by Love Belvin
My eyes watered and I swallowed hard. “I hope not.” My voice no more than a ghosted whisper. “I need this to work.”
“And I need you. I’m going to fight, Jade. I swear.”
I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him from the side. My mind raced from the weight of his words. I didn’t want to keep talking about Brielle, but I had to make sure Trent understood how much of a sore spot her presence—former or otherwise—was for me. Forcing it out of my mind, I closed my eyes and was lulled by his pulse. I don’t know how long I lay there, but I jolted awake.
“You okay?”
I sat up and rolled my neck. “I have to go, Trent. I have to get Ky ready for camp.”
“So all I get from my wife is a one-night stand?”
I snorted at his seriousness. “I gave you my heart, body, and future.”
“And I gave you my heart, body, fortune, last name—my forever. I can’t, at least, get the rest of the night?”
I moved to leave the bed. “I’ll tell Ky you’ll be back before the due date. He’ll love that.” A smiled blossomed on my face at that truth.
“Aye…”
My feet had just hit the floor before I turned to him.
“Bestie moment of truth?” he asked permission to divulge. I nodded, trying to keep the content smile on my face. Trent rubbed his eyes and lay his head against the headboard. “I ran into Ryder.”
My face fell completely. “When?”
“A couple of days ago.”
“And you’re just now telling me?”
Trent’s tired eyes were on me. “We had other stuff to get through first, J.”
“What happened?”
“He tried to flex,” he explained lazily, clearly not wanting to get into it. “I stopped by my cousin’s in Newark to drop Trick off. It was the day we checked my moms in. It was mad random. He was out there shootin’ dice with his boys. I recognized his voice then stepped to him. And…” He shrugged.
“And what?”
“I told him to apologize for the disrespect in my house.” My face fell again.
“He called me a couple of nights ago. He was nasty about it, but did apologize. He even said he wouldn’t fight me with Ky anymore…whenever I want him to visit, he’d be cool with it.”
Trent dipped his chin. “Good. He obeyed.”
“How did you get him to do that?”
“Choked the hell outta his lil ass. By the time I let him go, he dropped to the ground, tryna catch his breath.”
I gasped, the visual so vivid. I couldn’t bear seeing Trent going up against Ryshon. It would be like a puppy fighting a lion. This was why I never told him about my fights with Ryshon since he’d been home. Trent was a big man. Too strong and physical to fool around with Ryshon.
“You could’ve killed him, Trent! Where would that have left Ky?”
“I wasn’t—” he spoke a couple of octaves over me, whining to cut my concern. “—gonna kill that dude, Jade! I’m no killer.”
“You sure had the look of death in your eyes that night in Bloomfield,” I reminded him, rolling my eyes and sitting back against the headboard.
Trent scoffed. “Oh, that night I woulda killed dude if he was in that apartment.”
“See!” My back leaped from the headboard and I faced him. “I knew you were looking for someone other than Ky that night! You did think I was with someone else!”
“I wasn’t thinking that night either,” he murmured, guilt-ridden.
I crawled back over to him on the bed and managed to my knees. Then I took him at the sides of his hairy face. “You have to start thinking—with everybody—for me, Ky, and now Ava. You’re our provider…our leader. You’re a huge asset we can’t do without, Trent.”
Rolling his eyes away, my guy succumbed to my pleading and nodded.
“I know, baby. I’mma be better,” he murmured.
I reached over to kiss his warm lips. “You’re actually the best.”
~Twenty-Two
“Trent,” I heard a whisper and felt a nudge from little soft hands. “Trent, it’s time to get up.”
My eyes fluttered open to low lights in the dim room. Jade was bending over me. It took a minute to get my head together, but eventually, I nodded. She walked away, toward the door. I noticed the long dress she wore and her bare feet as she left the quiet suite.
I blinked my blurred eyes again in the softly lit room, feeling like I’d just gone to bed. I got in late last night from practicing with the team for a game happening later on today. I had to get my second string together. But I wouldn’t be there to actually play with them. Today was the day. My Ava Nese would be born in a few short hours. That realization woke me fully from my sleep and I hopped up, placing my feet flat on the floor. My elbows went to my knees and I rubbed my eyes.
Daddy…
I was going to be a daddy today. Jade was making me someone’s father. I wondered what she’d look like—who she’d look like. Features on the images from the ultrasounds over the months had changed. She looked like lots of people…and things. Today, I would see what she really looked like.
I stood and stretched before walking to the bathroom. Jade opted for a C-section with Ava. She’d had one with Kyree and the doctors recommended having another. I wasn’t big on the idea of my wife getting sliced, but Jade promised it would be fine. The benefit of it was we got to choose the due date if the baby didn’t come early. So far, she hadn’t threatened to come early. But Jade finally had to slow down. Her feet began to swell two weeks ago, and she started getting heartburn.
I’d been home when I wasn’t at work in Connecticut or traveling for work. Thank God I had because she needed me here. Jade was slower at getting around, couldn’t stand long to cook, and even had to sleep sitting up for the past week. When I wasn’t home, April would camp out on the couch here in the master suite to keep an eye on her. And every night Kyree made it his duty to FaceTime me with the rundown on the lady of the house’s condition. April took over cooking or ordering out. I had laundry and putting the final touches on the nursey. For once, we took care of Jade.
As I stood in the shower, letting the hot water beat down on my tired bones, I realized how exhausted I’d been. Before Jade, I had nothing to worry about except getting enough rest, eating healthy, and not partying too hard so I could perform my best out on the field. But now, with Jade being in her last couple of weeks of pregnancy, I had to stay on top of my game at work and come home to hold my lady down, too. I couldn’t slow now, though. The season hadn’t really begun. I had a ring to snatch up.
And a little girl to spoil…
I threw on sweats, a tee, and sneakers after my shower. Our bags were packed and waiting in the sitting room for me to grab when I was ready. The next thing was to look for the incubator of my princess. It was just after five in the morning, the sun hadn’t even come up yet. The house was quiet and everyone was still knocked out…even though I knew April slept with one eye open.
I crept down the hall, listening out for her. I’d hoped she didn’t get herself into anything in the nursery. I’d taken care of everything she asked me to. Was even there when she inspected it after me. I peeped into the dark nursery next door to the master suite. It was crazy how it was the room Ky used when they first moved in. I had to move him farther down the hall because his freaky ass momma liked to get loud when getting busy.
Jade wasn’t in there, though. The room was quiet and motionless. I kept down the hall, passing April’s room door that was cracked. It was quiet in there, too. That’s when it dawned on me. Going farther down the low lit hall, I came to Ky’s door. It was open. I stepped into the doorway and saw her over his bed similar to how she was in ours earlier to wake me. She stared down on him as he lay on his side, facing her. He was knocked out, but their positions caught my attention. She didn’t speak to wake him, wasn’t even touching him, but Jade was communicating with her son.
My flesh wanted to draw up in jealousy. But my spirit
told me this was nothing personal. Jade was mean about her motherhood game. She loved and adored Kyree like nothing I’d ever seen. Part of it was who she was as a woman. The other part was what life made her be from her experience with her own mother. Everything this pint-sized mother loved was guarded fiercely. Like me. And the same would be true with Ava Nese. But here, with Kyree, was her last moment as mommy to just him. I had to respect it. For eight years, it had just been them, surviving together. Growing and maturing with each other, in a sense.
After she squatted, holding on to the headboard, and kissed his cheek, Jade stood to leave the room. She didn’t see me right away in her approach to the door. I wasn’t hard to peep with my height and two big duffle bags on my shoulders, but she must have been that caught up in her head to not notice right away. When she did, Jade smiled. It was one of those slow beams that met her eyes.
When she was almost to me, her arms opened and stretched, and she wrapped herself around my waist, squeezing tight. Then she took a deep breath.
“I am so blessed. Two years ago, I started off with one baby. Now, I have three.” She looked up at me, smiling sweetly.
“Three?” I whispered, my voice throaty at this hour.
“Yup. You, too. You’re my biggest baby.” Jade’s smile dropped. “Until I need you to play daddy. Big Daddy.”
“Yeah, and that’s how you get more babies,” I warned.
Jade shrugged. “Maybe Shank was right.”
“You wanna bunch of kids?” That surprised me.
She shook her head. “Not unless it’s after you retire. I want to travel with you. Be accessible to you. Sneak in the locker room to jerk the cobra. Can’t do that if I’m constantly popping out babies.”
Trying to hide my snicker, I pulled her from the room and started for the elevator.
“Locker room? Jerking the cobra?” I asked. “Sounds stalkerish to me.”
Jade hummed. “Oh, you ain’t seen nothing yet. I’m about to drop my load and then it’s on.” We stepped into the car and I hit the panel. “I’ve got to go back to crazy Jade. The world needs to know she still exists when it comes to TB.” Her eyes narrowed sassily.
My eyes blew up.
Taking a deep breath, I turned from the window. Looking at raindrops made me sleepy. I didn’t want to sleep. I wanted to get out of here and back to life. To work. I had to contact Aaron Croix’s people about his slip of not wearing a stitch of Ase Garb to a party he hosted for Playboy last night. He’d worn the Gucci ensemble I’d recommended, but didn’t pair it with the line’s socks or shoes. This would be the second time a client did this. And A.G. called Love Is Action, crying foul play first thing this morning.
Speaking of which, I needed to contact Ase Garb and place a special order for Terri McNabb. She was starring in Ragee’s next video and I thought it would be great to feature a black owned fashion line’s gear. After going back and forth with the head designer there, we came up with several concepts. Now, I needed to complete the deal. A deal that couldn’t happen from here. Trent made sure if it.
As I sauntered across the private hospital room in Hackensack, my fingers automatically tapped my earlobes. Subconsciously, I knew they were there, but confirming it comforted me. For my “push gift,” Trent had four carat diamond, princess cut earrings delivered to the house three days ago. Yup. Trent Bailey, balling like that. I put them in my ears before the jeweler could leave the house. More than I was impressed by the lavishness of the gift, the cost of it, or even the grand presentation of having them delivered by the jeweler himself, it was the gesture that swelled my heart.
My eyes raced to the corner of the room where he lay with a seven pound bundle of joy on his bare chest.
Ava…
She was gorgeous. Absolutely precious and just perfect. She was delivered at eight o’ five a. m. on yesterday without complications to the sounds of a Christian jazz track Ragee created with Take 6, an acapella gospel group. It was a beautiful soulful and soothing piece he put out independently recently. The song set the atmosphere of His presence, peace, and undisputable love as it looped. Ava’s father clutched my hand through the entire process of delivering her. He only let up when they offered her to him. Since then, the two had been inseparable. Now, looking at them sleeping peacefully on the small bed, I wondered if Ava knew what awaited her, would she have stayed so comfortably inside me as long as she did.
I didn’t want to disturb their bonding time. Trent would have to leave for work in five days to continue practicing for the first official game of the season. Already, there were coaches and assistants scheduled to train with him at the house starting tomorrow. Trent could have opted to travel the two hours to Connecticut. He could have even had them meet him at Rutgers. But he wanted to be close to me these last few days before he had to escape into the mind of the sports warrior he was.
Trent insisted on trying everything. He changed her diapers, burped her, and soothed her. He even fed her when I decided to stop waiting for her to take from my breasts. Breastfeeding didn’t happen for me yesterday. And while the nurses encouraged me to wait longer before giving her formula, I declined. I couldn’t breastfeed with Kyree either. I didn’t want to delay Ava for “a just in case.” Plus, seeing how enthusiastic Trent had been with her care, I figured having him feed her would propel their bond.
April and Trick had just left, taking loads of pictures of baby Ava. Trick brought gold helium balloons, spelling out her name. April assured she stocked the nursery with fresh flowers from our favorite florist. Elle and Jackson sent a bouquet of fruit. The Carmichaels sent a basket of goodies. Not many others knew of our stay here or delivery. Trent decided not to make an announcement until we absolutely had to. He didn’t want the focus taken off of the Kings’ chance at Super Bowl 2018. It was another improbable desire we believed God for.
I totally agreed to keeping Ava’s birth under wraps, not wanting the fanfare. There was only one person I wanted to know about the safe arrival of our blessing from above. The “petty princess” in me wanted Elle to contact Brielle’s camp to make sure she knew, although I was quite confident Alton Alston or Tynisha Lang had already passed the news along. But that didn’t quell the desire to make sure she knew. She needed to know to back the hell off.
As my husband said the night of the fundraiser: I need Jesus, too!
I stood back, the rear of my thigh touching my bed, and gazed at love across the room. My loves. It was truly a sight to behold. I was just about to take a picture when the sound of the door opening caught my attention.
I recognized her small frame, pushing through with a bag.
“Honey, you shouldn’t be walking around. Not alone, at least.” Her green eyes glittered in her worry. “You just had surgery yesterday.”
“I’m fine,” I whispered. “The nurses encouraged me to walk around.”
Then I tossed my chin toward my latest favorite vista. Trent and Ava. My mother journeyed toward me until she could see the view. We were shoulder to shoulder, experiencing the same sentiment.
“Just beautiful, Jade. She’s lovely,” my mother cooed.
I know…
I bit my dried bottom lip, unable to hide my blush. I could feel my cheeks heating.
Then I turned toward her, peering down at the bag.
I gestured with my head. “What’s that?”
“Oh,” she leaped faintly, her gaze on me. “Something special for you.” She moved to put her things down on the chair. “But first, I want to share something with you before Ky and George get in here from the vending machine.” She rolled her eyes gorgeously. Gosh, her beauty knew no bounds. “What my grandson’s obsession with a vending machine is, is anyone’s guess.” I laughed. Kyree and Trent enjoyed vending machine junk. I hated the fascination.
My mother began unraveling the bag she’d brought in, her attention fixed to it. “Have you heard from KyKy’s father?”
Hearing her call my son that nickname didn’t annoy me anymore. The
privilege of forgiveness would do that.
“Not really. Ky was with him last Saturday. They arranged it, and Trent dropped him off at Wal-Mart in Kearny and picked him up there that night.”
“Wow. I wonder should Trent risk being the middleman. I don’t trust that Rysheed character,” she grumbled. “I can do it or have George do it for you.”
I turned stiffly to face her, my body was still numb in the mid-region. “It’s Ryshon. And thanks for the offer. I’ll keep it in mind.” My delivery was its usual softness with her, and accompanied by a smile.
Forgiving my mother, and allowing her grace increased my patience for her. It deepened my peace around her.
She shook her head, frustrated. Her manicured nails raised in the air then touched her nose.
“I did it again.” Her eyes squeezed before opening, revealing brilliance. “I came here prepared to settle a few things between us, and here I am being aggressive.” She stood straight, taking a cleansing breath. I glanced over my shoulder to be sure my family was still resting before turning back toward my mother for whatever it was she had to say. This seemed good. “So, Miss Jade, I’ve been doing some thinking, and here it is:” Her small shoulders straightened dramatically. “You are a fine woman—a strong woman. In fact, you’re far more durable than I ever gave you credit for. We may have never seen eye to eye on your decisions and lifestyle, but you seem to have done it your way.” She took in air through her nostrils with a closed mouth, fortifying herself.
“And you turned out just fine. I know you don’t have to have it, but you’ve earned my approval. You’re every bit the woman I’ve tried to be. In fact, you’re what I’ve become and so much more. You took poor actions and decisions and made the best out of the consequences. Like me, you had a child out of wedlock. Like me, you struggled to make a good life for your child. But unlike me, you did it fearlessly and unapologetically. You’re a fighter, Jade.”