Page 54 of You Deserve Good Things

She gasped, smacking my chest. “Shut up!”

“Just saying,” I said with a shrug. “I already knew my swimmers had Olympic potential.”

She rolled her eyes so hard, I think they touched the back of her skull. “Get out.”

“Nah,” I said, kissing her neck. “You stuck with me forever, gorgeous.”

By the time we waddled—I mean walked—into the kitchen, the whole crew was already posted up like they lived with us rent-free. Mama Shari was making grits like she had something to prove, Papa Samuel was sipping coffee with the patience of a man who’d seen everything twice, and Daniale and Chase? They were already talking noise.

Chase looked up, grinning. “Damn, sis, you getting?—”

Shaniya raised a finger mid-waddle. “Say ‘big’ and I’m throwing this whole plate at your big ass head. I dare you.”

He threw his hands up like he was under arrest. “I was gon’ say glowing! Damn, relax!”

Daniale was already snort-laughin’, nearly chokin’ on her orange juice. “Boy, you are a damn lie. I heard the ‘b’ forming in your throat.”

I pulled out a chair, set Shaniya down like the goddess she was, and kissed her cheek. “Eat, my love. You gotta keep our babies fed. Don’t let the haters distract you.”

She pouted, lifting her fork, and her eyes got a little watery. “Jacory, they are bullying me.”

I turned slowly, eyes narrowing like a movie villain. “Y’all bullying my wife?”

Chase leaned back, smirking. “Ain’t nobody scared of you, nigga.”

I licked my lips. “Bet.”

Two seconds later, his cocky ass was in a headlock.

The whole house exploded with laughter.

Daniale fell off the bar stool wheezing. “He got yo’ ass good, boy!”

Mama Shari was just shaking her head. “Y’all are too damn old for this foolishness, but good looking, son.”

Shaniya sat there, calmly chewing her eggs like she wasn’t just married to a menace. “My man always gon’ ride behind me.”

I kissed the top of her head. “You fucking right, baby.”

Later that afternoon, we were at the doctor’s office for another ultrasound. The lights were low, and the screen lit up with the blurry, beautiful images of our babies, moving around like they were rehearsing for the Soul Train line.

The tech smiled. “Wow. They’re getting big. Just a few more weeks.”

Shaniya turned to me, eyes wide, filled with wonder. “Jacory,” she whispered, squeezing my hand tight.

I kissed her knuckles. “Yeah, my love?”

Her voice cracked like it had been holdin’ this weight for months. “I can’t believe we’re about to be parents.”

I cupped her face, pulled her in close so she could feel the certainty in my heartbeat. “We were always meant for this. You, me, them—our family.”

She let out a shaky breath. “I love you, Jacory.”

“I love you more,” I whispered, my lips brushing hers.

That night, back home, the moonlight spilled across our bedroom like silver blessings from the sky. She laid on my chest, her belly between us like a sacred bridge connecting our past to our future.

My hands roamed her stomach, feeling those little kicks again, like the babies were trying to say, “We hear y’all.”

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