The champ is here!😭 the champ is back
| Taylor- Wilson Home, Sunday |
"Come on Fat Fat!" Zac shouted holding the garage door open before closing it. He made his way out of the garage to finish packing up some bags for their road trip. Zac surprised Fatima with this 'getaway' trip early yesterday morning after she expressed some concerns about the future. With the season and school starting tomorrow, Monday, there was no better time than ever to do a quick little road trip.
"Jwuice!" Junior asked holding his apple juice, Zac looked down to see him wearing his rainbow boots and shorts, Zac wasn't even gonna argue with him about it, they would figure it out when they got to their destination.
He grabbed the juice pouch before opening the back door for Junior to get in. "Imma open it in a few." Zac spoke buckling the straps together. Junior began to kick the back of the passenger seat with his boots because he wanted his juice now. "Will you relax? Damn. Acting like I'm starving you like the kids in Africa." He spoke holding Junior's legs together.
"Mommy?" He pouted throwing his bottom lip out as a tear ran down his face. Zac leaned back to see a waddling Fatima walking out of the garage. "How long is this road trip?" She asked covering her face up from the sun. "Roughly 4 hours."
She nodded her head walking over to Zac, "Why he crying?" She pointed at Junior who was red in the face. "Daddy mean to me, he told me he was gonna starve me like the kids in Africa." Both Zac and Fatima's eyes widened for different reasons, Zac didn't even need to turn his face, he knew Fatima was staring into his soul. Putting his hands up, "That is not what I said, I said he needed to be patient because I needed to finish throwing everything in the car, and then I said he was acting like I was starving him like the kids in Africa." He carefully explained to her, she squinted her eyes at him before turning her attention to Junior who sat there with a smirk.
"Don't worry bubbs." She wiped his tears while Zac walked around Fatima to close the garage and put the bed of the trunk down. Fatima grabbed the juice from Zac before pouring it into his cup, that way he wasn't squirting it around with the straw. After that, she pulled out a bag of Goldfish mixed with some dried up fruit so he can munch on the road.
It was around 10AM when they hit the freeway for the rural country where nothing laid there but grass and more grass. "Where are we going?" She asked looking up from her laptop, she began looking into Nikolai Popov. Whoever sent the letter knew about the case which is weird considering Robin literally searched her office bugs yesterday. So who was Dust? And how did they know she was taking the case, better yet, how did they know she wasn't going to take the case?
Fatima is not gonna take that little note seriously, at least not yet. Once she explained who Nikolai Popov was and how dangerous he was, Zac instantly got concerned for his family especially if someone knows Fatima will be taking the case. "We are going to a farm." Zac spoke turning the music down some and letting the windows down. "You smell that babe? It smells like-"
"Horse shit." She cut him off. "It smells like shit out here and I have no bars, I feel like an ATT customer right now." She joked looking out the window.
They were currently three hours into the four hour road trip and she lost cell signal almost 30 minutes ago which stopped her search into Nikolai. First thing she was doing upon entering work tomorrow was filing a petition to get the case files redacted and also pay a visit to him, she want's to 'sniff' him out.
"Mommy?" Junior called out, she leaned back and turned around some to look at him. "Yes handsome." She smiled at him, more and more was he looking like Zac. "I full!" He shoved the snack from earlier in her face instantly causing a mug. She pushed it back into him, "Zip the bag up and leave it to the side in case you get hungry again." She instructed him, they were at that point of teaching him problem solving skills rather than 'babying him.'
"I love this song." Fatima spoke turning her head to the radio, this was her all time favorite song. It made her feel bubbly and squishy inside. Zac shook his head remembering this song from when she first played it on one of their dates, she hummed the entire song.
Zac really didn't care about flowers, he hated them because they attracted nothing but bees and pollen, but Fatima loved them. She was actually obsessed with them, but we all know why she was obsessed with them. Fatima turned the knob for the volume control up just as their car drove past a dandelion field.
🎶
And I have heard of a love that comes once in a lifetime
And I'm pretty sure that you are that love of mine
Cause I'm in a field of dandelions
Wishing on everyone that you'll be mine, mine
And I see forever in your eyes
I feel okay when I see you smile, smile
🎶
Fatima gasped as she saw the sun glazing against the beautiful field of Dandelions. "Babe stop the car." She shook his arm repeatedly. "Why??" Zac said scrunching his face as he looked over at her in the passenger seat. She had her head out the window like a dog. "Bro put your face back in the damn car before your dad think I tried to kill you or something." He yelled looking at her crazy while Junior just sat back and laughed.
"Babe we have to go!" She begged him as she looked at the beautiful view in front of her, little did she know, Zac was already taking her to this field. He wanted to take her to a happy place and this place had amazing reviews, he rented the place out. This place is usually booked around this time for activities for both adults and kids, but Zac did Zac things and now here they are.
"I'm so tired of hearing this boring ass song, all she sing about is a damn flower, nothing special." Zac taunted knowing Fatima was sensitive about this song. "This song is about more than flowers babe. You gotta think deep. I know you failed school and stuff, but let's not fail in common sense too." She spoke as the car came to a stop outside the entrance, her left hand rubbing on his neck ever so softly.
"I love when you do that shit." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes as she massaged his neck. "I know, I would touch your hair but you looking real homeless right now." She joked and Zac cut an eye at her and she stopped. "You always wanna play. I just got my hair cut last month."
She shook her head "Nigga you need to be getting your hair cut at least every 2-3 weeks. Your hair grows fast. You know that." She said as she moved her hand from his neck towards his hair, you could see his overgrown sides and his overgrown waves that was past due for a haircut.
"Anyways if the song isn't about flowers then what is it about?" He asked diverting attention to something else, although they were at the destination, his body was cramped up so he wanted to relax in the AC a little longer before the heat and bugs take over.
She shrugged her shoulders, "I think it's about love." She spoke looking back at Junior who was nodding off, he was fighting sleep so bad. "I mean the lyrics kinda tell me that." She pulled her phone out to Google the lyrics, she had only two bars, and she was gonna make it work.
Bringing the phone closer to him and pointing, "In this line she says 'I think that you are the one for me, cause it gets so hard to breathe." Fatima said reading the lyric aloud to him before dropping her phone and looking at him. He shrugged not impressed, "She could be talking about pollen that is on a flower. You know that shit does make it hard for people to breathe." Zac replied, he knew he was wrong, but he wanted to irk her nerves a bit.
"Okay what about this one." She pointed to a new lyric on the screen, "Here she says 'And I see forever in your eyes....cause I'm in a field of dandelions wishing on everyone that you'll be mine. And I see forever in your eyes, I feel okay when I see you smile." Fatima said singing the lyrics to prove her case, Zac no longer cared for the argument.
There was a reason why he always started petty arguments. Once her hands start flying everywhere and her neck start popping, he gets turned on. Something about seeing Fatima's aggressive and assertive side he loved.
"Never mind allat, we are here anyways." He spoking putting the windows farther down due to the dark tint, Fatima's eyes and mouth wide as can be as she takes in the scenery. "Oooohhhh we gotta walk through the field." She pointed at how high the plants were. Zac immediately shook his head no, it was giving Jeepers Creepers aka Suicide Mission.
Zac got out the car mumbling as he met Fatima on Junior's side. "This shit was probably a cotton field that had my folks on and she wanna dance and prance and shit like she in a music video."
"What did you say?" Fatima said turning towards him as he turned the corner around the trunk. "Nothing baby. I'm letting it be know now, if shit hit the fan, your ass better run like a motherfucker back to this car. I don't play that falling over air shit or that screaming shit either, the moment you do either of those two things is the moment I find me a new lover." He spoke seriously, he hated watching those movies because rather than getting up, they stay there and let themselves get sliced and diced. Or them screaming brings attention to themselves even more.
This spot had a few activities they could do starting with petting the animals, walking the field, picnic tables, painting on canvas, and they even had an area to watch movies from the car. Zac grabbed the stroller out the trunk before strapping Junior in and placing the bags underneath him. Zac lead the way pushing the stroller and holding Fatima's hand.
A few minutes later they were doing the first activity, canvas painting. They were instructed with drawing the scenery of their view. Zac took Junior out and sat him on the table so he could participate as well, soft music playing in the background along with the wind picking up, it was calm.
"What is that supposed to be?" Zac asked peeking at her drawing, she looked at his painting before her painting and her lip began quivering. "I didn't know this was a competition." She spoking looking at her giant glob of nothing.
Zac shook his head putting the paintbrush in the water before kissing her cheek, "I didn't mean to make you cry Fat Fat, I was just asking..." He spoke lowly feeling bad, his parents made him take art classes majority of his life, they gave him the option of art or music, and he wasn't carrying no damn instrument around. Although sports was his main focus, they believed he needed something non-violent to balance him out, something he can turn too if sports become too much for him. Too much violence can be a bad thing but if you turn to art or even music, you are able to be in control of how you sound or what you create.
"It looks beautiful baby." He spoke genuinely, it wasn't ugly, he was just asking a simple question. However when she saw his painting, it made hers look like Child's Play. "You fake ass Mona Lisa." She mumbled turning to look at Junior, she quickly grabbed the paint brush from him, he was trying to eat the paint.
"Junior you can't do that, it's gonna make you sick." She explained to him taking a look at his body, between his shorts and shirt that had paint all over it. Zac looked at him chuckling, it was clear Junior was gonna be a firecracker, "And that's a white shirt." She shook her head knowing she was gonna have a hard time getting it back in good condition.
Zac continued to laugh looking at the paint on Junior's knee cap and cheek, Junior was soo quiet that Zac didn't think to look at him or even check on him. "We should've did this last, he gonna ruin the pictures." Fatima spoke aloud as she began to grab baby wipes out the bag.
"Nah." Zac shook his head. "I knew he was gonna make a mess so I brought a separate outfit." He laughed pointing inside the bag, Fatima looked down to see a nice little bow-tie outfit underneath his medicine bag. Zac wanted to do some update family pictures, they haven't done any since Easter when Zac dressed up as a bunny and scared the hell out of Junior.
"I'm still confused on how you know my size with me constantly growing." She mentioned referring to this somewhat white dress she was wearing. "As many times as I take clothes off of you, that is a no-brainer." He joked watching Fatima roll her eyes. "And ion like how you keep acting like I don't be paying attention to you, I may not be the smartest man on the planet, but I know damn near everything about you." He added.
Her eyebrow rose interested, "Let's hear it." She challenged him which caught him off guard. "W-well for starters...uhm, I know your favorite fruits, I know you mad at me when you don't let me touch you or you do that face. I know when you overwhelmed or stressed out because you start carrying too much about the little things rather than the bigger picture. I know when your period start, end, and how long they usually last. I know when you are hungry or horny, and I know when you start 'mothering' to back off you and let you do you."
"Mothering?" She asked looking at him to further explain, he nodded his head. "Yeah...like when we went to different schools for Junior, I was fine with all of them to be honest, but you were thinking bigger and outside the picture. You wanted to know the class size, the school bus protocol, you wanted to know how many black kids were in the school, if the school has had any resolved or pending lawsuits in regards to racism or neglect. You want their code of conduct booklet, you wanted to see what their response was to school shootings or intruders on the premises." He spoke.
She nodded in agreement, they spent almost two months looking at Kindergarten for Junior. Before they even went to looking at schools, they spent a few weeks talking about what their expectations was for schooling Junior. They both agreed that private school was not the best culture wise because he would miss out on certain things that is needed in public schooling, they also agreed that all-boys school was not the best idea either.
All in all, they ended up finding a nice black funded private school that had fit all their needs, it was a bit pricy but safety is priceless to them. Fatima ran background checks on the bus driver and assistant that would take Junior to school, if they needed. The school comes with steel embedded doors instead of regular wood, the school exterior doors are locked from the main office everyday once school starts, not only that but they have admin check those same doors throughout the day, they have an amped up security systems and all visitors have to go through the main office before going to any of the classes.
"Yeah I don't play that snatching peoples kids and school shooting mess." She spoke shaking her head at all the craziness in the world. "Folks more worried about abortions and getting rid of black history than the amount of mass shootings in schools, stores, and churches. That shows you where their priorities are. Why would anyone wanna bring kids into this world, like that is so scary. One day you dropping your kid off at school for an education and the next day you are burying them, no parent should have to deal with that." She spoke getting teary eyed at just the thought of that happening to her, one of her biggest fears.
Zac pulled her into a hug, they spent many countless nights talking about this, their fears and how they both hate the idea of something being out of their control. All they could do was pray about it and hope things work out for them. "Let's not talk about this anymore, we picked a great school." He kissed her cheek once more before turning attention back to Junior who was picking at the dried up paint on his legs.
The rest of the painting activity continued until they were done, they put the painting aside for it to dry while they went to the next activity. They stopped for a bathroom break first, Zac actually cleaned all the paint off his skin, Zac would change him into different attire later for pictures, knowing Junior would just mess that fit up as well.
Next on bucket list, they were gonna catch fireflies, which Zac thought was pretty simple until he realized how slick they were. Junior tried to run off a few times into the field that was a million feet taller than him, Zac had to trip him a few times to slow him down. Zac picked Junior up throwing his legs around his neck before they continued walking through the field. "OWWW Junior!!" Zac screeched when Junior grabbed on his hair, Junior giggled before pulling it again.
Fatima turned her head around at the commotion to see Junior and Zac play fighting in the distance. She shook her head walking back to them before grabbing both their ears and yanking it. "OWWWW!" They both screeched grabbing their ears and rubbing it, Fatima looked at how dramatic they were, she barely tugged them. "All that hooting and hollering y'all do is gonna make the creatures get y'all." She spoke pointing at the dark trees in the distance, Junior eyes looked over at the trees before he put his arms up to be carried.
"I can't carry you baby, my stomach too big." She spoke feeling bad, her belly was the definition of grew overnight. "Pweaseeee mommyyyyy!" He begged as he continued to throw his hands in the air. "You so full of it, you was just team daddy." Zac threw Junior in the air before catching him and placing him back on his shoulders. "Here take this Junior." Zac placed the glass jar on top of his head, he felt Junior's hands wrap around it. "Now when you see the fireflies, you gotta put the jar up to them and then close it quickly." He spoke. "Okay daddy."
...
"Got damn, I'm tired." Zac huffed out of breath while Fatima rubbed his back, him and Junior just spent the last 15 minutes running around chasing fireflies, Junior started off on his neck but all that weight was slowing them down, not only that but the glass jar kept hitting Zac's head because Junior was giggling too much. Zac put him down and they held hands running around the field catching them, Fatima tapped out as soon as she saw what was going on. They looked like two idiots running around the field like idiots.
"This is really my life." She chuckled looking at Junior laid out on the table, his CARS crocs filled with dirt and his chest heaving up and down. She looked at Zac who was laid slumped over the table holding his back in pain. "I'm too old for this shit." He uttered once his eyes laid on Fatima who was shaking her head.
"Told y'all to calm down at least four times, now look at ya." She laughed. "Looking like somebody uncle at the cookout who thought they could hang with the young kids." She replied being petty, he smacked his lips.
"Come on, let's go do this stupid letter thing so we can go." Zac spoke standing up and cracking his back. "Poem thing? You not no Maya Angelou ." She joked looking at him tap Junior a few times, "Boy he gonna sleep real good tonight." He laughed out loud as Junior slowly sat up.
"And we gotta write letters about each other." He smirked at her, "You better not talking about me being no damn oatmeal cream pie either." She warned him, knowing how his brain was wired. "Man ain't nobody thinking about that." He lied as they walked to the next activity, it was roughly 4 PM, the sunset would be creeping in shortly so they needed to hurry up so they could take pictures and go home.
They made it to the open grass area that overlooked a beautiful river, Zac pulled a basket from the stroller, he threw a gigantic blanket down before everyone took their seats. "We supposed to be writing letters." He smiled looking at Fatima cuddled up in her lap, Junior sitting next to them eating his snackies. "You wanna be somebody daddy so bad." She laughed looking at the view in front of them. "Am I not?" He moved his eyebrows up and down a few times as if she could see them.
"You hungry Fat Fat?" He asked and she shook her head, if anything she was more cold than anything, Zac noticed the goosebumps and pulled her closer into him. "You having fun?"
"Yes. Thank you for this, we really needed this." She spoke genuinely, it was nice to get back into nature and having fun, not having to worry about cases or anything crazy. It was just her and her family doing family things. She leaned up kissing his neck before moving off of him, opening the basket, she pulled out a bunch of food options picked by Zac.
He had different fruits and cheeses that was sitting on top of a bunch of ice along with different meats and stuff. Their very own personal picnic date featuring Junior. Zac handed Fatima a notebook and pen for their poem and Zac and Junior were gonna share their own. "Lay like this Junior." Zac showed him laying on his stomach so they could write together. "Now you gotta whisper okay." Zac put his hands up to his lips. "We gonna write about mommy, okay?" Junior nodded his head eating his hand full of Goldfish.
All three spent a few minutes writing poems up, Zac and Junior finished and they began to playing tag around the blanket while Fatima continued working on hers. "Babe." Fatima turned her attention to Zac who was digging through the stroller. "Hmm?" She responded throwing some cashews in her mouth. "Imma go get Junior changed so after this we can take photos." He spoke throwing the bag over his shoulder. She nodded her head before turning her attention back to her letter.
...
After giving Junior a 'hoe-bath' or some call it a 'bird-bath' he smelled nice and fresh as Zac threw his crocs back on. Just as they were coming out the bathroom, Fatima was waddling up to use it. "Awww doesn't he look so cute." She spoke looking at Junior in his outfit.
Zac smiled knowing he did a good job. "Tank you!" Junior smiled running to give her a leg hug. "Want us to wait for you?" Zac asked her, she shook her head no. "I packed everything up in case the birds wanna play snatchies." She spoking pointing towards the picnic.
Zac shrugged. "Okay well when you are done, meet us over there with your letter." He pointed to the area where they take photos at. She nodded before kissing his lips and then walking inside the bathroom. A few minutes later she was making her way to the set up looking at all the cameras. "Hello everyone! My name is Izzy, the way this works is, three cameras will be recording your raw reaction as you read the letters out to catch your reaction. Afterwards, I go edit and send you the footage, the pricing was already included in your package." Everyone gave her a thumbs up. "While those are recording, I will be taking pictures as well. Who wants to go first?"
Zac smiled looking at Fatima, "Ladies first."
Fatima gave him a genuine smile before moving some hair out of her face, the wind was picking up as the day winded down. She looked at the paper for a few seconds, scared as ever. "With you, dreams don't feel distant. They feel possible, tangible as if I'm one step away from reaching out and touching them. Your belief in me, in us, has been the confidence and fire I needed to keep going for the both of us. Always pushing me to soar higher than I ever thought was possible, You are my dream- catcher, turning even my wildest dreams into reality." Her throat becoming full as she continued to read from a body full of emotions. "From finding me in a dark place and helping me see the light, helping me find my confidence and voice back, never judging me or making me feel as if I had to change my ways to be appealing for you. You saw me at my worst and loved me through it all. I love you."
She looked at him seeing him smiling, almost as if he had to keep his face tight to stop from crying. "I love you too Fat Fat." He mouthed to her, he looked at Izzy who gave him the thumbs up.
He pulled his letter out of his pocket, giving Junior a fist bump before he took a deep breath and read his. "You've made me change the way I look at things, you have given me the belief to blind trust my instincts, helping me rise to the occasion like never before, I wouldn't be the man I am today without your grace, your love, persistence of reassurance to me. The way you have loved Junior and I in a small period of time is something I can't explain my self. Your selfish acts of kindness, putting others before you is a trait that I have a lot of respect for. The way I can be myself around you; vulnerable, sensitive, and emotional without the fear of being called sassy or feeling judged is an amazing feeling within itself. Continuing to watch you carry my kid and go through changes but still putting a smile on your face and taking care of me, is something I will always have great appreciation for. I can't imagine what life would be like without you, Junior, or our baby to be. I guess what I am saying is...I'm ready to do the unthinkable."
He crumbled up the paper smiling as Fatima began to hear soft music, their favorite song that is. Zac reached in his pocket grabbing a dandelion and handing it to her. "Zac..." She whined hearing their song, he shook his head no. "Just listen to the lyrics beautiful."
Moment of honesty
Someone's gotta take the lead tonight
Whose it gonna be?
I'm gonna sit right here
And tell you all that comes to me
If you have something to say
You should say it right now
He picked Junior up before reaching his hand out for Fatima to take, "Stop crying." He spoke softly to her. "I remember when we first heard this song together...we both were thinking what neither of us wanted to say. How crazy our love story is." He chuckled as they did a small two-step.
"You give me a feeling that I never felt before. And I deserve it, I think I deserve it." She lowly sung, her eyes shifting towards him. "You deserve it Fat Fat, deserve everything and more." He reassured her, both getting lost in each other's glossy eyes they forgot all about Izzy and the camera's.
"I was wondering maybe, Could I make you my baby, If we do the unthinkable, Would it make us look crazy." Zac began to sing the best he could while Junior covered his ears, Fatima let out a smile watching Zac try to hit the notes and Junior covering his ears. Junior was Zac's biggest hater. "If you ask me I'm ready" Fatima finished off the lyric.
Zac tapped Junior giving him the sign, Zac just needed Fatima to say those words. They continued to two step looking into each other's eyes before Junior dung into his pocket. "Marry me mommy!" Junior shouted shoving the ring in her face, Zac instantly face palmed himself, Junior never sticks to the script.
Fatima was caught off guard from this beautiful ring in front of her, "What he meant to say was, will you marry daddy?" Zac asked chuckling as he grabbed the ring from Junior and got down on one knee. "Thank you for your effort buddy."
I know you once said to me
This is exactly how it should feel
When it's meant to be
Time is only wasting so
Why wait for eventually?
If we gon' do something 'bout it
We should do it right now
"I had a whole speech planned but now that I am actually here, I feel sick and nervous." He began stumbling over his words, even when he got down on one knee with Hazel, he wasn't acting like this, but something about this was different. He was nervous, scared his lover would say no. Maybe it's too soon for her.
"I know people might think we are stupid and dumb, you carrying our kid and we only known each other for 9 months, but I never cared what people thought, our love speaks for itself. And I'm not gonna sit here and tell you things will be perfect or even that everyday will be sunny skies. We are gonna go through hard times and we are gonna argue like any other couple. What I can promise you is, without a doubt that even in those times, I will still choose you. I will choose our family before anything, because nothing makes me happier than you guys." His eyes peered at Junior who was leaning on him, it was past his nap time. "With that being said, I love you Fat Fat. Like the lyrics stated, time is only wasting so why wait for eventually? We should do it right now...so here I am...doing something about it, taking the lead. Will you marry me and become a Taylor, baby?" His eyes finally looking to meet hers, her tears running down her face.
"Say yes mommy!" Junior yelled jumping up and down, Zac looked down at his dirty crocs that he just cleaned no more than 30 minutes ago before he turned his attention back to Fatima. "No rush or anything but my knee finna give out." He joked to lighten the mood since she hasn't said anything.
"Yes! Of course I will marry you baby." Zac blew out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. He took the ring he gave her for therapy off and slipped on the new engagement ring. She may hate expensive things, but he was definitely gonna ice her finger out. That's the Taylor way. He kissed her ring finger a few times before standing up, she grabbed the sides of his face kissing him.
"I love you Mrs. Taylor!" He smiled, pulling back from the kiss. "I love you too Mr. Taylor." She smiled wiggling her ring finger as the sun bounced off of it. She was in complete awe. "And I love you too Junior and baby to be, even if it's on my last breath." Fatima spoke looking at Junior and rubbing her belly softly. Was this her fairytale ending after all!
"Wuve you too mommy and daddy." Junior replied holding his hands up to get picked up.
-
Thoughts? She is officially a fiancée, gave y'all a few chapters of peace, now we are back to the drama next episode. This upcoming drama is killer....see yall tmr 730