Page 68 of Gang of Roses: Rebel

“You got flour all over your face.”

He wiped at it and somehow made it worse.

“There,” I laughed. “Now you look like a little baker.”

“I am a baker.”

“Oh yeah?”

He nodded proudly. “The best one.”

“I don’t know...” I joked. “You got some competition.”

“Who?”

“Me.”

He gasped dramatically before pointing the whisk at me. Spending time with my son was always important to me. I didn’t care what we were doing as long as we were together and happy. Those moments reminded me what really mattered and gave me something no amount of money ever could: peace.

“No, you don’t!”

I laughed so hard I almost burned the pancakes.

“Alright, alright. You win.”

He got quiet all of a sudden, still stirring the batter.

“Daddy?”

“Yeah, little man?”

“My mama said you ain’t shit.”

The spatula froze in my hand as I faced Sebastian, and he genuinely looked confused.

“She said what?”

He nodded like he was just repeating what he’d heard. “She said you ain’t never gonna be shit.”

For a second, I just stared at him. Not because I was mad at Sebastian. Kids repeated everything they heard. I turned the stove down and walked over to him.

“You know what?”

“What?”

I crouched down so we were eye to eye.

“I don’t care what nobody says about me. The only thing that matters is what you see. Do I love you?”

He nodded.

“Do I spend time with you?”

“Yep.”

“Do I take care of you?”

“You make me pancakes.”