| Christmas Day |
It was officially Christmas day. Not only was it snowing in Atlanta but it was sticking to the ground. Between the white skies and the fireplace burning in the master bedroom, it was all but aesthetically pleasing.
It was roughly 9 AM in the Taylor household.
Fatima woke up from jumping on the bed, Junior was in his Monster Inc pajamas with his iPad in his hand ready to open presents. It was scary how mature and advanced Junior was at 4 years old. Credit is due to all the adult figures in his life, minus Hazel, who instilled education in him at an early age.
Fatima rubbed her eyes as she looked at a boy on steroids jumping up and down screaming it was Christmas as if she didn't know that herself. Looking off to the right, she noticed Zac not too far behind her, which was strange because she swore she told him separate rooms.
"Mommy!"
"Okay dude relax. I just woke up." She yawned.
"But we have to hurry!"
"Them gifts are not going no where. I promise you that much. Go put your slippers on and come back." She watched Junior mug her then jump off the bed and run off to his room.
She slapped Zac's arm waking him up. "Why are you in here and why are you so close to me?"
Zac smacked his lips. "You really thought I was gonna wake up alone on Christmas? That's dead." She just staled face him.
"And to be fair." He sat up as his back rested against the headboard. "I put a barrier between us not my fault that our love pushed the barrier on the floor." He smirked as he saw all the extra pillows on the floor.
"MHmm."
"Okay but in all honesty I tried the guest room thing and it didn't work. You can be mad at me all you want but I am still gonna be up underneath you and my son." He stretched and yawned at the same time.
She got up and got herself together before grabbing her robe that laid on the stool by the bedside. Zac followed up grabbing his matching robe as well. When Fatima went shopping the other day, she got them custom robes and Monster Inc pajamas since she knew Junior wouldn't take his off.
Zac threw a fit because he doesn't like pajamas or robes but Fatima gracefully put him in his place🤐.
"For somebody who so ready for presents he sure is going slow." She thought to herself. She was waiting at his bedroom door as he scavenged around his room looking for his slippers. Fatima watched him for 5 minutes before she gave up. "They on the dresser." She pointed towards it, she watched him look at the same dresser 4 different times and each time he somehow missed the slippers.
"Hi Daddy." He waved as he sat down and put his slippers on. Zac walked up behind Fatima before giving her a hug, she was reluctant to give one back but ultimately did.
Making their way downstairs, she fixed herself some coffee while Zac and Junior play fought all the way down the stairs. She felt like she was raising two kids rather than one, knowing Zac know he too damn old to be playing on the steps. One wrong move and they all go tumbling down and now they at the hospital on Christmas.
"Wait for Tima." She heard Zac say as they made their way to the living room. She put everything back before she made her way over to the couch sitting next to Zac since that had the best view of the tree and Junior.
"I'm ready." Fatima said getting comfortable. "Start with your stocking first." She pointed at, Junior mugged her before going over there. He had some color pencils, crayons, and small toy cars.
I always hated opening my stocking up first🤣 I be tryna rush to the big boxes
"You didn't get me a coffee?" Zac whispered to her. "What's wrong with your hands and feet?" She remarked back as she snapped her neck at him.
"Noted." He nodded his head up and down before he turned his attention back to Junior. "How long are you gonna be mad at me?"
"How long did you lie to me? That's your time. Bringing in the new year single and ready to mingle." She taunted as she watched Zac's angry expression all over his face, she
"Bet that."
She ignored his response as they continued to watch Junior open his gifts. He walked away with a life size pickup truck, a bunch of clothes, and toys. Next up was the parents gifts, Junior had made Fatima an arts and craft coffee mug that his fingerprints on it since she is always drinking coffee. And Junior got Zac a painted blob canvas with his foot prints on it. Both Zac's parents and the God parents helped Junior out with this.
"Thank you sweetie." Fatima gave him a hug and placed a kiss on his head, Zac did the same. Only thing left was Zac's and Fatima's gifts to each other.
"I don't know why you looking at me. I returned all your gifts." She lied, the evidence was under the tree still. "You cappin son. I see the gifts right there." He pointed right at the big box that had his name on it.
"Damn you caught me." She chuckled standing up and grabbing all of the gifts. Zac waited eagerly like a legit kid as he saw Fatima bring all the gifts over to him, she placed them on the coffee table and then sat back down.
"Damn." She uttered. He didn't even wait for her to sit down before he started grabbing stuff. "My fault." He chuckled pointing the box he was holding back down.
"Now before you do the most...all of this was before yesterday and you lucky the stores closed today cause all this shit would've went back." She sounded just like a black momma on Christmas who swore up and down you weren't getting shit.
Zac began opening his gifts up. The first one being those funny board walk paintings you sit and get down but Fatima just slipped the dude a photo instead.
"Why is my forehead so big?" He asked inspecting the painting, it took up majority of the canvas.
"Have you not seen yourself daddy?" Junior asked. He made his way over there and looked at the painting before busting out laughing. He was rolling on the floor and everything. Zac smacked his lips before going to the next gift. "Shit not even funny."
"And that is your own face care stuff since you keep using mine and you not even using it properly either." Fatima stated as she watched Zac open a basket of facial products. "I don't know who puts sunscreen on before they put serums on their face but do you I guess."
"You never taught me." He shrugged.
"I didn't know you were interested. Instead of being a busy body touching shit, you should've asked me so I could tell you what each one does to your face and how to use them." She explained as she picked up the wrapping paper off the floor.
"So what I am hearing is a spa date." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Maybe with a happy ending."
"Did I not say I was single and ready to mingle?" She shooed him off.
"Fatima stop playing with me deadass, it was funny at first but now you taking it to the extreme." He mugged her, she didn't even look his way. "And Junior it wasn't that funny man." He was still laughing. He would stop and then every time his eyes laid on the canvas, he was back laughing again. Fatima picked up the long rectangular box and headed it to him. "What is it?"
"Boy open it." She rolled her eyes at him.
He opened the box and it was a necklace with a circular pendant of Momma Cheryl and Papa Louis. "Wow..." He uttered, not sure how to feel in the moment. His hands grazed the pendant as the memories rushed back. This was on draft night when they gave him a big long talk about making smart decisions and understanding the business aspects gets dirty and to never take it personal.
"How did you get the photo?" He asked her. He hasn't seen the photos in years, since that night to be exact.
"Momma C and Papa Louis gave it to me when I went to get Junior. They were cleaning up their office and found a whole scrap book full of stuff. I asked them if I could borrow the photo and made it into a necklace, that way they will always be with you." She stated, not only that, but she knew the secret they were still hiding from Zac.
"Thank you." He quickly wiped the tear from his eye and hugged her.
"Junior I got you this." Fatima said reaching in her robe. It was a baby gold bracelet with his name on it, well his nickname. Zac is still hoping he gets out the Junior phase and wants to be called his real name, Zachariah.
Zac held Junior still so Fatima could put the bracelet on, she hated how small they made the loops because every time she thought it was on, it wasn't.
After they got that figured out, Zac came back with her gifts placing it down next to his gifts. "Before I give you these gifts...just know they took a lot of time and thinking." He warned her before handing her the first gift.
"You like them?" He asked her, she was gifted Nicki Minaj tickets. "I hear you singing PF2 in the shower a lot so I figured why not meet the icon, plus these are back stage passes so you can do a meet and greet."
"Thank you."
She opened up the next box which held a set of keys. Two keys for different things. She dangled them in front of him confused.
"Well this key." He grabbed the bronze key from her. "Is for the front door. I have been meaning to get you a house key for the longest time but it kept slipping my mind. Plus you never mentioned you not having one, but then again, you use the garage more than I do."
She didn't know what to say so she just hugged him instead.
"The other key is a car key." He plainly stated and Fatima looked at him confused. "Relax. I didn't go out and buy you a car. I don't use the Benz like that and I don't want your plans hindered by me and my availability. I have already added you to the insurance so you are good to drive it." He also mentioned.
"This must be Hazel's old car." She pettyly stated.
He smacked his lips. "You can't do shit for black people." He laughed at her. "But no. She has a Lambo truck that I actually am getting with my people to get back. But nevermind that, this is the final gift from me." He reached in his pajama pocket and pulled out a long box, similar to what she had giften him a few moments earlier.
She opened the box and it was a bust down diamond necklace with a pendalet mirror, she was confused by it. "A mirror on a necklace?" She asked looking up to Zac's extended arm.
"Grab my hand." They walked into the bathroom, where he took the necklace out the protective casing and moved her natural hair out the way. He started talking as he put the necklace on her. "Remember the night of the Christmas party -she nodded her head- and remember what I asked you?"
She shook her head no.
"What do you see?" He repeated word for word. "So now when you aren't feeling your best or you feel like you have no outlet or whatever it is you may be feeling, you can look at that necklace and be remembered with the amazing night we had and all the amazing things I told you." He stated clipping the necklace together. "Truthful things."
"All those features you may despise for whatever reason makes you, you." He stared at her through the mirror. "And I don't want you to ever forget that. And if you do forget that, then your man will have to show you in more ways than one why you will always be enough."
She turned around to face him as one hand rested on his chest and the other ran through his beard. "You my man?" She tilted her head asking.
He looked down at her smirking. "Not yet. I am still on my rightfully deserved apology tour starring Fatima Wilson-Taylor." He spun her around as Junior watched from the door like a creep. He needed help with his gigantic Buzz Lightyear toy.
Zac picked him up fixing the toy and right on Que, it started making noises and dancing. "Thank you daddy!" He cheered as he kissed his cheek and wiggled his way outta his arms.
Zac handed her a red bandana. "What's this for?"
"To cover your eyes."
"What kinda freaky kinky shit are you into?" She busted out laughing as she grabbed it.
"It's not for sex, nasty ass." He laughed although it was a good idea. "It's for tonight, I wanna take you somewhere."
"I'm nasty?" She snapped her neck and pointed to herself. "Did you not just have me in the air eating my pussy last night?"
He smiled. "And i'll do that shit again too." He eyed her lips getting lost in the sauce before he bent down and pecked them a few times.
"I'm dropping Junior off with Hazel and her parents so we can go out tonight." He mentioned as he fixed his wrinkled up shirt.
"For what?"
"Because my parents are going to some Christmas party, Momma C and Papa Louis are doing their own thing, and apparently the Montgomery family got presents for him so." He rolled his eyes at the last one. He didn't wanna be bitter towards that side of the family no matter what they have done. He just needed a few hours with Fatima and then he would come get back and get Junior.
"Let them fuck with Junior if they want too." She threatened.
He pulled her into a hug. "Will you relax? Junior got his iPad and you know he gon snitch if something going on. Soon as that happens, we will be right there to save the day."
She touched her necklace as it felt like foreign terrority to her. "Thank you for everything." She kissed his lips once more.
"Not even close to being done pretty."
-
Oh lord! Our internet nephew is going with Hazel and the bums. Zac got something cooking for Fatima. Next up! We get to see Hazel's parents👀