Page 28 of You Deserve Good Things
It had been seven whole months, and I woke up to tiny kicks tap-dancing against my hand like they was tryna start a second line inside my wife’s belly.
It was gentle at first, like a whisper from the universe, but it picked up—soft thumps against my palm that reminded me that our legacy was alive and thriving inside of her.
Shaniya was curled up beside me, her breathing soft and steady, her belly round and regal, full of life, full of love, full of our future. A triple blessing.
Three. Sawyer. Sage. Silas.
Three names. Three heartbeats. Three little lives we had created with nothing but love, late-night cravings, and a whole lotta passion. I was beside myself with joy and love every time I thought about it.
I lay there in that early morning hush, just watching her sleep.
Her skin glowed like honey warmed in the sun, her lashes long and delicate against her cheeks.
Her hand was cradled over the top of her bump like she was already protecting them, already mama bearing it up in her dreams. My hand rested under hers, catching every flutter and kick like I was holding a rhythm only the five of us knew.
I never thought love could feel like this—so infinite, so overwhelming, so consuming. It filled up the room, climbed the walls, kissed the ceiling. It pressed on my chest in the best way, like the weight of something too beautiful to name.
The alarm clock started wailing like a demon with a hangover, but before I could reach for it, Shaniya groaned and smacked it like it owed her money.
“Turn that shit off,” she mumbled into my chest, voice hoarse with sleep and attitude.
I laughed, my arms locking around her tight like I wasn’t ever letting her go. “Baby, we gotta get up.”
“Why?” she grumbled, already dramatic. “I’m literally growing a whole village. That’s work enough.”
I kissed her forehead, her temple, then the curve of her jaw. “You got a point. But if you don’t get up, I’m carrying you to breakfast like the queen you are.”
She cracked one eye open, side-eye deadly. “Jacory, I swear if you try it?—”
I smirked, rubbing her belly slowly. “You think I won’t?”
She groaned, trying to sit up but struggling with her belly in the way. “See, this is what I get for letting you breathe on me.”
I grinned wider, brushing my thumb across her stomach. “Baby, I ain’t just breathe on you.”
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.”
“Baby,” I murmured, my voice thick.
She tilted her head up, brushing curls out her eyes. “Yeah?”
“Do you ever think about how far we’ve come?”
She smiled, eyes shimmering like brown diamonds under starlight. “Every single day.”
I exhaled slowly, emotion crawling up my throat. “Silas would be proud of you.”
She swallowed hard, blinking fast. “And he’d be proud of you, too.”
I kissed her, deep and slow.
“We built something beautiful, my love,” I whispered. My hand pressed gently against her stomach. “And this? This right here? This is just the beginning.”
She let out a laugh that trembled. “Yeah, baby. It really is.”
And as I held her tighter, feelin’ our babies move between us like tiny stars finding their rhythm in the galaxy we created, I knew one thing for sure: Forever started here.