Page 12 of Enigma
“Baby, was that the food?” I hear my son ask affectionately as he finally appears at the door.
Finally registering what was going on, my son nearly jumped into my arms as we embraced for what felt like an eternity; however, if I had my way, we’d hug for an eternity more. Nobody prepares you to miss the hell out of your kids as they become adults and find their own footing in life. They forget to tell you that life as an empty nester gets lonely when you’ve spent at least 18 years always having your kids in your home, making noise, and running you ragged. Finally releasing each other, Rio grabbed my suitcase as we headed into the house.
“Pops, what are you doing here? I thought you forgot about me when you never got back to me with a date you could come see me,” he beamed.
“You know your old man wouldn’t do you like that. I wanted to surprise you,” I replied.
Liah rejoined us with some sweatpants on and finally gave me a hug and said, “Uncle Cal, I’m so happy to see you,” as I wrapped her in a big bear hug and returned the love, “You too, babygirl, you too.”
“So are you going to tell my mom about this?” She asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice, really causing me to laugh because she really thought we were oblivious to what was going on as she joined Rio on the couch, and he kissed her forehead.
Deciding to put her out of her misery, I answered her question, “L-boogie, we all knew before your aunt Maria and your dad passed away, we just thought that as young adults, you both deserved the privacy to tell us when you were ready. Then with everything that happened, your mom and I were just appreciative and thankful that you two had each other to lean on in those hard times when grief came knocking,” I said.
It was quiet for a brief moment before Rio burst out, “Baby, I TOLD YOU!” as we both started laughing and she sat there with a look of both relief, confusion, and annoyance at our laughter at the situation.
Rio had always been my even-tempered child, showing the most emotion on the field and when someone fucked with his siblings, and now I assumed his woman, otherwise little to nothing rattled his feathers.
“Pops she was scared to tell everyone, whole time I’m like ‘Mama, we grown, as long as we’re not disrespecting and hurting each other, nobody would care’ and I love her pops so hurting Liah is not on my agenda,” he said, causing my beautiful niece to blush as he leaned over and kissed her.
Liah was a stunning young woman; she was the perfect mix of her mother and father. It wasn’t hard to see why my son, one of the most sought-after and eligible bachelors in the NFL, was smitten with the songbird and didn’t care to see what else was out there.
“Rio is right, L, as long as you two are happy, healthy, and loving each other, we have nothing to say.”
It was as if I’d thought her up because I had a FaceTime call coming through from Yanna. Planning to answer and tell her right away, I was at Rio’s, I didn’t get time before she appeared on my phone screen, causing me to get lost in her beauty.
“Baby, did you make it safely? We miss you,” she smirked, face full of love and lust.
The only thing that kept me from catching the first thing smoking back to Winston Hills so I could be balls deep in my woman was that I was looking forward to spending time with Rio and Liah for the weekend. Knowing that voice anywhere, Liah’s facial expressions started displaying a range of emotions as the reality of her mother calling me baby and flirting with me set in.
Walking behind me to get in the camera, Liah burst out with a wide grin on her face, “BAYBEEEE, we miss you?!?!?!” Not being done yet, she continued, “And who the hell, I mean heck, is we, mom?” She and Rio both laughed as he walked up behind Liah, nuzzling her neck and adding, “Hey, Aunt Yanna, I see we’re not the only ones who can keep a secret that’s not really a secret.”
As Yanna and I both sat there looking confused, Liah picked up where Rio left off, “Mom, Uncle Cal, the 6 of us had a bet going about you two hooking up. CJ, Rio, and I said that y’all were definitely getting cozy and had become more than friends. Milo, Callie, and AJ said we were delusional and that would never happen,” she laughed and continued, “However, we knew better because every time we called one of you, the other was around and it would be all all hours of the day, morning, noon, night, at home, or out and about,” she finished.
“Would Milo, Callie, and AJ be upset if they found out about Cal and me?” Yanna asked, her face covered in worry.
Knowing the kind of woman Yanna was, and how selfless of a person she is, I knew that if any of the kids were vehemently against us dating, we would end things because the kids and their comfort were the priority. Me, on the other hand? Shittttt, all six of our crumb snatchers were grown, gone, and doing what they wanted with their lives, so there was no way in hell I would allow them to dictate the who, what, when, where, and how of my and Yanna’s moving on, together or separately, dropping another heartwarming bomb on us.
“Nah, Aunt Superdoc,” Rio said, referring to Yanna by the nickname he’d given her as a little boy when he found out she was a surgeon who saved babies and kids by fixing their hearts.
“When we started doing our group grief therapy sessions, some of the sessions focused on how we, as your children, could be supportive if or when you and my dad decided you wanted to move on. Initially we were all cloaked in our grief and had never considered that the two of you were both really young and had lost as much as us, however Dr. Paige helped us to see that y’all were still here and deserved to live life on your own terms and those terms could include moving on and finding love again,” he finished.
Needless to say, Yanna and I were stunned into silence, because none of the kids had mentioned doing grief therapy together, and they never ever brought up us dating again after losing Angel and Maria. If I had to bet money, Yanna was feeling the same thing I was: pride. Proud that we’d raised six adults who understood the importance of mental health and wellness, and didn’t shy away from taking the necessary steps to ensure they remained healthy in mind, body, and soul.
“It better be an emergency to be doing a group FaceTime at 8 P.M. on a Friday,” recognizing the voice immediately as Milo’s.
“It’s always an emergency when niggas owe me money!” Rio said.
One by one, I heard the rest of our kids join the FaceTime, talking shit about in a group video chat on a Friday. As I looked back at my phone, Yanna was still there looking as beautiful and flustered as she possibly could, as she realized our kids were telling on us. I smiled big as I shrugged and mouthed, “I love you.”
As Yanna was about to respond, Rio came and put me in the camera so I could see his siblings and my godson, AJ.
“Damn, y’all don’t wanna say hi to your old man? You don’t fuck with your Uncle Cal, AJ?” I asked, causing everyone to laugh, including Yanna, who was still on my phone.
“Nah, nah, nah, Pops,” Rio said. “Let’s get to the big business. First, Dad and Aunt Yanna know about me and Liah, and Dad said that he, Mom, Uncle Angel, and Aunt Yanna have known about us for years.”
Everyone began to laugh, and my baby girl Callie jumped in to add, “I told y’all that anyone with half an eye could tell y’all were together. Swearing us to secrecy for some shit, I mean stuff, that wasn’t a damn secret,” causing me to laugh, and why oh why did I do that? Liah craned her neck and dropped the bomb Rio called to detonate.
“Not too big with chuckles, Uncle Cal, especially when my mama is sitting on your FaceTime as we speak, talking about, ‘Hey baby, we miss you’,” she said, mocking her mother, causing me to laugh and Yanna to roll her eyes. Liah continued, “And I still don’t know who we are.”
