Page 39 of Harts & Hurts

“It’s very . . . earthy. What style is this? That organic something or the other they talk about?”

“It is very modern organic, but the name of the style is California coastal. I mean, we’re from the coast. It makes sense that this would be my favorite style and give me a sense of peace and calm. Everything about the water is calming for me.”

“Yeah.” He did a 360-degree turn and took in the entire room. “I like this. It makes me feel calm too. Would you do the entire house like this . . . California coastal or just the primary bedroom?”

“Well, I would do your office in grandpa chic because I know that style suits you. And I really loved that modern farmhouse look for Melrose’s nursery. But the rest of the house? I could.”

He pulled me into his arms. I went willingly and leaned into him. He dropped a soft kiss on my forehead. “I appreciate you making our house into a home.”

I noticed that he said our house. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that, so I cracked a joke. “I appreciate you paying for me to do it.”

17

Griffin

The next day, when I walked Melrose over to the main house so Anistyn could have her while I headed to work, a thought dawned on me. Anistyn had our niece a lot. It was true that I was the main breadwinner in our dynamic, but I didn’t think that automatically meant that she should have to be the main caregiver.

I mentioned it to Cameron as we sat in his office shooting the shit during some downtime at the studio. “Yo, I’m thinking about reaching out to the judge who gave me and Ani co-guardianship. At the time, he said he didn’t want us to have a nanny, because he didn’t want us outsourcing Melrose’s care. At the time, I pretty much agreed with him, but it’s been three months. I feel like Anistyn always has the baby. Like, she only gets a break on Tuesdays and Wednesdays when I’m off. And if they call me in for something, she’s stuck with her again. My baby deserves a break and time to herself. I think even a part-time nanny would be better than what we’re doing.”

“Yeah,” Cameron said, even though the expression on his face didn’t give that he was in agreement with the idea.

“What?”

“I don’t know, dawg. Y’all just had that whole drama with your mom calling CPS. You might wanna stay off the judge’s radar for a little minute.”

“I get what you’re saying, but I don’t like my girl seeming so . . . I don’t know, bogged down.”

“Check this out. When Brookie first had Little Cam, her grandparents moved in with us for, like, the first month and a half. When they left, and she had to take care of him by herself, she had a little breakdown. She doesn’t like to talk about it, but she hated being at home for all those hours without me. She would gather up his little playpen, his accessories, his food, diapers, and all the shit he needed, and she would camp out in my office.

“It didn’t matter to her that I was in and out, taking meetings and handling business. She just needed to be somewhere with other people present so she wouldn’t feel so isolated. After about a month of her doing that, the network executives came to me and asked if I wanted to set up, like, a designated nursery corner in the office. I told ’em hell yeah. And they did. That little nursery corner stayed in my office until Kaiden was old enough to start pre-k 4.”

“You think I should ask them to set up a nursery in my office? I mean, I don’t want Anistyn to watch Melrose in my office. I’m trying to give her some Anistyn time. But maybe I could bring Melrose and watch her myself on days when I don’t have too much commitment. She’s getting big, and she doesn’t sleep as much as she used to. Still, I think I could keep her entertained for a few hours. I’mma look into that.”

When I left his office, I headed up to HR to talk to them about the prospect of turning a portion of my office into a pseudo-nursery for my niece. The managing business partner of the HR department was helpful and felt confident we could make that happen. She couldn’t sign off on it until I got approval from the executive producer. I left a message for him and would wait to hear back from him with a decision.

That night, after I ate, showered, and settled into bed next to Anistyn, I opened a dialogue. I told her about my conversation with Cameron and how he suggested that I fall back from asking the judge to consider letting us get even a part-time nanny.

“I agree with Cameron. The last thing I wanna do after the CPS fiasco is draw the judge’s attention. Maybe we can find a reputable daycare center on the island and get her enrolled. There has to be some place that working mothers are dropping off their children.”

“You don’t think she’s too young? You would be comfortable with that kind of setup?”

“Well, my Aunt Tatianna has owned and operated The Kiddie Kollege Daycare in Fort Jackson for decades. She takes babies as young as six weeks. Melrose would only need to go a few days a week. Maybe Mondays and Fridays.”

“Yo, I spoke to the head of the studio today about turning a little portion of my office into a, like, a little nursery for Melrose. I’m thinking that, if they agree, I could take her to work with me on Mondays and give you a little break.”

“What?” She wore a shocked expression. Her eyes were wide and her mouth open, which made her surprise evident.

“You heard me. I don’t think it’s fair that three quarters of Melrose’s care is handled by you. You deserve to have time to yourself, just like I do.”

“Oh my goodness, are you even real? You’re out here acting like a book bae.”

“A book bae? What’s a book bae?”

“The fictional male main character in a romance book. He says and does all the right things and makes the main female character feel all soft and taken care of.”

“Does he get a lot of pussy?” I joked.

Her eyes glazed over, and I swore that the sides of her mouth twitched before she spoke. “He gets a lot of coochie. . . He gets his dick sucked a lot too.”