“Chill outtt,” Morgan laughs, shaking her head. “Is it that hard to believe that I’m in love?”
“Yes,” the rest of us, except Cassie, reply. She waves us off, but joins in when we share a laugh.
“Whatever,” she shakes her head, smiling at her girlfriend.
Morgan pulled Cassie closer so they could share a kiss. It felt surreal to see how in love my sister was with someone, given how she’d never been for romance and relationships in the past, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me smile as well. I was happy for them. I wished them nothing but happiness.
It was almost midnight when I finally made it back to the house, and I saw that all the lights were off aside from the porch light. Zee texted me about an hour ago to ask if everything was okay, and I informed her that it was. She told me she’d wait up for me, but I told her she didn’t have to since I wasn’t sure how long everything would take.
After entering the house, I locked the door, then removed my shoes and coat. I tossed my keys into the dish and headed to the kitchen, ready to put the dinner away, but I saw that Zee had already done so. There was even a plate wrapped up and waiting for me on the counter, with a note saying the food was delicious. My stomach growled at the thought of finally eating, but I needed to check on Zee first.
I found her stretched out on the couch, snoring lightly as the TV played softly across from her. I slid onto the couch beside her, lifting her head so I could rest it on mylap. She stirred a bit before slowly opening her eyes to look at me. Upon seeing me, she sat up, closing the space between us. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my embrace, kissing her forehead.
“Hey, baby,” she says, her voice laced with sleep. “Did you get things straight with Morgan?”
“Yeah, everything is good,” I assure her. “I’ll tell you about it in the morning, okay?”
“Okay,” she nods, resting her head against my chest. “I’m just happy you're home.”
“I’ll always come back to you, too,” I assure her.
She nods, slowly drifting back off to sleep. I let the stillness of the room engulf me. Tomorrow would hopefully bring good news. News that would finally let her rest easily.
November 22nd, 2023 - 11:43 AM - A Few Days Later
“Mama Kayyy!” Serenity yelled as she ran into my outstretched arms.
“Hey, my baby,” I greeted her, hugging her tightly as I peppered her cheeks with kisses. She giggled, squirming in my arms.
Since Sera was out of school this week for fall break, we’d let her stay in Lafayette a few days longer. She loved hanging out with her cousins and grandpa, and neither Zee nor I minded. The quiet gave us plenty of time to relax and have quality time with one another, both of which we enjoyed.
She would’ve stayed with them longer and joined themto go visit Zee’s brother for Thanksgiving, but we were missing her here. So, Zaiyre had dropped her off on their way out of town. We were on our way to Thibodaux to spend the rest of the week with my family.
“Miss you,” Sera says as she moves her hand in front of her face as if she catches something, and then points at me.
“Almost, baby girl,” I tell her with a smile. “Like this.”
I take the pointer finger of my right hand and tap it against my chin. She watched intently, then got it right on the first try. I nod with the smile of a proud mother as I sign “good job” back at her.
“You’re so smart, Princess,” I complimented, as I helped her put her things away. “Did you have fun with Auntie Zaiyre and your cousins?”
“Yes, we had lots of fun,” she informed me.
She then proceeded to run down all the things she’d done while with her cousins as best as she could. Even at the age of two, she was so animated and expressive, and since we’d been teaching her ASL as long as we’d been teaching her English, both vocabularies were more advanced than those of the average toddler. I wouldn’t be surprised if she were reading soon.
“Sounds like the best time,” I chuckled once she’d finally gotten everything out of her system. “You ready to go visit Mama Liz and Giselle?”
“And Auntie Mo!” She replies, excitedly.
“Yes, and Auntie Mo,” I chuckled. She nodded. “Awesome! Now, let’s go see if Mommy is ready to head out.”
She nods as we head back down the hall to see where Zee had gone off to. Just as we make it back to the main hallway, she’s coming from down the hall. She’d excused herself totake a phone call after bringing Sera inside. When she spots us, she comes over and wraps her arms around us. My heart was full as I stood there with these two whom I loved more than life itself. Literally nothing could make this day better.
“I have some amazing news that I think you’ll love,” Zee says, excitedly as we broke apart. I put Sera down so she could go play while we talked. Zee guided me over to the couch, waves of excitement rolling off her.
“What’s got you so excited, Zee?” I chuckled as she bounced up and down. I hoped that this was the news I’d been waiting to hear these last few days.
“I just got off the phone with my lawyer, and he told me that Sasha dropped the petition for custody,” she squealed, and a smile immediately stretched across my face. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her repeatedly.
