Page 85 of Girl, We Go Together
“The daycare opens at seven thirty, and I have to be at work by eight. I’m honestly blessed that my job is on the corner from her daycare.”
He put his wallet into his pants pocket and then kissed me on my forehead.
“I’ll be back tonight, and I’m staying the night, so I can drop y’all and then go to work myself. I don’t want my girls getting on the bus. I just gotta run home and take Nana to BJ’s. This is her Sunday to go food shopping. I’ll pack me a little, what y’all call it? A spend the night bag, and I’ll be back.”
I smiled before thanking him. He really didn’t have to come and do that for us, but I loved that he did. He opened my front door, pulled me into a hug, and then tapped my lips before he walked off. I stood with the door open, watching him descend the stairs until I couldn’t see him anymore. Once he was out of sight, I closed my front door and pressed my back against it.
“Whew…”
I had to release everything that had unfolded from last night. This man… this man was everything that I had wanted. With everything that I had been going through, I prayed more than I ever had. Somewhere between me asking for strength, clarity, and peace, I must have snuck the words a good man in there,and God had to have been listening. I felt like the devil saw me struggling in the love department and sent Orion to finish me off. But this man, Kassidy, came from God. Even after all the nasty, unspeakable things we had done when we were both panting and trying to catch our breath right before my eyes closed for the night, I heard that man praying. He was so perfect.
Knowing that he was coming back tonight, I thought of what I could make him for dinner. It had to be something that Oriana would enjoy, too, but I wanted to impress him with my skills. Cooking was one of my love languages, and this was the time for me to show him what he would get if he decided to stick around.
When I made it back to my bedroom, I stood in the doorway and looked at the mess of a room that he and I had contributed to. Flashbacks of the night before played in my head.
“Mmm,” I grunted, not meaning to.
I sighed before pulling myself together. I had to change the sheets, straighten up the house, and then run to the grocery store for what I wanted for dinner. I was thankful that it was still early. Orion never woke up early, so I knew I had more than enough time before he dropped Oriana back home.
By around two, I was buzzing Orion into the building and tending to things in the kitchen. I decided to go with some barbecue chicken, baked mac and cheese, green beans, and corn bread. It was Sunday, and it had been a while since I really threw down in the kitchen. A midnight blue citrus candle from Bath and Body Works burned in the living room. That scent mixed with the aroma coming from the kitchen had the entire house smelling good.
“Damn, it smells good in here,” Orion said as soon as he walked through the door with Oriana.
I wiped my hands on the towel that hung from the stove before rushing over to grab Oriana.
“Hi, baby!”
She rushed out of her father’s grasp to get to me. “Hi, Mama!”
I snuggled my face into her little neck and then placed kisses all over her. Orion stood on the sideline, just looking at us.
“Hey,” I finally gave him a dry greeting.
I thought I would be mad when I saw him about the whole him and Brandi thing, but I wasn’t.
“Uhh… she ate breakfast but not lunch, and here’s her bag. She got a few outfits in there and two pairs of sneakers.”
I really wasn’t expecting him to do any more than what my child support payment allowed. Still, he was doing additional things as well.
“Thank you,” I said as I grabbed the bag from him.
He stood there for a little minute, and I looked at the door behind him. He had brought my baby home; now his ass could go. He looked like he wanted to say something to me, but he didn’t.
“Well, thank you for the kid-free weekend.”
Hopefully, my statement would prompt his ass to get the fuck on.
“Whenever you need a break, let me know.”
He made eye contact with me, and I tried to read him. I didn’t know if he was being sarcastic or if he really meant it. Either way, the message was heard.
“Got it. Get home safe. Give daddy a kiss, Ori.”
She leaned out of my arms to kiss her dad. He smiled after receiving the love that he looked like he needed. He opened the door and then stopped midway through the threshold.
“I gotta text you the pics of her from the shower.”
And he had to say something that pissed me off.
