He shrugged, leaning his back on the fridge door. "I figured you had it under control. Besides, I was reading." He kicked up his leg to balance himself as he continued to pat his nephew's backside. It was strange to him how quiet he could be. "If I remember correctly, you're not supposed to pick them up when they cry at times like these."
"I don't like him crying." She stated, shaking up the bottle. "You should think about investing in some night lights for the hallway. Can't see anything out there."
"He needs to learn he's not always gonna have someone picking him up. You codling him all the time will make him dependent on others more than needed."
Zadia glowered at him. "I'm sorry, is the so-called uncle who hasn't seen his only nephew in a week, trying to give me parental insights."
Roman glared at her. "For your information, I've been handling shit that's the only reason why I haven't been around him as much. How dare you even try to make it seem like I'm some deadbeat uncle. I'm not some gangbanger idiot on the street, I know what responsibility is."
Zadia chuckled sarcastically. "You're using excuses to mask the fact that you can barely even look the baby in the eyes because you've got some sort of beef with his father." She picked up the ready bottle and walked towards them, her eyes avoiding his face. She tried to take Tino from him, but he snatched the bottle out of her hand. "What the hell is your problem?!"
"You are!" He snapped, walking to the kitchen table. He sat down and positioned Tino properly, so he could put the bottle's nipple in his mouth. Tino latched on without a fight, drinking it down. Feeling eyes on him, he looked up at Zadia. "You can go now, I'm very capable of handling my nephew on my own." He dismissed her.
She decided to pretend he didn't just dismiss her and took a seat beside them on the chair further to the right. Picking up the book from the table, she inspected it. "The book of lamentations." She read out loud, feeling the designs on the cover. "You don't look like the type to read books like these."
Roman scoffed. "You classified me as a deadbeat and now I'm illiterate. Wow... you sure do have a way with words."
"That's not what I meant and you know it." She told him. "Why are you such an asshole?"
"Why are you so annoying?" He questioned.
They both rolled their eyes at one another.
Zadia straightened herself, crossing her arms as she leaned back on the chair's medal. The cool air that blew into the kitchen made her cold. "It's a pretty good book." She voiced. "Rosario does a good job talking about the Mayan uprising and the struggle for power."
Roman stared at her blankly. "I don't remember asking..." He paused, suddenly realizing something. "You read it in Spanish or the translated version?"
"El español." She said in Spanish.
"Let me guess, you learned it for the personal gain." He didn't let her answer. "That's all anyone ever learns it for. Better opportunities, while pretending to ignore the fact that you're taking it away from someone who is native to the language." Zadia fell silent, feeling guilty. Better opportunity was why her father had pushed her to learn different languages. "Tell me something, Zadia." She gulped, it was the first time he'd say her name. She was surprised he pronounced it right. "Do you know how to do voodoo?"
ChApTeR - 6
Start from the beginning
