Page 34 of Passion
“He’s arrogant and petty.”
“That’s all you got? I already knew that. He’s only that way when he has a reason to be. Evidently, you gave him that reason.”
“So now you trust him over me?”
“Absolutely, because you’ve been different. You’re acting like I would put my kids in harm’s way. I would sacrifice my life for my children. I’m sick of your shit, and I’ll be filing for full custody Monday morning. My kids need to be with me!”
“Calm down for a minute, G. Please. You don’t want to drag the kids through that. How about you take the kids to meet him. I’m still not quite comfortable with them living with him just yet, but if they’re comfortable around him and like him, that will make it easier. Please? I don’t want us to be against each other. We’re friends, and I don’t want to lose that.”
“The kids saw him through FaceTime last night. Kizzie barged in on my conversation with him.”
He frowned slightly. “So you allowed them to talk before I said it was okay?”
“Clayton, quit fucking with me. The way you’re behaving is unacceptable. It makes it seem like this is more about you than the kids.”
He huffed and slid his hand down his face. “What time will you have them back?”
“At their bedtime.”
“That’s all day, G.”
“Clayton, you do realize I can just take them, right? They live with me. I’m the custodial parent, and anyone that knows us will vouch for me. You are proving that I need to file things through the court after all.”
“No. I’m cool. Let me help you get them ready. Princess Tiana is watching us.”
I turned to see Kizzie standing in the hallway peeking at us. Dakota probably wasn’t far. I walked over to them, and as sure as God made Adam, he was standing right behind her. “Y’all wanna go get breakfast?”
“Yay! Can we go to IHOP?” Kizzie asked after she squealed in excitement.
“Yes.”
“Yay!”
I smiled at how happy she was then placed a call to Gentry as I made my way into Dakota’s room to get him dressed. “Hello?” he answered groggily.
“Good morning, baby. I just wanted to make sure you were awake and dressed before we got there.”
“Who is we?”
“Me and the kids.”
“For real?”
“Yeah. I need to shower and change. Otherwise, I would have had you meet us at IHOP.”
“Okay, baby. I’ll tell the princess that you left clothes here. I’m sure she will want to know why you’re showering here.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I’m just happy. Let me get them together, and we’ll be on our way.”
“Okay. I can’t wait to see y’all. Love you.”
“Love you too, Gentry.”
When I ended the call, I dressed Dakota in record time then went to Kizzie’s room to make sure she wasn’t wearing a Sunday dress. Sure enough, she had on her Princess Tiana gown. “No, ma’am.”
“Aww.”
She should have known I was going to say no. We went through this nearly every time she put it on. She was persistent, that was for sure. I pulled out some jean capris and a cute shirt with Tiana on it. That seemed to be good enough for her. After I combed her hair, we were ready to go. “Bye, Daddy!”