Page 34 of Zeus: Love of a god

Zeus and my father exchanged a few more words before he left with my brothers. My focus didn’t leave them until they were out the door. I zoned back in when I felt Zeus kiss my temple.

“You alright?” After I confirmed that I was, he smiled. “So, what do you think? Do you want to have a relationship with them or nah?”

I shrugged. “I’ve never had a father. I’m not saying that he’s going to be like an amazing dad or anything, but I’ve always wanted to know how it felt to have one. Even if it’s in the smallest sense. Does that sound crazy? I don’t want Melody to feel likeher mother wasn’t enough for me though. She said that a while ago when I told her that I was emailing him.

“That hurt my feelings. Then there’s the whole thing about his wife and son trying to kill me.” I put my finger up. “I refuse to call that sick fuck my brother! Oh, and that bitch of an ex-wife of his! How dare she! That bitch?—”

My words were cut off by Zeus’s arms. He wrapped me in them tightly. “Sshh, I got you. I got you.”

I felt the tears on my cheeks. When I was overwhelmed, I rambled. My daughter started kicking me in my side, drawing my hand to where she kicked. Zeus pulled back, then put his hand over mine.

“You got my baby girl all riled up. You know she likes to sleep during the day.” His top lip turned up and eyes tightened. He was serious about his little girl. He cupped my face into his hands. “Dindi, if you want him in your life, then have him in your life on your terms. This is a journey that you have to take, and I will be there by your side every step of the way.

“I don’t know how it feels to not have that father figure in my life. I honestly wouldn’t wish the feeling of not having one on anyone. Yes, Cory was a sick fucka. You shouldn’t and don’t have to recognize him as your brother, and that’s your right. From what I know about Aaron, when it comes to being a father, he’s a great father to his boys. Now, that’s not fair since he wasn’t to you. You have to take that and digest it.”

He gave me his gorgeous smile. “If you decide not to have him in your life, you know my daddy got you. I do think you should at the least give AJ and Jason a chance to have a relationship with you.”

Zeus’s support meant everything. I didn’t know if I could do this without him. Yes, Melody would always be there for me. That was a different kind of support, and I realized that after I had it from Zeus. With my face still cupped in his hands, I kissedhis lips. “Thank you for being you. I think I’ll invite them to the baby shower and go from there.”

“Good idea, love.”

This man was everything, then add some more. When I made the choice to move to North Carolina, I never thought I would meet my person, the person who took the time to ensure that he proficiently knew how to communicate with me in every form that there was. The person who looked, smelled, walked, and fucked like a god. Every time that I was in his presence, one sentence came to mind courtesy of Langston Hughes’s poemTo Artina.

I will be God when it comes to you.

Zeus Sanders Basil may not have been the Almighty, omniscient God, but next to that God, what Zeus said was law. He was a god to me.

SOME TIME LATER…

“So,you’re just going to hold her the whole time like she doesn’t live with you?”

AJ wanted to hold his three-and-a-half-month-old niece. Aoide Melody Basil was the light in everyone’s eyes. Zeus and Dindi considered many names for their daughter. Aoide was what their hearts settled on. Aoide was one of the three original muses in Greek mythology. She was also a daughter of Zeus. In Greek mythology, Aoide personified song and melody. It was the perfect name that bonded the two families together.

Zeus glanced down at his daughter, who sat on his lap trying to take her sock off. She was in a world of her own. Hisface scrunched when he looked up at his brother-in-law. “If she wants to be with her daddy, then I’m not going to stop her.”

AJ kissed his teeth. “Dee, come with uncle.”

Aoide’s head popped up at the sound of her uncle’s voice. Her foot left her mouth so that her legs could flail and her arms could extend out to him. She loved her aunts, uncles, grammie, and grampies. AJ reached out and took her into his arms with a smirk sitting boldly on his face.

A lot had developed since the initial meeting that Dindi had with her father and brothers. Like she said she would, she invited them to her baby shower. When they came, it was with a truckload of gifts, literally. Aoide wanted for nothing. From the baby shower, it was slow and steady when it came to the building of the relationship between Dindi and Aaron. It was an easier transition with the relationship between her and her brothers because they had never done anything for her to have to forgive.

“I guess she wants to be with Uncle AJ.” He walked off toward the other side of the deck.

The Sunday dinners that the Basils had now included the Cooper clan. Kronos knew how important it was for a child to feel a father’s love. From his love as a father, he went out of his way to make sure Dindi felt comfortable and open when she was around her father. If that meant he had to involve Aaron in their family gatherings, then he would do that. Before he made that decision, he consulted with his wife, then his son, Zeus. Zeus was an intricate component to building the relationship between his wife and her father. As Dindi’s protector, you had to go through him before you got to Dindi.

Dindi’s hand slapped Zeus’s shoulder. When he glanced up at her from his seat, she giggled before lifting her hand to sign. “Stop pouting, big baby. She’s right there.”

Zeus and Dindi were newlyweds of two months. He proposed to her at the baby shower in front of the Mount O Riders and the King of Kings, as well as other close friends. The event was so large that it took over the inside and outside of the venue they selected. Mama Verne wanted to have it on the compound. All the men shot that down immediately. There was no way that they would allow that many people on the compound that were outside of the Mount O Riders.

Aaron was surprised when his daughter asked him to walk her down the aisle, well, halfway down. Pop Kronos walked her down the entire aisle, and Aaron met them in the middle. Her cousin Melody served as her maid of honor. Yes, maid. Poseidon and Melody went on a weekend vacation to Las Vegas and came back married. Mama Verne almost beat both of their asses. They quickly told her that she had 100 percent control over the planning of their reception. That put the beast back in the cage.

Zeus told his wife to be quiet with his hands before he grabbed her waist and pulled her down on his lap. He knew that her cochlear was off, so he said no words. He just kissed the tattoo of his name that adorned her neck. Their love was a whirlwind that was crafted by the gods. Dindi shifted on her husband’s lap to face him. With lustful eyes, she kissed his lips.

Aaron turned his nose up at the sight of his daughter and son-in-law kissing. Yeah, she was grown and married with a child, but he still didn’t want to see that shit. With a tight face, he walked over and tapped her shoulder. When she turned her attention to him, he lifted his hands. “Y’all keep that fresh shit behind closed doors. I don’t want to see that. Zeus, get your hands off her ass.”

Aaron, AJ, and Jason took the time and effort to learn sign language from none other than Gracie. When Dindi told Aaron that she wanted him in her life, he swore to himself andHarmony that he would do everything that was necessary and possible to be the father she needed. He knew that it was late in the game, but he was still in the game. To that end, he asked Zeus where he could learn sign language and was referred to Gracie.

In the beginning, Zeus was more accepting of Dindi’s relationship with her brothers than he was with her father. Regardless of what he told Dindi about supporting her building a relationship with him, he couldn’t understand how a man would abandon his child under any circumstance. His jadedness toward Aaron caused him to speak adversely against him at times which affected the way his wife interacted with her father. Kronos pulled his son to the side to reprimand him for being a hinderance to a decision that he said he would support. He reminded his son that support was all or nothing.

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