Personal Stylist: The Sequel

Chapter 21

* Gia's P.O.V *

- December 2020 -

"I can't believe my baby is already 11 months old." I said, pushing her stroller. "I know. Kids grow so fast these days, man!" Ari says. "For real. I feel like just yesterday I was pregnant with Sky. Now she's about to be 4." I said. I reached down and grabbed my baby's cheeks. My precious babies.
Christmas was exactly 3 weeks away, so Ari and I decided to take the babies to the mall to get some Christmas shopping done. I had already finished all my shopping for the kids, so now all I needed to do was get some cute things for my man. August told me he had finished his Christmas shopping. I knew he was lying though. He was just tryna intimidate me. Ain't nobody dumb.
"I have a question for you, Gi." Ari says, taking a sip of her lemonade. "Oh Lord." I said. Whenever Ari has a question, it makes me nervous. She wild as hell so I never know what's about to come out her mouth. Especially in public. She don't be caring though. It's been this way since high school.
We were now relaxing in the food court. I was feeding Nala chicken nuggets and Sky was enjoying her macaroni and cheese from Chic Fil A. "Is it too soon for me and Brandon to start trying for baby number 2?" Ari asked. I almost chocked on my waffle fries. "First of all, baby P is only 7 months old. At least wait until she's 1." I said. "You right, you right." My best friend says. "I mean, you grown. So what you want. But I'm just saying cause you're my best friend and I love you and care about you." I tell her. She nodded her head. "No I understand." She says. "You not pregnant are you?" I said. "Absolutely not! It was just a hypothetical question." Ari says. I laughed. "Just making sure, girl." I say. "Oh aight."
"Babe, I'm home!" I yell from the foyer. I knew August was home because his car was in the garage. About 20 minutes later, He met us in the foyer. "Hey, my beautiful babies! How was your trip to the mall?" He asked. I smiled. "So much fun daddy!" Sky said. August picked up our child and spun her around. "Y'all has a good time?" He says to her. She nodded. "Yup!" She said. "Well, that's good. Did y'all eat or nah?" He says. "We had Chic Fil A but I'm always down to eat. Did you make anything?" I said, carrying Nala towards the kitchen. I smelt something yummy so I knew my husband was cheffing it up. "Yes, I actually did. I made lasagna and garlic bread." He tells me. I looked at him romantically. "You know I love lasagna!" I said. He winked at me. "I know you, baby." He says. "Kids, y'all are about to have another sibling." I say. August laughed.

Christmas Day:

"Sky, wake up mama. Santa came!" I say to her. She quickly got up and rubbed her eyes. "He did?" She said, clearly excited. I smiled and nodded my head. "Yeah!" I said. She tried to get out of bed as quickly as she could but almost fell. Thankfully, I caught her. "Careful, baby. You gotta eat first. Mommy made breakfast." I tell her.
"Wow, what's that mama?" I say to Sky. August and I were in the living room, watching Sky open her Christmas presents. Baby Nala rested in my lap with her pacifier in her mouth. We were having people over our house later that night. Our tree was filled with Christmas gifts for my mother, Ariel, Brandon, baby P, Ana and Mario. We were so excited to see them later.
Sky and Nala got so many gifts, it was crazy. Our children were so spoiled and I was mainly at fault. They were also good kids though. It wasn't like I was rewarding bad behavior. It was also a little early to tell if Nala was bad or not.
"Babe, can you zip me up?" I asked my husband. "Of course!" August says, making his way over to me. It was 6:45 pm and we were getting ready for our little Christmas gathering. I chose to wear this read dress that fit my curves perfectly. August zipped me up with the quickness. "Thank you, baby." I said. "You're welcome, my love." He says. Nala and Sky fell asleep in our bed. They were already dressed.
"Who made this seafood salad?" I asked. "Me!" Ana announced. "It's bomb. I ain't know you could cook!" I said. "Why, thank you! I be cooking all the time." She tells me. We laughed. August and I had a house full of people. "Where's your sister? I just saw her." I say, concerned. "She's on the phone. I think she's going through something right now." Ana tells me. "Uh oh. She okay?" I say. "I think my mother tried to pop up again." She says. I sigh loudly. "Let me go talk to her." I said. I gently touched Ana's arm and walked away.
I found Ariel in one of the extra bathrooms. Her back was faced towards me. I heard sniffling. "Hey, you okay?" I asked. She turned around and I could tell that she had been crying. "No." She admitted. "What's going on?" I wanted to know.
Ariel tried to act like nothing bothered her. She always had this don't give a fuck attitude, but deep down inside, she absolutely did care. She had a heart of gold. It's the way she was. Ari has been this way since middle school.
"You know how my father's in jail facing a life sentence?" Ari said. I nodded my head. "Yeah." I say. "Well, I got a letter from him this morning. He said he's supposed to be coming home early on good behavior." She tells me. "Aw, man. I'm sorry to hear that." I say to her. There was really nothing good about this.
Ariel's father was a terrible man. He had done absolutely nothing but beat on Ariel and Ana their whole childhood. I only met him once, but from what Ari told me, he even used to touch on Ana. He went away when Ari was 15. It was also no help that Dolores was just as bad, if not worse.
"I just don't know what to do. He ruined Ana and I. He ruined our childhood. I don't want him coming home and I sure as hell don't want him meeting Penelope." Ari tells me. "I understand. What else did he say in the letter?" I wanted to know. Ariel sighed. "He said he that Leire has been writing him letters. Apparently she told him all our business. She told him about baby P. He now knows about Ana's pregnancy. And he said he can't wait to meet his grand children. He's not meeting my child. And I know damn well that Ana ain't gonna let him near Mateo." Ari says to me. I nodded in agreement. "See, I know Leire's your cousin and everything. But that bitch needs to go. She's toxic as hell and clearly she don't fuck with y'all." I said.
I've been around Leire way too much lately. One thing I can say about her is that she's toxic and hard to be around. She needs to go far away and never come back because she's clearly doing all this for attention. Leire is Ariel and Ana's cousin on their father's side. She's only a few years older than Ari. I don't know too much about her, I only know what my best friend tells me. And honestly, I'm not too fond of her. She isn't to be trusted. Period.
Ariel laughed and wiped her nose. "Honestly, I'm over Leire and I'm over my entire family at this point. I'm so glad I changed my last name when Brandon and I got married." Ari says. "As you should!" I says to her. We both laughed. "You know what I think you should do?" I say. "What?" Ariel says. "I think you should file a restraining order on both your mother and father." I suggested.