Sour or Sweet

sixty-eight

Cameron A. Hayes

Dallas, Texas
2023

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to youuuuu! Oooo that man is 26! My lil sugar daddy that I give a lot of sugar to."

Baby moved her eyebrows up and down, causing me to bust out laughing while sitting up in bed as I watched her gorgeous self walk into our room, singing while holding my beautiful babies. She was also holding a plate with a slice of yellow cake that I'm pretty sure she made. It had a lit candle, and I shook my head.

"Tell Daddy happy birthday."

She passed them to me and held the plate out in front of me, indicating that I needed to blow the candle out and make a wish. I closed my eyes and blew out the candle. I grabbed the plate and she climbed into the bed, straddling my legs because the girls were in my lap. I stuck my finger into the frosting, holding it up to Mari's mouth and did the same for Airy. I tasted some myself and licked my lips afterward. I love when she makes stuff from scratch because this caramel frosting? Good as fuck.

"How you feeling, birthday man?"

I looked up at my wife as she stared at me with so much admiration in her eyes. She was obsessed with me, and I loved it because I was definitely obsessed with her too. It's the mutual obsession for me. I licked my lips and flashed a smile. "I feel good! I got my beautiful wife and babies here with me because the Lord allowed me to open my eyes today, and that's all that matters. I'm fine, healthy, and wealthy. I couldn't ask for anything more."

"Fine as fu-freak!"

I laughed as she leaned up and kissed me. We were going at it for a minute until Airy smacked me. I knew it was her because she's been the main one hitting me since she was born. Like little girl, your daddy got PTSD. You can't be doing that.

Bri and I pulled apart, so I looked down and mugged her little ass, causing her to flash a smile, showcasing her little teeth. Bad ass. I looked over at Mari and she was going to town on the cake. I shook my head because she def got being greedy from me and Bari. "Get them, mamas. I'm finna go wake Amir's ugly ass up."

I placed the plate on the night stand and slid out of bed. I fixed my briefs and slipped on some shorts before sticking my feet into some slippers. I made my way towards the door and before I could even walk out, the girls started screaming. They were a little too advanced to be 1.

"Dada I go!"

I shook my head and turned around, walking towards the end of the bed. I held my arms open and they crawled towards the end, which resulted in me scooping them up. Bad asses need to start walking.

"Dang, just leave mama then."

I laughed at the girls because they were literally saying bye, waving their hands and all. I love my little munchkins. I kissed them both back and forth until we made it upstairs. I should've put an elevator in this bitch. I made a mental note for the next house because, gah, damn. I just knew Bari was hungover. He decided to come over last night and talk about how we should start our day off right. When 12 o'clock hit, we were both drunk as fuck, but he was drunker than me. I know since Nerrick was killed, my drinking took a turn, but once my babies were born, I knew I had to pull back some and I did exactly that.

But last night? I drank a lot, but not too much because I'm scared. I'm scared of the fact that I know I'll take it too far if granted the opportunity. I know it's been a year already, but I think once I finally come to terms with him being gone, I won't drink to numb the pain. I'll drink for pleasure and fun. I know our bond wasn't the best, but I will forever scream RIP NERRICK A'DRE until we're together again.