CHAPTER 295: AWKWARD BREAKFAST

Abigail and Jamal were still sound asleep, when a soft knock came on the door.

Then came the small voice that made both Jamal and Abigail’s eyes fly open.

"Mommy?" Josh called, turning the knob.

Abigail’s heart leaped to her throat as she shot up in bed, pulling away from Jamal’s arms.

The faint morning light spilling through the curtains made everything clear, they were both still very naked.

"Oh my God. The door is still locked, right?" Abigail whispered in panic, scrambling to grab the blanket and pull it up to her chest.

"Yes, it is. Relax. What time is it?" he asked groggily, already sitting up.

"How am I supposed to know? We both just woke up," she reminded him.

The knock came again, three short taps this time. "Mommy, the door is locked."

"Give us a minute, buddy," he called out to Josh.

"Why did you respond?" Abigail whispered, "I should have answered. Now he’s going to get ideas..."

Jamal looked at her with amusement. "What ideas? That his Dad slept in his mom’s room?"

"I don’t know," she muttered, picking up her clothes.

"Daddy, is Mommy still sleeping?" Josh asked again.

"No, sweetheart!" Abigail squeaked. "Give mommy a moment, okay?" She turned to Jamal, "Hurry and go put on your clothes in the bathroom."

Jamal got off the bed, and caught his clothes as she threw them at him, "You are acting like your husband caught you cheating with another man," he said with a chuckle as he headed for the bathroom.

Abigail quickly went to get the door after wearing her pajamas. When she finally opened the door, Josh stood there, clean and fresh, his hair neatly combed.

"Good morning, mommy," he greeted with a wide smile, looking past her into the room for his daddy.

Abigail blinked. "Good morning, baby. Did you already shower?" she asked in surprise as she shut the door and followed him into the room.

Josh nodded proudly. "Yes. Brenda and Bella woke me up," he said, conveniently leaving out the fact that he’d wet his bed hence they had to clean him up.

Abigail reached for her phone on the nightstand. She blinked in surprise when the screen lit up, showing it was 9:07 a.m.

Just then, Jamal stepped out of the bathroom, now fully dressed in the clothes he’d worn before. Josh’s eyes lit up immediately he saw him.

"Good morning, Daddy!" he greeted cheerfully, going to him.

Jamal bent down with a smile and scooped him up into a hug. "Good morning, champ. Did you sleep well?"

He bobbed his head. "I did."

"What have you been up to this morning? You smell good," Jamal said, sniffing him dramatically.

Josh giggled. "I showered. I’m hungry. Everyone is having breakfast already! The pancakes will get cold. Let’s go eat!"

"Everyone is having breakfast?" Jamal asked, exchanging a look with Abigail who already looked embarrassed at the thought of joining them at the table after spending a night with Jamal.

It didn’t matter whether or not anything had happened.

"Why didn’t you eat with them if you’re hungry?" Jamal asked gently.

Josh’s smile was sweet and simple. "Because I told them I wanted to get Mommy so we can all eat together. I don’t want to eat without mommy."

That melted Abigail’s heart instantly. Her face softened as she smiled at her son.

"Alright, sweetheart," she said softly. "Give me a minute to brush my teeth and put on something decent, okay?"

Josh nodded, content, as Jamal carried him to sit on the edge of the bed. Abigail grabbed a dress from her closet and disappeared into the bathroom.

She left the door open she could hear their conversation as she brushed her teeth.

Her lips curved without her permission when she caught her reflection in the mirror. Now that she was over the initial surprise of being awoken by Josh, she felt a rush of love as she remembered the intimacy she’d shared with Jamal.

She quickly brushed her hair, washed her face, and changed into a pale yellow maxi dress before stepping back out.

"Alright," she said, clapping her hands together. "Let’s go have breakfast."

Together they went downstairs, Josh walking between them, swinging both their hands happily. The closer they got to the dining room, the more Abigail’s stomach twisted with a nervous flutter.

The moment they stepped in, Josh announced happily, "Mommy and Daddy is here."

Every head turned.

"Good morning, everyone," Abigail greeted, without making eye contact with anyone.

Lucy and Tom tried and failed to keep their expression neutral as they responded to her greeting.

Bella’s knowing smile came first and she exchanged a look with Brenda, their lips twitching with suppressed laughter. Branden’s brows lifted ever so slightly as his mouth twitched with a smirk he was clearly fighting to hide.

"Everybody, shut up. No embarrassing talk. I have an impressionable kid here," Jamal announced, giving them a pointed look, and they all burst into laughter.

"No one even said a word," Brenda said with amusement.

Josh, blissfully unaware, was already reaching for the pancakes.

Abigail’s face burned as she took her seat beside Jamal, and she could feel his quiet sigh beside her. He didn’t say another word, but the faint narrowing of his eyes at the Bees said more than enough.

Abigail poured some juice into a cup for Josh, before pouring coffee for herself and Jamal, while Jamal cut Josh’s pancakes into smaller slices.

"No need to ask how your nights were. I’m sure it was good seeing how you both woke up late," Tom said, biting into his pancake.

Everyone laughed, and Lucy hit his arm playfully, "Don’t do that, Ace. You’re embarrassing Dawn."

"Don’t do what? What did I say?" He asked with a grin and looked at Jamal and Abigail. "Loosen up you two. It’s not a big deal. I sleep in the same room with my Jewel every night."

"And it’s not like you’re not adults. You’re both adults and even had a beautiful boy," Lucy added.

"Dad, can I invite my boyfriend over?" Bella asked sweetly, sticking her tongue in her cheek.

"What boyfriend?" He asked with a frown. "You mean a male friend or school mate, right?"

Brenda giggled, "She means the guy she’s seeing..."

"Oh! You’re seeing someone? Why don’t you invite him to my office first?" Tom suggested, making Lucy and Branden laugh.

"What’s he coming to do at your office? He doesn’t need a job," Bella said, trying not to laugh.

"Well, I’m going to give him one whether he needs it or not. He’s gonna be too busy to be seeing you. Have you forgotten that we have a pact? Neither of you is permitted to have a boyfriend until you’re thirty," Tom said, and everyone laughed.

"Who cares about a pact we made when we were six? You didn’t even get married to Mom when she was thirty, so why do we have to wait until then to date? Dawn isn’t even twenty five yet, and you let her share a room with Jamal," Brenda said, and Abigail scowled at her for dragging her into the conversation.

"Need I remind you that she’s his aunt?" Jamal asked, and they all laughed as they ate.

"That reminds me, Jamal says we are to call him Uncle Jamal after he gets married to Dawn," Tom said, and Abigail giggled.

"Is that so, Uncle Jam?" Lucy asked, and Jamal shook his head.

"That doesn’t apply to you, my love. Only to the man you married," Jamal assured her sweetly.

"Your love? Since when? Didn’t you refer to her as another woman just yesterday?" Branden asked with a grin.

"It’s always the ones you don’t expect that backstabs you," Jamal muttered. "Lucy, don’t listen to him. You know he’s always been jealous of our relationship."

"What relationship is that?" Tom asked, and soon everyone was talking all at once.

Soon the conversation drifted to other subjects, and after a while Tom raised a brow at Jamal. "So, it’s weekend. Are you spending the weekend here or taking them to see your place?" he asked casually.

"I’m taking them to see my grandfather and then my parents," Jamal said calmly. "They can know our place some other time."

Abigail smiled at Jamal’s use of ’our’ instead of ’my’.

Before Tom could respond, the doorbell rang. Adolf, the old family butler, went to answer it, and the sound of voices drifted from the living room.

When Adolf returned, he wasn’t alone.

Stefan stepped in first, looking apologetic, followed closely by Genevieve, her face pale, and her eyes scared.

Josh’s eyes lit up, the moment he saw her. "Genny!" he exclaimed, jumping off his chair and running to her.

Genevieve tried to smile as she knelt to hug him, but her hands trembled slightly.

"Good morning. I’m sorry for showing up without calling," Stefan said immediately. "My battery is flat, and Genevieve insisted she wanted to see Dawn the moment we arrived."