“Maybe the next time you go. Daddy says you, Grammy, and Nan spend forever walking up and down the aisle. I kind of agree, too.” Mace, already giving our son advice on how women shop.
“Fine, you can stay with Daddy. Let’s rock and roll.” Von’s hand finds my outstretched one, making sure he follows my rule when we’re walking in a parking lot, and once he does, we’re on our way out to take care of Mace.
THIRTY-TWO
Mace
“Mace, you’ve got company,”Kingston, my business partner, says. He’s older than me, was sick of the same bullshit I was at our old law firm, and doing business with him was smart. This way, it wasn’t such an out-of-pocket expense for either of us. Putting our brains and money together made sense. We’re both bringing our clients with us, and we’ll maintain them, picking and choosing which potential new ones each of us wants. The rest will go to the other associates, and there’s always room for them to move up the corporate ladder if they want, but for the most part, the majority of them want to make money, have a life, and not be treated like gum on the bottom of their shoe. So, that’s our goal, for Kingston and me at least. Hopefully, the other lawyers don’t become an issue like some over-inflated pricks can. I’m just finishing carrying another box to the supply room. The furniture delivery guy has yet to arrive, and I’m not sitting on my ass when there’s plenty of shit to get done.
“Let them know I’ll be just a minute.” I’m not in my office attire today, knowing it was going to be a furniture move-in day along with the other bullshit that you’re never prepared for when you become a business owner. The supplies, the network setup, insurance that seems like a red-tape nightmare, one I’ll never fucking sit in again. King can deal with that shit. I’ll take on another project. Fuck, I’ll put furniture together that needs two hundred screws with one screwdriver before that happens.
“Daddy, Daddy!” I hear Von’s voice echo through the hallway. I put the box on the counter, figuring I’ll take care of it later.
“Von, I thought you and Mom were hanging out at home?” Which reminds me, I need to ask Tyra if we should move the bedroom furniture from my place into hers or put it in storage until we decide on what we’ll do about a house. One thing is for sure: an apartment isn’t going to cut it much longer.
“Mommy decided you needed lunch and we should help.” I bend down to pick him up. The crinkling of paper tells me it’s about to drop, but I grab it before it does, as well as his iPad. Von is smart. I’m talking he’ll probably need to be in classes that challenge him before too long, or he’ll be teaching the teachers mathematical equations that will blow their minds. Sometimes, though, he gets so caught up in the moment that everything falls around him, literally.
“That’s a great idea. What’s this?” I ask, holding the paper up. My eyes move from Von, whose hand is holding my chin so we’re face to face, to Tyra as I watch her walking towards me. She’s got a smile on her face and is wearing a black tank top, jean shorts, and sneakers. To top it off, she has her hair up in a high ponytail, a bandana wrapped around, giving off the fifties-style vibe.
“That’s a family of triceratops. See, there’s all three of us. The dad is the biggest one, then there’s the mom one, and a younger one between the two,” Von explains. I hold my hand out for Tyra’s, taking a hint and pulling her closer.
“It’s awesome. Is it for me?” I ask.
“It is, and we have lunch coming. It’s my favorite. The Sandwich Shop. Mom said it’s a surprise, so surprise!” Von wiggles his feet, the universal sign that he’s done being held, and truth be told, he’ll be to the point soon where he’ll not want to be picked up at all, being too cool for it. And he’s also getting older, not accepting it as much either.
“Oh really? Did you know that’s my favorite place, too?” I ask as my lips move to Tyra’s, kissing her softly while awaiting Von’s answer.
“Yep. Why do you think it’s my favorite, too? Mom always takes me when she doesn’t want to cook, which isn’t often, so this is awesome!”
“Another one of those things that make you, you, siren,” I tell her. “Want a tour of the place? I’m still waiting on the furniture, so the stock room is keeping me busy, but I can take a break and show you two around.”
“I’m going to sit by the door. The food is almost here, and Mom said if I eat all my lunch, I can have my tablet.” Von flips the iPad around. “See, there’s a new dinosaur documentary on I want to watch.”
“Alright, I’m going to show your mom around. Don’t go outside the door and come and get me or Kingston if you see a delivery driver.” King raises his head up from the laptop he’s working on and nods, letting me know he’s got it handled. His daughter is grown and in college. A single dad since his baby mamma dipped out when their little girl was four years old, he did his best to raise her while working in a career that can dominate your whole life.
“You got it,” Von replies.
“Mace, put me to work. I didn’t come here for you to entertain me. The faster we get things taken care of, the earlier you’ll get to come home. And I’ll let you strip me out of my bathing suit once Von’s in bed tonight.” The need in her voice and her eyes tells me she’s serious.
“Fuck yeah, but how about we work together? Team work makes the dream work, and all that.” I guide her to where I was in the stock room. Not two steps inside the room, and Tyra stops.
“Mace Ayala, go do something else. This is a freaking nightmare. Anyone who would potentially work for you would look at this place and walk away.” Tyra’s got a bit of organizational crazy in her. She’s not wrong, but it would have done the trick until we hire an office assistant.
“Tyra Ayala, I love the fuck out of you,” I respond. My mouth takes hers, nothing like the small taste of what I received when she and Von first showed up. This one is me showing her exactly what I’m going to do to her when we get home tonight.
“I love you, too. Now get out.” She backs away. I shake my head, enjoying the way her body moves, tempted to stay here and watch her the entire fucking time.
“I’ll come get you when the food’s here. In case I haven’t told you enough lately, thank you. Thank you for the amazing mother you are, the fucking outstanding woman you are, and every other thing in between.” I leave her with those parting words. Later tonight, I’ll be showing her exactly how thankful I am.
Epilogue
TYRA
One MonthLater
“I guessthat explains why I’m overly emotional and cry at the glimpse of you and Von doing the simplest of things,” I tell Mace, sitting on the bathroom floor with him beside me. Von is fast asleep in his bed, and while we planned for this—okay, we did nothing to stop this from happening—it’s making things very real, very fast. It was my idea not to get on birth control, feeling the need to not have our children further apart in age while also throwing caution to the wind. Now, though? There are a whole slew of things running through my mind, like how to tell Von, having four people in this tiny apartment, and the need to scale back on hours at work will no doubt come faster than ever. Because time is a thief, a lesson both Mace and I learned all too easily, coming with consequences that neither of us expected. We managed to come out on top. Any blow that comes our way now, I feel like it’s totally solvable as long as we’re in each other’s corner.
“Siren, it was only a matter of time until I knocked you up.” There’s smugness in his tone. Some things never change. Mace was freaking ecstatic the last time I took a pregnancy test. Von was completely unplanned. We were married, don’t get me wrong, but it was also the first year of our marriage. We thought the first two years of marriage would be just the two of us, traveling, enjoying one another. An oops on my part, forgetting to refill my birth control. I happened to be fertile and even told Mace in the middle of him screwing my brains out what could happen. It only spurred him on to fuck me harder. So we’ve come back full circle.