Page 21

GERMAYNE

“ A we, man. Mine don’t look like yours, Mr. Germayne. Look.” Caleb sulks with his bottom lip sticking out.

“They don’t have to be perfect, C. This is your first time making them. I’ve had years of practice.”

“I want mine to be perfect too, though.”

Taking the spatula from Caleb’s hand, I set it on the stove before wiping the lone tear on his cheek.

“You don’t have to be perfect, nor do your pancakes. We’ll keep practicing until you get the hang of it. How does that sound?”

“Okay. I can’t eat these. They look funny. I also wanted to make Mommy feel better, but these will make her sicker,” he whines.

“How about you dump yours and watch me make you and your mom a new batch? Will that make you feel better?”

“Yes, sir. Can I pour the batter in the pan?”

“Of course. You can even help me flip them over when it’s time.”

“Yay. Thank you, Mr. Germayne. I love you.”

Time stands still, my heart freezes in my chest, and I stare unblinking at Caleb while my brain processes the three words I didn’t see coming from his lips.

“I-I love you too, C. Let’s finish breakfast so you’re not late.”

Caleb's first day of kindergarten comes at the speed of light, and what should be a happy time isn’t because Chaniya is sick.

In fact, Chaniya has been sick for the past two days, much to her displeasure, since she has been looking forward to walking Caleb to his class.

However, Chaniya is battling the flu and isn’t strong enough to do anything but bark orders in a hoarse voice from her bed.

“I don’t understand why I can’t at least ride with you to drop Caleb off.” Chaniya pouts with her arms crossed over her breasts.

“You’re still running a fever, Cha-Cha. Leaving this bed isn’t something you’ll be doing unless you need to pee. Going out of the house is out of the question. Now, what else do we need to debate?”

Chaniya wanted to call Nana or one of her family members to take Caleb to school in her absence.

However, I took off work to be the one to do it and have been looking forward to the task.

Caleb and I are slowly building a rapport with each other, and I’m enjoying the time we’re getting to establish something significant.

. Based on our interactions and Caleb’s easygoing personality, I’m not worried but understand Chaniya’s anxiousness.

We’ll be on FaceTime during the ride and drop-off process to ease her mind.

Whatever will help Chaniya adjust to my involvement in this capacity is perfectly fine with me.

“I know. How did you let me get sick the week of Caleb’s big day?”

A low chuckle escapes my mouth at the question because I’m only partly to blame for Chaniya’s current predicament.

She would be good if she had not been laying up under me last week when I was sick.

With me working in the hospital, catching whatever bug floats through the hallways is not uncommon.

Chaniya insisted that I stay with her and Caleb so they could nurse me back to health.

The memory of Caleb’s excitement over me being in the house is what led to me taking today off.

“Mommy said you don’t feel good, Mr. Germayne. I’m gonna help take care of you. You’re gonna have to rest and eat your vegetables so you can grow strong again,” Caleb informs me after entering his mother’s bedroom.

“Uh, I’m not sure if I can eat my vegetables right now, C. What else you got for me?” I ask in a deeper tone than usual, thanks to the congestion lining my chest wall.

“Hm. Let me think about it. I’ll be back, but you rest, okay?”

“I got you, man.”

“I got you too, Mr. Germayne.” Lifting his little hand up, I reciprocate the gesture, slapping him a weak high-five before he jogs out of the room.

“If I recall correctly, your nursing skills are trash, Cha-Cha. When did nurses start sucking dick as part of patient care?” Smirking, I place my finger on my chin while awaiting her answer.

“Your dick wasn’t sick, though. Besides, if I recall correctly, you enjoyed the nightly blowjobs. A nut a day will keep the pain away.” Chaniya shrugs.

Laughing hysterically, I shake my head at the foolishness coming out of Chaniya’s mouth. I’ll admit that watching her head bob in my lap effortlessly and swallowing my nut like a champ had been one of my favorite highlights of recovery.

“I guess you’re right. Let me go see what C is doing. I’ll be back. Stay in bed.” Giving Chaniya a stern glare, I wait for her subtle nod before heading out of the room.

“Every day I’m hustlin’, hustlin’.” Caleb’s young-ass rapping this particular song has me fighting not to release a full-body laugh.

Knocking on his semi-cracked door, I wait for him to grant me permission to enter, and when he does, I step in immediately, fanning my face from the overwhelming cologne piercing my nostrils.

“Whoa, C. How much cologne did you put on?”

“A little here, a little there . . . Something slight, Mr. Germayne,” Caleb informs me while staring at himself in the mirror on the back of his closet door.

Unbeknownst to me, Chaniya had preplanned Caleb’s outfit for today and had already ironed everything before hanging it in the closet.

With her being sick, it’s a foresight I can appreciate since I worked last night and wouldn’t have time to do so before we had to be out the door.

The crisp white shirt, navy blue pants with a crease down the leg, and all-white tennis shoes complement Caleb nicely.

Chaniya had taken Caleb to get a haircut last week, so that’s also something that had been done in preparation for today.

“Alright, it’s about that time. Are you ready to go? If you hurry, we can stop by Chick-fil-A for breakfast.”

“I’m ready, but I need to let Mommy see me before we go,” Caleb says.

“Of course. Grab your bookbag.”

“Oh, hello, Ms. O’Neal. I’m sorry to hear that you’re sick. Don’t worry, Caleb is in great hands,” Mrs. McCants tells Chaniya while staring into the camera.

“I have no doubt, Mrs. McCants. I’ve heard nothing but great things about you. You have all my contact information if you should ever need me,” Chaniya returns before coughing, causing me to pull the phone away from Caleb’s teacher to look at Chaniya.

“You good, Cha-Cha?” Seeing her eyes redden and her chest pulling tight has my chest pinching and worry flowing through my bloodstream.

“I’ll take care of Caleb, Mr. Malone. I’ll let you get back to your lady, as I can see you pulling double duty here.” Mrs. McCants smirks.

“Yeah, yeah. Let me get out of here. Uh, C, I’ll see you after school.” Pulling my eyes from the phone back to Caleb and his teacher is a feat because my heart is on the other side of my phone.

“Okay. Kiss Mommy for me, Mr. Germayne.” With that, Caleb disappears inside the classroom, leaving me alone with his teacher.

“I’m fine,” Chaniya finally whispers.

“I see you’re just like my Lorenzo. Have a good day, Mr. Malone.” Mrs. McCants smiles before entering the classroom.

“I’m on my way, Cha-Cha. What do you need?”

“You,” Chaniya returns in a raspy and wheezy tone.

“Say less.” With Chaniya on my mind, I quickly move through the halls, leaving ShayNae Learning Institute without anyone prolonging my stay.

The time it takes me to drive back to Chaniya’s house from the school is less than it took initially.

Part of that was less traffic going in the opposite direction, the bulk of it being my determination to lay eyes on my woman.

Pulling into Chaniya’s driveway, I quickly exit and jog the path leading to the porch before hopping the steps like I’m on an obstacle course.

Inserting the key Chaniya had given me when she first got sick, I enter the front door, slipping my shoes off, hanging my keys on the hook, and taking the steps to the second floor two at a time.

Hearing coughing coming from Chaniya, I increase my steps until I walk through her room’s threshold.

“Awe. Look at my poor baby,” I say upon seeing Chaniya coughing and wiping her nose with a tissue.

“I think you should eat my pussy so I can feel better too,” Chaniya whines hoarsely.

“What?”

The wrinkles on her forehead to match the cute pout on her lips have a smirk upturning my lips.

My heart rate accelerates, and my blood pressure spikes the longer I stare at this woman whose sickness is far from a turn-off.

Warmth spreads across my chest, and wedding bells sound in my ears when Chaniya beckons me to come closer.

I didn’t give a damn what anybody had to say.

When I met Chaniya O’Neal, love was always what I was after.

“I’m just saying, after the third day of sucking, you started getting a pep in your step. If it worked for you, then it should for me. I think I’m worth the shot, don’t you?”

“You’re worth everything I have to give, Cha-Cha. Lay back so I can take care of you. You’ve been sick long enough.”

“How was your first day, C? Sorry I was a little late. It won’t happen again.”

Messing around with Chaniya and eating her pussy led to her requesting my dick, and pleasing my woman, even while she’s sick, is something I’ll strive to do.

My only dilemma was sucking Chaniya’s tongue like a lollypop while slowly stroking her so I wouldn’t release too fast. I also didn’t anticipate falling into a sleep coma with Chaniya, which had me late picking Caleb up from school.

Since I can’t blame his mother’s hypnotic pussy for my tardiness, it's best to focus on what’s more important.

“It was so much fun. I made a couple friends. Lilly is my best friend because she’s so pretty.

I liked how her braids swung whenever she laughed.

She let me sit next to her at lunch and everything.

I almost hit Bob for pushing her down at recess, but Mrs. McCants said that wouldn’t be nice.

He better not touch Lilly tomorrow, or I’m gonna sneak him anyway,” Caleb tells me without pausing.

It didn’t take C long to discover the power of a woman’s wiles. He’s gone about Lilly like I am about his mama.

“I thought you said you made more friends. You’ve only mentioned Lilly,” I say in a singsong voice.

“Stoppp, Mr. Germayne.” Caleb laughs.

“Okay, C. What’s your other new friend's name?”

“Um, Tucker, Jonas, Stacey, although she told me she likes Tucker more than me. I wasn’t mad because I didn’t like her as much as Lilly, anyway.

Stacey wears glasses and is mean. I don’t like mean girls.

Lilly is really nice to me, letting me carry her mat to circle time with Mrs. McCants.

I was mad that I couldn’t nap beside Lilly because Mrs. McCants only lets boys sleep by boys and the girls by the girls,” Caleb rambles.

“That’s okay, C. How do you like the school and your teacher?”

“The school is big,” he exaggerates the last word before continuing.

“I don’t have to be around the big kids, and I like that because they scare me.

My teacher is so fun. She lets us pick the book for story time.

I also saw her husband. He was nice. Did you know she has kids too, Mr. Germayne?

I didn’t know she was a mommy, and she has a son like me.

I met him. His name is Lorenzo, like his dad.

Do you think I’ll have a dad like Lorenzo does?

I want to ask Mommy, but don’t want to hurt her feelings.

Grandma told me Mommy doesn’t know who my daddy is and should be ashamed of herself.

I’m not mad at Mommy, though. I just want a dad like the other kids in my class.

Although Jonas doesn’t have a dad either, that’s why he’s my friend. ”

Caleb’s rambling and bomb-dropping of information has my chest tight and my fists gripping the steering wheel at the knowledge of his grandmother’s actions. Regardless of what she has going on with Chaniya, discussing Caleb’s paternity with him is never her place. Grandmother or not.

“You could be my dad, Mr. Germayne. You spend time at our house, and you’re nice to me. I also saw you kiss Mommy, and Mommy tells me she kisses me so much because she loves me. Do you love my Mommy, Mr. Germayne?”

“With all my heart, C.” My brain is spinning from everything Caleb said during this ride back to the house.

“Then that settles it. You can be my daddy,” Caleb declares.

Chuckling low, I don’t provide an answer for Caleb because, in my heart, I am his daddy, so what’s understood doesn’t need an explanation.