Page 138 of Mia

I chuckled. “I hope she doesn’t tear those people’s shit up. Maybe I should slip them some extra funds beforehand.”

Bleu was definitely going to be on one. She wouldn’t be destructive, but she was used to being with us, family, or the doggy daycare we put her in to socialize her, so there was no telling how she was going to act with strangers.

The sound of my phone ringing broke me from my thoughts. I looked down to see that it was my mother calling. Swiping the screen, I answered the FaceTime call.

“Sup, Ma?”

“Hey my babies! How is St. Thomas?”

“Beautiful and relaxing,” Mia answered.

“You are out there glowing, honey. Just sun-kissed and fine.”

Mia blushed. “Thank you, Ma. I really needed this.”

“You have to take care of yourself, baby. In all aspects, including mentally.”

“I know.”

“I’m so proud of both of you. I’ve seen so much growth from you in the last couple months. I’ll tell you one thing, I’m glad you stopped all that damn fighting. I was ready to whip both your asses.”

“Ma, please,” I said, waving her off.

“Ain’t no, Ma please,” my Pops said, coming into view. “When she got tired, all she had to do was tag me in and I was on y’all’s ass. Believe that.”

“I don’t know, Pop. I don’t think you can handle me.”

“Nigga, I taught you everything you know about fighting. Not everything I know. I’ll put you on your back and have you wondering how you got there.”

I had to laugh. This man swore he could beat any and everybody.

“I don’t want no smoke, Pop.”

“I know you don’t. Anyway, we didn’t want anything. Just wanted to check in on y’all and tell you we love you.”

“We love y’all too,” Mia said.

“Give Bleu our love,” my mama said, blowing kisses.

“I will.”

We disconnected the call and finished eating, then headed inside to shower and get ready for the day. When Mia stepped out of the bedroom in that form fitting maxi dress, we almost didn’t leave our villa. We headed to the doggy daycare to drop Bleu off. Much to our surprise, she was excited to leave us. That white lady started talking that baby talk and her friendly but not friendly ass went right to her like she was her best friend and didn’t give us a second thought.

All I could do was shake my head as we left her to meet our car out front.

The ride into town didn’t take long. The car dropped us off in the heart of the shopping district. It was filled with shops, food, drinks, and fun activities. I really didn’t need anything, but if my wife wanted to shop, I’d let her shop until she dropped while I carried the bags.

Every boutique we went in, she had to try on something. I sat there grinning as she modeled each item. The sales associates thought it was the cutest thing and hyped her up every time she put on a show. It was refreshing to see her with a genuine smile. I felt bad that I’d missed the signs that she was going through a depressive episode back home. Shit, I was going through it my damn self.

In my last session with Dr. Baxter, I broke down in that lady’s chair. I felt like I’d been holding it in, and the moment she asked me if I was okay, it was like the floodgates opened. Every tear shed and feeling revealed felt like a crushing weight was lifted from my shoulders. I think all I needed was somebody to ask me that question.

Sure, JacQues was dead.

Sure, we’d shut down his operation and saved as many victims as we could.

We’d avenged our daughter, but what now? What happened when the storm was finally over and you really had to sit back and assess the damage that had been caused? In reality, I needed this vacation as much as my wife.

I smiled as I watched Mia. We were in a jewelry store, which meant I was about to drop a bag because my wife loved jewelry. She and Claudia, the saleslady, had struck up a conversation about the pieces she was currently wearing, all gifted by me.