Page 52 of You Deserve Good Things

Chase popped up like he’d just won a fantasy football draft. “Aye, I’m gon’ be the favorite uncle, no cap. I’m getting my niece or nephew Jordansoff rip.”

I grinned wider. This was the moment.

“Wait. Y’all, there’s more.”

The room fell silent like somebody unplugged the aux cord.

Shaniya side-eyed me, lips tight. “Jacory—don’t.”

I licked my lips slowly. Dramatically.

“We’re not just having a baby. We’re havingthree.”

Boom.

“Bitch, triplets!”

Daniale screamed like Beyoncé had just dropped an album.

Mama Shari gasped so loud I swear it echoed. “I need to sit down. No—stand up. No—lay down! Jesus! Blessed three times! What a mighty God we serve! What a mighty God we serve! Hallelujah!”

Chase jumped back like the floor was lava. “Aye yo, Jacory got thatsuper sperm! That boy got infinite ammo!”

I smirked, arms crossed, chest puffed. “Y’all already knew what it was. Don’t act brand-new.”

Shaniya rolled her eyes and smacked my arm. “Boy!”

Daniale looked shook. “So . . . three baby showers? Or one with three themes?”

Chase was pacing. “We gon’ need three cribs, three car seats, three ofeverything. I gotta refinance my life for these kids already. I can’t wait to spoil them, bruh!”

My mama, Justine, held her heart. “Ooh, y’all better let me move in. I ain’t never raised triplets before, but I’m ready for the challenge.”

Papa Samuel sipped his tea like it was whiskey. “Lord. . . I done prayed for blessings. But this? This is a full overflow, and I’m extremely grateful.”

I just stood there, soaking it in. All of it. The noise. The laughter. The chaos. Three little lives already shifting the atmosphere.

Shaniya’s belly stretched with life, glowing like the damn sun, and my whole spirit whispered one thing:“We really did that.”

And we had a whole lifetime ahead to prove it.

Later that night, it was just me and her. The noise had faded. The laughter from the living room was nothing but a distant hum, like the echo of joy dancing down the hallway. The worldoutside our bedroom was still spinning, but inside this little pocket of peace? Time stood still.

She laid her head on my chest like she was placing her whole world there, like my heartbeat was her favorite lullaby. Her breath was soft, steady, warm against my skin, and my hands rested gently on her belly, which rose like a small hill blanketed in life. Our babies—kicking softly beneath her skin, little drumbeats of a love too big for words.

“What are we gon’ name them, baby?” she whispered, her voice quiet, almost reverent, like the question itself was sacred.

I exhaled slowly, letting the moment settle deep in my chest like warm syrup. The dim light spilled across her face like melted honey, casting shadows that danced across her cheekbones.

Then I said it. The name that had been sittin’ on my soul like a prayer I never stopped whisperin’.

“If we have a boy . . . I wanna name him Silas.”

Shaniya’s breath caught like it had tripped on emotion. Her whole body paused—still, trembling, soft.

Her fingers tightened around mine, her grip shaking, steady all at once.

“Are you serious?” she whispered, her voice cracked open with tenderness.

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