Peyton
"I've really enjoyed myself this week, sis. Y'all would seriously make me consider moving out here." Nico said to me while sipping on his D'ussé. My baby had done very well with this dinner for my brother and me. I honestly wanted to bring her back here for a date night. The ambiance was incredible. It had very romantic vibes, kinda wasted on a sibling dinner, but still very much appreciated. We had finished a little bit ago, and were now sitting at the bar, talking.
"Come on, then. I would love having you and the girls closer."
"I know, but the timing just isn't right right now. Not with me about to go into this custody battle with Tameka. I can't leave North Carolina until I have full parental rights for Nicole. And Lord knows Jordan would have a fit if she would have to leave her friends."
I chuckled at his remarks about my eldest niece. That girl would go to war for those little hoodrats she called her friends. In all honesty, they were good kids, just idolized the wrong things. But I get it. At 14, you gravitate to what's popping, and I guess the hoodrats were trending up.
"Speaking of this custody battle, I'm so damn proud of you. I know it's going to be an uphill fight with their mom not wanting to give up her control, because that's all it is for her. But, finally making Nicole a Thompson is going to be a big deal."
He nodded. "It is. I never told you this but she asked me a few weeks ago if she could change her last name. I hadn't even mentioned anything to her about any of this. In her own words, she doesn't want to be named after a man that she doesn't even know, and doesn't want to know. Can you believe that?"
"Honestly, yes. Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. As much as we feel we need to teach them certain things, we forget to listen to them sometimes so that we can learn from them."
"That's for damn sure. I'm just glad that she wants that for herself. It wouldn't have hurt me either way, because at the end of the day, she's mine, Thompson or not." He said shooting back the last of his drink, while I signaled to the bartender to get us another round. "Speaking of babies, when are you gonna have some?"
"Whoa, there. You done got called Uncle Nico and it done went to your head."
"It has a nice ring to it. Plus, Eissa is a cool little guy."
"He is, isn't he? That's my baby." The bartender placed our drinks down, and I took a sip before continuing. "Janet and I briefly talked about kids and that we both want them, and with each other. But that was the extent of it. We never discussed a timeline, who would carry, the father. None of that."
"I mean, no disrespect, but you would carry, right?"
"Ideally, yes. I wouldn't want her to go through that at her age now. It'd be way too risky. But I also don't want to make that decision for her."
He nodded in agreement. "I hear you, sis, but some decisions you need to make for your partner, especially when their health and well being is at hand. You really need to talk to her about it. But whatever it takes to get me a little niece or nephew, I'd support." He hesitated before continuing on. "Plus, you would be Dad's last hope to have a grandson."
The mentioning of my dad definitely made my breath catch in my chest for a second. We hadn't spoken in months, and while I still felt that I was owed an apology, and was standing on that hill, I had to honestly admit to myself that I missed him. Even if it was just a little bit.
"How is the old man?" I asked dryly.
"He's okay. You know he misses his baby girl."
My brother referring to me by that nickname suddenly made me feel a little guilty. It had been months since the incident. Maybe I should've called him by now. "Do you think I'm being unreasonable for not reaching out to him?"
