"Move." August moved his head in the opposite direction to dodge his father's kiss which made him laugh, knowing that he now had an attitude.

"How you gon' ask me to spend the day with me and get mad when I wake you up?" Dayvon kissed his face anyway, then finished rubbing Vaseline in on his skin.

"I ain't say it's time to get up this early." He smartly remarked but with incorrect grammar, causing Dayvon to shake his head with a smile.

August looked down at his iPad that was playing Ryan's Toy Review to keep himself occupied while his dad finished getting him ready for the day. He loved dressing his son up since he was quite literally a mini version of himself.

Today was Christmas Eve and both Dayvon and August were big fans of the holidays. They loved the Christmas season the most. It was especially fun for August because he still believed in Santa Clause and was always excited to see the gifts he could fit down the chimney.

That made it fun for Dayvon as well. He tried to show himself up every year with gifts. Everything that was on August's Christmas wishlist, he got, plus more from other members of both sides of his family.

Dayvon always took off on holidays to make sure he spent them with his son. He would never put his job over August. He came first, over everything.

So, the plan for today was to stop by the mall to let August pick out a few last minute gifts, head to the Ice Resort downtown to spend a couple hours there before lastly going to holiday night service at the church.

"Baby, y'all ready?" Jasmine entered the bathroom that was connected to August's room, causing Dayvon to turn his head in her direction.

"Just about. He look good, ain't it?" He dusted August's hoodie off after setting him down on his feet.

August was dressed in a white Nike hoodie with the match sweats, black Balenciaga sock sneakers that matched the Nike logo on his outfit, and a black beanie over his locs so that his ears wouldn't get cold. He also had a black puffer over his hoodie because it was only supposed to be 43 degrees today.

"Yeah. Look just like yo' ass." She snickered at how he only knew to dress August up the same way he'd dress himself. They were always twinning.

"Lil' dude fresh as hell. Gimme some." He held his hand out, and August hit his fist against his to give him dap.

"I love you boy." Dayvon leaned down to kiss his cheek.

"I love you too daddy but I just washed my face." August frowned at him while wiping his face off in disgust, which made Dayvon roll his eyes with a smile.

"Go put some snacks in yo' bag so we can go." Dayvon held his backpack out to him, and August took it before heading towards the front of the house.

"You look good baby." He then tilted his head down to kiss Jasmine's forehead after taking a look over her outfit.

"What I tell you about that?" She looked up at him with a smile.

"What?" Confusion graced his face before he realized what she was referring to. "It mean the same thing ma."

"Well tell me what I wanna hear then."

"You look pretty. That's better?" He tilted her head back at the same time that she playfully rolled her eyes.

"Mhm." She responded, reaching up to hold the side of his face as the two engaged in a kiss. A low moan slipped from between her lips when his left hand grabbed a tight grip on her neck while his right traveled to touch her bottom half.

"Daddy! I'm ready!" August called from the front, causing the two of them to pull apart.

"You always tryna start something when you know we got places to be." She wrapped her arms around his neck, rolling her eyes again at the way he smiled.

"Let's go shorty." He gave her one more kiss before leading the way out of the bathroom.

They locked up the house and got into Dayvon's 2017 Land Range Rover that he frequently referred to as the family vehicle. He only had three; his 2021 Ram 1500 TRX-the truck he didn't play about. It was his favorite, his dream truck. His third car was a 2019 Genesis G70 that he rarely ever drove. It was a gift from Autumn's mom, Hazel, after he graduated from the police training camp a few years back.

That was practically Jasmine's car because she drove it way more than he did.

Anywho, they arrived at the mall half an hour later due to Christmas shopping traffic, and the first store they went to was of course the biggest toy store in the building.

"Daddy! Look!" The very first thing that caught August's eye was a remote controlled Spider-Man helicopter drone.

"You want that?" Dayvon squatted to be at his level, smiling at his excitement.

"Yes and I want the Lightning McQueen one too, ok?" He attempted to grab it off of the shelf himself but it was way too heavy for him. He then watched as his dad grabbed both drones from the shelf and put it in the cart that Jasmine was currently pushing.

"Ready to blow a bag?" She asked with a smirk, knowing how spoiled August was. He would probably grab every toy in the store.

"As ready as every year."

"The promises of God-listen! Stay with me now!" Bishop Hurst wiped his forehead with a handkerchief that he'd been holding on to for the entire service.

"The promises of God is not that you won't have to fight; not that you won't have to cry, not that you won't struggle. His promise is that, He will be with you! His promise is the power-it's his presence! His promise is that He will be with you, at all times!"

"You better preach, pastor!" A churchgoer yelled out in agreement, which caused the church to erupt in more hoots and hollers.

"The moment you think you're in this alone, the moment you feel the stress tearing down on your shoulders, the very moment-Psalm 25:14 through 18 reads; my eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will pluck my feet out of the net. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Listen to this! You are not alone."

Dayvon clapped his hands along with the audience, standing up from the bench as if his feet had a mind of their own.

He looked down at August who immediately stood up as well, holding on to his leg. He knew that his son probably didn't understand the words that the Bishop spoke, but it didn't matter. He was always attentive anyway, wanting to be just like his father.

Soon enough the last praise and worship started and ended, which meant it was now the end of service. Since it was a holiday, of course most of the women in the church gathered to host a dinner for every member of the church to attend.

While Dayvon and August went to find a table for the three to eat at, Jasmine went to the food line to make their plates.

"Daddy can I still get a happy meal after?" August didn't take his attention off of his iPad as he spoke.

"Yeah. Jas gone put enough on my plate so I can share with you if you want some though." He replied.

"What you lookin' at?" Dayvon then peered down at his iPad with him, only to see that he was recording himself. He was always vlogging.

"Wassup wit' it." He licked over his lips before showing off the diamond grills in his mouth, smiling at the way that August laughed at him.

"You always do that daddy. You always say," August mocked him by pulling his own bottom lip down, showcasing his teeth as well.

"'Cause daddy got a couple hunnid thousand in his mouth. I got to." He chuckled, draping his arm around August's shoulders.

"I'm gone get silvers too?" August curiously asked.

"You can, if you want. Or you can keep yo' white teeth."

"Why you ain't keep yours?" He asked another question.

"Everybody was getting 'em at the time. I had ran into a bunch of fast money and I blew it on some diamonds." He pointed to the permanent grills in his own mouth.

"You said fast money is from if you do bad stuff though."

"It is. I did a lot of bad stuff before I became a cop. It's what made me wanna be one." Dayvon told him, not sugarcoating anything. He never did.

"I wanna be like you one day daddy. 'Cause you help a lot of people sometimes." August's words put a big, genuine smile on his face.

"You already just like me. You help me all the time. You the reason I wanted to start doing good stuff." He held his hand out for some dap, which August happily gave to him.

"August, they had some macaroni up there. I got you some." Jasmine approached the two of them, and her statement made his eyes light up. He loved macaroni, but he only ate it if it was made by the ladies from the church.

"Thank you Jas." He took a fork from her, and she leaned down to kiss his forehead in response.

"Dayvon?" A familiar voice called, causing all three of them to turn their heads in that direction.

"Oh shit-I mean shoot. Wassup mama? What you doin' here?" He shook his head at himself for cursing as he stood up from his seat to give her a hug.

"Granny!" August got out of his seat too, able to get to her before his dad could, wanting to give her a hug first.

"Hey my handsome baby! Look at you! I haven't seen you in sooo long." She exaggerated, knowing she'd just seen him last weekend.

"Just lyin'." Dayvon chuckled, then he laughed once she playfully popped him in his mouth.

"Hey Mrs.Osama." Jasmine spoke to her as well, and Hazel only gave her a small wave before putting her attention back on Dayvon.

"Don't be like that mama." He quieted his voice to where only she could hear.

"Oh hush. I didn't say nothing bad to the girl. I even waved this time." She shrugged, and he shook his head at her hidden shade.

"What you doing up here?" He asked.

"Mount Zion was closed today, I just had to get some kind of word in. It was such a good service though! I'm thinking of coming next Sunday, too; I'm still debating on if I wanna cheat on my church again." She joked, though the plate of food in her hand was making her weigh heavily on coming back.

"I be telling you we got y'all beat. Youn like to listen." He smirked, watching her roll her eyes with a smile.

"I'm about to head home. Will you stop by the house tomorrow for y'all's gifts or do you want me to drop them off?" She asked, fixing the foil over her plate.

"We can come over there. It'll probably be in the afternoon though-he got too many gifts at the house. He gone be under that tree opening sh-stuff, all morning." He attempted to catch himself again but failed miserably.

"That'll be fine. It's just gone be me this year. Aspen has a game, he said he won't be able to make it home." She told him.

"I'll come pick you up in the morning. You can spend Christmas at my house if you can get over your beef with my wife." He tilted his head to the side with squinted eyes.

"That ain't your wife." She spoke with so much confidence, making him shake his head once again.

"I'll be fine at home. I won't be around anyone who talks down on my baby. That's my child Dayvon. You would do the same for yours." Clearly no longer in a playful mood, Hazel briefly glanced at Jasmine, then looked back up at him.

"I'm sorry ma." He didn't know what else to say.

"That's alright. I'll see you boys tomorrow, yeah? Call me, you hear?" She pulled his head down to her level, and he kissed her cheek after she'd kissed his forehead.

"Love you granny." August hugged her after getting his kiss as well.

"I love you more honey bunches." She squeezed him tight, listening to his loud laughter as he pretended to beg for help.

"I love you, son." Hazel used her free arm to give Dayvon one more hug, to which he returned.

"I love you too mama." He said, then watched her as she left with her friend who waved goodbye to him as well.

"That lady hates my guts and I never did anything to her." Jasmine's voice was lower than normal so that August wouldn't hear her.

"C'mon Jas. You know why she mad."

"Well if that's really the reason, why she ain't mad at you too? You're in this relationship just as much as I am." She frowned.

"Jasmine." He stared at her with a certain look in his eye to let her know he didn't want to talk about this.

"Man, whatever. Y'all all just as wrong as me. Ain't no point in faking it." She muttered, dropping her fork on her plate since her appetite was now gone.

"You nasty as hell man. Yo' ass gon' get sick." Dayvon frowned at his son after he blew bubbles in his bath water again. He'd told him to stop a million times. He didn't feel like saying it again.

"How? I ain't even drinking it." He giggled, knowing that he was probably getting on his dad's nerves by now.

"Folks 'nem ass crazy as hell." Dayvon chuckled, pulling his phone from his pocket once it rung.

"What's good?" He answered, holding the phone between his shoulder and right ear as he stood up to go find August a pair of pajamas.

"Hi. Don't hang up please, it's Autumn." Her voice made him stop what he was doing, going still near the dresser.

"I'm in rehab now. I mean, I've been here for two weeks, I didn't just come today. Um, I'm sorry. I'm trying to figure out what to say while saying it and I'm blanking." She sighed, hearing the panic in her own voice.

"I'm sorry." She apologized again. "I'm trying. I really am. I want to be better for him. Um, when we were at Waffle House, remember, I-um, ok. I'm sorry. Ugh. I just wanted to call you to tell you that I chose him. I'm sorry it took me so long. I'm so mad at myself, I know you are too." She briefly stammered over her words.

"I miss him so much." She sighed again at the same time that her voice cracked.

"I know you said I couldn't see him anymore. And I'm willing to wait until you're ready to give me another chance with him-you're his dad. I'm barely a mom, you know? So can you just please tell him that I'm so sorry. I love him so much. I need him to know that I said it this time. Not you."

"Daddy?" August's voice made Dayvon turn his head, and Autumn went silent.

"You okay?" He curiously asked, seeing how distraught he looked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." Dayvon cleared his throat, trying to decide if his next move would be a good one or not.

"Somebody wanna talk to you lil' dude." He then held the phone out, and August reached up to grab it with his free hand, holding his towel over his body with the other.

"Hello?" August spoke, almost confused. He rarely talked to anyone on the phone-only his grandparents, and it was usually over FaceTime.

"August? Oh my god, hi baby. It's mommy." Her voice made his eyes go big, recognizing it from the videos in his iPad.

"Mommy?" Tears immediately welled up in the bottom of his eyelids, which also kickstarted the waterworks for Dayvon.

"Yeah baby. I miss you so much. I love you so so much. So much."

"I love you so much. Mommy I want you to come home now, please?" He sat down on the floor, letting go of his towel so that he could wipe his face.

"I will soon, I promise. I'm so ready to see you, my baby. I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry August." She sniffed, trying her hardest to stay in control of her voice so that he couldn't tell that she was crying.

"That's okay mommy. Will you come home tomorrow on Christmas? 'Cause you can have some of my presents if you want-and, and you can eat some of the cookies too."

"Oh, I wish I could. I want to. I-um, I have to be gone for just a little bit longer. I promise to come on your birthday though. Are you excited? You're getting so big." She smiled at how happy he sounded to offer her cookies.

"Yes! Daddy said he gon' bring cupcakes to my school. You can eat one too mommy. Do you like vanilla? Or I can tell him to get some chocolate too mommy even though it's not all that good to me."

"Vanilla is my favorite. I don't like chocolate either. I'll come with Daddy if it's okay with him. And maybe I can take you out after? If that's okay with him too." She repeated herself the same way that he did.

"Daddy, her can come? Her can take me somewhere after too, right?" August looked up at him, watching him nod with a small smile.

"He said it's okay mommy. I miss you a whole lot. I can't wait." He played with his Spider-Man towel, wishing he could just see her now.

"I miss you more baby. I'm so sorry I haven't been there in so long. I will never leave you again though, I promise. I'm going to do better for you."

"That's okay mommy. Daddy always tell me how you have to work, so it's okay. Was it boring? Working all the time? 'Cause I be very bored when I do my school work stuff." He told her.

"It's soooo boring." She laughed, damn near hearing the exhaustion in his tone when he brought up school.

"Your daddy told me that you get in trouble at school, sometimes. I can't come if you get in trouble. You have to do good for me. And if you do good, then I'll bring you a present when I come see you. Deal?" She recalled the conversation she had with Dayvon at Waffle House.

"Deal!"

"Good. I need to talk to daddy about your gift for a minute, okay? I'll call you tomorrow if I can. I love you so much August. I don't want you to ever forget that baby."

"I love you a lot more mommy. Don't forget to call, okay? Please." He mumbled, now sad that he would have to hang up.

"I won't. I love you way more than you love me. I promise." She blew a kiss into the phone, and after returning it, August passed the phone to his dad.

"That was the best present ever. Thank you daddy." August hugged his legs tightly, and Dayvon couldn't even respond because he was too choked up.

Instead, he kissed his cheek and handed him his pajamas so that he could finish getting ready for bed. Dayvon went into his bathroom to clean up the mess he'd created, but mostly for a bit of privacy.

"You know you gotta keep yo' word now, right?" He wiped the corner of his eyes with his thumbs.

"I will. Thank you so much for giving me a chance. I know I don't deserve it. I'm going to do better, I swear."

"You ain't gotta make no promises to me. This about him. Just keep yo' word with him and we good." He told her, and the line went silent for a few seconds.

"You gone call him tomorrow?" He then asked.

"Yes. Y-Yeah, I will." She sounded as if she was trying to convince him and herself.

"Aight. He ah' be waiting. Don't forget about him Autumn. I don't play about my son." He pulled his phone from his ear, pressing the red button to end the call.

He cleaned up the bathroom and finished putting August to bed without a single thought occupying his brain cloud. He didn't know what to think. That call was so unexpected; so random.

"I love you. Go to sleep, aight? Don't stay up all night or Santa ass ain't gon' come." Dayvon kissed August's forehead at the same time that he giggled.

"I love you too. Merry Christmas daddy."

"Merry Christmas twin." He fixed his blankets before standing up to turn the light off. He left the door cracked open a bit and flipped the hall switch on, knowing that August hated when it was pitch black.

Dayvon walked into his bedroom to see Jasmine underneath the covers with her attention on Baddies as it played on the large flat screen TV, seemingly awaiting his arrival.

"Thought you was gon' have me waiting forever." She wrapped her arms around his neck as soon as he got in the bed, pressing her lips up against his.

"What's wrong?" She frowned, pulling away from him when he didn't kiss her back. He told her an hour ago that he would be back to 'handle' her, and she was looking forward to that.

"Autumn just called to talk to August." He told her with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What?" She rose an eyebrow in confusion, removing her arms from his neck to sit up.

"He was so fuckin' happy Jas. My baby started crying soon as he heard her voice. I just don't want her to fuck up, man." He ran his hands down his face in frustration.

"What you mean, fuck up? You letting her get him?" She asked.

"She claim that she gon' come see him on his birthday. She in rehab right now."

"And, you're going to let her? Just like that?" Her frown returned.

"What I'm 'posed to do? He been asking for her since he could talk, Jas. You know that. What, I was supposed to tell him no?"

"I mean-I don't know, maybe? You just gone take her word for it that she in rehab?" Her head tilted to the side in a questionable manner.

"She ain't never lied about being in rehab before. She ain't never even reached out on her own like that, so I think it's a sign that she at least trying. And it ain't like I'ma leave him with her. I'ma be right there."

"Well, ok. If you okay with it then I guess that's all that matters." She said, though she didn't sound too sure of her own words.

"I just want him to be happy. I'ma give it a chance. We'll see what happens." He laid on his back, throwing his arm across his eyes. He was stressed, even if it didn't seem like it. He had a sliver of faith in her though.

I wouldn't trust her ass. That's just me tho ✌🏻