𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐓

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞

      Robyn sighed as she read a text from Psalm asking her to come over. She looked at the text and swiped it away, just as her mom walked towards her with two cups of coffee.

   "Thanks, Mom," Robyn said, taking the coffee from her hands and sipping on it. Then, she placed the cup down and her mom put her coffee on the counter, turning her attention to her daughter. "No problem, sweetie. Now, why do you look so down?" her mom asked.

       Robyn paused before taking a deep breath and admitting, "You were right, Mom." A small smile crept up on her mom's face as Robyn continued, "I fell for him, Mom."

   However, her mom's expression turned to confusion as she asked, "What's so wrong with that now, Robyn?" She didn't see anything necessarily wrong with it.

"I'm still feeling uneasy about this whole situation," Robyn said, her voice filled with uncertainty. "It's hard for me to focus because all I see is him, and I don't know whether to believe him."

      Her mom asked "Why don't you feel like you believe him?"

      Robyn thought for a moment before responding, "I feel like he says things to be on people's good side. It takes a minute for him to tell the truth." She paused thinking about how Psalm would wait for you to catch him in his lie before he tells the actual truth.

       Her mom nodded empathetically, recognizing Robyn's doubts. "Okay, I get it. So, what makes you believe him?" she asked, rephrasing the question differently.

    Robyn couldn't help but smile as she thought about how Psalm makes her feel. "He's everything to me," she began.

"Every time I'm around him, I feel safe. I genuinely don't think he could harm a soul. He makes me feel good about myself, something I haven't felt in a long time." She spoke honestly to her mom, who nodded and formed a small smile at the thought of her daughter feeling happy.

    Putting two and two together, Robyn's mother caught on and smirked, "You had sex with that man, didn't you?"

"How did you know?" she asked.

    Her mom chuckled and said "Girl, please. I was the same way when I met your father. It's okay to be head over heels for a man sometimes." Her mom's words made Robyn feel more at ease. 

"Mom, I'm not head over heels for Psalm, I just like him and the way he makes me feel," Robyn clarified.

        Her mom, sipping her coffee, responded with a knowing tone, "Mhmm, that's the same thing I said about your father. So, what are you going to do if he turns out to be guilty? Just toss those feelings aside?" Robyn shrugged her shoulders, considering the valid question.

"You know, people we love or care about hurt us every day," her mom said, sharing some wisdom.

    "You just have to figure out your way of handling it." She patted Robyn's back, offering comfort.

    "You'll find your way of handling it." Robyn looked over at her mom with a warm smile, feeling grateful for her always. She always tried to see everyone's point of view, and Robyn admired that about her.

     The door swings open and in walks Mehkai and Jacobi, fresh from school, dropping their bags and shoes on the ground.

    Mehkai dashes over to them, his stomach growling. "Did you guys cook anything? I'm mad hungry" he exclaims, sniffing the air like a hungry dog.

      Robyn raises an eyebrow. "Excuse me, young man. Aren't you  going to greet me and your grandma?"  Mehkai huffs sarcastically. "Hello, mom...hello, grandma...did you guys cook?"

   His grandma playfully slaps his neck. "Boy, no, we didn't cook!" Mehkai winces, saying "Ow!" in mock pain.

"Well, excuse me for being hungry!" Mehkai mutters, rubbing his neck.

    Jacobi walks over and takes a seat on the counter, greeting his mom and grandma with a cheerful "Hi mommy, hi grandma!"

   He then presents a sheet of paper on the table. "Mommy, can you sign this? And grandma, can you come to it?" Jacobi asks, showing them the paper, which is a permission slip for a field trip to the zoo.

     His mom reads over it and signs it, then hands it back to Jacobi. "I can come to it, Jacobi, of course," his grandma says, "but what will I be doing?"

"Well, you'll watch me and my friends at the zoo and take us to see the animals" Jacobi says, making his grandma nod her head in agreement.

    "Okay, boy, you know I don't usually watch other people's children, but I'll make an exception for you because I love you" she says, pinching his cheeks playfully.

   "Thank you, Grandma! I'm so happy!" Jacobi says as he puts the papers back in his backpack.

"Go put yall shoes back on, I'll take you guys out to eat" Robyn said to her kids, knowing Mehkai was hungry.

    Mehkai was already running to put his shoes on. "You ain't gotta tell me twice, I'll be in the car!" as he headed out of the house.

     Robyn went to get her keys from the counter and asked her mom, "You coming?"

   Her mom shook her head, saying, "I'm about to head home, you have fun with your boys." She smiled warmly and grabbed her purse, following both her and Jacobi out.