Josiah stepped out of his blacked out Range Rover and headed towards Alaina's large, luxurious home. He raised his hand to knock on the door and almost fell through as the door swung open and he was greeted by two little people screaming his name.
"Uncle, Siah! Uncle, Siah!" The twins yelled, excitedly.
Josiah bent down to scoop the 4-year-old twins off their feet. He gave Amir a high five and placed a kiss on Amaira's forehead.
"What's going on with my niece and nephew?" he asked as he tickled them. The twins laughed hysterically until they were practically falling out of Josiah's arms.
He finally let them go and placed them on the floor. They tugged on his leg, both talking at the same time, competing for his attention.
"Sloooow down, you're confusing me." he told them.
Alaina entered the room, "Twins, let go of your uncle."
They groaned, "But ma!"
"I'm not going to say it again. Go upstairs and get your bags unless you don't want to spend the night with Uncle, Siah," she warned.
The twins looked up at Josiah and he gave them a reassuring look to let them know it would be in their best interest to listen to their mother. The twins took off running up the mountain of stairs leading to their bedrooms.
Josiah turned to Alaina and attempted to pull her into a hug but she flinched as if he was hurting her.
"Be careful, I'm sore from working out," she lied.
Josiah shook his head. He didn't want to argue with Alaina, although he knew she wasn't telling the truth. He followed her into the kitchen, "My bad."
"You want something to drink? Are you hungry?" she asked.
"No thank you, mother." he said sarcastically, "The twins and I are going to get something to eat with Abuela before we head back to the city. I'll have them back home tomorrow morning."
"Okay, cool. Tell her I said hello."
"You tell her yourself," Josiah told her.
Alaina rolled her eyes.
Alaina and Abuela had no contact outside of sending birthday cards to one another and the twins, since Alaina forgave and went back to Joe after their big fight. Abuela was disappointed in Alaina's poor choice and she made it very clear. Abuela was always the outspoken type. She had taught Alaina so much as she was growing up, instilling self-worth and confidence in her so that she would never have to depend on a man to make her feel good about herself. When Alaina decided to take Joe back, it went against everything Abuela taught her and she couldn't keep quiet about it. Abuela wasn't unkind, she was just blunt and Alaina was offended. Neither of them attempted to reach out to the other. They were both stubborn and Josiah was tired of being in the middle of it, so each week, during the offseason, he would pick up the twins, go visit Abuela, and let them stay with him for a couple of days. It wasn't their fault the two women couldn't get along.
Just as Alaina was going to reply with a smart remark, the twins came shooting down the stairs like speeding bullets.
Damn, they're fast, Josiah thought.
"We're ready!" they sang in unison.
Alaina gave the kids a pep talk on behaving and kissed her children goodbye. Josiah watched in admiration. Alaina was a much better mother than the one they had. Watching her made him eager to have a family of his own with the right woman. His mind traveled to Ava. He pictured her kneeling down talking to their children in her sweet, high-pitched voice and a smile forced its way onto his face.
