Balancing Acts

Chapter 7: Family First

            Sundays were what I looked forward to each week. Brandon and I usually slept in—unless the boys woke up before us—on Sundays and he usually didn't even mention work. So I woke up on that Sunday with his arms still wrapped around me and his chest pressed against my back. He came home the night before and took off his suit and just climbed into bed with me. He was so tired that he didn't even say goodnight, he didn't say anything. All he could do was cuddle up with me in the spooning position and fall asleep. I had to break free of his hold on me, so I unintentionally woke him up that morning.

            "What time is it?" he asked immediately.

            "Almost ten," I told him. "I'm surprised the boys aren't crying right now. I know they're probably up."

            "I need to get down to my study." He pushed the covers back and jumped out of bed.

            "Your study? Baby, it's Sunday."

            "I know. I got a little stuff to do before we make our next court appearance tomorrow." He went over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and his favorite Howard sweatshirt. He put them on and turned around to see me standing there with a disappointed look on my face. "Baby, why are you looking at me like that?"

            "Because you never do any work on Sunday. This is supposed to be our day, baby. What if I wanted to take the boys to church?"

            "Church at ten? We'd be there until four, baby." He laughed but stopped when he noticed I wasn't laughing. "Julani, it's not like I'm going in to the office. I'm gonna be down in my study here at home."

            "I just don't want..."

            "Daddy!" Jeremiah exclaimed.

            Brandon laughed and said, "That's you he's calling for." He kissed me and then sat down on the bed to put on a pair of socks.

            I shook my head at him as I put on a robe. I then left our bedroom and headed to the other side of the hall to get the boys. Jeremiah was standing up and trying to climb out of his crib, and Elijah was pulling his blanket up and down over his face while giggling as if he were playing peekaboo with someone. I grabbed Jeremiah and pulled him out of his crib first and put him down to the floor since he could walk perfectly, and then I grabbed Elijah but held him because he was still having trouble with balance whenever he walked.

            I took them down to the kitchen and put them in their highchairs before putting some cereal in their Sesame Street bowls. They loved all types of cereal but both absolutely hated unfrosted cornflakes. I had to find that out the hard way. They let me know when they don't like something by flipping their bowls over and making a mess. Well, Jeremiah will do it and then Elijah will follow because he does whatever his brother does. They could be a handful at times.

            "We got any more Lucky Charms?" Brandon asked while descending the stairs that led to our kitchen.

            "I thought you were going to your study?" I asked.

            "I am, but I'm hungry." He went over to the cupboard and pulled out the box of cereal. "You still mad at me?"

            "I'm not mad at you. I just feel like Sundays are special for us. But like you said, at least you're here and not at the office." My phone vibrated on the counter and I picked it up to see I had a text message from my mama. "My mama and Julissa are coming over."

            "Julissa's back from Japan that quick?"

            "Yep. I can't wait for them to get here."