Page 40 of The Marriage Rebound

“It’s not the third degree, Mama. We don’t know much about the girl. We are simply trying to get to know more about the new member of our family,” Dad countered.

A tense silence had once again fallen over the table. The only ones unaware of the storm brewing were the kids, who were occupied at the smaller table in the kitchen. I could feel Courtney’s leg bouncing, and Mya had her hand on Courtney’s arm as she squeezed the life out of her fork.

“The only thing you need to know—”

“Daddy, me and Courtney are good,” I blurted out, cutting Courtney off before whatever she was about to say came out of her mouth. She could be stubborn, and I didn’t want her clashing with my dad over dinner like this. Everything I’d eaten threatened to come back up.

I took a deep breath and continued on. “Better than good. In fact, we are workin’ on gettin’ y’all some grandkids.”

Courtney’s head whipped to the side so fast I could have sworn I heard the whoosh of the movement. I wouldn’t look at her though. I kept my focus on my folks and did my best to ignore the hole she was burning into the side of my face. Dad slowly shifted his attention from Courtney to me with his expression transforming from irritation to bewilderment.

“Are you sure that’s something you’re ready for?” Mom asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I thought y’all would be happy. Me settlin’ down, startin’ a family.” I did my best to keep my tone even despite the new wave of upset that rolled through me. Why couldn’t they ever just be proud of something I did? Why did everything have to be a question of my judgment as if I never made good decisions? For once, would it be so damn hard for them to just be supportive?

“Well, Sasha, I think it’s great,” Big Mama said. “We ain’t had no baby in the family in a while. We overdue.”

I smiled at my grandmother, grateful to have someone on my side, because my wife didn’t chime in to help. “Thank you, Big Mama. It’s a process because, well, you know. But we’ve gotten things started and I’m excited. Daddy, what do you think? Ready to be a granddaddy?”

I noticed the shifting of eyes around the table, most of them flicking from Courtney and back to me, but I still refused to look at her.

He sucked his tongue and shook his head. “You sure this is something you both discussed? Because, um . . .” He pointed his fork between me and Courtney, obviously noticing her rigid body language.

Courtney’s displeasure was palpable, but I was in too deep to change course now. Besides, what did she expect me to do, let her get into it with my parents? I knew her, and how cutting her words could be when she wanted. My parents had their faults, but they still expected to be spoken to a certain way, and Courtney didn’t understand that.

Moving closer, I linked arms with her and tried not to react when she flinched ever so slightly at the contact. I rested my head on her shoulder and smiled wide at my parents. “She’s just a little upset because, as Big Mama said, y’all tried to give her the third degree, that’s all. And of course, we’ve had plenty of discussions about startin’ a family. Isn’t that right, babe?”

Courtney didn’t respond right away, and when I felt a little push from her other side, I realized that while she couldn’t get up and walk away like usual, she must have zoned out, and Mya nudged her to get her attention. I sat up and we locked eyes briefly before she turned her attention elsewhere.

“Yeah, we’ve talked about it,” she answered, then excused herself from the table.

Chapter 16

Courtney

Glancing in the rearview mirror, I saw Mya with her earbuds in, scrolling through her phone with one hand and petting Vuitton with the other. She’d been my saving grace after the out-of-the-blue announcement Sasha made. And this was after her father had tried to check me about how I handled my business. I was even more pissed that Mya had been put into a position to try and play peacekeeper. She’d done her best to talk me down so I wouldn’t go off. It was out of respect for Big Mama and Mya that I held my tongue.

But I was still silently fuming since Sasha had dropped the bombshell about visiting a fertility clinic. It had taken everything in me not to lose my shit and to fake pleasantries for the remaining time we were there. What the fuck was wrong with her? To go behind my back after we had already discussed the fact that we weren’t doing kids right now—it wasn’t just the disregard she’d displayed, it was the flippant way in which she’d dropped that bomb. Making an announcement like that and not caring about the betrayal.

It was a major betrayal.

And with everything else . . . I tightened my fingers on the wheel and let out a hard exhale.

“Why you still got stank face?”

I cut my eyes over to my wife, but said nothing.

“Oh, so you g’on act like I’m not speakin’ to you?”

I took another glance in the rearview then blew out an annoyed breath. “I mean, you didn’t see any need to talk to me about going to a fertility doctor, so why we need a conversation now?”

She smacked her lips and rolled her eyes. “Because anytime I try to have a conversation with you, you always shut it down.”

“Yeah, I do, because you don’t be caring about nothin’ but what you want. I’m already up to my eyeballs in responsibility and takin’ care of everything. And you wanna add to that with zero consideration for . . .” I briefly cast my attention back on my sister’s reflection, this time catching her eye. “Consideration for anything.”

Sasha crossed her arms and leaned back to rest against her door. She was digging in. “What the hell does that mean?”

I cranked my neck from one side to the other. A knot of tension had been at the base of my neck since Quincy started in on me and it’d only gotten tighter. “Let’s not do this now.”