A week had gone by and Don had gotten Darnell to open up a little. She started to cuddle with him at night and sometimes when they were lounging on the couch, but she was still standoffish when it came to other things.
She would still dress, undress, and shower with the door closed. She barely showed any skin or wore skin hugging clothes, but Don had a plan that he hoped would change all of that.
"Kay, Nova, Junior lets go!" Don yelled calling the kids down for breakfast. Since the babies were born, Don had stepped up around the house. He was still able to successfully run his clubs and restaurants even though he spent more time at home now.
Doing the dishes, bathing the kids, washing clothes, and cooking- were just some of the things Don would now do and he didn't mind doing it. Most of Darnell's attention was now on Cam and Bray because she was breast feeding every two hours. She was still able to spend time with her three oldest children and make sure the centre was good, but most of all she appreciated that Don had stepped up.
Soon Don could hear the patter of little feet coming towards the kitchen. "Stop running and come sit down."
"Yes sir." The three said at the same time. They quickly stopped and walked the rest of the way. They knew their daddy didn't play and when he said something it was meant to do it right then.
Once they got to the kitchen they all sat at the kitchen's breakfast bar.
Don placed the three plates that held hash browns, link sausage, cheese grits, and scrambled eggs in front of them, then pulled out three cups to pour them all chocolate milk. Over the years, with the help of Darnell- Don had went from hot pockets and fast food to home cooked meals. On days like these, he was happy to cook for his family.
"Daddy, what are we doing today?" Kay asked with a mouth full of grits.
"Don't talk with your mouth full baby girl, it's not princess like." He told her as he placed the plate he made for Darnell in the microwave so he could take it to her later. Right now he was letting her enjoy her sleep and get some rest.
Kay chewed and swallowed her food before talking again.
"You three." He pouted towards his children. "Are going to hang out with aunt Nae and uncle Meer."
"Yayyyy!" They screamed.
Don rolled his eyes. The kids were always happy when they got to hang out with Naree and Yameer. They would take them to park or to Chuck E Cheeses and other kid friendly places.
Don and Darnell appreciated it though. Most of the time they would leave early in the morning and when they brought them back at night, they were tired out and went straight to bed.
"So finish up eating so y'all can get dressed." Don stood up from the counter he was leaned on, placing his now empty plate into the sink.
"I'm going to go check on mommy. Kay when y'all are done put the plates in the sink. Okay?" He looked at her.
"Okay Daddy." Don had started to give Kay a little bit more responsibility because she was the oldest. Not too much though, she was still a child and he didn't want her to grow up too fast, but he also wanted her to start to know what being counted on to do the right thing was like.
After grabbing Darnell's breakfast and a water for her from the fridge, he made his way up the separate set of stairs that led up to their bedroom. Opening the door he found Darnell feeding both Cam and Bray.
"Hey." Darnell spoke as she yawned and eyed Don as he walked towards her.
"Good morning mama." He leaned down and kissed Darnell on her forehead then her cheek. He placed her plate of food on the night side table along with her water.
