“I told him he was probably right!”
“Oh my God! Please tell me you didn’t! Hope, what the hell?”
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t stand up for you. Neither of us is supposed to have anything to do with you… Absolutely no contact. I was caught in between a rock and a hard place… So I just kept my mouth shut.”
“So essentially, what you’re telling me, is you threw me under the bus and drove over me to save your own ass?”
“Yeah… I’m sorry but yes I did.”
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you if you tell one lie you have to cover it by telling a hundred more?”
“She might have. I don’t remember. My mom died when I was eight.”
“Hope, I’m sorry… I didn’t know. You never talk about your personal life, so I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay. How could you know? You’re right though. I feel sick just thinking about the lies I’ve told to cover up hiring you.”
“Okay, so what’s one more? Just list me as anonymous on the adoption papers.” Quanique insisted.
Hope sighed. “I can’t. My husband is an attorney. He’s going to scrutinize and verify every damn word on those papers. He’s going to dig and probe until he finds out who you are then, there’s going to be hell to pay for both of us!”
“Seems to me like you are in a lose/ lose situation. No matter what you say, he’s going to figure out you lied to him and set this whole thing up. Here’s a novel idea… Why don’t you try telling the truth for a change?” Quanique laughed.
“Fuck you!” Hope giggled. “See that’s why I can’t stand your ass. Look at you! You’re due any second now and you look prettier than half the women in here, including me!”
“Wow you called that one right on time. Hope, you’re not going to believe this, but my water just broke.” Quanique said as she felt an uncontrollable scream of water run down her leg and pool around her feet.
“What? Are you serious?” Hope cried out as she saw the puddle of water on the carpet beneath Quanique’s feet. “Oh my God! You’re about to go into labor!”
Suddenly a sharp pain ripped across Quanique’s belly, around her back and shot up her asshole. She yelped with pain, holding her belly. “Check that, I’m in labor! Get me the hell out of here, this shit hurts! And bitch… Stop predicting the future!”
“Oh my God! Oh my God! Let me get Robert!” Hope exclaimed as she fumbled in her purse to find her phone. “Robert get in here! Quanique’s in labor! Help me get her to the car! Hurry!”
“Are you insane? He can’t leave a half a million dollar car unattended to come in here to get me. Waiter! Waiter, we need help!” Quanique screamed.
“Fuck that car! We have to get you to the hospital now!” Hope snapped.
Within a split second, Robert burst into the door. “Let’s go, Miss Robinson!”
Scooping Quanique up in his arms as if she weighed less than a feather, he carried her out the restaurant and rushed her to the car. Hope grabbed the tablecloth from the table, shoved her Plum American Express Card in the manager’s hand and followed on Robert’s heels, a split second behind them.
“I don’t know what you’re going to tell John, but this baby is coming, so you’d better figure out something quick!” Quanique managed to get out before another contraction hit her.
Robert peeled off from the restaurant at record speed, narrowly missing a car when he pulled out. Blowing the horn and flashing his hazards and high beams, he raced to the hospital. A police car immediately got behind him just as Hope called 911 for a police escort. It didn’t matter, because Robert had no intentions of stopping until he arrived at the hospital. Seconds later another police car pulled in front of him, with sirens blasting, the two cops escorted Robert to the hospital, allowing them to blow through the Charlotte traffic with ease.
Minutes later they were at the hospital and a medical team rushed out to get Quanique. Robert and Hope watched helplessly as they snatched her from the car and rushed her into the ER. The triage nurse had them rush her to an ER exam room while they notified OB/GYN of her arrival. Her doctor was paged and he met them in the ER.
Tears streamed down Hope’s face as she watched them poke and probe and stick Quanique as they hooked her up to an endless number of monitors. Bursting into tears, she nervously sobbed. Robert held her tight and comforted her.
“It’s okay, Mrs. Sabin. I’ll be right here until she delivers.” He said in an effort to comfort her.
“Stop your damn balling and get in here. We’re having a baby! I hope you don’t think I’m doing this shit alone. Oh God! Oh God! This shit really hurts!” Quanique yelled as a strong contraction caused her to scream out in pain. “Damn it! Get in here Hope Sabin and help me!” She screamed.
It was at that very second Hope knew what she had to do. “Robert I need you to go to Mr. Sabin’s office, pick him up and bring him to the hospital. Tell him our baby is on the way.”
Robert smiled a bright, toothy grin. “Right away, mam!”
“And Robert! Obey the traffic laws this time. Okay? I don’t want you to get arrested or have an accident. Okay?” Hope yelled after him.
“Yes mam!” Robert yelled back as he ran out of the ER.
Within thirty minutes Quanique was in the labor and delivery suite in active labor and John walked into the room to find Hope. Her heart stopped beating the second her eyes met his! Running towards him, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him full in the mouth. Frightened, excited and confused, he scooped her up and hugged her tight, afraid to let her go. He didn’t even notice Quanique was in the room, let alone in labor with his child.
“I got here as soon as I could. Robert said our child was being born and you needed me here to witness the birth.”
Hope tried to get her emotions in check to explain to him what she had done, but words would not come out. Her tears and sobs choked them back every single time she tried. Not really knowing why, John burst into tears too! He searched his wife for an explanation, but she had no answer. Staring in her eyes and deep in her soul he somehow figured out what was going on.
Looking towards the bed he saw Quanique struggling in labor. He looked back at Hope, who blurted out, “I screwed up! Please don’t leave me! Promise you won’t leave me! Promise me! Please John, promise me!”
“Is that Quanique? Quanique’s the adopted mother of our child?” He asked confused. “How the hell… Hope is that my… No! That’s not even possible!” He babbled. “Is that my…”
“Yes that’s your son! I’m sorry. I should have told you months ago, but I just didn’t know how. John, please don’t be mad at me!”
John stumbled backwards and fell into a chair. He was dazed and confused and frankly looked as if he was about to have a damn stroke. His mind raced a hundred miles per millisecond. As he looked back and forward between Quanique and Hope, Hope tried to hold him but he snatched away.
“Get the fuck off of me, Hope! I can’t believe you manipulated me like this! How could you do this to me? I trusted you! And you’ve been lying to me all of this damn time! What the fuck were you thinking?” He snapped.
“John, I can explain!”
“No the hell you can’t!”
“John, I’m so sorry!”
“When?” He snorted.
“When, what?” Hope tried to play country dumb.
John was furious and he wasn’t having it. “Woman! Don’t play with me! You know what the FUCK I’m talking about! Answer me!”
“That night in the Virgin Islands.” Hope responded in a tiny, timid voice.
“How?”
“John…”
“How?” He insisted.
“How the fuck do you think! Oh God! This shit fucking hurts! This baby is ripping me apart! Oh God help me! I can’t take it anymore!” Quanique screamed from the bed.
John's eyes narrowed on Hope. He knew there was more to the story, but his compassion for Quanique superseded his curiosity, as all of t
he alarms and monitors sounded all at once. “Is she okay?”
Hope looked over at Quanique who had passed out. “Quanique are you okay? Quanique! Quanique answer me!” Hope screamed as she looked at the monitor and discovered Quanique’s heart had stopped and she wasn’t breathing. “Get the doctor!” Hope screamed. Quickly taking Quanique’s carotid pulse, Hope confirmed Quanique was in fact in cardiac arrest. Hope jumped on the bed and immediately started CPR, trying desperately to revive her.
John bolted out the room screaming hysterically, “I need a doctor! I need a doctor! Her heart has stopped!” He reached the corridor just as a team of nurses, doctors and other medical personnel rushed towards the room to revive Quanique.
Tossing Hope out of the room, they took over CPR and fought to save Quanique’s life. Hope screamed and kicked and punched the male attendant who carried her out of the room. “Get off of me!” Hope screamed as she struggled against his weight. “Move damn it! That’s my friend! That’s my friend! She’s dying and she needs me! Quanique, hold on, I’m coming!” She screamed through her tears. “Get the fuck out of my way!”
John rushed over, picked her up, threw her over his shoulders and carried her away to the waiting area. “Get off me, John! I have to stay with Quanique! She’s the only friend I have! She can’t die! She just can’t!”
“Hope, it’s okay… Quanique’s going to be okay! She’s not going to die! She’s young and she’s a fighter. She’s going to be okay, because she's carrying our baby!” John assured Hope as he held her tight enough to break her. Hope tried to believe him, but she was inconsolable. She sobbed uncontrollably, clinging to John for dear life. John was at a loss for words and held Hope as if he’d lose her if he let her go.
Minutes later the male attendant that put Hope out of the room earlier, ran to them yelling, “They got her back! She’s alive! She’s on the way to the OR! They’re going to deliver the baby by C-Section. Follow me and I’ll take you to the waiting area.”
Hope and John sprinted behind the young man as he navigated corridor after corridor. They arrived to the waiting area just in time. “John and Hope Sabin? Is John and Hope Sabin out here.” A handsome young doctor asked as he scanned the waiting area.
“Yes! Yes! That’s us!” John yelled back as they approached.
“Good! I’m Dr. Harris, a third year Internal Medicine resident. I just wanted to update you on Quanique’s condition. She gave us a scare, but she’s a God damn tiger! She fought her way back! She’s still a little weak but she’s conscious and seems to be fine. Dr. Henry is finishing the C- Section now. So in a few minutes you get to hold your son.”
“Oh thank you God! That’s great news! See! She’s okay, baby! Thank you doctor! Thank you!” John beamed as he vigorously shook the doctor’s hand.
“No problem.” He smiled. “Congratulations!”
“When can we see Quanique?” Hope interrupted.
“We have to clean her up and take care of a few things. Hard to say, but it should be soon, real soon. I’ll come to get you the second I get the all clear. Okay? Don’t worry, I’m going to take good care of her.” He smiled brightly as he squeezed Hope’s hand. “I have to get back in there. I’ll be back to get you guys soon. Congratulations!”
“Thank you!” Hope watched Dr. Harris run through a set of double doors. She wouldn’t or couldn’t take her eyes off those doors from that moment on. John held her tight from behind as she stood there just staring at those damn doors. They continued to watch those double doors with bated breath for another ten minutes and then a miracle happened. A nurse came through those doors carrying the cutest baby you could imagine.
“Hope and John Sabin!” She called. “Mr. and Mrs. Sabin!”
Hope and John were paralyzed. Try as hard as they could, they couldn’t move. Somehow John managed to speak. “Here! Over here!”
The nurse smiled brightly. “Stay right there! I’ll bring him to you.”
John looked at Hope, she looked at him. They couldn’t believe it! After all these years and all the things that they’d been through, they were about to hold their son for the first time.
“Oaky… Who wants to hold him first?” The nursed asked.
“Give him to his dad!” Hope managed, shaken by a wealth of emotions. “He should hold him first.”
“No, give him to his mother! She’s waited a very long time to meet him. She should be the first face he sees. Besides, she’s much prettier than me.” John grinned as he caught the first glimpse of his son.
“That’s true! Well, Mom it is! Here Mom take your son.”
Hope’s hands trembled nervously as she reached for her baby. “I’m so nervous, I don’t think I can do it.”
“Sure you can. Just sit right there, hold your arms out and I’ll lay him right in them.” The nurse coached as she positioned the baby in Hope’s waiting arms.
John fought back tears as they ran nonstop down his face. “I hate to say this, but he’s the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen.” He couldn’t believe he had a son.
“I hate to admit it but I have to agree with you. Oh John he’s perfect. Look at him!” She squealed.
“He sure is and so is his mother!” John added as he touched his son’s tiny hand.
“What are you going to call him?” The nurse asked as she looked on.
Hope quickly replied, “John! His name is John just like his dad’s.”
At that moment, John lost his battle to be a man and burst into a full on sob. “God I love you woman! Whatever you do, don’t you ever leave me! Promise me!” He sobbed.
“I promise. Here, hold your son. He has your nose.” Hope said as she leaned over to kiss her husband softly on his lips.
John pulled himself together and took his son into his arms for the first time. “Thank you Hope! Thank you.”
“For what?” She asked as she rubbed her baby’s tiny hand.
“For the Virgin Islands,” John quietly said as his eyes locked on hers.
“You’re not mad?”
“No! Not anymore! I mean I was at first, but not now.”
“Are you sure?”
“How can I be mad and look into this young man’s handsome face.” John beamed with pride as he realized his son looked exactly like him. “Look at him, isn’t he just the handsomest baby you’ve ever seen?”
“He sure is.” Hope agreed.
As they cooed and purred over baby John, Doctor Harris returned. “Your friend’s asking for you. Come with me and I’ll take you to her.”
“Can we bring the baby?” John asked to Hope’s complete surprise.
“Sure! But just for a minute or two! We have to get him to the nursery to run a few tests.” The nurse conceded.
John, Hope and little John entered the recovery room to find Quanique extremely weak but conscious. Hope immediately ran to her while John stood at the foot of her bed holding little John. “You scared the hell out of me! I thought you were dead! You hag!” Hope scolded as she threw her arms around Quanique and held her tight.
“I know Wilma the Dinosaur did not just call me a hag!” She teased. “Get off of me! I don’t swing that way!”
John looked at the two women and realized they had somehow managed to develop a genuine friendship. Touched, he decided to extend an olive branch to Quanique. “Aunt Quanique, would you like to meet your new nephew?”
Quanique looked at Hope and Hope nodded to indicate John knew everything. Quickly wiping tears, she grabbed Hope and held her tight. “I told you it’d be okay! Yes! I would love to meet my nephew, John Boy!” She grinned as she extended her arms to hold him.
“Okay! I think he has a few more minutes before he has to go to the nursery.” John said as he gently placed the baby in her arms.
Quanique kissed his little hands and then his little feet as she counted all of his fingers and all of his toes. Satisfied that they were all there, she burst into tears and cried. “He’s perfect!”
Hope agreed! “I know! H
e’s so handsome.”
Leaning over her bed, John kissed Quanique on her wet, tear stained cheek. “Thank you, Quanique. I don’t know how to begin to repay you for what you did for us.”
“A Maybach like Hope’s would be nice.” Quanique joked.
Hope laughed. “Now you’re tripping! What are they giving you in this damn IV?”
“How about a Mercedes, E class?” John smiled.
“Done, done and done!” Quanique beamed.
“John, Quanique started her own surrogate agency. Maybe in two years we can get John Boy a sister. What do you think?” Hope said as she hugged and kissed her husband.
“Sure, why not?” He said as he squeezed Hope tight. “No offense Quanique, but next time we’re going to use a turkey baster!” John laughed. The girls laughed with him.
“I concur!” Hope agreed.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Quanique laughed. “You two are a hot ass mess!”
Even John Boy found that funny. He appeared to giggle and smile as Mom took him from Aunt Quanique and held him snuggly in her arms. Quanique and Hope remained very close friends. Quanique went on to surrogate two more children for the Sabins, a girl named Ashley and a boy named Joshua.
And just in case you were wondering, she grew quite fond of the turkey baster and that cute doctor, Dr. Harris. Two years later they married and Quanique had a son of her own, she named him Justin, after his father.
And they all lived happily ever after!
BONUS READ
Enjoy an excerpt from the Naked Truth About Love
Chapter 1
Love is Not Self Serving
His touch was infectious, burning everywhere it lingered. Not a bad burn but a lustful burn that had Zoey squirming on the sofa like a fish caught on a baited hook. His mouth seared her lips and his hunger for her tongue, as his searched her eager mouth, snatched the breath from her throat. His hands were everywhere, his lips were everywhere and in five seconds she knew their clothes would be everywhere.
God how she wanted this man... Lord how her twenty one year old body craved what lurked between his muscular thighs. His body was perfect, his skin was flawless and his face was that of a chiseled Adonis. She had waited forever to be in this position, beneath him, grinding on the hard ridge of his dick which stretched the denim of his jeans. Finally it was her turn to love him, to hold him to make him cry out her name as he climaxed in her mouth.
Unspeakable Proposal Page 9