Chapter 27

27

Lila (Nala)

I finally got that damn boot off my foot.

It felt so good to walk out of the doctor's office without it. The first thing I went to do was take myself and Kari out for pedicures. With a clean bill of health, I was ready to get back to normal life. I was set to return to work in three days, so I wanted to pack in as much fun with my girl as I could.

Since we'd been back, I spent my time helping her get caught up on the schoolwork she missed. I was so glad my baby was smart. She aced everything and I was sure her grades wouldn't suffer. She was on the last leg of the school year before Christmas break. Ahmad had arranged for my parents to fly out and spend the entire break with us. I was so grateful for that because I already missed them. When he told me they were coming, he also told me that all they had to do was say the word, and he'd fly them out anytime.

That man.

It was hard to believe that I was in a full-on relationship with the man that kidnapped me. At first, I thought we'd have to come up with a cover story for how we met until I remembered that I technically ran into him in the hallway at work. That was good enough and didn't require much explanation.

Things with us were going much better than I expected. I was nervous as hell about meeting the rest of his family, but dinner with them had gone great. While everyone was nice and welcoming, I especially liked his cousin Saleem and his wife Pure.

They were hilarious. I'd never met a couple who equally loved and annoyed each other as much as they did. One minute they were going back and forth and the next he was coddling her and their growing bundle of joy.

Ahmad seemed more relaxed with them around. He enjoyed himself, despite his rocky relationship with his parents. His mother shared with me that she prayed they could finally build a loving relationship with him. I prayed that for him too. Once he healed that angry little boy inside of him, he would feel so much better.

"Mommy, can I get pink?" Kari asked, looking through the colors.

"Sure, baby."

My baby loved to get her nails and toes painted. She was a mini me in so many ways. Every time I looked at her, my heart swelled with pride. She'd been conceived in unfortunate circumstances, but she was the product of nothing but love from my end.

I smiled softly as she told the nail tech exactly how she wanted her nails done. I settled in the seat as the water filled the small tub. My phone rang, breaking me from my thoughts. Fishing it from my purse, I saw that it was Ahmad.

"Hey, you," I answered.

"Hey, baby. What are you doing?"

"Getting a pedicure with Kari."

"Where?"

"Atlas Nails and Spa."

"Bet. I'm pulling up on you. Are you hungry? We can grab an early dinner."

"I'm starving."

"Ask my baby girl what she wants to eat."

I rolled my eyes. "Somehow I feel like you like her more than me."

"I mean, she's never tried to kill me on multiple occasions."

I rolled my eyes. "I thought we were past that?"

He chuckled. "Are we though? I still sleep with one eye open."

"Very funny." I turned to Kari. "Baby, Ahmad wants to know where you want to eat for dinner."

She tapped her chin like she was in deep thought. "Pizza Palace!"

I should have guessed that. She loved that place. It was basically like Chuck E. Cheese meets Dave and Busters on steroids. Whenever we went, I prepared myself to be there for hours because she had to play every game at least twice.

"Pizza Palace it is," Ahmad said.

"Prepare for her to run your pockets," I warned.

"Papa Ahmad's got it."

I smiled. He was wearing that title proudly. I wasn't sure what made Kari all of a sudden start calling him that until about a week or two after. I was getting her ready for bed when she jumped up and ran to her bookbag.

"I almost forgot to show you my picture, Mommy," she said, excitedly.

She pulled out her folder and grabbed a paper. Holding it to her chest, she walked back over to where I sat on her bed with a huge smile on her face.

"Close your eyes," she instructed.

I obliged her. A few seconds later, she told me I could open them. She held up a picture of us with our respective names: Mommy, Makari, Papa Ahmad. She'd gotten us down to a science, from my scrubs to the short budding locs on Ahmad's head and his tattoos.

"This is beautiful, baby," I said, smiling. "Can I ask what made you call Ahmad, Papa Ahmad?"

She grinned. Her love for him was evident in her smile.

"We learned about different kinds of families in school today and we had to draw our family. I don't have a daddy but Mr. Ahmad is like a daddy. He tells me I'm pretty and special to him. He plays with me and buys me things. He reads me bedtime stories and helps me with my homework. Did Grandpa do that for you?"

I nodded. "He did."

"So that makes him a daddy, right?"

"I can see how you would think that."

I didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise. That night I prayed that Ahmad would continue to be everything he was showing himself to be to her. It would not only break her heart, but it would break mine if he didn't.

"Nala."

The sound of Ahmad calling my name brought me out of my thoughts. When I looked up, I saw him standing in front of us. I didn't even realize I was still holding the phone. After ending the call, I dropped it back into my purse.

"Hey, baby," I said as he leaned in to give me a kiss.

He made his way over to Kari who had her arms out for him.

"Hey, Papa Ahmad!"

"Hey, princess." He gave her a warm hug and kissed her cheek. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too. Papa Ahmad, I wanna play all the games at Pizza Palace. You got enough money for tokens?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, baby. I got you."

"What are you doing on this side of town?" I asked.

"I had business. I was gonna stop by the house, but your location said you weren't there."

"Well, after having that boot on for forever, my feet needed some TLC."

"I wasn't gonna say nothing—"

I playfully slapped his arm. "Don't play with me!"

"Rabbit, tell your mama her feet were looking bad."

Kari grinned. "You have pretty feet, Mommy."

"Thank you, baby. You could never pit my baby against me. She loves her mommy."

"I love Papa Ahmad, too, Mommy," she said, matter of factly.

I playfully rolled my eyes. "I guess."

Ahmad ended up sitting with us for the duration of our pedicure, and of course he paid for it. We walked out of the salon with Kari holding both our hands. She insisted on riding with Ahmad to Pizza Palace. The man already had a booster seat installed in his car for her.

I allowed her to go, and they followed behind me to the restaurant. I took the liberty of grabbing us a seat and ordering while Makari drug Ahmad to load her gaming card. She suckered him into a few games before the pizza came out. All I could do was smile as I watched them.

They looked like they belonged to each other. I wasn't crazy enough to think that God had orchestrated this whole thing for me to find love. I never asked Him to bring me a man. I didn't pray Ciara's prayer or any shit like that.

But here we were.

Once the food came, Kari and Ahmad returned to the table. We ate while she dominated the conversation as she usually did. We all played a few more games until it was time to get Kari home to do her homework. Ahmad took over helping her while I went to take a shower and get her things ready for her bath.

By the time I got myself together and ran her bathwater, they were trekking upstairs. Baby girl was already yawning, so I knew she'd be out like a light after her story. Ahmad went to take a shower while I took care of Kari.

Twenty minutes later, she was in her pajamas and snuggled under her covers. Her eyes were drowsy, and she kept yawning.

"Are you gonna be able to stay awake for your story?" I asked with a giggle.

"I'm so tired, Mommy."

"All that playing you did earlier is catching up to you," I said, pinching her cheeks. "I'm glad you had fun."

She yawned again. "Can I skip story time?"

"You absolutely can. We can read two stories next time."

She smiled as her eyes drifted closed. Just when Ahmad walked in, they popped back open, and she looked up at him.

"You almost missed telling me goodnight," she informed him.

He chuckled as he squatted next to her bed. "My bad, Rabbit. I'm here now."

"I'm tired, Papa Ahmad. I don't want a story tonight."

"That's okay. You ready to say your prayers?"

She nodded and closed her eyes. "Dear God. Thank You for Mommy, and Grandpa and Grandma, and thank You for my Papa Ahmad. It's nice having a daddy. I know Papa Ahmad isn't my real daddy, but he acts like a daddy, and I love him. Can we keep him forever? I promise I'll be a good girl. Well, that's it. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen."

"Amen."

I looked over at Ahmad to see his eyes glassy with tears. If nothing else made him emotional, Kari did it every time. He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, Rabbit," he said softly.

"Goodnight."

I bent down to kiss her cheeks. "Goodnight, baby."

"Goodnight."

We barely hit the door before she was out cold. Ahmad and I retreated to my bedroom and climbed into bed. Much to my surprise, he wrapped his arms around me and rested his head on my chest. Normally it was me that cuddled up next to him. This was different… but nice.

He released a deep breath. "I don't know what y'all are doing to me. This emotional shit… I don't like it, but I don't mind."

I giggled. "It just means you're comfortable with us. Have you never felt this comfortable with anybody?"

"No."

"It must be exhausting feeling like you have to be tough all the time, Ahmad. You can be free with us. Ain't no judgment here."

He looked up at me for a moment before motioning me eye level with him. His lips landed on mine, and the kiss we shared was both passionate and lustful. His hand ran the length of my back before he gave my ass a firm grip. Pulling away, he looked deep into my eyes.

"What if I fell for you?" he asked. "Am I safe?"

I smiled. "The safest place in the world."