A Long Way From Home (ManxMan)

i.

It's been a good month, and everything seems to be going well. We got Kaylee into school, and she loves it. Jarih is walking, and everything with our work life seems to be progressing.

" Did you see the water bill in there? " he asked me.

" Uhhhh, " I dragged out, shuffling through the white papers. " Here ya' go, baby. "

" Shank you. " he thanked me. He opened the mail, taking out the bill and reading it.

" How much? " I asked, finishing the budget plan.

" Only sixty. " he danced.

" Not surprising. " I replied. " Is that everything, sir? "

" Yes, it is. I have already taken out this month's daycare, and Kaylee's school, so whatever is left, we can spend it. " he told me.

" And that is? "

" Just know it's enough. More than enough, actually. " he said, and we high-fived.

" Daddy, can I have a snack? " Kaylee asked. D'wight and I both got confused. She's never addressed either of us as 'daddy', and which of us is she talking about. I looked at D'wight, who had to be thinking the same thing.

" You sure can, what would you like? " I asked her, getting up and walking to the pantry.

" Can I have...." she put her finger on her chin. " Fruit snacks. "

" Here you go! " I grunted, reaching up to the top shelf and handing her the pack fruit snacks.

" Thank you. " she thanked me, hugging my leg.

" You're welcome, sweet pea. "

She ran off, and I walked back to the table sitting down. I could tell that he had something on his mind, but I wasn't going to ask him.

" Next month is October, and I was thinking about putting together a little Halloween party. Something that we can all benefit from. We'll invite some of the kids from the daycare, Kaylee's school, and my people can come too. Maybe, some of your family? " he told me.

" Whatever you want, baby, I'm for it. " I leaned up to kiss his cheek.

" You're not going to fight me on this? " he questioned me, and I shook my head.

" Nope. Just because they're here doesn't mean that I have to talk to them. " I walked into the kitchen, pouring me a glass of water.

" Come on now, Terrell, why you gonna' be like that? " he walked over to me, hugging me from behind.

" I'm not being like anything, those are the seeds they sewed. " I sipped from the glass.

" What about forgiving, you know how big I am on that! " he turned me around. " I'm not asking you to be fake with them, I understand what you went through. Just be cordial, please? " he gave me his puppy dog face.

" Alright, alright. " I gave in.

" Plus, you know how your mother gets when we don't invite her to stuff. " he nagged. " Why y'all ain't invite me, y'all don't love me, do you? Do you? " he mocked her.

" You sound just like her. " I smiled.

The next day, I woke up at four in the morning, typical timing. I got Jarih up and dressed for daycare. I walked into the room, shaking D'wight lightly.

" Baby? Baby? " he wouldn't move. I got into the bed, hovering over him and began to kiss his neck. " Baby, wake up. "

" Hmm? " he moaned.

" Boy, get up, don't play with me. " I got off of him, and he sat up. He rubbed his eyes, lying back down. " Sleep well? "

" I was until you woke me up. "

" We've done this everyday for a month now, what's the problem? " I asked him, packing Jarih's bag.

" Oh, shut it. " he got up out of bed, going into the bathroom.

" You want some breakfast? "

" Hell yeah! " he muffled, with a mouth full of toothpaste.

I grabbed Jarih, going downstairs and sitting him in his high chair. I walked into the kitchen, grabbing the sausage, eggs, and grits. Something quick, and easy. I got the grits boiling and the sausages and eggs cooking, and within minutes everything was done. Kaylee and D'wight were walking down the stairs, laughing at something.

" What's so funny? " I asked them, and they suddenly stopped laughing. He leaned down to whisper something in her ear.

" Nothing, sir. Thank you for cooking breakfast! " she smiled, widely. She walked over to her brother, playing with him.

" What are you two up to? "

" You heard the girl. " D'wight sassed, walking past me and going to fix their food.