Page 77 of Honey's Special Roux

“What does Quis like? When I was a kid, I was cool on pizza and chicken nuggets. You raised him as a professional chef, so he probably like complicated shit.”

I giggled. “He has a diverse pallet. I know you wouldn’t know how to poach a lobster, so let’s stick to something easy. Homemade pan pizzas?”

“I like that. Roll some dough, slap some sauce on that mothafucka, and put it in the oven.”

“Pretty much. Let’s get it.”

“Perfect. Send me the list and pictures of the complicated shit so I can swing by the store on my way over.”

“Okay. Quis is going to love that.”

“I hope so.”

The call ended shortly after. I thought about the last month. I was adamant on setting boundaries, but Marquise was consistent in building a relationship with Quis. The first time Marquise and I took Quis out, I was nervous as hell.

The weather was nice, so we opted to going to the community park. Quis left his coloring book in the back seat as he tugged me toward the swing.

“Push me high, Mommy.” He squealed as he hopped onto the swing and held tight.

“Of course, baby.” I held the base of the swing and pulled him back before giving him a firm push. His little legs kicked with excitement.

Marquise stayed a few feet away and watched us. He was on eggshells. He didn’t know how to fit into our lives, but I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“Quis, do you think you can swing higher than Mr. Marquise?” I asked.

“Yes!”

Marquise smirked. “Is that right?”

“Yes!”

I giggled. “Let’s see what you got, Mr. Marquise.”

Marquise pulled up his pants and sat on the swing beside Quis. He gave himself a boost before he started kicking his legs to gain height on the swing. They were neck and neck for only a few seconds before Marquise slowed down to let Quis win.

“Mommy! I’m swinging high in the sky.”

“You are, baby.” I moved out of the way and watched the two of them enjoy the moment together. Quis’s laughter was all I needed to know we were doing the right thing. Marquise’s joy softened my heart. I couldn’t keep them away from each other.

The sight of a father and son bonding was enough to have me looking for homes to buy in the city. Marquise’s efforts were commendable. He’d made sure to see Quis during all his off days the last three weeks. It was beautiful to see.

* * *

The pizzas were in the oven, and the boys were upstairs getting used to Quis’s new room. After I’d cleaned up the kitchen of the pizzeria mess we’d created, I went upstairs to check on them. Quis was showing Marquise his collection of dinosaur books.

“This one is a bray-key-osaurus,” Quis sounded out.

“That one is huge. What do they eat?” Marquise quizzed.

“It’s one of my favorite dinosaurs. They eat the leaves on trees. They’re like giraffes at the zoo. They reach up high with their long necks to get the best leaves on the trees. They don’t even chew them; they just swallow the leaves whole. I tried to eat leaves once. It was nasty.”

“I’ve tried things that were nasty too.”

The two of them shared a hearty laugh. I folded my arms as I watched the two of them. A thought continued to haunt me:What would have been had he not gone to prison?Would we have lasted? Would he have been the best father to our child? Did the time away force him to truly become a better man and get his temper in check?

“Dinner is ready. Meet me in the dining room after you’ve both washed your hands.” I made my presence known.

Two identical faces turned to look at me. The sight of Marquise and our son made me want to give him another baby, but I shook the thought away immediately.Girl, you don’t know what the man has going on in his spare time.

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