Page 2 of Her Sweetest Desires
There I was thirty, married, and a mother of a two, but nothing would ever prepare me for hearing thewaysmy mother could convince my father to do what she wanted. In my eyes, I would never be that grown for that kind of conversation. Some words just shouldn’t string together when speaking to your children. I was tempted to call my father so he could get his wife.
I wiped my hands and picked up my cell phone to take a picture of my cake.
“Okay, old lady, . . . on that note, I gots to go. I will call you when the boys wake up so you can speak to them. TJ lost a tooth last night, and he needs his Nana to bear witness like he won’t see you on Sunday.”
“Ooh! I’ll have to make sure the tooth fairy drops off some money here for him.”
“Margaret Robins, no. Truce gave him a dang ten-dollar bill last night. He does not need any more money.”
She scoffed. “Don’t tell me how to grandparent. Do I tell you how to raise your kids?”
I cackled. “Uhm, yeah, you do.”
Instead of replying, my mother hung up, and I laughed harder.
I set my cell phone on the counter, washed my hands, and set the pound cake on my cake pan. She was beautiful and my favorite Thanksgiving treat for my family. Just as I set the cake in the middle of the table, my baby boy’s cries came through the baby monitor. I smiled, grabbed my cell phone, and made my way upstairs. At the top of the stairs, I crept down the hall, holding my breath.
I still had a few house chores to do, so I prayed he’d just go back to sleep.
“Mommy—”
I bumped into the wall, dropped my cell phone on my foot, and hollered out. TJ jumped away from me with wide eyes, and Tristian wailed as loud as his little plump body could. I cursed, clenched my teeth trying to refocus the pain, and bent down to grab my phone.
“TJ, you scared me.” I giggled. “How long have you been up, and why didn’t you come looking for me? I made your favorite cake.”
He rushed up to me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“I’m sorry, Mommy.” I smoothed my hand over his waves and smiled. “I don’t know when I woke up, but I went to my bathroom, then called my Daddy. I can have some cake now if you want.” TJ grinned, and I shook my head.
With his arms still around me, we went into Tristian’s room.
He was on his feet, still crying his little heart out. I walked over to him, and TJ went over to the changing table to get his brother’s diaper and wipes ready. My boo loved being an older brother and was my little helper.
There were times that I had to remind TJ that I was Tristian’s mama, because he took being an older brother seriously.
“What did Daddy say when you called?”
“He said he is gonna order us some Chinese food before his plane leaves. Daddy said I can have the sugar balls.”
I smiled at TJ’s name for the Chinese restaurant’s fried biscuits.
“Okay.” I looked at the safari clock on Tristan’s wall. “Daddy’s plane leaves in one hour, so he’s probably ordering the food in thirty minutes. That means we have to have our baths so we can be ready for dinner when it gets here.”
TJ bounced on his feet and cheesed, showing off his missing tooth.
“I’m gonna have two sugar balls, Mommy!”
I nodded, smiled, and got Tristian changed and into a onesie that wasn’t soaked in drool, then handed him to an impatient TJ. Once TJ had his brother, he left the room, and I shook my head. I smiled at the thought of my husband taking care of dinner without me having to tell him how tired I was. Truce always seemed to be in tune with how I felt, or with the things I needed.
After straightening up Tristian’s room, I crossed the hall into TJ’s room.
“Alright, put him in the bouncer and pick out your pajamas.” I watched as TJ did what I said. “Do you want a bath or a shower?”
“Shower, please. I don’t think I need to take baths anymore, Mommy. I’m not a baby like Tristian.”
“Oh, excuse me, sir. Well, I’ll go start your shower then.”
TJ giggled and followed me to the bathroom.
