**** Somebody pointed out that Sata looks just like Kay-Kay. And I looked at the picture and she does. That’s crazy.

I want to thank Mannilynn for the idea for this chapter

For those asking about Leap of Faith and Risk it All - Soon y'all will have an update. Be patient with me loves. ****

AUGUST P.O.V. -

“Aug you got a call on line one.” Sneak said to me over the phone.

“Put them on hold while I finish up this patient.”

“Aight.” He hung up.

“How ya feeling buddy?”

Cameron my 12 year old patient was a bit out of it. As he was still feeling the effects of his sedation, because I had to pull his tooth. His mouth was full of gauze to catch the blood.

“I’m writing him a prescription in case he’s still in pain.” I told his mother.

“Ok.” She said helping Cam out the chair.

I handed her the prescription.

“Make a follow up appointment in about two weeks. Just so I can check to make sure everything is as it should be.” I rubbed his head to comfort him.

“See you in two weeks Cam.”

He waved good-bye and him and his mother left. I put away a few of my tools, then got the phone.

“Hello.”

“Hi Dr. Alsina?”

“Yes, this is he.”

“I’m calling from Carter Elementary.”

“Okay?” I asked confused as to why someone would be calling me at my office, from my kids school. Especially seeing as it was five and the kids got out at 3.

“Assata and August are still at the school. They said their mother picks them up, but she hasn’t made it here yet.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yes do you have any way to contact her or maybe come get them yourself. The school is about to close and no one is going to be here but the janitor.”

“Okay, I’ll be there.”

“Alright, bye bye.”

I practically slammed down the phone. Where the fuck was Amber? I ripped off my lab coat and grabbed my brief case and keys.

“Sneak you gotta cancel that last appointment and lock up. Amb ain’t get the kids from school.”

“She what? You want me to do it man?”

“Nah I got it. Just lock up and reschedule the appointment.”

I flew down the hall running toward my car. I have never been more pissed off about anything in my life.

 She had one fucking  job - pick the kids up - and she couldn’t even get that shit right. Especially seeing as today wasn’t even one of her teaching days. She acts like this working/ mother/wife shit  is so damn hard. No she’s just fucking lazy.

I drop the kids off in the morning, work till late in the evening and provide anything and everything they fucking need. But see that’s not enough. No she wants me to not only bring home the bacon, but I gotta put that shit in the pan and cook it too.  I’m not doing it. Pull your end of the fucking weight.

I got in my Porsche and immediately called her ass on my in-car speakerphone system, as I sped off towards the kids school. All I got was the voicemail.

“Listen Amb, I don’t know where yo ass at, but you had one fucking job. I shouldn’t have to leave my patients and cancel appointments, to do what yo ass was supposed to do. “ I hung up.

And called again, hoping this time she would answer.

“You know what since something is more important to you than your fucking kids, you stay there. Don’t bring your ass home. And I mean that shit.”

I hung up as I pulled up to my kids’ school. I parked the car in front and went inside to the school’s office.

“Boy why you crying?” I pulled A3’s head into my side.

“Cause he’s a baby.” Sata teased.

“Am not.” He wiped his eyes. 

“Hi Dr. Alsina can you just sign here.”

I signed the sign-out sheet.

“I apologize about that.”

“It’s okay. It happens. I hope Mrs. Alsina is alright. She’s usually right on time. Anyway, have a good evening.”

“You too.”

As I walked the kids down the hall, I realized I was so upset I didn’t think to wonder if something bad had actually happened to her.

I put A3 in his car seat and made sure Sata was buckled in.

“Have y’all heard from mommy?” I asked them.

“No.” They both said.

I tried calling Amb phone again, it went straight to voicemail. My anger begin to slowly turn into worry. I called her mother.

“Hey Aug. What’s up?”

“Hey, you heard from Amb?”

“Nah, I haven’t talked to her all day. Why?”

“Nothing, just asking.” I didn’t want her mother getting into our business. I was just going to let her know something if it was absolutely necessary.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. It’s nothing. I’mma talk to you later aight.”

“Okay baby. Bye.”

 “Pop-pop.”

“Yeah A3” I sighed.

“I want mommy.”

“Daddy I’m hungry.” Sata spoke over A3.

“What y’all want?”

“Oo oo McDonalds.” A3 said.

“No, I want PopEyes.”

“I no want Chicken. I want nuggets.”

“That is chicken dummy.”

“Mommy said I’m smart!” A3 yelled at Sata.

“Mommy lied dummy.”

I rubbed my head as though I head a headache, they were getting on my damn nerve.

“I’m not a dummy.” A3 started to cry.

“Sata just for that we getting McDonalds.” I said frustrated she kept egging him on.

A3 stopped crying and licked his tongue out at Sata.

“August I saw that.” I looked at him through mirror. He tried to look innocent. 

We pulled into the drive-through.

“Aug what you want?”

“Nuggets and fries.”

“Sata?”

“I don’t know, cause I want Popeyes.”

“Well you not getting Popeyes, so choose something or you don’t eat.”

“Nuggets.” She folded her arms and looked out the window.

“Copycat.” A3 told her.

“Shut up for I show you a copycat lil ugly boy.”

“I no ugly!”

“Welcome to McDonalds how may I help you?”

“Can I get two nugget happy meals.”

“What kind of drink?”

“Sprite.”

“Ok. Does that complete your order?”

“Yeah.”

“$9.35 drive around.”

I drove around paid for their meals and drove home. I hadn’t eaten all day but for right now, I just didn’t have an appetite.

When I pulled up to the house, I noticed Amb’s car wasn’t in the usual spot next to my Range in the driveway.

I opened the door and ushered both the kids in the house to see that all the lights were off, which let me know she wasn’t here.

I took the kids in the kitchen so they could eat. They sat down and started to eat, when I noticed a note on the fridge.

Since my services as a wife and a mother are unappreciated by you, I hope you can do a better job.

Love you (since you refused to tell me that this morning),

Amb.

I ripped the letter off the fridge and threw it away. So that’s what this is about? Some silly game, because she feels unappreciated? She needs to grow up. I’m the one that gets neglected around here.

I work hard all fucking week to provide for my family and all I want is 20 minutes max with my wife and I can’t get that shit because she always has something else to do.

If it’s not work, it’s the kids. If it’s not the kids, it’s her students. Or some school conference, or panel she has to speak on. Or some other shit. Anything but me.

So if anybody should be upset in this mutha-fucka, it should be me. After all, I am her husband and she makes everyone and everything a priority but me.

I’ll show her that balancing work, kids and marriage is easy and she’s being over dramatic.

**************************************************

“Sata stop crying it’s not that bad.” I looked at her hair in the mirror. I tried to do it, but she looked like she had stuck her finger in an electric socket.

“I want my Mommy.” She cried and put her head on her arm on the vanity table. “I look like a porcupine.”

“Nah you don’t babygirl. It’s a fro. Like uh…uh… Solange.”

“I don’t want a fro. I want my hair like my Mommy does it.” She got up and laid across her bed on her stomach crying.

“Sata just put a rubber band on it.”

“That’s not gonna help. I want my mommy! Now!” She screamed through tears crying and kicking.

I sighed and went to go find A3. They were going to be late for school and I was going to be late for work.

“Au-“I looked in his room he wasn’t there.

I looked in the bathroom he wasn’t there either. I went downstairs to see if he was down there.

“Uh-oh.”  He said as I looked at the floor totally covered in milk and cereal.

“August!”

“Sorry I hungry Pop-Pop.”

“Why you didn’t ask me man?”

“You was helping Sata.”

I had my work clothes which consisted of dress pants and a dress shirt and I had to clean up this mess.

I took off my pants and my shirt to try to clean it up. But A3 started getting real fidgety.

“Pop-Pop I gotta use it.”

“Can you hold it?”

He shook his head no. He already had on his school uniform so I had to take all that off and help him use the washroom.

They were now two hours late for school and I had missed three morning appointments. I cleaned up the mess, got back on my clothes and dropped them off. I then headed to the office.

************************

“Aug you got a call on line one.”

“Okay.” Sneak hung up and I said hello.

 “Hi Dr. Alsina?”

“Yes this is he.”

“Yes. I’m calling from Carter elementary. You need to come pick up Sata. She was kicked out of class for fighting a male student.”

“Fighting?”

“Yes at recess.”

“Okay. I’ll be there.”

I hung up and sat on my stool for a second just thinking about how much I underestimated Amb and what she does and the sacrifices she makes for our family.

It hadn’t even been a full 24 hours yet and I felt totally drained and defeated. I guess trying to balance everything was hard and I didn’t realize until now what a great job she had been doing.

I got my keys and went to get Assata’s little bad ass.

***********************

“Why were you fighting?”

“He talked about my hair. He said I looked like a Chia Pet.”

“So that meant you beat him up at recess?”

“Yup.” She folded her arms. “This wouldn’t have happened if mommy did my hair.”

Since I was at the school already, I just got A3 an early dismissal.

“I’m whooping your ass when we get home.” I pulled her by the collar and out of the school.

I drove them back to my office with me, I had some other appointments and since I missed so many in the morning, I didn’t want to miss the afternoon ones.

“Y’all sit here and don’t move.”

“Can I get on the slide?” A3 asked me.

“No. You stay in that chair until I’m finished. Don’t move.”

I went into my office to finish up my last patients, but Sneak rushed in telling me A3’s head was bleeding because he hit it on the edge of the slide.

I went out to see Aug with a bleeding head and crying. I took him in the washroom got some guaze and water, and put it to his head.

“I told you to sit down and stay down.”

“I want my mommy. Her kisses make me better.” He whined.  

I told Sneak to cancel my remaining appointments. I took the kids and went home, hoping to find Amb there, but I instead came home to an empty house.

. I fixed the kids some spaghetti and while they ate, I went in the living room to call Amb.

I got her voicemail.

“Baby it’s me. First I want to tell you I love you. I should’ve told you that when I left out the house for work the other day. You know I never leave without telling you that, I was just angry. And secondly I just wanna say, please come home. I need you. This shit is too hard for me. And I’m sorry I belittled what you do for our family. Just come home. I love you. Bye.”

AMBER P.O.V. –

August had left me about a million voicemails and I decided to stop torturing him and actually go home. It had hurt me deeply that  I try so hard to be the best mother and wife I could be for our family, and for him to not appreciate what I do.

It was about nine when I walked in. I immediately heard small footsteps running down the stairs as my kids ran to me literally knocking me down.

“What happened to your hair girl?” I looked at how crazy Sata’s hair was.

“Pop-pop tried to do it.”

“Mommy why you leave me?” A3 asked. “You no love me?”

“Of course I do Auggie. You know that. I just had to handle some business.”

“Can you read us a story Mommy?” Sata asked.

“Yeah come on let’s go upstairs.” I grabbed them both by the hand and headed up stairs. But August stopped me on my way up, grabbed me by my waist and kissed me, looking in my eyes. “We’ll talk after you read to them.”

“Okay.”

He pecked my lips, then let me go. I took them upstairs in A3’s room and read them a story.

After I finished, Sata went to her room but I needed to have a talk with A3.  I needed to see if August claim of A3 always interrupting us was valid or was it Big Aug’s spoiled paranoia.

“Auggie.”

“Yes mommy?” He looked up at me, he was lying on my stomach.

“Did you sleep with Pop-Pop while I was gone?”

He shook his head no.

“Why?”

“I only scared when you here.”

“Auggie you trying to keep me from daddy?”

He shook his head no.

“Auggie.” I looked at him.

“What?” He tried to look innocent.

“Why you trying to keep me from Pop-Pop?”

“Cause…cause you gon forget about me.” He had his feet in the air playing with me.

“That’s not true Auggie.”

“Mm-hmm. You said I was your favorite man.”

“And you are A3.”

“Unh-unh. Not if daddy is too.”

“Auggie, you both are. I can have two favorite men.  And daddy needs some of my time too. But I promise if I give daddy time, I’ll still give the same amount to you. Okay.”

“Okay.”

“So if you’re really not scared, be a big boy and sleep in your bed and don’t interrupt me and daddy’s time. He works a lot and I rarely see him. But I see you all the time. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“But if you really get scared, you can always welcome in there with me and Pop-Pop okay?”

He shook his head yes.

“Gimme kiss.”

He kissed my cheek. I kissed his back. I wrapped him up in his covers, then turned on his night light, before I turned off the big light.

“Night Mommy.”

“Goodnight baby.”

I went across the hall to check on Sata.

She was in her bed already falling asleep. I bent down and kissed her cheek.

“Night Munch.”

“Night Mommy. Love you.”

“Love you too baby.”

I walked out and closed her door.

Then I went down the hall to my bedroom.

“I ran you a bath.” August said coming out of our master bath.

I just sat on the bed and looked at him as I was taking off my earrings. I know he had more to say to me than that.

He sat on the bed and grabbed my feet and started massaging them.

“I’m sorry baby. I was being a selfish asshole. Let me make it up to you, by bathing you from head to toe.” He kissed both my feet.

“August, we need to communicate. If you feel neglected tell me that. But stop being passive aggressive about it. Don’t withhold affection from me or shoot down my attempts to make it right. I really am trying. I really am.” I wiped the tears that were forming in my eyes. “More than anything I want to be a great mother and a wonderful wife, but this is harder than I thought. And I needed your support. Not you being mean to me.”

 He scooted toward me and pecked my lips.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

 “Be honest with me, do you feel I neglect you.” I looked at him.

He let my legs rest on his lap.

“A little. But I know it’s hard. I didn’t really see that until now.”

“My intention is never to neglect you baby. I appreciate every single thing you do for me and this family. You work your ass off every day just so we can be taken care of and if you feel that I put everything before you, I’m sorry. I’ll take that under consideration and re-arrange my priorities, because I don’t want you seeking affection elsewhere.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“They all say that Aug. Then the next thing I know you’d been den left me for some 20 year old.”

“25.”

I hit him with the straight face. He laughed.

“Come on your bath getting cold.” He tapped my legs for me to get up.

“You taking it with me.”

“Nooooo.” He shook his head profusely.

“Why?”

“Not taking no chances.”

“Chances about what?”

“Having no more kids. So until we by some mo condoms in this mutha-fucka or you get on birth control, I’m a virgin.”

I busted out laughing. He didn’t though.

“I’m serious.”

“What happened to your six kid plan?”

“I got my two. I’m good.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“You are so crazy.” I shook my head.

 “Love you baby with all my heart.” He pecked my lips.

“Love you too.”