Flashback:

I didn't look at my husband at all while we waited outside the office of our marriage counselor. We had been bickering, arguing, and were agitated once we woke up. It was nonstop.

Why did you leave water running? Why wasn't my coffee made? Why didn't you make some eggs? Why didn't you pay the bills when I asked you to?

I was being patient with my husband but today was the day I wanted to smack him hard. He was irritated with work, his knee, and whatever else so I was the only person taking the brunt of all of his agitation but I had enough. This was the second time he was doing this and I wanted it to end. I'm surprised I did manage to get him to come with me because I was super close to leaving his ass behind at home.

Once we stepped inside of the office and took our seats, our counselor let us get whatever was bothering us out of our system before things got worse. One of my biggest pet peeves was my husband taking on way too much responsibility in his career and wondering why he was overwhelmed and overworked. My point was finally made because he actually sat back to think about what I was telling him and he understood that I wasn't trying to control him: just help him.

I thought he'd understand…

Present:

But I guess not. Tyson's reasoning for dipping his toes into so many different things was that if he had people helping him, he'd be fine and that's why he's been taking multiple business calls and speaking with associate after associate.

I didn't say much to him once we got home but once we were about to go to bed, I let him have it once he pulled the covers over his body. I scooted next to him, looked him directly in his face, and watched as his eyes became a bit wide.

"If you ever sass me again the way you did today, it's gonna be me and you. I actually give a flying fuck about you not working yourself like there is no tomorrow. You are not Superman you stupid ass jerk!"

I rolled over to my side of the bed and felt Tyson right behind me seconds later.

"I know I've been a stupid ass jerk, babe. I'm sorry for how I acted today."

"Apology accepted."

"If things get too much to handle, I'll step back from whatever it is that will cause too much stress. But I'm proud of my protein drink though."

"Oh it's good so I want you to keep those coming. But promise me: if things get too tough, you'll let go of whatever is tearing you down. Promise me that, Tyson."

"I will. Goodnight."

"Night."

I gaveTyson a kiss, turned my light off, and fell fast asleep next to him.


I woke up earlier than usual a little past five in the morning and saw that Tyson wasn't in the bed which meant that he was on his morning run. I got up to use the restroom and started up a nice hot shower. I was super relaxed in the shower to the point where I legit didn't even hear Tyson hop into the shower behind me.

I found myself up against the wall of the shower, moaning as I wrapped my legs around Tyson's waist. Tyson smashed his lips against mine as he continued to have a strong grip on me as we continued to make love in the shower. My nails scraped against Tyson's back as we both reached our climaxes and took a minute to catch our breath. Even though it was a quickie, it was something that definitely managed to wake me up.

After our shower, we went to the kitchen to make ourselves a bowl of yogurt and sat in the living room to watch cartoons until our little ones joined us. We made the kids a bowl of yogurt and let them sit in the living room with us to eat and enjoy Tom and Jerry. Whenever we were able to sit down with the children and spend some time with them, it was moments that we weren't going to forget. T.J. had finally returned back to his regular self and even asked Tyson if he could read him his book that he had taken from his room.

Tyson turned the t.v. down so he could read to the kids who were eager for story time. I drank my lemon tea but almost spit out when Tyson made his usual funny faces to the kids as he read the book.

"Daddy, that's a fairy!" T.J. said.

"That is a fairy! What else is on the page?"

"Clouds!" Tyra said. "The sun! I like the sun!"

"Mountains. Lots of mountains."

"You two are smart. One day you two will write a book and me and Mommy will enjoy it."

"Mommy, will you read?" T.J. asked me.

"Of course, little one," I said. "Now that reading time is over: who wants some breakfast?"

"I want Cheerios!"

"I want Cheerios, too!"

Whatever T.J. ate, Tyra was doing to get some too. I chuckled then looked at Tyson.

"Et tu?"

"Oui, merci beaucoup."

"Today's breakfast will be easy."

It wasn't long before we were all sitting at the table eating a bowl of Cheerios and were finally joined by my cousins who looked like the walkers from The Walking Dead. They poured themselves a bowl of cereal and sat down at the table to eat with us.

"Tia, I need some toothpaste," Jackie said.

"You can use mine. I hope you like Colgate."

"Yeah, that's fine. Today I think we'll stay home because….we just don't feel like leaving," Jules said.

"Are you guys okay?" Tyson asked.

"Yeah. I think we were so excited about visiting that we honestly didn't get much rest for a few days. Sorry, y'all," Jules replied.

"It's fine. No need to apologize. I have to head out for work and run a quick errand and that's it for the day."

"We'll be right here," Jackie said.


Thank goodness Daily's Place had a nice area where I could take the kids while Tyson was in his meeting to discuss the upcoming episode of Dynamite. I was sitting in a nice room with a comfortable couch and some refreshments. T.J. had laid down beside me while I had Tia in my lap because she wouldn't stop running all over the damn place. I coaxed her to settle down by letting her drink some brisk tea and I was finally able to relax myself. I decided to FaceTime my parents to see how they were doing.

My dad answered his phone and waved at Tyra who had put her big head in my way.

"Hello there!" he said.

"Hi, grandpa!" Tyra said.

"It's lovely to see your face. Are you being good?"

"No," Tyra said.

"Fair enough. How are you Tia?"

"A bit sleepy. I've been up quite early with the kids so I think a nap would be very great to take."

"Where is Tyson?"

"In a meeting. Hopefully it doesn't take too long because I'm ready to go."

"Tell him to hurry it up then," my father joked. "Your mother is going to get us something to eat for lunch but I feel like she's been gone forever!"

"You'll be okay," I said. "I'm sure she won't be gone for too long." I began to hear the sound of a few voices floating in the hallway and heard Tyson's. "Think that's Tyson coming now so I'll go ahead and get ready to go. I'll call you later. Love you!"

"Love you, too!" I said.

"Bye, pa!" Tyra said.

"Bye bye!"

I pressed the end call button and waited for Tyson to walk through the door. He did walk through the door and in his hands he had a few muffins that he was holding with his shirt.

"I got us some snacks, hehe." He handed one to Tyra and me then put the rest in my purse.

"This girl is going to bounce all over the place when she eats this thing," I said to Tyson. "She can't eat this right now."

"One bite," Tyson insisted.

"Tyson, no."

"One bite."

"Let her eat lunch first then she can eat this muffin, okay?"

"Okay. Let's go home."

"I thought you had another errand to run?"

"I'll just call my buddy to talk to him because I really don't feel like doing anything today. Plus, I need to wash my clothes for our travels."

"I already washed your clothes for you."

"Oh, thank you! Okay, let's roll." Tyson saw that T.J. was sleeping and carefully picked him up then waited for me to get all of my things before following me out of the room.


Before bed, I decided to get myself something to drink and found myself making a small cup of Tyson's workout drink and it was very, very, very tasty. I know I shouldn't drink it like a regular drink but I just had to get a smidge of a taste, just a smidge! I remember when Tyson first started talking to me about crafting the perfect workout drink that he could enjoy and we happened to have that conversation while eating a box of Lemonheads together. A lightbulb went off inside of Tyson's head and I remember his words exactly: "Hmm...I love anything lemon flavored...ah! Lemon flavored workout drink! That'll work!"

His face was bright as a Christmas tree as he thought of a creation of his that would soon come to pass. But still, part of me didn't want him taking on so many jobs in his career. I know it seems selfish to some but I just know that Tyson forgets he is human and not Superman. All I could do was remind myself to always be there for him. I finished my drink and had washed out the cup when I heard someone talk to me.

"There you are," a voice said behind me.

It startled me but I knew it was Tyson. I dried the cup and set it back inside of the cabinet and turned to face him.

"Yup. I was just about to head to bed," I said. "I had to taste some of your drink."

"I know my workout drink is delicious and I'm glad you like it."

"It's very good. I'm very happy that you were able to create it."

Tyson pulled me in for a very big hug and kissed my cheek.

"Thank you. Now, I'm gonna tickle you," he whispered in my ear.

"Nooo!" I playfully pinched his nose and giggled out loud. "Not today!"

"Hmph! I'll get you in the morning. Off to bed we go."

He put his arm around me as we walked out of the kitchen, cut off the light, and headed to our bedroom.