“Merry Christmas, baby,” I murmured into Stephanie’s ear as I moved beside her.
“Oh, my God!” she squeaked, placing her hands over her mouth. She looked at me then back at the van, a smile covering her face. “Is that-is that for me?”
“Yeah, it’s for you.” I kissed her and handed her the keys. “Only the best for my baby.”
There were plenty of oohs and aahs coming from her family members. They’d all been impressed by the house, so this present was just icing on the cake. How could I be anything less than Superman in their eyes right now? I was taking care of Stephanie, taking care of Maleka and the baby, and showering my family with gifts they’d never dreamed they could own. But somehow, I guess Stephanie wasn’t as impressed as her family members, ’cause she handed the keys back to me.
“What’s up? Why you givin’ the keys back?” I tried to put them back in her hands, but she kept her fingers curled tightly.
“I can’t accept this, Travis,” she said quietly. Now there was plenty of murmuring coming from her family behind us. Talk about blowin’ up my spot.
“Stop playin’, Steph.” I tried to give her the keys again, but she still wouldn’t take them.
“I’m not playin’, Travis. Take the car back.” She looked at the van one more time, sighed, and tried to head to the door. I wasn’t letting her go anywhere without an explanation. To say I was hurt is an understatement. I’d gone to a lot of trouble to get that car by Christmas, and this certainly wasn’t the reaction I’d been expecting.
“You been saying you wanted a new car for over a year.” Talk about some shit. All of a sudden I felt like a used-car salesman when I should have felt like Santa Claus. “Come on. You didn’t even look at it. It’s the van you were talking about last week. It even has a VCR for the kids just like you wanted. Is there something wrong with the color or somethin’?”
“No, the color’s fine and so is the van,” she sighed again.
“So what’s the problem?” Enough with the sighing shit; just get to the point.
“We can’t afford a new car. You just bought me a house and you’re still paying off your truck. How we gonna afford another car?”
Huh? This couldn’t have been the same girl I met in that club. As long as she got what she wanted, that girl couldn’t have cared less how the bills were getting paid. Now here she was, the voice of financial reason. This was funny. She was either seriously maturing, which I liked, or she was frontin’ for her family members. Either way, I could play her game, too.
“Okay,” I told her with finality. “If you really want me to take it back, I will. But I made my last truck payment on Friday.” She studied my face.
“You’re serious? The truck’s paid off?”
“Uh-huh.” I nodded while she studied my face.
“Well, shit! In that case, gimme them keys!” She gave me a quick peck on the lips, snatched the keys out of my hand, and ran for the van. “Come on y’all, let’s go for a ride.” Now, that was the Stephanie I knew and loved. Guess I wasn’t the only one with a flair for the dramatic.
“Look at her. She sure loves that car.” Big Momma eased her rather large backside into a wicker chair on the porch while the rest of the adults followed Stephanie and piled into the van.
“I sure hope so, Big Momma.” I strolled over to the chair next to her and sat down. “How come you’re not over there with the rest of them? It looks like they’re about to go for a ride.”
“I know, but my feet been botherin’ me a bit lately. So I’ma sit right up here on the porch with you for a while, Travis. Besides, I’m gonna have my fair share of rides in that van. Trust me.” Big Momma gave me a smile of certainty.
“I know that’s right.”
“Travis, keep an eye on Maleka and the rest of the kids. We’re goin’ for a ride,” Stephanie yelled out the window of the van, where she’d quickly settled in the driver’s seat.
“Ah’lght, baby.” I leaned back and smiled proudly. Big Momma and I waved as she pulled out of the driveway.
“Travis?” Big Momma leaned toward me as she cleared her throat. “I heard what you said to Stephanie, but you sure you can afford this house? And them cars? You know, if money’s tight you can always come to me.”
“I appreciate that, Big Momma, but we can handle it. I only had to put three percent down with my VA loan. And with the interest rates being so low, my mortgage is only twelve hundred a month. With my housing allowance from the army and all the money I’ve been saving over the years living on base, we’ve got more than enough to get by. Just don’t tell Stephanie. She might not wanna go back to work.”
“I ain’t tellin’ her nothin’.” Big Momma grinned. “But now that y‘all got a new house and two fancy cars, when y’all plannin’ on settin’ a date for this weddin’? I’m not gettin’ any younger, you know.” This woman sure didn’t waste no time when she had something on her mind. Luckily, I had an answer for her.
“Stephanie didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“We set the date last week. Fourth of July. We wanted to have it Memorial Day weekend, but Stephanie’s lawyer said it was gonna take at least six months for my adoption of Maleka to go through.”
“You adopting Maleka?” Big Momma was grinning from ear to ear. Apparently, Stephanie hadn’t told her a thing, but I was glad to see she approved.
“Yes, ma’am. I love that little girl and I want her to have my name.” Hell, I was the only father Maleka knew, and I know she loved me as much as I loved her.
“You know, Travis, I’ll be eighty-five on June tenth, so I’m not sure how much longer the Lord has for me in this world.” She hesitated, patting my knee. “But I’m glad I met you. You’re a good man. I pray my granddaughter’s smart enough to realize what she’s got.” We shared a smile, though I was a little surprised to hear the lack of confidence she had in Stephanie. I guess judging from Steph’s track record with roughnecks and hoods, Big Momma had reason to wonder. Not me. I knew that with all the love I was showering on her, there was no way she’d even think about steppin’ out on me.
“Thanks, Big Momma. Coming from you that means a lot And I want you to know I love Stephanie more than anything in this world.”
“Believe me. I can see that…” The rest of her sentence was swallowed by the blaring rap music coming from a souped-up Honda Civic that passed by. The bass made the floorboards of the porch rumble. “Lord, these young people act like they ain’t got no sense!” Big Momma shouted.
“And no eardrums neither,” I shouted back as I watched the car pull into my neighbor’s driveway. My eyebrows rose as it backed out and pulled in front of my house.
“Somebody you know, Travis?” Big Momma asked.
“No, ma’am.” I shook my head. “Nobody I know.” I stood, wondering who the hell would be dropping by unannounced on Christmas Day playing their music so damn loud. About a minute later I got my answer when a tall, thuggish-looking brother with an almond complexion stepped out of the car. Big Momma almost fell outta her chair when she saw him.
“Lord have mercy! What’s he doin’ here?”
I’d never seen the brother before, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out who he was. He was Maleka’s biological father, there was no doubt about that. He looked like he could’ve spit her out.
“Travis?” Big Momma was struggling to get out of her seat. “Don’t you step off this porch. You hear me? Travis!” I didn’t answer her because I was already halfway down the walkway, headed for Maleka’s father. In less than a month we were supposed to go to court to have his parental rights rescinded so I could start adoption proceedings for Maleka. This guy had been missing in action for the better part of Maleka’s life, and now he decides to show up at my door? Wasn’t no way I was gonna let him mess up my little family. Not without a fight.