Page 7 of Give Me All Of You

“She’s still sleeping?”

I nodded. “I’m gonna stay home tomorrow. You can stay home and rest or help Lissa with Jace. I’ll be fine. If I have to step out, I’ll call my mama,” I stated.

“There’s no need to do that. I’ll make sure Jalissa and Jace are good, and I’ll still come. I don’t mind taking care of my daughter, Rakeem.” I nodded, signifying I understood before I walked her to the door. When she got into her car and pulled off, I locked up and set the alarm before Peace and I headed back to the room. She would be sleeping for a few hours before she got back up like she worked somebody’s graveyard shift. I would take the time to watch some highlights that I missed before I took a nap. I don’t know when the last time I had a full night’s sleep. Between Peace and her mother, I was literally walking ’round here operating on fumes, but I refuse to complain. As a man, I was doing what I needed to do for my family, and if I had to do this shit every day for the rest of my life, I would without hesitation.

∞∞∞

Like clockwork, Peace was up at 3 AM like she had somewhere to be. I knew it was no use in trying to get her to go back to sleep right now, so I got up to get her some juice. When we walked back into the room, Lucretia was up.

“Hey,” she said weakly.

“Wassup, shorty? You thirsty? Hungry?” I asked, with Peace still in my arms.

“I could use something to drink.” Her voice was low and weak. That shit hurt me to my core. I walked over to the mini fridge that was kept in here for her drinks and medication and grabbed a small bottle of water and a straw from the container that sat on top. When we got back to the bed, I took a seat in the vacant chair beside her bed and prepared the water for her to drink.

“Mommy, drink!” Peace clapped and did that silly ass dance that she always did. Leaning forward, I held the bottle and straw up to Lucretia’s lips to assist her. She only took a few sips before she removed her lips from the straw. I watched as she leaned her head further into the pillow and take as much of a deep breath as she could because a task as simple as drinking took a lot out of her.

“Thank you for bringing her home,” she whispered.

“You don’t have to thank me, shorty. She loves coming to visit you.” It was true. Peace knew her mother and loved seeing her. She just didn’t understand why she couldn’t get up and do things with her like I did. Even when I stayed home, I left her at my parents because, to be honest, sometimes it was just too much to care for both of them and I didn’t want my daughter to see me at my most vulnerable moments.

“You want to put her back to sleep?” I asked. She wouldn’t have to do anything but let her lie beside her and she would fall right to sleep. It was the little things like this that let her feel like she had some sort of normalcy going on in her life. She nodded, and I laid Peace beside her mother along with her cup. I would sit in the chair until they both fell asleep.

A few minutes passed before I heard Lu’s hoarse voice call my name.

“Rakeem?”

I looked in her direction and studied her face for a few seconds before I answered. “Wassup?”

“Can you promise me something?” she asked.

“You already know that if it’s in my means, you got it.” That caused a small smile to grace her face.

“Promise me you won’t give up on love. You and Peace will need someone. I want that for you, so promise me you won’t shun the thought,” she pleaded. I could see in her eyes that she was serious. It took a lot of courage to tell someone that you love, you want them to love again. I’m not saying that I would be against it, but I’m not about to go out and look for the shit either.

“I got you, baby,” I simply replied. Leaning over, I kissed her forehead before leaning back into the chair and closing my eyes. Peace would sleep for a few more hours and I needed to get a nap in while she slept because once she started, she was on go.

The next morning, I got up and fixed breakfast for Lu and Peace. Lu could only eat soft foods, and Peace was at this stage where she only wanted chicken nuggets. The girl didn’t care what time of day it was; she wanted those damn nuggets. My freezer was stocked with those shits. While I put some cheese grits in a bowl for Lu, I plated some nuggets and eggs on a plate for my baby girl.

“Chikky nuggie. Chikky nuggie,” she sang as I put her plate in front of her.

“You gonna turn into a damn chicken nugget,” I joked, kissing her forehead.

While I let the grits cool, I fed my daughter. She wanted to be independent and do it herself, but most of it would end up on the floor. While I was feeding her, I heard my front door open. Looking at the monitor, I knew it was my brother. He said he was coming to see Peace and Lu and one thing about Haze; he was gonna keep his word.

“Uncle Hazie!” Peace danced.

“Man, why is this damn girl always dancing?” he laughed.

“The hell if I know. I let her rock out and do her shit.” I shrugged.

Haze walked over to Peace and kissed her temple, and she handed him a chicken nugget that she already bit off of.

“Lu, up?” he asked.

“She was. I was waiting until after I fed Peace before I took her the bowl of grits I made for her.”

“I got it. I need to chop it up with sis, anyway.”

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