When Saint Goes Marching In Read Free

sternly.
    “Saint, he’s only four, for goodness sake.”
    “Four and a half, as he is always quick to remind us,” Saint corrected.
    “He did the best he could, I suppose.”
    Saint envisioned Xenia’s smile and could picture her walking to the kitchen, carrying their son Dakarai on her hip. The sound of his baby boy’s voice reached him through the line, happy and bubbly.
    “You’re too soft on him, Xenia.” Saint got onto the expressway. “He’s going to walk all over you when he gets older. I’m tired of playing good cop bad cop with him. He knows what he’s doing, trust me.”
    Xenia laughed. “Yeah, because he is just like you. You have it in for him, I swear.”
    “He is just like me, a carbon copy. That’s how I know what he’s up to. You know what I’m saying, Xenia.” Saint’s thoughts briefly drifted to the fact that Hassani was conceived on the very day that his parents were scheduled to die.
    “I know, Saint. That is why I baby him so much.” She hesitated. “He’s different. I don’t want him to feel awkward. You had such a hard time with it, especially as a little kid. I’m his mother. If he can’t feel OK with me, then who can he trust?”
    “That’s not what I’m saying. Of course I want him to be a regular kid, but he isn’t like everyone else and I’m not saying don’t love or protect him; it’s just that he can get into a lot of trouble. He is still too young for me to talk to him about what is going on because he wouldn’t understand no matter how I tried to explain it but he is already having the dreams and telling us things that come to fruition only days, sometimes hours, later.” Saint sighed. “It’s happening and I’m not going to let him struggle with it, the way I did. I have to keep him safe, from his own self.” Saint paused, his brows knit in a frown. “Anyway, what’s Dakarai doing?” He smiled as he thought about Dakarai saying, “Dada, I lub you.” a couple of days prior. “I miss my boys,” he added sorrowfully.
    “Dakarai is just sitting here smiling, waiting for his orange slices. You know he likes to keep his routine,” Xenia teased.
    “Yeah, and I wonder where he got that from?” Saint asked sarcastically. Dakarai also favored Saint physically, but his personality was more like Xenia’s. Slightly lighter than his older brother, they looked like stair-step twins.
    Xenia laughed. “Baby, I think actually you’re doing a great job. You beat yourself up all the time but you’ve cancelled and postponed so many engagements. You are here for all the doctor appointments. You come home from a hard day and immediately start to play with them and jump in to give me a break. They couldn’t ask for a better dad, honey, so please don’t be mad at yourself.”
    “Thank you, baby. I appreciate that. I still wish I could spend more time with them though. I feel like we’re all being robbed. What about you? Is there something I’m not taking care of that I should? I know you’re tired. I’m actually surprised that you’re still doing the interview tonight.”
    “No babe, you’re fine. I have to do this interview, though. If I’m going to go ahead and have my own show again, this is a great start. I’m just honored that Queen Latifah wanted me to do it. She asked for me, specifically. I was just thrilled!”
    Saint smiled. “I know you were baby, and you deserve this. You’re a great mother. Hassani and Dakarai couldn’t ask for better and you’ve been home all this time with them. It’s time you start transitioning back into doing what you enjoy so much, your career. I understand, really I do.”
    “If I need to though, I can call my mom again and ask her to come over.”
    “Just call her as back-up, in case I’m a few minutes late,” Saint said with hesitation.
    “Saint, I knew it!” Xenia hollered. “I know you plan to be late! What if I hadn’t said anything?”
    “Then I guess I’d be in the dog house again. Baby, I’m