REASON
Ireread the paperwork from my finalized divorce from Saje for the umpteenth time. This was it. That chapter was dead; left exactly where it should have been years ago. I would never have to see or talk to her another day in my life. Pussy and what I considered to be love had blinded a nigga way too long. There was a reason I never had a baby with Saje, and I finally realized it now. This shit could have gone in a totally different direction. I cringed at the thought of it.
Time was a virtue, because everything that transpired led me back to the woman who was meant for me.
Out of all the women in the world, somehow, Ember ended up becoming the chosen surrogate. No one could tell me this wasn’t God’s work. The grown woman version of her was just as incredible as the young teenage girl I’d fallen in love with years ago, just more seasoned, wiser, and as beautiful as ever. Even in the midst of parenthood, this shit was amazing.
Every day, I woke up determined to be a better man and willing to do whatever was necessary to maintain Ember's and my children’s happiness. She told me her happiness started within, but I cut her off mid-sentence and told her I would always contribute and do my part.
Finding a way for her to connect with her cousins again was part of that happiness. I noticed that it was something she felt was missing, and I only came to that conclusion when I noticed the emotions behind her words when she spoke to me about them. That’s why I hit up my folks and made a request for them to help me find her relatives. It didn’t take long for my people to get back to me with their contact information in Texas.
I made it a point to reach out to them, to check if they would be on bullshit, or to see if they genuinely wanted to reconnect with my baby. The last thing I wanted was for Ember to feel that hurt of them being out of her life again. I refused to open old wounds if I could control it. If I had found out they were on a different type of timing, I would have left it where it was. I paid attention to the sounds of their voices to determine if it was safe to bring them around my family. After the phone calls, I realized they were longing to see Ember and Rhema again.
Seeing the look of shock, excitement, and then warmth in Ember’s eyes when she saw them confirmed that I’d made the right decision. After they had their deep conversation, they picked up right where they left off.
I couldn’t have asked for a better reunion for my lady and hersiblings.
Buzz. Buzz.
My phone continuously vibrated on my desk. I glanced to see who was calling before I picked up.
“Yo, Dell. What’s good?” I answered.
“Same ol’. You know, taking muthafuckas down one step at a time.”
“I feel it, doing what you do best.”
“We’ll have enough time to catch up later,” he said, knowing me all too well.
I needed the nigga to get straight to the point. Lenny had already given me the heads up that I would either hear back from him or his brother regarding the information I needed.
“Lenny briefed me on that lil’ situation.” His voice lowered. “I got some info you’ll want to hear. Is now a good time?”
“Ain’t no better time than now.” My jaw clenched as I waited for Dell to give me the information I’d requested. Out of respect for Rhema, I held off on mentioning our conversation to Ember. I wanted my daughter to trust me, so after much contemplation, I decided to keep it between us.
“Shane Hawkin’s body is in the morgue as we speak. That bitch nigga touched the wrong man’s child. Word is the young girl was the daughter of some woman Shane was dating. The father was at the residence picking up his child when he walked up and saw him assaulting his daughter in a car that was parked in the mother’s driveway. The mom was in the backyard gardening while this was happening. When she heard gunshots, she ran toward the sounds instead of running from them and found out that her ex had killed Shane.”
Relief washed over me, knowing he could never hurt a soul again, but I wished I could have gotten to the sick fuck before his demise. That muthafucka was lucky someone else got to him before I did. Nevertheless, I respected the father’s decision to murk that nigga.
Since becoming a father, I understood and viewed things differently now. I would kill for my kids too; there was no doubt about it.
“Give me the deets on the father. I’ll pay all his legal fees.”
Dell chuckled; I already knew what he was thinking. “I knew you would. I have already started gathering all the information you’ll need. I’ll get it over to you by the end of the day.”
“Good looking out, Dell.”
“Anytime, Reason,” he paused. “And by the way, welcome back to Cali.”
“I’m happy to be back, man.”
We ended the call just as Rhema and Ember entered my office. Ember cradled my baby boy, Ramiro, in her arms as she gave my son the sweetest smile.
The entire time I lived my life without Ember and not knowing about Rhema, I always had a nagging feeling like I was missing something—and now I knew why. That feeling I once had was gone. My life finally felt complete.
We hit that safety mark where I was able to feel my soon-to-be wife again. I’d been patient, but a nigga couldn’t say I wasn’t excited to sex my baby without worrying about hurting her or Ramiro, like I was while she was pregnant.
It had been six weeks, and I wanted to make her body feel good. Her pussy went through it bringing my baby boy into this world, and now I needed to showhermy appreciation.
