*Rich POV*
"Uncle Poo!"
Skye jumped into Stephon's arms as soon as he opened the door.
I appreciate how Quanni's family loves Skye as if she was their blood. They go out of their way to make her feel like she's apart of them; she even has her own room for when she comes to visit them.
"Skye! What's up mama?" He was spinning around in the floor with her up in the air.
I held Quanni's hand as we stepped inside the house. Mama Lo' is definitely her mother, the entire house looked like Fall. Women use any excuse to decorate.
"What's up Pooch?" I shook up and hugged him.
"What's good man?" He grinned and spoke to me like this has been our first time talking in a while; I just played along.
Before he let me go he stood there and whispered in my ear.
"You told her didn't you?"
"Man, what was I supposed to do?" He let me go and shook his head before turning to Quanni.
He really can kill all that, because he wasn't supposed to say anything either and what does he do? He calls me. I'm responsible for keeping my family together, and keeping something like that from Quanni would only make her shut me out; so I did what I thought was best.
"Hey Peanut." He called to Quanni who had taken the twins over to the couch with her. She was just sitting there staring at them.
Stephon turned to me with a lost facial expression. He held out his hands and shrugged. This nigga is clearly not equipped to handle situations like this. I feel like I'm the oldest in the room instead of him.
"Go talk to your sister Poochie." I rolled my eyes and mumbled.
If this is just the preview of how this week is gonna go, then I'm not looking forward to it. There's too many emotions running free around here.
"What's goin on baby girl?" He sat behind her on the couch and pulled her into him.
"I just don't know anymore Stephon. Seems like every time something good happens, something ten times worse is waiting around the corner. I don't see the point anymore." She scoffed.
"Come on, you gotta stop all this crying before mama comes. If she finds out we said anything, she'll kill us all." He grabbed a tissue and handed it to her.
"At least I'd be with her." She mumbled sarcastically.
"Chill Steph." I finally said. She's just talking crazy now.
"Not literally, I'm just sayin." She held up her hands in defense.
About that time, her parents were coming downstairs. Thank God. They were both dressed casually in jeans and a white tee. That's relationship goals.
"Awwww my babies!" Mama Lo' walked swiftly to the couch to come and greet us.
She wore a turban, but you could tell that her hair was gone. She looked significantly smaller than the last time we were together, but other than that, her glam squad or whatever they call it had her looking great.
"Hey ma" I smile with my arms open wide, pulling her into my embrace. Unlike any other time though, I held her longer.
"How are you son?" She looked me over and smiled.
"I'm good mama. How are you?" She communicates with her eyes and nodded her head.
"Grammy." Skye jumped up and down.
"Oh... Grammy's baby is getting big." The room grew quiet as we watched her struggle to pick Skye up and keep her in her arms.
Though Mama Lo' is soft spoken, she the strength of this family; she's the glue that hold it all together. If anything seems to be out of sync, you can count on her word, prayer, and action to make it all right. She works behind the scenes but she gets a lot done. I can't imagine how we'd turn out without her.
"Hey son." Mr. Cartwright placed a hand on Mama Lo's shoulder to help her balance herself.
"You good pops?" I shake his hand and continue watching Mama Lo'.
Finally she took a seat.
"Look at these angels..." She rocked Skye from side to side while she looked at the twins.
"They're just as quiet at Stephie was when she was a baby." She put her arm around Quanni and pulled her back onto the couch with her.
I just realized that she hadn't said one word to either of her parents. I can tell she's shutting down. I hate to see her like this.
"Come here Skye." I reached for her so Quanni and her mom could have their moment.
Quanni hid her face in her chest and continued to cry. She never said a word but I knew she was crying; every once in a while she let out a little sniffle.
"Come on baby, let's talk." She motioned for Quanni to follow her into her office.
With her face covered, she got up and left the room.
"Poochie and Rich? I'll deal with you two later." She stuck her head back outside the door, glaring at us both.
***
"Babe?"
"Yea Sweets?"
After Quanni and her mom talked, her whole attitude changed. I don't know what she said but it worked. She was smiling and laughing all day. I've never seen her act so goofy; that kinda turned me on. Aside from being with her parents all day, She was stuck up under me the whole time.
The twins were with Pops and Mama Lo' and Skye was with Stephon's children downstairs. We were in Quanni's old room in the bed. She was lying on my chest playing in my hair while I rubbed her booty.
"I'm sorry for talking crazy earlier. I was just in my feelings."
"Yea you were tripping... You can't be doin that. I'd lose my mind if something happened to you Steph." I hugged her waist and kissed her all over her forehead making her giggle.
"The feeling is mutual." She smiled up at me.
"But we don't have to worry about that because I'm not going anywhere any time soon. We got so much to do... Ya know? Get married, travel the world, get this money, make some more babies." I thrusted my manhood into her at that last part.
She laughed and hit my chest.
"I'm thankful that God gave me you when he did Rich. He knew I'd need you for this moment... Among so many others."
"Come on sweets, no more tears." I sigh, wiping her cheeks.
"It's okay... These are happy tears." She smiled and sat up to face me.
Looking into her eyes, I held her chin before reaching up to kiss her lips. She wrapped her arms around my neck as the kissed deepened. I picked her up and turned her over as I felt my boy begin to grow. She let out a moan while I kissed her from her neck, all the way down to her thighs. I let my fingers wander inside her lace panties.
"Rich." She barely whispered my name as my fingers moved slowly and strategically, in and out of her lady.
"You know we can't do this right?" She lifted her head and looked at me with disappointment.
I groaned and flopped down on the bed beside her. I knew it wasn't gonna happen. I just wanted to see how far she would let me go.
"It was worth a try." I shrugged and pulled her back on top of me.
She wasn't making this any easier for me; she sat right on top of him. I'm one cuddle session away from blue balls. I did the usual and rubbed her on her thighs and booty while she attempted to put hickeys on my neck.
"I love you Stephie." She had fallen asleep long ago and I was still up holding her while in my thoughts.
I couldn't help but think about Mama Lo'. I'm sure she didn't expect to just wake up one day and be told that she was dying of brain cancer. It could've happened to any one of us, that's just the way life goes. This whole thing has made me stand back and take a look at my life. Am I really living? Do I really appreciate life?
It's so easy to get up everyday, take a shower, put on clothes and do the day to day activities. It's so easy to set big goals and break my back everyday trying to reach them, but am I really enjoying it? I don't wanna live this life in a rush, killing myself chasing after big material things, and forget the things that truly matter; my family and friends, making a difference in someone else's life, having a strong relationship with God, that's what matters.
From this day forward, me and my family... We're gonna live