Do Overs

fourtynine.

"What's going on?" Aubrey asked, sensing the tension. He put the takeout bag on the counter, took Alijah out of his car seat and held him. Julianna and Camilla exchanged awkward looks.

"Tell him why you want to go to Jamaica" Julianna said. Camilla remained silent, washing her hands and preparing to take the baby from Aubrey. Aubrey raised his eyebrow, seeming very confused.

"I'm not talking about this right now" Camilla calmly said, taking Alijah from Aubrey. "Hi baby, you had fun with grandma? I bet you did" she smiled at him.

"I'm not trying to attack you, you know I always want the best for you"

"Yes! And I'm grateful for that but this ambush isn't going to help me. You didn't even ask me how I'm feeling, you're assuming I'm going off the rails. I've had glass removed from my footbottom, I had my mugshot taken-" Camilla calmed herself down when Aubrey, placed a comforting arm around her.

"Relax, alright? Go sit with the baby and I'll come talk to you in a second" Aubrey kissed her on the forehead, leaving her to walk off into their bedroom. "What's the issue with going to Jamaica, aside from the obvious?"

"She's been in an altercation like this, about  six months before you came out of jail, just one that nearly meant she could've gone to jail, the girl was paid off by Shane and we never spoke about it again. I worry she'll go off the rails again" Julianna frowned, picking her keys off of the counter.

"I understand what you're saying, but I feel like you've gotta give her more credit than you are now. That was, what? Nearly 4 years ago? She knows what she has at stake in her life, this was just a bump in the road"

"Everytime she has a bump, she cannot do something like this. I'm getting older, life is catching up to me and things are changing, I need to make sure that when I'm gone my daughter is going to be living life how I want her to. I don't want her to be in trouble"

Aubrey furrowed his eyebrows, something about the way Julianna worded her response concerned him. What did she mean by things are changing? And life was catching up to her?

He felt it was best to avoid pressing the issue heavily with her given the fact that despite being family, she wasn't going to confide in him if something was going on.

"Life is catching up on you?" Aubrey asked, watching her facial movements to see if they would give away her feelings.

"I just mean I'm not always going to be able to fix things for her. She just needs to keep herself out of trouble. I know you'll help her, but she's not a child, she needs to make better decisions. She's an adult"

"She's still learning and growing as a person, same way I am and the same way every other person is. But I will definitely fix this situation, trust me" Aubrey cleared his throat as his sentence trailed off. Julianna immediately knew what that meant, but she too wasn't ready to ask questions.

"I know you will, only thing I ask is that you fix it in a way that doesn't land you or Camilla in jail" Julianna gave him a stern look.

"That would never be the plan" Aubrey shrugged. "We won't go to Jamaica, we were never going to, I knew Camilla was speaking on impulse so I went with it. I'll fix this"

Aubrey let Julianna see herself out before entering his and Camilla's bedroom. He stood outside of the door, contemplating what he was saying before entering. A few hours had passed, Camilla was now in a more idyllic mood. Aubrey had left her to eat, shower, along with speak to her mother while he and Alijah did the same.

"Does mama look scary? Yeah? Because mama had to fight this girl, like this" Camilla was playing with Alijah, taking his little hands and pretending that he was slapping her to make him smile. He still hadn't laughed yet, but that was the milestone she was waiting for him to reach.