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“Oh, do you want to go to the boys’ first game together? I’ll pick you up.”
“Sure.”
“That don’t mean you won’t see me again today. I need my cinnamon roll.”
“You need to start eating some fruits and vegetables.”
“I don’t want to hear that right now. I need my fix,” he said before heading back over to the building.
The day went by smoothly with Quinton pestering me until I finally gave him a cinnamon roll. Since he was back in business, he went by and picked Trey up from day care for me. It was crazy how he was more concerned about my baby than his own daddy. Trey loved to play, so he loved being with Quinton’s playful self, and I loved to see them together.
Once I closed up shop, I went to Quinton’s office to pick my baby up and kissed him goodbye. He let me know that he would pick me up after he got the boys from school. When I made it home, the first thing I wanted to do was put my feet up. Since Quinton let me know that Trey didn’t take a nap at day care, we crashed into my bed together to relax until the boys came.
My phone rang, and I reached under my pillow to pull it out. My brows knitted together seeing an unfamiliar number, but I answered anyway.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Shy baby.” My stomach dropped when I heard Theo’s dad’s voice for the first time in years.
“Maurice?” I asked, just to confirm.
“It’s me, baby. How you been?”
“I’m good and so is your son,” I spat.
“Don’t bite my head off, baby girl. You already know how I feel about you and that boy. You told me from the start you wasn’t with the shit I had going on, so when I went down, I didn’t have no choice but to respect that. I couldn’t ask you to stop your life and drag my baby back and forth to no stankin’ ass prison every weekend to see me.”
“Well, I appreciate the consideration, but that didn’t stop your son from needing you in his life.”
“I’m in the muthafucka, Shy. It wasn’t too much I could do from in here.”
“Maurice, what did you want? We already been over this.”
“I went to see my counselor yesterday. I realize that my sentence is winding down. I know you moved on with your life and that’s to be expected, but I want to be in my son’s life when I come home.”
“What do you want me to say, Maurice? He hasn’t seen you in four or five years.”
“He still knows I’m his daddy. It don’t matter who you got playing daddy. You can’t keep me away from my boy.”
“I’m not the one keeping you away from your son. You stayed away all on your own.”
“You know that’s not true,” he snapped.
“Look, I’m not going to keep you away from him, but he’s old enough to decide if he wants to see you.”
“Can I write him?”
“Sure. Send it to my mom’s house.”
“Oh wow, a nigga can’t even have your address?”
“I don’t need no more surprises.”
He chuckled before he replied. “That’s cool. I hope the nigga in your life is making you happy. You deserve a square ass happy life.”
“Bye, Maurice,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Later, Shy baby. Be on the lookout for that letter,” he said before ending the call.
