Page 19 of The Prez

My phone rings as soon as I start the car from packing Little Raf and all of our shit inside. I put it on speaker so I’m hands free while I have the baby in the car. “Hey Hazel,” I say when I answer.

“Hey. We’re still on for lunch, right?”

“Yep. I just finished in Target. Where do you want to eat?”

“That diner downtown with those good burgers. You know the one?”

I let her know I do and we agree to meet there in fifteen minutes.

Little Raf gets fussy when I pull up, so I hurry to get him inside so I can change and feed him. He’s not a demanding baby, always taking his bottle and chilling out for a few hours before he naps. I’m working on getting him on a schedule so I can get things done around his nap times.

Once inside, I sit down in a booth and box us in so I can change Little Raf without anyone spying on us. I finish changing him and I’m just pulling out his bottle when Hazel walks in. As she sits down across from us, she coos at Little Raf, who blinks at her. After he stares at Hazel for about a minute, he reaches his chubby hands out for his bottle. I smile down at him and begin to feed him.

Hazel grins as she watches. “He almost makes me want to have another one.” I look up at her with what I can only guess is an incredulous expression. She giggles. “Yeah, okay, I don’t want any more.” I laugh along with her.

“How are the twins? I miss waking up to their laughter early in the mornings.”

She scoffs, shaking her head. “Those hellions are fine, driving each other crazy. You know they argued this morning about who could brush their teeth first. Mari, their bathroom has two sinks.”

I burst out laughing. My niece and nephew, Michael and Kayla, are adorable, but they definitely bicker a lot. Just for them to make up ten minutes later. “Yeah, well, maybe you should assign them sinks. It’ll be easier for all involved.”

“Yeah, just for them to say they want the sink the other one has? No, thank you.”

We chat for a while about nothing, just enjoying each other’s company. It’s been a while since we were able to go out without Michael and Kayla, so we’re taking full advantage. Little Raf is content to sit and look out the window, not really paying us any mind.

“Can Little Raf and I come hang out with you this weekend? I can see the kids and you can play with him?”

She nods, sitting up more in the booth. “Yeah, we’d love that. You know the twins always love when Uncle Mari is around. You let them get away with shit.”

“I do not. I just use my uncle privileges. That’s what?—”

“Omari,” a slimy voice says from behind me and I tense. “Is that you?”

Biting back a curse, I turn towards Brock, who is sauntering over to me with a to go box in his hands. I scowl, but don’t want to cause a scene while we’re out in public. “What do you want, Brock?”

He stops at our table, placing a hand over his heart. “Ouch. I thought you’d be happy to see me. You owe me money and haven’t reached out. Figured you didn’t know how to find me.”

Ice shoots through my veins as I see Hazel’s questioninglook from my periphery. She has no idea who he is or what he’s talking about. I know she’ll have questions as soon as Brock leaves.

I send him a dark look just as Little Raf starts to fuss. I arrange him better in my arms, eyeing Brock. “You gave me a month. I still have a week.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you do. But I think the clock just wound down. Three days. I’ve waited long enough.”

My heart rate spikes and Little Raf squirms in my arms. I shush him, putting him against my shoulder. “Brock, that’s not enough time. Please?—”

“You know what you can do if you don’t have the money.”

I fold my lips in and shake my head. “Fine. Three days. Please, just go.”

He doesn’t take kindly to my dismissal. He glares at me, eyes hard. They shift to my half-eaten burger and fries and smirks. “You might want to lay off the heavy stuff,” he says, patting his toned belly. “It’ll mess up that tight figure of yours.”

My stomach sinks and I drop my eyes. I fidget in my chair, not giving Brock any more of my attention. I can’t help the feeling of inadequacy that sinks into me, no matter how hard I try. I could starve myself and people would still scrutinize my body. I didn’t even finish my food and Brock is making it seem like I scarfed down an entire diner’s worth of food.

I swallow thickly, wanting to respond, but no words come out. Tears prick my eyes but I blink them away quickly.

Brock bends down and looks at Little Raf, reaching out as if to tickle him. I slap his hand away, sliding more into the booth. “Don’t fucking touch him.”

His eyebrows dip in anger and he opens his mouth to spout some bullshit, but Hazel knocks on the table, gettingboth of our attention. I almost forgot she was there for a moment.

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