Page 40 of The Heart Of A Real Woman

Lookin' at my mirror.

Come a little closer, show me different sides.”

By the time I made it home, the sun was setting, my son was locked into his game, and Mary stood at the stove cooking dinner with Coco Jones playing in the background. That meant it was family night, and she had told the chef not to come in and handled it herself. All three of us would eat on the couch,watching a movie like old times. And I was happy about it. I missed this shit more than I could say.

She was wearing one of my T-shirts, big enough to fall mid-thigh, hanging off one shoulder. Her hair was tied up, and her skin glowed in the soft kitchen light. I just stood in the doorway for a second, soaking her in from the back. The sway of her hips, the curve of her thighs, the peace she brought without even trying…it hit me all at once. That woman was my peace, my home, my everything. And I promised myself to never fuck it up again.

“Hey, you. Where you run off to?” She asked, glancing over her shoulder with a smile. “Your ass didn’t help me unpack.”

“My fault, baby.” I walked up behind her, kissing her cheek. “Had to go handle some business.”

“Business?”

“Yeah.”

“Studio business?”

“Nah.”

She eyed me sideways. “Pokey wasn’t available?”

“Nah. This needed my attention, and my attention only.”

She stopped stirring, set the spoon down, and turned to face me fully. “What did you do, baby?”

“Set a muthafucka straight about what’s mine. You know sometimes you gotta pop out and remind these bitch ass niggas. I been quiet in the shadows long enough.”

“Mm. Okay. I love you.”

“I love you more, Mary.” I bent down and kissed her belly.

The End.