Thank you kindly.”

Ms. Tavia shook her head as he copped a seat in the recliner.

“I’ma beat your ass, Senior,” she threatened. “You know he told me he was holding Lil’ Stanley first, since they share the same name.”

Senior was happy as hell about his grandson being named after him. When he and I went back to meet him in the hospital, that man cried when Jaeda told him the baby’s name. If one didn’t know he was the grandfather, it could be assumed that he was the daddy in the moment.

“Entitled ass,” Ms. Stephanie said.