this chapter man, smh... y'all asked for it 😭
After the longest three weeks of his life, Ja's plane landed in Memphis.
"Daddy!"
Ja picked the toddler up into his arms, squeezing her small body. Her tiny arms wrapped around him with just as much emotion, making the guard vow to himself never to be far from his daughter for that long ever again.
"Hi, princess." Ja mumbled, rubbing her back. "Daddy miss you."
Kaari's attention was already on something else. "I got waffles with Grandma and Papa this morning. TT Niya came, too."
Ja sat Kaari down, hugging his parents. "What's up wit' y'all?"
"I kept your girlfriend company." TeNiya said, hugging her brother.
Malia opted to let Ja be with his parents and daughter when he landed, deciding she had all day to see him. She didn't have work or anything so Malia was at home patiently waiting for Ja to call her.
"Ma." Ja picked Kaari up. "You ca' keep Kaari tonight?"
Jamie smiled as they walked towards the exit as a group. "Of, course. I know you wanna go see Malia."
Ja pretended to be wiping his mouth as he strategically hid his smirk. The guard was going to see Malia. As soon as he finished lunch with his family and took his shit home, Ja sure was going to see her.
See obviously meant see, of course, because he missed her more than he could vocalize.
But- see also meant to rearrange every single part of the inside of her body.
"Daddy, I want nuggets."
Ja placed his luggage into the back of the truck, closing it afterwards. "We finna go get some right na'. Lemme' strap you ina' car."
Ja sat in the back of the truck with TeNiya and Kaari, texting Malia that he landed. He knew she was just as anxious to see him as he was to see her because she replied within seconds. Ja kept the same energy, replying with a smile on his face.
"Where y'all wanna eat?" Ja asked allowed, cutting his phone off.
Kaari spoke up first. "McDonald's!"
Jamie chose a place herself, not giving anyone in the car the chance to argue about it. That was a common occurrence in the Morant household so Ja's Mom saved time and an unsolicited argument.
Lunch was nice and Ja was feeling refreshed around his family. They weren't treating him differently after therapy so he liked that. It felt liked he'd moved forward but nothing drastic had changed.
"TeNiya, you'on need ta' record everything you eat." Ja said, putting his arm across the back of Kaari's chair. "Eat that shit."
Jamie gave Ja a side eye. "You cussin'?"
"Nah."
"You just want me ta' hurry up so you ca' go see Malia." Niya raised an eyebrow. "Right?"
"Fuckin' right."
Tee chuckled at his children's antics. "Y'all both eat ya' food. These white folks gon' put us out of here."
Ja took his luggage home and then went to Malia's house, unlocking and opening the door. Ja mugged Brooklyn, Desmond, and Jaren as they sat in the living room.
"What's good, 12?"
"Why the fuck y'all here?" The point guard joked, dapping up Jaren. "Good ta' see you, Trip. What's good, Des?"
