Debt

41: Suffocate

Shawn watched Abrielle sitting out on the balcony with the baby. She had made sure to put sunscreen on his skin and to put the awning out.

She was just cuddling him. Of course after she had nursed him, he wanted to go right back to sleep.

Nurse Carla had given the two the all clear to have sex six weeks after Vincent was born, but Bri laughed when Shawn took her hand and led her to the bedroom, because she hadn't given the all clear for nothing. She said he had babies on the brain and she wasn't trusting her uterus in his very capable hands.

With Vince, it seemed like as soon as Shawn said he wanted a baby, he got one. They got pregnant very easily, maybe too easily. She was going to have to see about some type of birth control before they hopped back in the sack. In the meantime, a nice blow never planted a seed in anyone's womb.

The past three months, Shawn did nothing but adore that little boy and his wife. He and Bri had started working out. He did like he said he would and started it out light to get her readjusted. She hadn't worked out for six weeks, after all.

Now Vincent stayed awake a little bit longer during the day and smiled at his mother. He would smile at Shawn too, if Shawn wasn't in Bri's face.

He sat where he was and just watched them. Erma came into the room and tapped Shawn. "Can I use your car to go to the market?" she asked.

"The keys are on the table in the hallway downstairs."

"Thank you. Do you need anything?"

"No, thank you."

"Okay. - Abrielle?"

"Yes, Mami?"

"Do you need anything from the market?"

"I wanna go!" Bri decided. Erma face palmed herself. Now she was never going to make it back out the market. Abrielle could eat like no one's business. Taking her to the grocery store was no bueno. She would want everything that was edible. She used to love going to CoCo's house, because CoCo cooked like she did.

"No," Erma told her.

"Maaaaaaami," she whined. "¿Porqué no?"

"Por que yo dije. No. Do you want anything, mija?"

Abrielle frowned as her mother stood there with a hand on her hip. She looked like a big ass child having a tantrum. And she was.

"You're so mean," she whispered, like when she was a little girl and her mother told her no.

"Get over it. Do you want something or not?"

"I want chocolate plantains from the vendor next to the market."

"Okay. Bye, niña."

Erma left, and Shawn chuckled as she exited the room. Bri turned to look at him, swearing in Spanish that it wasn't funny. Shawn barely understood her, so he didn't care. It was funny.

"I wish I had something to throw at your retarded ass," she told him, holding the baby in her arm, waking him up. He looked up at her like she was stupid for waking him up, and she looked right back at him.

"Look here, Mini Shawn. You won't be giving me those ugly looks. I am the parent in this situation. Do we have an understanding?"

He gurgled, and she raised a brow while Shawn was laughing and came and took the baby from his wife.

"That little boy has got a smart mouth already. Can we give him back? Where is the receipt?"

The baby got loud and began to shriek and wave his hands around. Bri stood there with her hands on her hips.