Guy
“Jaxson, go potty before we leave. I don’t want you to have an accident.”
No matter how close we were already cutting it on time, I couldn’t help but smile when my three-year-old son confidently replied, “Daddy, I’ma big boy. I’m not gon’ pee on myself.”
Sure he had been potty-trained for a solid year now, but the kinks still hadn’t completely worked themselves out. So this time instead of demanding, I suggested, “Well how about you at least go try, Jax. It’s hard to go pee on planes.”
Of course that simple tidbit of information made his curiosity brew. “Why Daddy?”
I finished packing the last of my clothes, hoping I had enough to rotate through the summer as I explained, “Well sometimes, even when you have to go really bad, you can’t because the pilot wants you to keep your seatbelt on.”
“Why Daddy?” he asked, his little eyebrows bunched together as he looked up at me, reminding me of his mother’s. But I was pretty sure the eyebrows were the only thing he inherited from her, every other feature making him practically a spitting image of me.
That fact alone made me smile again as I answered, “So that you’ll be safe in case there’s turbulence, or something like that.”
It seemed as if the more I told him, the more confused he became, this time cocking his head and squinting his eyes when he asked, “What’s turb-a-lence?”
“When the plane shakes,” I answered quickly as I closed the top of my suitcase, zipping it closed and setting it on the ground next to Jaxson’s smaller one that had thankfully been packed the night before.
There was no way in hell I would’ve had the time to do it today, especially with curious Jaxson continuing to quiz me with questions like, “But why does the plane shake?”
“Because… Jaxson just go potty, alright?”
He sighed as if he was defeated before he stomped off to the bathroom, something I would’ve checked him on any other time. But since we didn’t have time to deal with a real breakdown, I let him get away with it.
Truth be told, I would’ve loved to explain the whole process with him, do some research like we always seemed to do about everything these days, but we had a plane to catch. My best friend - which was more like my brother - had invited Jaxson and I to come stay with him for the summer down in Miami. He had even set Jaxson up in one of the best summer programs in town so that I could actually enjoy the vacation.
Not that Jaxson wasn’t a joy.
He was easily the best thing that had ever happened to me. But sometimes he could be… annoying. Like now, when he had a million questions about airplanes when all I needed him to do was go to the damn bathroom.
Parenthood.
I shook my head as I made myself busy rechecking his carry-on bag to make sure I had grabbed all the essentials to keep him occupied on the plane while simultaneously listening to see if he was actually peeing. His little tinkles came out at the same time my phone began to ring. And when I took a peek at the screen, I instantly smiled as I tapped to answer the call.
“What’s good, bro?”
There was a lot of commotion in the background, but I was still able to hear Lamar when he asked, “Sup brodie? You and my nephew all ready for the trip?”
I peeked over towards the bathroom door and could thankfully hear Jax singing the handwashing song he had learned at school as I answered, “Just about. We’re getting ready to hit the airport now.”
“Bet. I’ll still be at practice when y’all land, but Kaylin will be there to pick you two up and get you all settled in at the condo. Then I’ll swing by when I’m done here at work,” he replied, making sense of his noisy background now that I knew where he was.
With that new information, I couldn’t help but tease, “Nigga talkin’ about some work like you ain’t getting paid millions to run the same basic ass basketball drills from high school.”
I wasn’t at all surprised when he quickly defended, “When you gotta train all day, every day, that shit is definitely work, brodie.”
“Puttin’ in all that work and I could still do your ass on the court. What a shame,” I muttered, shaking my head as if he could see me.
But of course he only laughed as he groaned, “Ahh, you got jokes. But let me get back. I’ll get up with y’all tonight, aight?”
Once again, I nodded as if he could see me. “Sounds good, bro. We’ll see you then,” I told him, ending the call just as Jaxson emerged from the bathroom with his shirt tugged all the way into his underwear.
I was already cracking up laughing by the time he asked, “Was that my mama?”
I kneeled down in front of him to fix his clothes as I answered, “No, that was your Uncle Lamar,” though I was sure his mama would be calling in the next ten to fifteen minutes.
She acted like she didn’t trust me with him for extended periods of time as if he had ever came back to her harmed. In fact, just talking her into letting me take him on this trip had taken some top notch bargaining for not one but two future holidays. But we had been sharing custody since he was a little over one and there hadn’t been any real traumatizing moments other than the occasional scraped knee, or elbow, or forehead…
Clumsy toddler shit.
“Can we call mama when we go see Uncle Lamar?” he asked as I slipped his backpack over his shoulders before grabbing my own.
Then over my shoulder, I replied, “Of course, Jaxson. As much as you want,” before grabbing our suitcases to drag down the stairs of our townhome.
I was grateful that his mom, Mariah, and I weren’t on bad terms, though our history was complicated enough for things to say otherwise. We had been high school sweethearts, prom king and queen, the football player and the cheerleader, everybody expecting us to get married and have babies right after we graduated as if two teenagers really needed that kind of responsibility. But our life goals were bigger than that, so we went to college first and that’s when things began to unravel.
While I went to play ball and work towards my degree in art education at Mizzou, she went down to Lincoln University, pressed on getting the full HBCU experience. And even though the drive between the two was nothing more than a trip down the highway, we quickly realized the whole long-distance thing wasn’t for us. Still, we stayed in touch over the years and made an effort to show up for each other’s major events as friends; my “important” games, her sorority probate, each other’s graduations. And when we both made the decision to move back to our hometown, linking back up on a physical level wasn’t even a second thought. Until linking up turned into a pregnancy neither one of us was anticipating.
We did what we thought was right; found decent jobs, got an apartment together, tried to resume the normal relationship we had shared in the past. But it didn’t take long for us to discover we were far from the same people we had been back in high school, and the more time we spent together sharing a space, the more that became obvious. What had once been a mutual love and respect for each other had turned completely toxic overnight. And when Jaxson was born, that only seemed to be amplified.
So we split, and it was paying off, co-parenting made easy now that our friendship was back stable. And even though Jaxson hadn’t been in the plans, hearing him yell, “Daddy?!” for the umpteempth time somehow made it all worth it.
“Yes, Jax?” I asked, holding the door for him to step out before pulling the suitcases behind him and locking up.
He waited patiently for me to lead him to the car before he finally asked, “Did you pack my iPad?”
The only thing that will save me on this flight...
“Of course, Jaxson.”
“Can I watch Netflix when we go visit Uncle Lamar?”
These endless ass questions...
I nodded, opening the car door for him as I answered, “Yes, Jax. You can watch Netflix sometimes, but you’ll be going to school too.”
He immediately looked disappointed, something that always stabbed at me when he asked, “Why, Daddy? I wanna stay with you and Uncle Lamar.”
I waited until he climbed into the booster-style car seat he was already outgrowing, leaning in to give him a kiss to the top of his head while he could still appreciate it before I explained, “I know, son. And sometimes you will. But I want you to be able to play with other kids too. It’ll be fun, I promise.”
“You promise?” he asked, his innocently hopeful expression warming my chest.
I couldn’t help but give him a reassuring smile as I told him, “I promise,” getting him all strapped in before rushing to load the suitcases in the trunk so we wouldn’t actually miss our flight.
Like clockwork, we weren’t five minutes into the drive when my phone was buzzing with a call from Mariah. I thought about just giving the phone straight to Jaxson since I knew that was the only reason she was calling. But since I was in a good mood with my impending trip, I decided to tease her when I answered, “What’s good, baby mama?”
She immediately smacked her teeth, letting out a little laugh before she said, “You play too much. How’s my baby?”
“He’s fine, mama bear. I told you I got this,” I replied, peeking at him through the rearview mirror only to find him already looking at me trying to figure out who I was talking to.
“I’ve never been away from him this long. You’ve never had him for this long. I just…” she started, releasing a heavy sigh just as I cut her off.
“He’s my son too, Mariah. I know how to be a damn parent. In fact, I’m pretty good at the shit. You can even ask your son,” I said, peeking at him once again to see his eyes lit up now that he knew for sure who it was.
“I know, I know. He absolutely adores his blockhead ass daddy. But anyway, let me talk to him.”
I pressed the button to turn the phone to speaker mode, handing it back to Jaxson as he screeched, “Hi Mommy!”
“Hi baby. I miss you already. Are you excited for your big trip with daddy?” she asked, her especially peppy voice making me smile as I thought about how happy it made Jaxson; the singular goal we shared.
We didn’t have to be together, we didn’t always have to get along, but we were always, always going to do right by our son. And it seemed as if we were doing at least a decent job when he gushed, “I can’t wait to be on the airplane, and go see the water, and see Uncle Lamar play basketball, and get some girls...”
“Excuse me?!” she snapped, making me cringe as I thought about the conversation regarding the trip Jaxson and I had shared a few nights back when I was just trying to get him to go to sleep, thinking he was too drowsy to actually remember any of it.
But it was clear he had caught more than I thought, making me laugh as I said, “Dang, Jax! You weren’t supposed to tell her all that!”
I was glad to hear Mariah laugh too before she advised, “Don’t be lettin’ your daddy get you in trouble, baby. You hear me?”
“Yes, Mommy.”
“Love you, Jax.”
“And you love daddy too?” he asked, a question he’d been asking the both of us more and more lately.
While I knew Mariah and I would always have love for each other considering we had pretty much grown up together, I was perfectly okay with there ever only being a friendship between us. Jax, on the other hand, was just becoming old enough to want both parents together at all times. And we were on occasion, having “family” outings that always seemed to please him. But since we both knew nothing more than that was possible if we expected to raise him in the healthy, stable environment he deserved, Mariah did her best letting him down easy when she answered, “I care about your father very much, yes. And I know you do too. You be good for him, okay?”
“Okay bye,” he rushed out, leaning forward as far as he could to hand the phone back to me while I laughed at his abrupt dismissal.
And once I took the phone back, I couldn’t help but rub it in a little bit when I said, “See. Told you I got this. Your boy is good.”
“Mmmhmm. Following right in his father’s footsteps I see…” she trailed, obviously hinting at his little comment about the girls.
It was no secret that since our split, I had indulged in my fair share of women. And even back in college, it was kind of my thing, made easy thanks to my charm and status on the football team. But instead of addressing that, I smiled as if she could see me when I defended, “They’re pretty good steps if I do say so myself.”
“Yeah, they aight. Just make sure you let me know when y’all land safely. And Facetime me before he goes to sleep. I’m already going through withdrawals.”
“Yes, Mom. Anything else?” I asked as I pulled into the extended-parking lot, thankful that Lamar had already agreed to covering the costs of leaving my car at the airport for the summer, a fee that was nothing to him but would’ve been everything to me. Not that I was super broke, but my salary being a middle school art teacher didn’t exactly lend itself to unexpected expenses.
Still, I had managed to save up plenty for the trip that had Mariah sighing into the phone, “Have fun, Guy.”
“You really mean that?” I asked, knowing it sounded too good to be true.
I quickly found out I was absolutely right when she shouted, “Hell no! I actually want your trip to be trash because I’m jealous that you’re going to freakin’ Miami while I’ll be stuck here working doubles down at the hospital.”
“You got the skills to pay the bills, Riah. And at least on your days off, you’ll get to kick it kid-free with… what’s his name again?” I asked, keeping the phone between my shoulder and my ear as I reached into the backseat to unbuckle Jaxson’s safety belt.
I imagined her rolling her eyes when she replied, “You know his name, Guy.”
“Henry? Herman? Herbert? I know it’s some old school player shit,” I told her, knowing good and well what his name was since I had just met the man last week. And thankfully our exchange hadn’t been as awkward as it could’ve been, besides the fact that the man looked to be the same age as my father. But he was kind enough, and he treated my son well, so that’s what was most important.
Still, Mariah only groaned, “Guy, leave him alone.”
“What? It ain’t my fault ol’ boy is waiting on his AARP membership in the mail. Y’all still going to bingo night on Wednesdays?” I asked teasingly as I climbed out of the car, letting Jaxson out before going to grab our suitcases with Mariah cracking up laughing in my ear.
“You’re such a hater. His name is Howard and he’s a junior. So he’s not really that old,” she quickly defended.
But even if she thought so, I couldn’t help but remind her, “Well H.J. is almost eligible for the senior discount at restaurants, Riah. My nigga is seasoned. Hell, H.J. might’ve marched with King.”
She laughed again as I directed Jaxson to stay close while I led us into the airport. “Oh, so now you’re giving him nicknames? Who in their right mind would go by H.J. anyway? If Jax was a junior, he wouldn’t be G.J.”
“Which is exactly why I didn’t make him a junior. Just wasn’t in his cards from the get go. And it shouldn’t have been in Heathcliff’s either,” I joked, this time making her squeal.
“His name is Howard! But anyway, don’t forget to let me know when you guys make it. I’m serious,” she warned, her tone clear enough for me to compromise when the time actually came.
But that didn’t mean I was going to give her a definite answer now, having too much fun getting under her skin when I replied, “I’ll see what I can do. I mean, little man obviously has quite the agenda. We may be too busy getting girls like he said.”
I peeked down at him to see if he had heard me, but he was already busy in his own little world, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings of the airport since it was his first time flying. I was already mentally prepared for the millions of questions he would have, already prepared to keep him entertained during what was thankfully a direct flight. But I couldn’t help but be excited about my son getting an opportunity to travel at such a young age, having me beat by a long shot since I hadn’t taken my first flight until I was in high school.
My attention was brought back to the phone when Mariah snapped, “Guy, don’t you play with me,” using the same “mom” voice she’d use whenever she was checking Jaxson on something.
And while it would’ve definitely done the trick for him, I could only laugh as I told her, “Later, Riah.”