She getting big. Her stomach is starting to poke out. I thank it’s cute. Been a long time since I been around a woman with a baby inside her. I been thanking about what Howie asked me, and I come to the conclusion that I don’t care if this baby is mine or not. I’ma pretend like it is, and that’s what’s gon’ make it mine. I been wanting to ask Brenda off and on ever since Howie brought it up, but I just can’t brang myself to do it.

I love her. And these kids is growing on me. I’m even learning how to braid hair. Brenda showed me, ’cause Sunshine’s hair sticks out all over the place and she look too wild to be such a little-bitty thang. I musta bought at least twenty books for these kids. They was so excited, it was like they ain’t never had they own books before. I told Brenda that reading is important. Especially for black kids. I would write and talk a whole lot better if I’da learned how to appreciate reading when I was younger. I been reading to ’em before they go to bed, at least on my nights off, and Brenda started doing it when I ain’t there. She say she love that Goodnight Moon more than the baby, and If The People Could Fly makes her happy. She said she never knew reading could be so much fun. That words could make you feel so good. This is one more reason why I like Brenda: she say what’s on her mind. Uh-oh, here she come now. Sunshine done fell asleep on her shoulder.

“Can you take her for me, please, Cecil?”

“Sure can.”

And then she stands there with her hands on her hips. “You want me to make you some gumbo tonight?”

Hot damn. Don’t she know how to get what she want from a man. “Yeah, if it ain’t too much trouble.”

“You know how much trouble it is, but if I didn’t wanna do it, I wouldn’ta mentioned it, now, would I?”

“Thank you, Brenda.”

“You’re welcome. You ready to go home?”

“I wanted to take the kids to McDonald’s and a movie.”

“I’m tired, Cecil. Let’s go to the drive-up window so we can go on home. They can watch a video, they don’t care.”

“Okay, then.”

“So—you thinking about what I asked you?”

“Yeah, I’m thanking about it.”

“And what you thinking?”

“I’m thanking that maybe you right. That we living in sin in front of these kids and we need to do it the right way.”

“So when you gon’ go down there and file?”

“Monday morning.”

“You sure you wanna do this, Cecil?”

“I can’t go back to Viola, Brenda. Not now.”

“Why not now?”

“With the baby coming and everything.”

“What if I told you I ain’t sure if this baby is yours, Cecil?”

“You got reason to doubt?”

“Maybe. But maybe not. I don’t know. I’m trying to be honest about it.”