C. Brown: Compromising

“I’m done, Mister. Three kids are plenty enough for me.”

“I don’t like the idea of an odd number of kids. We have to even it out. At least let me make one more?”

Cassie’s emerald eyes shimmered in the sun as she grinned mischievously at me. I wasn’t sure what the grin was for, or what was running through her head, but if she were even considering the idea it would make me the happiest man on earth.

“Ahem! You haven’t even gotten that one out, and you’re trying to make another?”

I looked up to find Dalton and Ben standing there with six packs in their hands.

“No, we are not. My husband is just a sex fiend, and he knows what becomes of all that,” Cassie answered, unraveling herself from my grasp and giving Dalton and Ben hugs. “There are coolers over there for the beer.”

I gave both guys a handshake, then led them in the direction of the coolers, tapping Cassie on her sweet ass as I passed by. When pregnant, her ass grew a bit, making it damn near irresistible to me.

Dalton, Ben, Riley and I chatted around the grill, shooting the shit about the Corps and how much we loved and hated it at the same time. Dalton was now stationed at Miramar, just down the road in San Diego, and Ben had moved out to be with him long ago. They still weren’t married, and I wondered why, asking every now and then but never getting a real answer. In my opinion, it had more to do with Dalton’s fear of commitment, but it really wasn’t my business, so I didn’t press the issue.

Riley was also at Miramar, but only had another three months in the Corps before he was out for good. He and Nat married two years ago, but still hadn’t procreated, and thank fucking God for that. She was still as crazy and spazzy as she ever was, and he was just too damn goofy to be anyone’s dad. They wanted kids, and often asked me and Cassie a shit ton of questions, but so far, no bun in her oven. Nat had made it kind of big down here, tatting up Marines and working all sorts of crazy ass hours. She wasn’t ready to give that up, or even shelve it for a while, and I respected the fact that she could be honest about it.

“Where’s Jensen? He’s never late,” Dalton asked, looking around as he shielded his eyes from the sun.

“I sent him to the store,” Adriana piped in. “He forgot the baby’s extra bottles.”

Jensen and Adriana were now married and the parents of seven month, Connor. It had taken me a long time before I’d accepted the relationship. Jensen had essentially turned his back on me and left me out to dry, and I’d taken that shit to heart. I’d hated him, hated what he had become, but deep down I’d still loved him.

I saw what he was able to do for my sister. I hadn’t seen her so happy in quite some time, and it was that happiness, and the love and acceptance that he had for Abel that had helped me get over my bruised ego. Cassie helped as well, withholding sex until I’d agreed to hear him out. I’d hated that shit, but because I am a man, and my dick overruled my mind, I’d given in and finally gotten what I’d wanted.

Nat came poking her head through the front doorway of the house. “Hey, I’m almost ready. Where is Jensen? I want to get this party started.”

“He’s on his way back from the store. He should be here any minute,” Adriana yelled back. “Alex, here is a pan for the meat.”

I took the pan and threw the carne and chicken on it. Abel and AJ came running over, stealing a piece of the carne before anyone could see what they were up to. Abel was AJ’s role model, and it didn’t matter what he did, AJ was sure to follow.

When I walked in, Cassie was helping Nat get all of the sides situated: rice, beans, homemade tortillas, guacamole, sour cream, and freshly made salsa. The girls had really taught Cassie how to cook, and thankfully for me, it was paying off. I could sit around and wrestle with my boys after a long day of work, and find her just finishing dinner. Cassie got out of the Marine Corps after her first contract. The births of AJ and Antonio, coupled with a stint in Afghanistan was enough to make us realize that both of us couldn’t stay in. We didn’t want our boys growing up with both parents always on the go, so as soon as her contract ended, she EAS’d and left me to be the sucker to deal with all of the Corps bullshit. I wouldn’t have had it any other way, though. There was no way I wanted the boys to be without their mom, and I gladly took the helm of our family, and sacrificed my time so she could give all of hers to them.

“You excited, babe?” Cassie asked, clasping her hands together and looking giddy.

“I’m really fucking hungry. I just want to eat.”

“Watch your mouth, Alex. Connor is over there in his swing.”

“Connor is seven fucking months old. He can’t understand what I’m saying.”

“Well, I don’t want my son’s first word to be any variation of the work, fuck, so knock it off.”

I waved both of the girls off. It was ridiculous to think that a baby could understand what I was saying, and even more so that he would, months later, mimic it.

The door swung open and in ran Abel and AJ, laughing hysterically, and bringing trails of sand in with them.

“Why are you boys so loud?” Cassie asked, stopping them in their tracks. “Antonio is sleeping in the room.”

“Sorry, Mama, but Tio Brandon is trying to eat me. He says that’s what pirates do.”

Behind the boys came Jensen and my grandma carrying bags from the baby store. I have no clue how he could manage himself in a place like that. It was like a never ending factory of baby goods that, no matter what you picked out, would never be the right thing.

He held up the bag with a hopeful smile on his face, and I knew what that meant—don’t kill if this isn’t the right shit. Adriana marched over to him, taking the bag and peering inside before looking up to him and smiling. He leaned down and kissed her, a sigh of relief leaving his body as he did so. My sister was a Jensen now, but she was still every bit a Cruz, and it was a force to be reckoned with.

“Tio Brandon, tell me about your pirate patch again,” AJ asked, overly excited as he tugged on Jensen’s leg.

“I will, little guy, but let’s eat first. Then I’ll tell you all about it.”

Jensen had volunteered twice for combat deployments—once to Afghanistan and the other to Iraq. During his last deployment to Iraq, his vehicle had been hit by a roadside bomb, tossing it up into the air and coming down in a ball of fire. Only Jensen and another guy managed to survive the carnage, but they’d both had a long, tiresome recovery. After undergoing numerous surgeries and skin grafts, the only sign of his injury was his ‘pirate patch’ that he wore daily. He’d lost his right eye in the melee, and his career in the Corps was finished. It had broken his spirits for a while, but we’d all helped him through that ugly time in his life, and now he and my sister couldn’t be happier.

“Donde es Antonio?” my grandmother asked. She was older, slower, and definitely sicker, but she was still around and kicking, and played a very active role in my boys’ lives. Without my mom, she was the next best thing that the boys had to a grandmother.

“He’s sleeping,” Cassie chimed in, taking AJ over to the sink to rinse off his hands. Her Spanish was nearly fluent now, making it easier to communicate with my grandmother. We were teaching the boys as well.

“All right, since everyone is finally here, it’s time for the big surprise,” Nat announced, grinning from ear to ear. “Since Cassie and Alex have no clue what they are having, I asked Cassie if I could find out and throw them a gender reveal party. Thankfully, Baby Cruz finally decided to participate so we can reveal it!”