Page 82 of Don't Kross Me
Kross felt a tug on his arm, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Dad, can I get the gift I got Mommy?” Aniyis requested as he looked up at his father oddly. Kross had let his thoughts consume him so much that he managed to become lost within them, resulting in him not hearing his son when he asked for the gift the first few times.
“My fault, ‘Niyis,” he apologized as he handed him over the blush pink gift bag.
“You okay?” Aniyis noticed the distant look in his father’s eyes. He never really saw his father shed a tear, but it looked like he was on the verge of doing so.
Kross nodded his head while ruffling Aniyis’ dreads. “I’m good, little man. Go ‘head and give Mommy the gift.”
Proudly, Aniyis smiled as he pulled out the birthday gift he made for his mother with the help of Remedy. This was the first year he would be celebrating her birthday without her, but hestill wanted to get her something. When he expressed this to his father, Remedy took the initiative to handle it because Kross had no clue what gift to get Cassie besides flowers. Remedy took Aniyis to the mall and got a glass plaque made with his and Cassie’s faces engraved onto it. He was so anxious to gift it to his mother on her birthday.
“Happy birthday, Mommy!” he exclaimed as he propped the plaque up against Cassie’s headstone perfectly.
Kross chuckled as he read the little message Aniyis dedicated to her. “The best mommy in heaven and onEarfever.”
“What you laughing for? She was.” Aniyis looked over his shoulder at his father.
“She most def was, but, son, you spelledEarthwrong,” Kross pointed out.
He took a closer look at the plaque before dramatically face palming himself. “I probably should’ve let Remedy help me.”
Remedy told Kross all about her trying to help Aniyis, but he refused and wanted to write out the message all on his own. He was in his phase of hyper-independence and wanted to prove to everyone that he wasn’t a baby anymore. He was stubborn just like Kross, so it was funny as hell most of the time whenever he realized he did something completely wrong.
“Nah, it’s cool, ‘Niyis,” Kross laughed. “It’s creative and makes it even more special for Mommy.”
“You sure she’s gonna like it?”
Kross smacked his lips while waving off his son’s concerns. “Knowing your mama, she most likely thinking it’s the cutest thing ever,” he said with a laugh to follow.
Thinking back on how lighthearted and sentimental his mother was, Aniyis couldn’t help but to laugh while agreeing with his father. Celebrating a birthday without her was hard. It had been just her and him together for six years straight. Around Cassie’s birthday, every year, Kross would break her offsome extra paper so she could take herself and Aniyis on a trip. Aniyis remembered those vacations and how much fun he and his mother had together. He wished he could go back in time to relive all those memories, but he couldn’t, so he had to work to become accustomed to the new tradition Kross wanted to ease into so they could celebrate her birthday and honor her.
They had an early start to their day with breakfast, followed by Aniyis helping to pick a fresh set of roses for his mother. Then they came to visit her. Kross successfully made the day a lot easier for his son. After Aniyis filled his mother in on all the latest updates since they came to visit her last, he glanced at his father, indicating that it was his turn.
A light chuckle surfaced out of Kross. “It’s cool if I get a second in private?”
Aniyis nodded his head, respecting the request because his father did the same with him. He walked off toward the cement path of the cemetery, allowing his father to speak to Cassie alone. A deep sigh drifted out of Kross as he squatted down to be closer to her headstone. Things got easier, but losing her would forever be a hard pill to swallow.
“I handled it like I said I would. I put that nigga down, and now, you can rest peacefully. He’ll never walk the same earth as our baby boy ever again.”
Getting justice for her was something he had to do. He owed it to her after everything she did for him. Blowing Scrap’s head off put an end to all the anger and turmoil he had manifesting inside of him since he lost Cassie. He finally had peace.
“Shit been different lately, and I apologize for letting life get in the way of us coming to visit you. I’m trying my best to get ‘Niyis acclimated to this new life while still honoring your beliefs and how you wanted to raise him. We have our good days and bad days, but we’re getting through. I just had a baby girl a month ago, and it took me a minute to step out of the guilt I feltfor moving on with the life I planned to live with you. Remedy’s amazing, though, especially with Aniyis. At times, I really think you and God linked up in heaven to place her in our lives. She respects you and gives me and Aniyis the space to honor you ‘cause she knows how much you mean to us. I’m saying all this to say I wanna marry her, and after talking to my mama, she told me the first thing I gotta do is to step out of the guilt I feel and realize that you would have wanted me to move on instead of mourning you my entire life. It’s been a year, and I can finally say I’m happy now, Cassie.”
Admitting to Cassie that he finally found happiness felt so liberating and refreshing. He experienced loss after loss and had been knocked down more times than he could count. This era of life was dedicated to everything that was taken from him, and he was determined to just be at peace. There was a set of blue wind spinners Aniyis set on Cassie’s grave for decoration. They began to spin as a light brush of wind graced over Kross. He couldn’t contain the smile on his face. Cassie had just given him her blessing.
“I love you, shawty,” he professed to her before sitting a kiss on her headstone. After saying goodbye, he stood up so he and Aniyis could make their way to the car.
Once they arrived back at home, they made their way up to their high rise. The move from the condo was timed perfectly since Remedy and the baby were coming with them. Kross copped a posh high rise located in the affluent neighborhood of Brickell. It was something temporary until he and Remedy finally agreed where they wanted to relocate to. Upon entering, they were greeted with the cries and whimpers from their new baby girl.
“She’s always crying,” Aniyis sighed with a shake of his head, prompting Kross to chuckle.
“She’s a baby, fool. What you expect?” Once he kicked off his shoes, he went straight to the sink in the kitchen to wash his hands so he could relieve Remedy of the baby.
Aniyis was a great big brother. He took the news better than Kross thought he would. The only thing he was bummed about was the fact that he didn’t get a little brother. Instead, he was blessed with a bratty and spoiled rotten little sister. Kross could tell he cared for his sister deeply. He just wasn’t with all that crying and whining. In Aniyis’ words, the crying blew him.
Aniyis made his way to the sink as well, washing his hands since he knew once baby girl stopped all her crying, he would want his few minutes of snuggles with her too.
“You do all that fronting just for you to be wrapped around her finger too,” Kross teased his son with a laugh.
Together, they followed the sound of the crying before landing in the nursery where Remedy was making a bottle.
