"So if Mommy has a baby in her stomach like Aunty Cindy, and she's going to get that big too, how are my little cousin and sibling going to get out?" X looked between his father and uncle. Riley nearly choked on his soda. He was not prepared to have this conversation with his nephew yet. I felt stumped. How am I supposed to explain childbirth to a 6-year-old?

"Umm…" Riley started. X looked at him expectantly.

"Mommy and Aunt Cindy are going to give birth, which means they'll have to push the baby out." I prayed he would be satisfied with the answer and drop the topic.

"Oh." Success. "How does the baby get in their stomachs in the first place?" I resisted the urge to face palm—of all subjects for X to be curious on. I sighed; it was completely natural for him to be curious since he was witnessing a new process in life. I just wish he was a little older before I had to explain it.

"See X, when a man really loves a woman, and wants to spend the rest of his life with her, he wants to get as close to her as possible. So they connect to each other spiritually and a piece of the man and a piece of the woman combine to make a baby." I was more than a little shocked at Riley's answer. It was a really good, age-appropriate answer.

"Will I have a baby some day?"

"I'm sure you will. Trust me, being a father is the best thing in the world." I ran my hands through his tiny afro. Riley nodded but he had no clue how incredible fatherhood could be; he'd learn in about 3 more months and from then on.

X seemed content with the answers he received and turned back to the barbeque sauce coating his fingers. Riley it was time for a Freeman men bonding session since Jazmine was at prenatal water aerobics because Cindy refused to go there alone and she refused to let Riley see her in a bathing suit. It was a good idea to just relax from all the drama that had been going on for the past 8+ months. I dug into my tofu burger refusing to dwell on the horrible choices I had made. For now I could just relax with my family.

We heard a car pull up and waited for Cindy and Jazmine to walk through the door. They came in laughing, both glowing. Riley began fixing their plates while I pulled the chairs out for them. He sat the plates down then tossed me a beer from the fridge.

"So how was aerobics?" Riley knew Cindy hated water aerobics.

"Pregnancy makes me feel like a beached whale. At least water aerobics while pregnant makes me feel like a whale in the sea." Cindy grumbled. Riley snickered and dodged the piece of broccoli aimed at his head.

"It wasn't that bad. It was actually kind of fun." Jazmine dodged the second piece of broccoli Cindy threw.

"That's because you're not even showing yet, and the second instructor had his eyes on you the whole hour." Cindy taunted. Against my will my eyebrow rose and my eyes narrowed at Jazmine. She turned to me and shook her head.

"He had his eyes on me because I looked completely out of place with all the other visibly pregnant women there." She took a bite from her burger then glanced around for a napkin. I handed her one before going to get another one.

"More like he wanted to put a baby in you himself." Cindy mumbled.

"There is a 6-year-old in the room you know." I shot Cindy a look.

"The instructor can't put a baby into my Mommy. They aren't in love and they don't want to spend the rest of their life together so they can't connect spiritually." X explained to Cindy as if it were the simplest concept to understand. Jazmine looked at me confused and Cindy looked dumbstruck.

"We just had this conversation." I filled in.

"About prenatal water aerobics instructors?" She looked even more confused.

"About where babies come from. X was curious how his cousin and sibling got in your stomachs, and how they were going to get out." I took a swig of my beer, trying really hard not to laugh. Riley winked at Cindy and Jazmine looked horrified.

"Oh dear God. Which one of you answered him?" Jazmine looked between the both of us.

"I did." Riley answered like he was proud of the accomplishment.

"Oh thank God." Jazmine breathed a sigh of relief. I shot her a questioning look. Why would it be better that Riley answered?

"You would have given him the complete science definition complete with diagrams." Cindy answered. There was no way I would have told X how babies were truly made.

"I have to admit I'm more afraid of you telling him the full definition than of Riley."

"Full definition of what?" X looked between us wondering what he had missed.

"Nothing at all sweetie. Stop pushing your vegetables around and eat them. You can't just be a carnivore and eat junk food."

"I don't see why I need to eat vegetables." X grumbled before sticking the tree-like vegetable in his mouth. He made an over exaggerated face that made us all laugh. Jazmine went to the fridge and grabbed a slice of cheese. She mixed the cheese with the warm vegetables then fed one to him.

"Better?"

"Mmm-hmm. I think I can tolerate it now." X took a few bites on his own.

"You and your big words." Jazmine laughed and ran her fingers through my hair. I grabbed her hand and kissed it before turning back to my own plate.

"If yours is like Huey, maybe ours will take after Riley." Cindy joked. I rolled my eyes. The last thing Woodcrest needed was another menace to the public.

"I don't know whatchu rolling your eyes for, Huey. This neighborhood loved them some Young Reezy." Riley popped the front of his crew neck.

"I don't think the neighborhood would agree with you, Riley." I smirked.

"They liked me better than you. Always trying to blow stuff up and being smart." Jazmine shook her head from the argument brewing. It wasn't the first time we'd joked around about who the neighborhood would rather have; the domestic terrorist or the public menace as Granddad had called them.

"I think if the neighborhood loved anyone it was me." Cindy smiled proudly.

"More like the neighborhood loved your mom." Riley laughed before Cindy launched an ice cube, nailing him in the ear.

"Damn woman I was playing." He laughed harder.

"I was without a doubt the favorite. Everyone was happy I stayed local for school." Jazmine beamed.

"Trick, the only one sad you stayed local was Huey cause he couldn't give you the—"

"Language Cindy, Jesus!" Jazmine looked over to make sure X wasn't paying attention to us. Sometime during our discussion X had rinsed his plate off and was contently watching T.V. in the living room.

"Well it is true!"

"It's somewhat true. I was sad I couldn't walk across the street to cop a feel or two or a little more than a feel." I ran my hand up Jazmine's thighs while her cheeks heated up. I smirked at her and narrowed my eyes. It was no secret Jazmine and I had been active in our high school days. Riley had walked in on us a few times which prompted us to make sure he was locked at Cindy's or go to Jazmine's while her parents weren't home. I'm pretty sure her mom left a few condoms in Jazmine's bedroom for us but we kept Tom out of the loop; his over emotional outbursts were something to avoid.

"Eww, stop it! Go home if you guys want to get frisky." Cindy wrinkled her nose at us. Riley just shook his head and opened another beer. We talked for a few more hours, until X was passed out on the couch and Cindy could barely keep her eyes open. I picked up X and placed him into his booster seat before hugging Riley good bye.

Jazmine changed X into his pajamas and tucked him in. I threw my dirty clothes in the hamper and changed into a pair of boxers while Jazmine showered and properly washed her hair. She rolled it into a bun and snuggled into the warm sheets. I brushed my hand over her shoulder before lying on my back. It felt good to laugh about something with family again; it had been too long since we spent an evening just laughing.