Chapter 1
Tori
“Kalvin and Keeghan, you have exactly 10 minutes to get down these stairs, or you’re walking to school!” I fussed into the intercom in the kitchen. I would have gone upstairs myself, but as big as this house is, my bacon would be burned by the time I got back.
“Girl it’s gonna take them ten minutes to make it to the stairs!” Kiana, my best friend and “Wife in Law” cracked.
“Shut up!” I said, while laughing. She and her twins, Kitana and Kiara live here with me, my husband, and our kids.
Back when Kalvin and I first got married, he admitted to cheating on me, and told me that the girl was pregnant. When I asked to meet her, he almost had a heart attack and swore he would divorce me if I tried to do anything to her when she was pregnant, to which I replied, “That girl didn’t promise me to be faithful, YOU DID! She probably don’t know nothing about me, so I wanna make sure she knows who I am and that our kids know each other. From day one, Kiana and I have always had a mutual respect for each other. Over the years, we have grown to be as close as sisters, so when Kalvin got traded from Atlanta to New Orleans, I insisted that she and the girls come with us. Leave it to him to get mad when I told him “our” baby mama was coming to live with us. I didn’t and still don’t care what he says. It’s his fault we besties because he could keep his d*ck to himself.
“Ma, how you gonna threaten to make us walk and we all drive and got our own cars?” Keeghan, my smart-mouth son asked while he and his twin, Kalvin Jr., strolled into the room.
“Easy, boo. I got all the keys, the cars are in my name and on my insurance and if you try to take one, I’m gon report it stolen.” I answered with a smirk, while placing their breakfast in front of them.
“Aaaaawwwww, that’s messed up!” all four twins exclaimed simultaneously, while Kiana and I laughed.
“You better believe her too, cause she did it to me in college.” A deep voice says while chuckling.
What’s up, Pops? And Hey, Daddy was all I heard as Kiana and I rolled our eyes. I swear sometimes this man’s presence is enough to make me want to kill somebody. Sometimes I wonder how I could go from being so in love to hating the ground a man walked on, but that’s what 18 years of infidelity will do for you. I know you are wondering why I stayed in it so long, but trust me, I have my reasons. One day, soon and very soon, it will be clear to Kalvin that he messed with the wrong one…..
“T? T! Did you hear anything I just said?” Kalvin asked with an attitude. “I’m sorry, I was thinking. What did you say?” I replied. “I need to talk to you and Kiana in the study. It’s important.” “Okay, let us get the kids off to school and we’ll be right there.” I said while cleaning the kitchen. I gave the kids their keys and sent them on their way. Keeghan reminded us that they have a game tonight before he walked out.
Both of my boys play football and basketball, and the girls both cheerlead and dance. Our kids also model, sing, rap and act. They stay busy and Kiana and I maintain their busy schedules along with the businesses we have, as well as troubleshooting random problems for Kalvin, which is probably what he wants us to do right now.
I grabbed a cup of coffee for me and Kiana and made my way to the study. Handing Kiana her coffee and sitting down, I asked, “So who did you knock up this week?”
“I didn’t get nobody pregnant this week, smart ass. It had to be at least a month ago, and where is MY coffee?” he replied.
“It’s in the kitchen, where you left it. If I gotta clean up the messes you make outside, you can’t get no service inside.” I said with a smirk. “I know that’s right!” Ki said while high fiving me.
