I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man

7. The Bonus Chapter

It was early in the morning when I woke up to Dinah sleeping beside me. I smiled softly looking at her sleeping form before getting up to use the bathroom. I wanted to check on the kids downstairs before she woke up so I could talk to Chris. I decided to take the stairs down because the elevator would make too much noise and I saw Chris looking out the window where the lobby was. I smiled. "Good morning." I said. He jumped. "Oh, good morning. I was just..." I walked over to see him looking outside at the small stream that flowed with orange-dyed water. "Beautiful, isn't it?" I asked him. "Yes, sir." I smiled. "Why don't we get some tea in our systems, huh?" Chris nodded and followed me to the kitchen where he was just touching everything he walked past.

I started making tea and yawned. "Sleep okay? That bed back there is new." "Yes, sir. I slept really good. Amiyah slept on the couch in the living area...she's still asleep." I smiled. "Good." I was leaning against the counter watching him look around. "Christopher...I want you to know that I'm sorry I couldn't be there for everything, but I always knew about everything you did. I talked to your mother everyday I could." He nodded. "I just...I didn't think you...you had just my mother. I had read about flings you had." I smirked. "She knew about those, too. She knew what I was like in my late twenties. There were things we couldn't do together...I know that's not the healthiest way to go, but we did what we could. And she always knew, don't worry. I'm older now and most of those 'flings' were just covers. Now that you and your sister are older, I'm ready to be more open about my life. You're not a little kid anymore." Chris nodded. "I understand why you never told me. Both of you, I mean." I nodded and poured our tea. "Do you have anything else you want to talk about?" I asked him as we went to sit in the living area with our tea.

He was thinking, I could tell. "Um..." I smiled and sipped my tea. "You can ask me anything. That's what I'm here for. I'm your dad." He nodded. "That's the part I'm trying to process. Mama never forced your music into my life either, I just...sort of began to study your work from the time I was little. The first guitar solo I ever learned was from I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man." I smiled listening to him. "You know...that song is about your mama right?" Chris blinked as he was about to sip his tea. "I...ohhhh." His eyes lit up and I smiled. "Yeah, it's the story of how we met...sort of." Chris nodded.

I heard footsteps behind me and immediately recognized them. "Good morning, baby." I said as I could hear Dinah. "Hi, baby. Good morning. Morning, Christopher." She said as she walked down the stairs and came to sit next to me. Chris was looking at us fondly. "Were you there when I was born?" Chris asked us. Dinah smiled. "Almost. He came the next day while I was in the hospital. He was so excited to see you...you have no idea." I smiled. "I was. I watched you grow in your mama's belly." Chris smiled. "You came so early, too. I remember I was in France doing a show and as soon as I was done with the show that's when my manager told me she got the call your mama went into labor. I immediately paused my current shows for just a week and booked a flight home." I said before sipping some more tea. "He was so disappointed he couldn't be there, but he was so happy you came out okay. They had to keep you in the hospital a little longer to make sure you'd be okay." Dinah said. I stood up and walked over to the entertainment system to look through the library of photo albums I had. "Oh, here it is. Years 0-3 years old." I took the photo album and handed it to Chris. "Take a look. Should be the first picture." I sat back down next to Dinah and she put her hand on my thigh as I watched Chris. "Oh wow, I was super tiny." He said. I nodded. "Had to wear medical scrubs, hats, and gloves before I could hold you. And scrub myself clean, too. I stayed with your mama and you every single day and stayed the first couple of days you were home with her, too." He turned the picture to see a picture of him asleep on my chest. "That's us doing skin time. We had to make sure you stayed warm when you were first born." Dinah said. I sipped my tea.

"Wow, so...I had a dad this whole time." I smiled. "Everyone has a father, living or gone." He shut the photo album. "How did Grandma and Grandpa react to the news of you being pregnant, mama?" Chris asked. I snickered. Dinah rolled her eyes. "Well, your grandma was over the moon excited, but your grandpa was disappointed. He didn't really like Prince, but he grew to love him when you got a little older. Around the time preschool came up." He smiled. "What about you, dad? How did my other grandparents take the news?" I frowned just a little, but didn't want to disappoint him. "Well, you see my parents were...um...let's just say that my dad was a lot older when I was born. I have a lot of brothers and sisters and they really didn't mind it. So...I guess that's a good thing." I could see it on his face it's like he understood that my parents were no longer with me. "I see." He said.

Dinah kissed my cheek. "Why don't you two go upstairs and work on some music?" She asked. I nodded, but then stopped. "Wait...make sure I sign those adoption papers for Amiyah before noon so I can take them to the court house." Dinah nodded and Chris stood up. He and I walked upstairs to the studio in our pajamas and I yawned. "Dad?" My heart swelled. "Yeah?" He was hovering before he hugged me right and although I had my tea in one of my hands I wrapped my other arm around him. "I'm sorry for last night. I wasn't mad...I was just..." "I understand, kid. I love you...I hope you know that. I'm gonna be in your life a little more now, okay?" Chris nodded before pulling away. "You know...I swear our apartment was yours. I've seen baby pictures of me and the Walls here have the same decor as the..." I smirked at his realization. "Again, I was always there before you could even remember. And I gave my old apartment to your mother after buying it from the landlord. So, are you ready to learn the drums?" He was excited. "Yes, sir." I smirked as we went into the studio together.