Angel laid on the bed facing towards the balcony, and her eyes were on Roman as he paced near the opened double doors with both of their daughters on his bare chest; both awake and pulling on either his beard or his skin.
It seemed like the twins were finally becoming aware that they existed, and now that they knew that they had hands, they reached and grabbed at everything. Two of their favorite things to do was to pull on Roman's thick and scruffy beard, and scratch at their own face.
Although the girls were currently wearing mittens over their tiny hands, that didn't stop them from trying to pull at stuff.
"You good mama?" Roman asked with a worried expression on his face, seeing the way Angel was staring at him after she'd zoned out.
"Mhm. Are you?" She returned the question, a small smile on her face. Her man looked so good while in daddy mode.
"Yeah. You sleepy, huh?" He locked his gaze on her low eyes, and she nodded her head in response. She hadn't quite got her babies on a set schedule yet, and last night they didn't go to sleep until almost seven in the morning. Angel couldn't even go to sleep then because she still needed to take a shower and clean up their messy room.
So, yeah, sleepy was an understatement. It was hard for her to go to sleep without them because she always wanted to be up when they were so that she could make sure they were okay. She was overly concerned about their safety even though she knew Roman would never let anything happen to them.
She figured it was just one of those new mom things.
"Mommy," Kaiya walked into the bedroom, holding her iPad in her hand as usual.
"Hi baby. How'd you sleep?" Angel picked her up, placing her down on the other side of her.
"My iPad died." She said with a frown, sleep still evident in her expression. Her hair was all over the place, too; that wasn't anything new.
"I keep telling you to stop falling asleep without putting it on the charger." Roman chuckled, sitting down on the side of Angel as well.
"I thought I d-ouu, are they awake? Hi my babies," Kaiya leaned over Roman's shoulder, looking down at both of her little sisters.
"Mommy when can babies start talking?" She turned her head to look at Angel, her eyebrows furrowed like her father's.
"I'm not sure. I think around one is when they say their first words."
"One o'clock? It's almost two though." Kaiya's small frown remained, and it deepened when her parents laughed at her.
"One years old. So, in twelve months." Angel chuckled, turning over to lay on her back.
"That's soooo long. I don't think I can wait that long." She laid her head on Roman's shoulder, still staring at her baby sisters.
She didn't appreciate how quiet they always were. The only time they cried was when they wanted to be with Angel, but other than that, they barely made any sounds. It was low key scary for Roman and it made him wake up constantly through the night to make sure they were still breathing properly.
"Wassup daddy baby?" Roman lifted Kacey up to be closer to him once she began to whine. The twins were identical instead of fraternal, and the only way Roman could tell the two apart was because Kacey was clearly bigger than her sister.
Another difference that Angel had noticed was that Kennedy had a small mole above her left eyebrow, while Kacey didn't. She couldn't wait for them to get older so that she could see more differences between them because they truly looked exactly the same.
In fact, when they were at the hospital for the first two days of the babies lives, the nurses put different color wristbands on them in order to be able to tell them apart. Angel thought that was so cute.
"I hate when they do that." Roman said with an obvious attitude as he passed Kacey over to Angel, who's cries almost immediately soothed from the familiarity of her mother's chest.
"She's such a mama's baby. Ken doesn't do it as much as she does." Angel chuckled, rubbing over Kacey's hair. She was honestly surprised that they had as much hair as they did because she didn't remember having much heartburn during her pregnancy.
"You have to feed her now?" Kaiya asked, watching Kacey clutch on to Angel's boob.
"No. They have to wait two more hours. She just likes to lay here." Angel scooted herself lower against her pillow, hoping she could get a nap in before it was time for her to breastfeed.
"Mommy you going to sleep?"
"I'm trying."
"Well, I'll be back when you get up then. Bye bye guys." Kaiya got out of the bed, and Roman chuckled, watching her run out of the room with her iPad.
He turned his head to look at Angel again when the door closed, seeing that her eyes were shut but her hand rubbed softly at Kacey's back. She had the cover halfway off of her, so he knew she was probably hot, as usual. She preferred the room to be near freezing in order to be completely comfortable.
As he continued to stare at her, he found himself falling in love all over again. He was genuinely so proud of her for giving birth to two of his kids, back to back with no complaints. She had all the reason to, but all she could do was thank him for making her a mommy. He couldn't remember one time she'd actually complained about something serious during her pregnancy.
Roman knew he needed to get her a push gift of some sort, but he didn't have the slightest idea what to get. She wasn't really a gift person; she barely liked shopping and anything she happened to mention wanting, Roman bought it the next day, so there wasn't anything left on her 'wish list'.
He often deposited money into her bank account too, but she rarely noticed because she never used her own debit card and typically didn't buy things unless it was for the kids. So, money was off the table and a shopping spree was too. He'd really have to sit and think on a gift this time around.
"Baby take those pants off first, please." She mumbled after feeling him lay down next to her, still wearing his sweats. She hated how they felt as they rubbed on her skin.
He did as told, then got underneath the covers with her again. He let her take Kennedy from him, watching as she laid her on her right boob because the twins fell asleep quicker that way. She didn't know what was with breast contact with children because Kaiya was the same way.
"Can I get a kiss mama," He hovered his face above hers, and she puckered her lips out for him but kept her eyes closed.
This time, he didn't get carried away like usual. He knew how tired she was. So after she kissed him, he gently kissed her face twice more, and then pulled her body closer to his to let her finally go to sleep.
She dozed off in his arms just a few minutes later, and he looked down at their daughters to see them sound asleep as well. He stayed there for around half an hour, just admiring what was his.
Then he got up, put his sweats back on, and quietly walked out of their room. He hoped Kaiya hadn't fallen asleep yet. He'd been meaning to have a talk with her.
"Wassup mama?" He walked into her bedroom, and his voice made her look up from painting her own toenails.
"Oh, hey daddy. I asked Ray for this so don't think I stole it out her room or nothin'." She looked back down at what she was doing, and he chuckled, sitting on the floor with her.
"Can I talk to you about somethin'?" He asked, watching as she nodded her head.
"I know I ain't been having no one-on-one time with you lately, especially 'cause now the babies here, but I'ma do better, aight?" He said, and Kaiya lifted her head to look at him again.
"I might be with them more than you for a little bit 'cause they real young so they need more attention, but you always my favorite baby. And ain't nobody gon' replace you." He moved her curly hair out of her face, and Kaiya put her nail polish up so that she could give him a hug.
Angel always told him how she felt like she took up all of his time, and he didn't really realize it until recently. He knew it would only get worse now that they had two newborns to take care of, and he wanted Kaiya to know that she was still his number one girl, no matter what.
He kind of felt like he'd started to get distant with his own daughter because of how much he liked to be up under Angel, and he was in the process of learning how to distribute his time amongst all of his girls so that no one felt neglected in any way.
"Okay, that's okay. I wasn't mad at you daddy 'cause I already knew that." She kept her arms around his neck, now sitting in his lap.
"I know. I just wanted to tell you again. I love yo' whole life mama. You made me a daddy first, so you gon' always be number one." He kissed her temple, and she smiled, holding him tighter.
"Ana bahibak." She told him that she loved him too, but in Arabic. He gave her a high five for her good pronunciation, truly amazed by how she'd picked the language up just from hearing him occasionally speak it. She was even learning Spanish from Angel too.
"Look," He reached down in his pocket, pulling out a small velvet box. He opened it up in front of her, showing her the six carat engagement ring with an eternity ring styled band and a large diamond sitting right in the middle of it.
The beautiful and custom made ring ran him close to twenty thousand dollars-not including the actual wedding ring that he planned to buy from the same jeweler. It was worth it though. The ring look just how he'd wanted it to, and he knew Angel would love it. She wore rings for decor already, and he took some pictures of her favorite ones to show to the jeweler for inspiration.
He planned to propose today over dinner, which is why her family hadn't left New Jersey yet. Everyone knew about it except her, and he was surprised that they all were able to keep the secret for so long. He'd told them almost three months ago and nobody had spilled the beans to Angel yet.
"It's sooooo pretty! That's so many diamonds. Was it a lot of money?" She asked him, and he nodded his head in response.
"You think she gon' like it?" He asked, a little nervous. He knew Angel would say yes-well, had high hopes that she would-but he was still nervous about how she'd respond.
He'd obviously never proposed to anyone before, but knew he was making the right decision to make Angel his future wife. She was everything he'd ever prayed and dreamed of, and he wasn't going to go another day without putting a ring on her finger.
"I know she will."
Angel looked up at the bedroom door that opened right as she buttoned up the last button on Kennedy's onesie, and her face lit up at the sight of Shayla walking inside.
"Sistaaaa, I missed you." Angel wrapped her arms around her in a hug once she was close enough, feeling Shayla kiss her cheek.
"I missed you too boo. Hi my babies!" Shayla picked Kacey up, being careful with the back of her head.
Angel chuckled as she watched her pick Kennedy up too, talking to both of the babies in 'baby talk' while sitting down on the bed. She wanted to kiss their chubby cheeks so bad, but opted to respect her sister's wishes of staying away from their faces.
"What are you doing here? I thought y'all were leaving today." Angel laid back against her pillows, folding her legs up near her chest.
"Mama wanted to come cook dinner for you before we did. She really came to see the babies though, so I had to come give them my lovin' before her." Shayla playfully rolled her eyes, causing Angel to laugh.
Yesterday, Serenity and Faye kept the babies for a whole three hours. Then once Faye went to take a nap, Serenity kept them for another two hours by herself. The two grandmothers loved their newborn grandkids with everything in them and they weren't even a week old yet.
Anyway, Shayla really came upstairs to lure Angel back to the first floor with her. She hadn't really left the bed besides to use the bathroom because she was still healing from giving birth to the twins, and walking made her vagina hurt too much.
"You coming down to eat?" Shayla asked, and Angel nodded her head, figuring why not.
She swung her legs to the side of the bed, carefully standing up on her feet. She grabbed her baby carrier from the dresser, and wrapped it around her body with Shayla's help. Then, she put Kennedy inside while Shayla kept Kacey in her arms.
They walked to the elevator together, and when they got off, Angel saw everyone sitting in the living room, some of them with plates of whatever Serenity had cooked for dinner. They must've been here for a while now. Angel wouldn't know, she'd just woken up from her nap twenty minutes ago.
"Look at granny fat baby!" Serenity grabbed Kacey from Shayla, and Angel chuckled as Faye grabbed Kennedy from her chest as well.
"Mommy remember not to kiss her, please." Angel reminded her, knowing that Serenity loved to give cheek kisses to the people she loved.
"Tell yo' mama that granny got this. Mhm, she sure do fat mamas." Serenity let Kacey wrap her hand around her finger, cooing to her in baby talk just like Shayla previously had.
"Hey Nana. You smell good." Angel leaned over to give Grace a hug, being careful of the ball of yarn and needle in her lap.
"Why thank you, honey. How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. My stomach hurts a little but I feel better than I did the other day." She said; the day after birth was literal hell. She'd never felt so weak in her life. She felt much better now though.
"That's good. I'll have to send you some shea butter down her when I get back home, hm? I have to make some for the babies, too." Grace went back to knitting, and Angel smiled, standing back upright.
"Where's Roman?" Angel asked, having yet to see her man since she'd been awake. She missed him.
"I'm right here girl," His voice could be heard from behind her, and she turned around with a smile on her face. That smile slowly faded away once her eyes found his, seeing him down on one knee with a velvet box in his hand.
She then noticed how quiet the living room had gotten, and it didn't take her long to realize what was happening. Just the thought had her tearing up, and she immediately covered her face once she began crying.
"Aw, baby, get up please. Stop playing." She grabbed his wrist, trying to pull him up from the ground because she felt like he was joking.
"I ain't even said nothing yet mama." He chuckled, opening up the box to show her the ring that was inside.
"Oh my god. You guys it's not funny." She fanned her face, genuinely thinking this was a joke. But from the tears in Serenity's eyes, she knew this was real life.
Serenity was so proud of how far her daughter had come. She was used to Angel being by her lonesome; her quiet little baby who only had her mommy and her sister as her friends. Now, she was a mom herself, with her own house and a wonderful man to call her future husband.
She couldn't even begin to describe how proud she was.
"Y'all stay making me cry bruh." Raelle wiped her eyes too, already crying and Roman still hadn't even said anything.
"Is it for me? For real? Roman I don't want this to be a joke because that's going to hurt my feelings." She squatted in front of him, and when she realized that he was close to crying too, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
He usually said that he hated how emotional she made him, but he loved it. He loved it a lot. He loved the way she made him want to feel. He loved how safe her presence felt; safe enough to cry to her if he needed to.
"I love you so much." His voice rasped against her neck, and she sniffed, holding the back of his head.
"I love you more than anything. Well, not more than my babies but you're like, a really close second." She moved her hands so that they were on his face now, and he smiled, listening to their family laugh because they all knew she was being serious.
"You ready?" He asked, watching as she wiped her face once more.
"Mhm. Oh, wait, for what?" She returned a question, unsure of what she was supposed to be getting ready for. He loved how literal she was.
"For the speech, girl." Shayla wiped her own face as well, and Angel's mouth formed an 'O' shape in realization, then she nodded her head.
"I planned out a whole lil' thing and done already forgot what I wrote down," Roman pulled a piece of paper from his pocket that had writing on both the front and back of it, showing it to her.
"But I done realized that I don't really have to think about nothin' if it involve you. Everything become so easy and simple when it's about you. I don't know how you was able to make me as soft as you did, just by being you, but I love that sh-stuff," He caught himself from cursing, and that put a smile on Angel's face.
"I could never thank you enough for what you done did for me and mine; raising my girls like they yours, taking care of my house and helping me with my business. Then you done topped everything anybody ever did for me by giving me two more kids-and you know that's all I been begging you for since the beginning," He chuckled.
"And since you gave birth, I just been thinking to myself like damn, I literally can't see a life with you. There is no me without you anymore. I never really realized that I was missing a piece of me until you started making me coffee at yo' Nana diner after I got off of work," He smiled as he watched Nana Grace wipe a tear away from the corner of her eye.
"So, I want us to get married. 'Cause I want you to know that I'm never letting you go. You my person, and I prayed to Allah to allow me to do the rest of life with you and our family.. I can promise you that I'll continue to be teachable, because you teach me new stuff everyday that I never even thought of learning before."
"I can promise to keep you safe and as happy as possible; I promise to put that smile on your face everyday, I promise to take care of you and every child that we share together, and I promise to love you. I'll love you forever if you let me, and I won't ever give up on us. Ever."
"Will you marry me?" He finished his speech with tears in his brown orbs, and Angel noticed that he hadn't blinked yet because he didn't want them to fall.
"Yes. I love you so much Roman." Her arms wrapped around him in another hug, and their family-full of all girls-cried and clapped in celebration of the newly engaged couple.
"I love you too mama," He stood to his feet with her still in his arms, and he carefully lifted her from the ground while trying not to hurt her middle area.
"I can't believe this. You always outdo yourself, you know that? Every day, it's another reason for me to continue to be happy because of you. You are my whole life. Anddddd I'm going to be a wife soon," She held his face to her chest, and he laughed, hugging her tighter.
Time jump