The Love We Make 2: It's 1992 and the world is bewildered by recent headlines.
"His Royal Badness Prince is now MARRIED with a SON, and the boy is already 3 YEARS OLD! Was he really hiding the kid this whole time? Or is this sudden marriage hid...
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Thank God Letty came into my life when she did, 'cause if I would've met her 10 years ago, even 2 years ago, I would've lost her in a heartbeat, way before I could even reach her melting point. This woman would not have put up with my bullshit back then.
But she didn't see me as that guy, the juggler who kept his pockets full and options wide. The guy who could be in love with one and still play with others. She didn't see me as that guy 'cause I wasn't him, not anymore. Not for her. In this new light, I was Ace's father and fatherhood had opened my third eye. I knew what I had in front of me and I was ready to do everything in my power not to fuck this up. What's higher than the top, right?
My baby was speechless, stuck biting her smile after hearing me pronounce that I was gonna make her my wife.
"It's okay," I said. "I was there last night. I know you love me too."
Letty and I moved at different speeds so I knew even if she did hear wedding bells in her head, she wasn't about to show it. "Teach me how to play pool." But she said it in so many ways last night. She was in love with me. So unoffended, I walked with her to the pool table.
After an hour of fooling around, Ace was minutes out and Letty was trying to leave. "I don't want to be in the way," she said, stopped at the top step. "You're leaving soon and I know you want every minute you can get with him."
"No, stay," I said, stealing her waist. "Wait in my room."
"Your room? And do what?"
"I don't know. Write me one of those love letters again."
"No, I should—" My mouth muffled her excuses, and I didn't let up until she was screaming "okay" in laughter. "Fine."
I sent her upstairs with pen and paper.
There were a few mutual reasons we didn't want Ace to see Ms. Wizzo in his house, one being we didn't want it to be school gossip the next day, especially since she called out sick. But he wasn't staying long unfortunately anyway. Raven was at the airport getting her mother and then would be by to pick him up. She wanted to help her mother get settled into his routine; dinner, bedtime and then they would get him to school in the morning.
In Ace's room, I was sitting in the middle of the floor, right over the threaded yellow dinosaur, watching him pick through one of his toy chests to decide which ones he was taking to Raven's. Guilt was eating me alive. I didn't want to leave my son and I didn't want him to leave me.
I guess last year when I left him to go on the Diamonds and Pearls Tour I was still in shock, maybe even a little selfish. Instant fatherhood was a lot to take in so going away on tour was my escape back to what I always knew. But then when he and Raven came to visit me in London, I didn't want the kid to go, and he didn't. Ever since, he's been glued to my back.
