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“It’s good to be able to introduce more foods. The more teeth he cuts, the more I offer him.”
“Does he ever bite you during feedings?”
“He can get carried away sometimes. I used the bottle more than I used to. Sometimes I feel bad about it because breastfeeding helps us connect.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about me biting unless you like that kinda thing,” I informed her.
“See, you play too much, even when it’s time to be serious.”
I shrugged. “It’s not exactly time to be serious.”
“My hands are clean, Mama. Is the food ready?” Theo asked as he ran down the hall.
“Stop running in this house, Theo. You and Victor go ahead and sit at the table. Victor, I made chicken parmesan, salad, and garlic bread. How does that sound?” Shiloh asked him. I didn’t know what good it did to ask at that point, but thankfully, he ate everything.
“I don’t know what it is, but I like chicken.”
“It’s good, man. It’s fried chicken and red sauce and cheese and noodles,” Theo explained.
“Like spaghetti with chicken?” Victor asked.
“Not exactly, but that’s actually a good description,” Shiloh replied.
“As long as it’s good, I don’t care what it is,” Victor told her.
I laughed. “I told you.”
“My daddy can cook too, Ms. Shiloh. Can y’all come to our house next time? He can cook for y’all.”
“I like how you’re volunteering me to cook. Are you gonna wash dishes?”
“I will if me and Theo can play basketball on my goal after I get done.”
“Well, I guess that’s settled.” Shiloh chimed in.
“It’s a date,” I said.
“A date? I thought you said you didn’t like her, Dad?” Victor recalled.
“Oh, really?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
“That’s not what I said, Vick. Baby, that’s not what I said.” I walked over to stand in front of Shiloh.
“Don’t try to take it back now. Victor already told on you.”
I touched her cheek and kissed her forehead. “Stop that.”
Her eyes fluttered as she looked up at me. I dropped a kiss on her lips before walking over and sitting in the empty chair next to Victor.
“I hope everybody is hungry because I cooked plenty of food.”
After eating until I could barely move, I washed dishes while Shiloh got Trey ready for bed. It was close to Victor’s bedtime, but since we were bonding with our new friends, I didn’t worry about it too much. He and Theo sat in the living room watching a movie while we did our thing.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Shiloh said for the third time as she walked into the kitchen.
“It’s the least I could do, you slaved over that hot stove after baking all morning.”
“Well, thank you. My feet are killing me.”
