Page 130 of Smoke

“Y’all are too big for this!” she exclaimed.

They reluctantly broke their embrace, causing her to smack them both on the arm. Beside me, Shar laughed and shook her head.

“Ma, did you ever imagine they’d be this much bigger than you?” she asked.

“No, chile. They were such little babies. Now they’re giants and don’t know their own strength. Almost broke my damn rib.” She came over to hug and kiss Shar before stooping to kiss her belly. “Hi, Grammy’s baby! How are you, sweetness?”

“Heis doing just fine.”

Ms. Allison’s eyes widened. “He? It’s a boy?”

Shar nodded. “We found out Friday.”

Her mother in-law scooped her up in another hug and motioned for Maceo to join them as the rest of us offered our congratulations.

“I’m so happy for you both!” she exclaimed. “My baby is having a baby!”

Maceo beamed with pride. “Since you’re so happy, I guess that means we have a free babysitter, huh?”

“I would never charge you to watch my grandson. Romi, baby, if you ever need a sitter, I’ve got you.”

“Thank you, Ms. Allison.”

Maceo came to hug me. “We’re really stuck with you, huh? So can we get a hookup on a facial or something? You’re already doing Deuce and Smoke’s?—”

“The hell!” Devin looked from him to me, making Maceo laugh.

“Yeah. I know about that. My wife loves to pillow talk.”

I covered my face. “Sorry, baby,” I apologized. “We were talking, and it just slipped out.”

Maceo jokingly reached out and touched his face.

“Smooth as a baby’s bottom.”

Devin slapped his hand away. “Just for that, you gotta pay her double. Touching my damn face.”

“I’ve told y’all about cursing in my house,” their mother said, smacking both of them with the dish towel.

“Ma, you curse like a sailor sometimes,” Maceo reminded her.

“I’m grown.”

“We grown!”

“You might be grown, but you’ll never be more grown than me. Now, leave me and my girls alone. Outta my kitchen. I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”

Her sons shook their heads. Both of them gave me and Shar kisses before following Mr. Alec outside.

“How about I make us some drinks?” Ms. Allison offered. “Cocktails for us, mocktails for the mommy-to-be. Go on, have a seat.”

She moved around the kitchen while Shar and I took a seat at the island. It wasn’t long before we were gossiping about our men. There was nothing but laughter filling the room as Ms. Allison shared some of the most embarrassing stories about Maceo and Devin.

At one point, they must have sensed she was talking about them and tried to come back inside, but she locked them out. They’d run around to the front, but she locked that door from her phone. It was hilarious watching them act like little boys around their mama.

I guessed with the life they lived, she was their safe space. I mean, they were chill with the rest of the family, but with her, they had a certain vulnerability. It was beautiful to see. That was the type of mother I always wanted to be. No matter how old my children got, mama was always their safety net.

The soundof screaming had me jumping out the shower. I almost broke my ass trying to get to a towel to wrap around myself. Running into the bedroom, I grabbed my gun and sprinted to find Romi.

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