Page 90 of Full Court Press

“Because I’m a big man and very tall. I need the room.”

“That’s true. Can I sleep with you tonight?”

I nodded. “You can if you want.”

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Oh! Daddy?”

I laughed and sat up against my headboard. “Yes, Kiyanne?”

“I don’t want to do gymnastics anymore. Basketball tryouts are this fall, and I want to try out.”

My eyebrow lifted.

I wasn’t surprised.

Kiy looked up to me more than I thought she would. While she had a girly side, due to her aunt and grandmother, she also had some tomboy ways too. I had been her only parent for a long time, so I got why she was interested in basketball.

“Oh yeah?”

“Mmhmm. I’m going to be the next Angel Reese,” she said, pretending to shoot an imaginary ball.

I smiled. “I can see that. When school starts back, we can make that happen. Come here,” I said, summoning her to me. She crawled over and tucked herself under my arm like she always did.

“I want to show you something.” I opened the drawer on my nightstand and pulled out an old photo, holding it out for her to see.

“Hey, that’s me when I was a baby,” she said, sitting up to get a better look.

“It is.”

“Who is that lady holding me?”

I waited a moment before I answered her. “That’s your stepmother.”

Kiy looked back at me, confused. “Stepmother?”

“Yes. She’s my wife, which makes her your stepmother.”

“Daddy, when did you get married? You can have more than one wife?”

I chuckled. “In some countries, it is legal for a man to have multiple wives, but no. She’s the only one I’m married to.”

“Wow. What happened to her? Did she die?”

“No, baby. She’s very much alive, and we recently ran into each other again. We dated for a minute in college before we decided to get married. Some things went down, which made her leave, but now the universe brought us back together.”

“Is she nice?”

“She is. And loved you like you were her own.”

“Then why did she leave?”

“I don’t want to go into detail, but maybe you can ask her that question when you see her.”

Kiy stared at the photo for a moment before saying, “She’s really pretty, Daddy, but I’m confused.”

“What are you confused about, baby?”

“If you’re already married, how were you going to marry that other lady if you can’t have multiple wives?”