“Can we do it together?” He continued staring down at the picture.
“Um… sure.” Marli smiled at his statement. She was glad he wanted to be a part of that conversation. Marli stared at Dru as he just sat there staring at the picture. The sight was filling her heart. This was unlike the first time she’d told him she was pregnant, in so many ways. Maybe this pregnancy would be good for them. Maybe this was the start of something different for the both of them.
Fifteen
Dru
My baby is perfect, Dru thought to himself as they pulled into the airport. He’d sent the ultrasound picture to himself, and now he just sat there staring at it. He felt a connection to the baby already. He knew it belonged to him. He could feel it. He was still going to get the DNA test, though, because he’d felt a connection with the boys, too, when Marli was pregnant, but he’d been wrong. Exiting the car, Dru held out his hand for Marli. The other SUV pulled up, and Ms. Loretta and the boys hopped out. Deuce took off running toward him.
“Uncle Dru!” he called, dapping him up. The twins called him uncle because that was what Iman and Imani called him. Nobody ever saw it necessary to correct them. Dru glanced up at Tres. He was attempting to run, but you could tell it was hard for him. The sight made Dru wish he would have done more than just put Max to sleep. His pussy ass deserved more for what he’d done to Tres. Quickly, he closed the space between them.
“Hey, what’s up, Tres?” He reached him. “You need a lift?” Dru didn’t wait for him to respond; he picked him up and threw him on his shoulders. Tres burst into giggles as Dru carried him toward the plane.
“Hey! Uncle Dru, I want to ride too!” Deuce begged. Dru didn’t waste any time swooping him up too, securing him under his arm. He could hear Marli complaining from behind them, but he ignored it and kept heading up the stairs to the plane. These were her kids, he understood that but she had no jurisdiction here as far as he was concerned.
“I got y’all some snacks.” He placed the boys in their seats.
“Yes!” Both boys shouted as he secured them in their seat belts.
“I’m gon’ put a movie on for y’all.” He tapped the screen, pulling up a superhero movie. The boys smiled as they stuffed the popcorn he’d given them in their mouths. Dru stood there staring at them for a minute. Tres and Deuce were the spitting image of their mother, but their hair and Tres’s gray eyes reminded Dru so much of him and Blue. The boys needed a real father figure in their life, not one that half ass watched them and treated their mother like trash. Now that he was going to be the father of their sibling, he would have to make sure they saw firsthand what a real man brought to the table.
“Ouch!” Marli’s scream made him get out of his head. Turning around, Dru spotted Marli sitting in the recliner chair up front getting her blood drawn for the DNA test. Walking toward her, he sat down in the adjoining chair. He appreciated her doing this. He wasn’t going to be a sitting duck this time, waiting around for confirmation. He trusted when she’d said the baby was his, but he still needed that piece of paper for his peace of mind.
“When can we expect the results to come back?” Dru asked the nurse he’d paid to give the DNA test.
“Within a week or two,” she responded as she placed the blood vial in a plastic bag. Dru nodded his head. Only five to fourteen days stood between him confirming if he was indeed going to be a father. As he settled in his seat, he glanced over at Marli as she talked to her mom. If he was for certain the father of her baby, there was no way he wasn’t going to go hard for her. Dru never intended on having only a baby mother.
It was late when the plane landed back in Saint Louis. Marli and the boys were still asleep. Dru and his bodyguards had carried them all off the plane and put them in the car. They were on the way to his house, but he’d been requested by Ms. Loretta to drop her off at home. Dru was glad she’d requested it, because he wanted to talk to her. He wasn’t expecting her to be at Max’s when he pulled up to get Marli and the boys. When he saw her, he didn’t know what her reaction would be, but seeing her offering him her full support was refreshing.
“In all my years of living, I’ve never been snatched out of somewhere that briskly.” Ms. Loretta spoke, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. Dru smirked. He wouldn’t consider Ms. Loretta willing to pack her and the boys’ things in under ten minutes as being snatched, but he’d met her enough to know she was dramatic. Dru turned to her.
“I apologize for that, Ms. Loretta. You know with your daughter, you gotta make a scene to get her attention.”
Ms. Loretta laughed. “Don’t I know it. That girl is so stubborn. I don’t know where I went wrong or right with that one.”
Dru shook his head, humored. “She’s a piece of work, Ms. Loretta, but you should be proud. She’s strong and independent but still soft as silk. In all honesty, Ms. Loretta, I love her.”
Ms. Loretta turned her head toward him. “Oh, I know you love her. Only a man in love does what you just did.” She grinned. Dru couldn’t help but laugh. Ms. Loretta had seen him at his most savage, and he only hoped it didn’t deter her answer to what he had to ask her next.
“I don’t know exactly when, Ms. Loretta, but I want to marry her.” He paused to gauge her reaction. A comforted smirk appeared across her face, so he continued. “We got a lot of stuff to work out before then, like I gotta get her to be receptive to dating me, but I knew a long time ago Marli was the only woman I wanted forever with. I got a little off course holding on to some stubbornness of my own.” Dru blew out a breath. “She’s having my baby, and I have no intentions on only making her my baby mama. I just wanted you to know that.”
Ms. Loretta nodded. “It’ll happen. Just keep bossing her around. I think she liked it.”
Dru burst into laughter. Marli liked it. Her vagina was omitting her sweet smells the entire plane ride home. Had the boys and Ms. Loretta not been present, he would have had her bent over and broken her back in.
“Marli has always been so determined to be different. I don’t know if that came from being a twin or not. I know that she had the unfortunate experience of watching her sister accept less than she deserved from Jashaun. Maybe that made her fearful of it.” She shrugged. “I’m sure you know the girls’ father passed away when they were younger. I tried my best to make sure they felt loved… that they felt their dad’s love, but I don’t think it was enough. All three of my girls have trouble when it comes to men and love. Be patient with her. Show her what love has to offer her. She’ll come around, and you got my blessing when the time comes to marry her.”
Dru was happy to hear she approved. Now he just had to get Marli on board. He thought about everything she’d said. It helped to shine a light on some of Marli’s ways and some of his own. He and Marli both had daddy issues. Maybe they could heal that shit together. As pulled up to Ms. Loretta’s home. He exited the car, rounding the rear to the passenger side door. He opened the door and escorted Ms. Loretta up to her front porch.
“Don’t let up on her; she needs this. She needs you. My grand babies do too.” She entered the house, and Dru took her bag inside just as his phone rang. It was Jake. With no hesitation, Dru answered his phone.
“Sup!”
“Dru, man, she’s refusing to get out of the car and go inside. She trying to call an Uber and everything.” Jake’s voice sounded stressed, causing Dru to laugh as he swiped his hand across his head. This girl was going to be the reason his hairline receded. He knew Marli would protest going to his house, but at this point, she didn’t have a choice. He wanted her in his sight, at least until they’d gotten the DNA results, though he wanted it to be longer. This would have been a lot easier if she would have stayed asleep.
“Aight, let me speak to her.” Dru looked at Ms. Loretta as she stared on, amused.
“Um… she won’t take the phone,” Jake mumbled. Dru couldn’t believe how she had a nigga as big as Jake mumbling and stuttering. She must have been showing her ass.
“Put it on speaker,” Dru ordered. There was shuffling on the other end, and then he could hear heavy breathing. “Marli!” he called. She didn’t say anything, but he knew she was listening.
“Take the boys and go inside. I’m dropping off yo’ mom, and then I’ll be there.”
“I want to go home, Dru!” She screamed into the phone.
“You are home, baby mama,” he joked, but the heavy breathing on the other end let him know she didn’t find it at all funny.
“I’m not about to play with you, Dru… I…” Dru stopped listening to her rant because it didn’t matter what she said. She wasn’t leaving his house.
“Pick her ass up and take her inside. I’m about fifteen minutes away,” he directed to Jake. “We’ll discuss this all when I get there. Stop making a scene in front of the boys,” he told Marli.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” He heard Marli scream as the phone hung up. Dru wasted no time heading to the door. He needed to get there before Marli had his security quitting with her antics.
“I gotta go, Ms. Loretta. Thanks for the talk.” He embraced her in a hug.
“Don’t let up; go get yo’ family, baby!” Ms. Loretta shouted behind him as he ran down the stairs to his car.
