36

Angel Reese-Love

I was halfway through my morning routine when I heard the doorbell ring, followed by a loud knock. Koa was snug in his bassinet, finally asleep after a long night of cluster feeding, and Jelani had stepped out to run a quick errand. I frowned, glancing at my phone—no missed calls or texts.

Who the hell is at my door this early?

I shuffled toward the door, adjusting my robe, and peeked through the peephole. The second I saw who it was, I sighed, already knowing what kind of energy was about to come through my house.

I opened the door to find A'ja, Raven, Aneesah, Flau'jae, and Hailey standing there, arms full of bags and bright smiles plastered on their faces.

"Good morninggggg!" Flau'jae sang, pushing past me first. "We comin' in!"

"Clearly," I muttered, stepping aside as the rest of them followed, each one of them carrying something different—food, shopping bags, and what looked like household supplies.

"What is all this?" I asked, rubbing my forehead as they started unloading everything onto my kitchen counter.

"A break," A'ja said, shooting me a knowing look. "For you. Because we already know you ain't been taking care of yourself the way you should."

Raven set down two big bags filled with food containers. "We brought you meals so you don't gotta worry about cooking for the next week."

"And groceries," Aneesah added. "Because we already know you be forgetting to eat."

Flau'jae grinned, holding up another bag. "And self-care stuff. So you can stop lookin' like a sleepy grandma and get back to lookin' like my fine ass friend."

I laughed, shaking my head as Hailey came up behind me, cradling Koa in her arms. "Don't even try to fight it. We already made a plan. You are relaxing today. We're handling everything else."

I exhaled, my shoulders slumping. I hadn't realized just how much I needed this. "Y'all really didn't have to do all this..."

"Yes, we did," A'ja cut in. "You just pushed out a whole human. You barely sleeping, you not eating right, and you damn sure ain't been out the house for anything other than doctor's appointments. We here to make sure you good."

The weight of their words settled over me, and before I could stop myself, my eyes burned with unexpected tears. I blinked rapidly, shaking my head. "Damn, y'all tryna make me cry this early?"

"Yes," Raven deadpanned, making everyone laugh.

Flau'jae clapped her hands. "Alright, let's get to work. Me and Hailey got laundry. A'ja and Aneesah, y'all on cleaning. Raven, you gon' set up Angel's self-care station."

I snorted. "Not y'all assigning shifts like this a job."

"It is," Aneesah said, grabbing a broom. "Your health and peace is our job, bae."

For the next two hours, they completely took over. Clothes were washed, folded, and put away. The kitchen was cleaned, floors mopped, and every random baby item that had been scattered around was neatly organized. Meanwhile, Raven set up a whole self-care oasis in my bathroom—candles, bath oils, my favorite skincare products, and a fluffy robe waiting for me.

And the whole time, they refused to let me do anything other than tend to Koa. Eventually he fell asleep, leaving me even more bored.

By the time everything was done, I was sitting in my robe, fresh out of a shower, hair wrapped in a towel, sipping on some tea Raven made me. Koa had woken up and was now in A'ja's arms, completely content as she rocked him gently.

"This little boy done infiltrated girl's night," Hailey teased, snapping a picture of A'ja holding him. "Angel, you think he know he got us all wrapped around his tiny ass fingers already?"

"Oh, he knows," I chuckled, watching the way Koa's little hand curled around A'ja's hoodie string. "And he using it to his full advantage."

"Smart," Flau'jae nodded. "Just like his mama."

I smiled, looking around at my girls—my family. They didn't have to do any of this, but they did, because they knew me. They knew I'd run myself into the ground before asking for help. And instead of waiting for me to reach that point, they showed up, unannounced, and reminded me that I didn't have to do this alone.

"I love y'all," I said suddenly, my voice soft but full of meaning.

A'ja looked up from Koa and smirked. "Aww, is hard-ass Angel getting emotional on us?"

"Shut up," I muttered, rolling my eyes as they all laughed.

But they knew it was real.

And in this moment, surrounded by love and laughter, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be. I scrolled through my gallery gathering the pictures I wanted to post, before coming up with my caption and posting it. I immediately turned off my notifications and texted Jelani that I made a post.

Liked by jelo1love and 598k othersAngelreese5 I'm a mother now yall! A few flicks from this week. My little baby boy is here now🥹 thank you so much for all the love and well wishes, and thank you so much to @jelo1love for being the best husband and best father this past week. Five days down, forever to go 🫶🏽View all 90,393 comments Aja22wilson Auntie A favorite boy🤍Hollywood_Raven Hi Mr.mannn🥹Haileyvanlith big mama fr! So so proud Ang🫂

Excuse all errorsAjah