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“She’s good for you.”
“We’re good for each other.”
“I feel that.” Elias nodded. “We’re gonna do this shit differently.”
Different from our parents…
“Yeah, we are.” I glanced at my brother’s wife and kids who were near Jhorie. “You’ve already set the pace. I just have to catch up. We won't be them, no matter what.”
My brother felt me staring, I could tell from the tension in his jaw and the ghost of a smile that surfaced. “Nah, we won’t be them,” he stated quietly.
“Hey, give me a minute and I’ll meet you over there.” The sound of Christian’s voice had Elias and I turning in his direction. He approached but I watched the woman with him nod and head toward the crowd.
“You brought a date to a community block party?”
His expression pinched and he shook his head. “Not a date. She’s a reporter covering the event. I met her in the parking lot and she asked if I could direct her to Cress. She’s doing a piece on how my sister is donating free dance classes to the rec center.”
Having Cress’s name attached as a part-time instructor brought a lot of national attention. I didn’t mind, neither did Jhorie. Anything that benefited the community was a bonus.
“So you’re using my wife to chase pussy?Ifyou are, don’t do that shit again.” Elias delivered a warning look and then asked, “Is your divorce even final?” His smug tone had Christian glaring back.
“Not yet and I wish she fucking would say something about how I spend my time considering the grotesque amount of money I have to pay Aja to settle this shit.”
“You fucked that up. Don’t be upset. Should have divorced her a long time ago. Just be grateful you’re clear of all the shit she got you caught up in to let her go,” I made clear, adding insult to injury. Christian was an easy target but he was also a good guy so I wouldn’t take it too far.
“Fuck my wife and her father. I never did anything to either one of them. I’m the one who held up my end of the contract. She’s the one who switched shit up when she realized what it meant to be a gotdamn wife.”
“I can see this is still a sore subject so we can leave the topic alone for now,” Elias said with amusement.
“Yeah whatever,” Christian mumbled and walked away as Jhorie approached. I kept my eyes on her as she smiled and talked to residents en route.
“He’s really fucked up with all this.”
“Can you blame him...” I had my own regrets with a marriage that had cost me more than it should have. The money softened the blow but the time I lost being miserable in a marriage that didn’t benefit me had no value attached.
“I could but I don’t care enough to waste the time. Let me go appreciate my wife,” Elias said, training his focus on Cress. Before he left, he turned to my wife who I was currently visually appreciating. Her jeans hugged the additional curves our son had left her with and I was a fan of seeing the results of our child on Jhorie’s body.
“Congrats, Jhorie. You did your thing out here. Doesn’t even look like the same place.”
“Good because that was the goal and thank you.” She smiled proudly. As much as the initiative had been my priority, it quickly turned into her passion. Now that she had her own company focusing on advocating for community resources in less fortunate areas, there weren’t enough lifetimes for my wife to deliver on all the things she wanted to accomplish. However, she was determined to try. My wife had a vision she refused to allow to go unseen.
After Elias was on his way to Cress, Jhorie leaned over our son and kissed his cheeks. “You should put him in his stroller.”
“I tried. He knew it was me behind him and not you so he kept complaining.”
She lifted amused eyes to mine. “Are you sayingtheEzekiel Omari is being punked by his son?”
I chuckled. “I’m saying he knows how to use his resources to get what he wants. He is already showing an affinity for being like his father.”
Jhorie rolled her eyes. “Which is going to be a huge problem for both of us.”
“More like a huge problem foryou.” I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I’m proud of you. Today was a success.”
“This is your thing.”
“Wasmy thing. Ownership shifted hands the day you barged in my office threatening to expose our oops baby.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “That is not how things played out. Your memory is skewed. I was there towork. You accused me of carrying a child that didn’t exist.”
