little after we devoured the scrumptious chicken Creole Kashunna had prepared for lunch. In addition to being a dream nanny, the New Orleans native was one hell of a cook. I joked she was going to make me fat again. It had taken me almost six months to lose all my baby weight, and now my body was almost back to normal. Including my belly button to Jaime’s dismay. I was now able to wear a string bikini and wanted to keep it that way.
“Maybe later,” I said, though an ocean dip was unlikely. I was just enjoying sitting still and soaking in the rays.
“What about you, Jay-Z?”
He adjusted his Ray-Bans. “Thanks but no thanks. I think I’m just going to hang out here with Gloria and the twins.”
“Okay, you party-poopers. We’ll let you know how the water is.” Together, he and Ray leapt to their feet, and holding hands, they ran toward the roaring Pacific, shrieking like two little kids as they hit the water. They were so adorable together, and I was so happy that my Kev had found true love like I had. In no time, they were frolicking in the big, crashing waves.
My gaze shifted to Paulette and Payton. They were sitting nearby on the sand, contently playing with their plastic pails and shovels. They loved the beach. The sand, the waves, the squawking seagulls, and the schools of leaping dolphins we’d often see. Through my sunglasses, I drank them in. They were truly the two most gorgeous children I’d ever seen, and wherever we went people agreed. Paulette was indeed the spitting image of me, her platinum tendrils peeking out from her sunbonnet. I could only surmise I looked just like her as a baby as my crack whore mother sadly never took a photo of me. The only feature she hadn’t inherited was my dual-colored eyes. Hers were both cerulean blue, just like her brothers. Payton, on the other hand, was a mini-Jaime and looked just like the childhood portrait painted by his father that hung in his office. And the resemblance wasn’t just physical. He’d inherited his cocky attitude, and for sure, he was going to grow up to be a player just like his father had been before he met me. Jaime and I were going to have to teach him a thing or two about love.
Jaime dusted my chin with the tip of my braid, hurling me out of my mental ramblings. “I’m going to show them how to build a sandcastle. Want to help?”
I stretched out my long legs and leaned back on my elbows. “Pass. I’m just going to watch.”
I kept my eyes on him as he scooted over to the blissful twins and got right into sandcastle-making. His tousled sun-flecked hair glistened in the afternoon light, and his sculpted biceps flexed each time he scooped a shovelful of sand onto the ever-growing castle. The babies were giggling, tossing sand at it. Their laughter was contagious. Jaime was laughing too. It melted my heart to see how much he loved our children. And to see how much they loved him. I simply couldn’t ask for a better husband or father.
In no time, Mr. Creativity built an elaborate castle with tunnels and turrets. I got off my lazy ass and kneeled down next to my trio of builders, giving big smoochies to my little darlings.
“Oh my goodness!” I gushed. “What a beautiful castle you made with Daddy! High five!”
Big smiles spread on Paulette and Payton’s adorable faces. My precocious children had just learned how to do that. I held up my left hand and high-fived their deft little hands. My toi et moi ring glimmered in the sun.
A wave of melancholy washed over me. My magnificent intertwining heart-shaped diamonds had survived the passage of time. But sadly, the sandcastle wouldn’t likely last past midnight. It would be swept away by the ocean, blown away by the wind, or stamped on by some vagrant passerby. People could be so mean.
But this moment would never leave me. Regretful I hadn’t brought my iPhone along with me, I snapped a photo with my eyes, storing it in my mind. And when Jaime told me he loved me and smacked
“Maybe later,” I said, though an ocean dip was unlikely. I was just enjoying sitting still and soaking in the rays.
“What about you, Jay-Z?”
He adjusted his Ray-Bans. “Thanks but no thanks. I think I’m just going to hang out here with Gloria and the twins.”
“Okay, you party-poopers. We’ll let you know how the water is.” Together, he and Ray leapt to their feet, and holding hands, they ran toward the roaring Pacific, shrieking like two little kids as they hit the water. They were so adorable together, and I was so happy that my Kev had found true love like I had. In no time, they were frolicking in the big, crashing waves.
My gaze shifted to Paulette and Payton. They were sitting nearby on the sand, contently playing with their plastic pails and shovels. They loved the beach. The sand, the waves, the squawking seagulls, and the schools of leaping dolphins we’d often see. Through my sunglasses, I drank them in. They were truly the two most gorgeous children I’d ever seen, and wherever we went people agreed. Paulette was indeed the spitting image of me, her platinum tendrils peeking out from her sunbonnet. I could only surmise I looked just like her as a baby as my crack whore mother sadly never took a photo of me. The only feature she hadn’t inherited was my dual-colored eyes. Hers were both cerulean blue, just like her brothers. Payton, on the other hand, was a mini-Jaime and looked just like the childhood portrait painted by his father that hung in his office. And the resemblance wasn’t just physical. He’d inherited his cocky attitude, and for sure, he was going to grow up to be a player just like his father had been before he met me. Jaime and I were going to have to teach him a thing or two about love.
Jaime dusted my chin with the tip of my braid, hurling me out of my mental ramblings. “I’m going to show them how to build a sandcastle. Want to help?”
I stretched out my long legs and leaned back on my elbows. “Pass. I’m just going to watch.”
I kept my eyes on him as he scooted over to the blissful twins and got right into sandcastle-making. His tousled sun-flecked hair glistened in the afternoon light, and his sculpted biceps flexed each time he scooped a shovelful of sand onto the ever-growing castle. The babies were giggling, tossing sand at it. Their laughter was contagious. Jaime was laughing too. It melted my heart to see how much he loved our children. And to see how much they loved him. I simply couldn’t ask for a better husband or father.
In no time, Mr. Creativity built an elaborate castle with tunnels and turrets. I got off my lazy ass and kneeled down next to my trio of builders, giving big smoochies to my little darlings.
“Oh my goodness!” I gushed. “What a beautiful castle you made with Daddy! High five!”
Big smiles spread on Paulette and Payton’s adorable faces. My precocious children had just learned how to do that. I held up my left hand and high-fived their deft little hands. My toi et moi ring glimmered in the sun.
A wave of melancholy washed over me. My magnificent intertwining heart-shaped diamonds had survived the passage of time. But sadly, the sandcastle wouldn’t likely last past midnight. It would be swept away by the ocean, blown away by the wind, or stamped on by some vagrant passerby. People could be so mean.
But this moment would never leave me. Regretful I hadn’t brought my iPhone along with me, I snapped a photo with my eyes, storing it in my mind. And when Jaime told me he loved me and smacked
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