And If... {completed and edited 2024}

And If... You could stop talking please?

"I don't even know. One day, she woke up and decided to be mad at me. I did nothing this time, I promise. I tried to talk, but she didn't want to do it. I'm dealing with a psychopath." He answered, making me laugh.

Those two were like Tom and Jerry. They spent most of their time getting on each other's nerves and arguing. They could fight all day and every day, making you think that they actually hated each other, but it wasn't the case at all. Truth was that they couldn't live without one another.

"She is not a psychopath. Knowing you, I know you did something, so find out what it is and beg for her pardon."

"I beg nobody." He said as wrinkles appeared on his forehead.

"Are you sure about this ? Because I remember when she said--"

"Alright, alright, alright ! Calm down. I'm starving, can we eat ? "

I snorted, jumping off the counter. I got a big bowl and started making the salad. When the lasagna was ready, we called the kids to come. I wanted to eat outside, but it started raining. My patio had a roof to protect us from this, but I didn't feel like doing it anymore, so we were eating inside.

It didn't take long for the kids to come down as they ran in the kitchen. "Did y'all wash your hands ? " I asked them, already knowing the answer. They all sighed and went to do it. Not even five minutes later, they were back and I told them to set the table real quick, what they did without a problem. They liked to help if they were in the mood for it. Once the table was ready, we sat down, blessed the food, then started feeding ourselves.

"How you do to just eat leaves, lil' boy ? You don't even add sauce. Do you even know what a carrot is ? Have you ever seen one before ? " Lance questioned RJ as if it was a big deal that he was just eating leaves.

My mini me rolled his eyes, swallowing the food he had in his mouth before to speak. "Yes, uncle Lance. I know what a carrot is, I already seen one before. I even ate one, one day." He answered, lifting a finger up.

"Why are you letting this happen, Rich ? " He asked, looking at me as if I was losing my mind.

"As long as he's eating his vegetables, I don't care how he eats his salad. He just doesn't like cold vegetables. And he doesn't like cheese. He's like his great-grandmother." I answered, "but at least he voluntarily eats a lot of fruits. My kid is healthy and eats good, so close your mouth." Except if a doctor was saying that RJ's eating habits were bad for his body, I wasn't about to change it.

"Nephew, you don't know what you're missing. Like you will never have the chance to taste a Greek salad, this is sad." He said, then kept eating. Nobody else talked until the plates were empty. Before to take the dessert though, we had a little break, so we wouldn't feel too full.

"Daddy, since the season is done, we're going to spend more time together ? Like every, every day ? " RJ questioned with his little voice.

"I'll have some things to do, but yeah we'll be together a lot more."

"It's sad we didn't win the Super Bowl this year, but next year is ours, I'm sure." My six years old cousin, Dorian said as I nodded my head. He was my aunt's --my mother's little sister-- son and since he was the same age as RJ, they were very close. They considered themselves as brothers more than cousins. They were always together and they'd been this way since the diapers days.

"Daddyyyyy ! " Kavon called Lance.

"Yes, baby boy."

"Me want cake." He was two years old, so his talking was still a work in progress.

"I think you forgot a word ? "

"Oops." He covered his mouth with his two little hands, "pwease." He uncovered it, showing his bright smile.