Momma's Baby, Daddy's Maybe
Page 20
Kennedy eyed the mail in Simone’s freshly manicured hands. “Well, what am I supposed to do, break Michael’s heart and go to Jared when I don’t even want to be with Jared?”
“I don’t know, you tell me.” Simone opened another envelope while looking at Kennedy.
“I don’t know if I would’ve done that if I were you.” Kennedy looked down at the mail in Simone’s hands.
“What?”
“You just opened Derrick’s mail.” Kennedy peeked over Simone’s shoulder at the envelope.
“Damn, he’s going to have a fit. But you know I wasn’t paying attention. He shouldn’t of had it sent here. Do you see who this is from, Kennedy? It’s from Harvard Law School.” Simone held up the envelope to the light.
“What are you holding it up to the light for, silly? It’s already opened, just read it. And why did he have it sent here?”
Derrick had been accepted into Harvard. He’d be thrilled to say the least. He’d also be pissed that they opened his mail, even if it was by accident. Simone said if he had it sent to her house, that meant he was too scared to open it himself.
They contemplated when would be the best time to give him the news. They had both noticed that Derrick had been in a sullen mood lately and disagreed as to when they should give it to him. Derrick walked into the house while they were debating and Simone stuffed the letter behind the sofa pillow before he had a chance to see.
“So, what’s in the bag?” Simone asked as she went to peek.
“I got you just what you asked for, nothing,” Derrick joked as he pulled the bag away from Simone.
“What are you doing later on, Derrick?” Kennedy asked.
Derrick shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m supposed to be meeting Courtney for dinner. Why, you plan on going into labor?”
“Funny, very funny. No, I was just asking. Simone and I were thinking about doing something later. But you go ahead and have a good time with Ms. Courtney.” Kennedy nudged Simone and laughed.
“What’s so funny? Don’t tell me that you two are trying to be comedians again.” Derrick looked at Simone.
“So when do we get to meet her?” Simone asked.
“Soon. As a matter of fact, I have to call her right now,” Derrick said and went into the kitchen.
Kennedy and Simone sat on the sofa and whispered. Why had Derrick been hiding Courtney from them? He had never been as secretive as they were about his love life and never hid any of his women from them before.
Simone went to the kitchen door and listened. Kennedy shook her head no but Simone just waved her off.
“It’s my house. I can listen if I want to,” Simone whispered.
“Don’t let him catch you,” Kennedy whispered back.
Simone came back to the sofa and told Kennedy that she knew when and where Derrick was meeting Courtney for dinner. She told Kennedy to go home and get dressed. They were going to surprise Derrick with a cake and his acceptance letter and find out who Courtney was.
* * *
Kennedy walked into the house and was thankful that Mrs. Montgomery wasn’t there. She didn’t want to be asked a million and one questions about how she was feeling. She was pregnant, not dying. Michael was nowhere to be found, so she paged him. Kennedy wanted him to come with her and Simone to surprise Derrick.
Before stepping into the shower she called the florist to have flowers and balloons sent to Simone’s house for Derrick. Then she paged Michael again, leaving a message asking him to meet her at the restaurant, and stepped into the shower.
Kennedy arrived at Simone’s at six, and Simone wasn’t finished dressing yet. Michael hadn’t answered her page, so she was already pissed. Why was Simone so slow when Kennedy was the one who was fat? Kennedy went upstairs and into the bathroom. “What’s taking you so long? You told me to be ready and you’re not even ready.”
In the mirror Simone was applying mascara. “I had to wait on the cake. Can you pass me that brush?”
“Could you please hurry up. We’re going to surprise Derrick, not find you a man.”
“You never know.” Simone winked.
* * *
Kennedy and Simone arrived at the restaurant at seven on the dot. Simone saw Michael’s car and tapped Kennedy on the shoulder and pointed to it. Kennedy smiled.
“So I guess everybody’s here tonight. So are you going to invite him over to our table or are you two still going to act like you barely know each other?” Simone smiled and bumped into Kennedy.
Kennedy walked over to Michael’s car, looked inside, and then checked the license plate. It was definitely his.
“Oh, I’m going to act like I know him all right. Do you know I left two messages on his pager, and he didn’t call back.”
Simone waved her hands in the air. “Don’t worry about it. I heard that we’re trying to land a couple of major corporations. He’s probably entertaining them and trying to convince them that they should let us crunch their numbers.”
They entered the restaurant and Simone asked for the manager on duty. She had contacted the restaurant earlier, pulled a couple of strings, and got a reservation. The place was packed and they didn’t see Derrick anywhere.
Kennedy just knew that Simone hadn’t heard correctly and went over to the hostess. “I’m looking for a Derrick Jacobs. We’re supposed to be meeting him, it’s a surprise . . . the manager knows,” Kennedy explained to the tight-lipped hostess.
“I’m sorry, we don’t have anyone on the reservation list by that name.”
“Okay, how about Michael Montgomery from Montgomery and Klein?” They might as well crash Michael’s dinner party since Derrick wasn’t there.
Kennedy told Simone that Derrick wasn’t on the list. Simone sucked her teeth.
“Are you sure Derrick isn’t here? Did you ask her to double-check? You should’ve looked at the list,” Simone said and followed Kennedy.
“I did look at the list. He wasn’t on it. So are you ready to see Michael’s face? He’s going to be so surprised that you know about us, Simone. Come on. The hostess said that he’s all the way in the back by the corner behind some divider sort of thing.”
When they reached the back, Kennedy froze. Simone nudged her from behind and Kennedy let out a loud whew, as she dropped the cake. Simone went and stood next to Kennedy to see what the problem was.
“Oh my God. This has got to be wrong,” Simone said to no one in particular.
Derrick and Michael were sitting about ten feet away from them, laughing and whispering in each other’s ears, oblivious to their surroundings. Their dining together would’ve seemed innocent if they hadn’t have kissed and held hands like two people in love. Kennedy looked over at Simone. Simone’s jaw was on the floor. Kennedy stormed over to the table, Michael’s face froze as he snatched his hand from Derrick’s, and Derrick’s eyes bulged.
Kennedy stuttered, “S-so this . . .”
“Kennedy, Simone . . . I didn’t want you two to find out this way . . . this is Courtney—I mean Michael is Courtney,” Derrick said.
Michael just sat there looking straight ahead while Simone joined him in his silence.
“So this is why you wouldn’t return my pages? I don’t even know what to say! What the fuck is someone supposed to say?” Kennedy screamed and the restaurant got quiet.
Derrick said, “Kennedy, please. This is embarrassing enough for me as it is—”
“I’m not talking to you, Derrick,” Kennedy said through clenched teeth.
“Well, who are you talking to? Simone, who is she talking to?” Derrick turned to Simone.
Kennedy pointed her finger across the table without taking her eyes off Michael. “I’m talking to him, the mother-fucker sitting across the table from you, that’s who. Ask him, Derrick, ask him who I am.”
“Michael, what’s going on here? Wait a minute, let me guess, you’ve been seeing my sister too. I knew it, I knew something wasn’t right!” Derrick slapped his hand on the table, jumped up,
and grabbed Michael by his collar.
“Derrick, Kennedy, look, let’s not do this, not here,” Michael said and pulled Derrick’s hands off him.
Kennedy growled. “Don’t say a word, Michael, not a damn word because I don’t want to hear it. Truth be told, I don’t ever want to hear your voice again. And Derrick, we need to talk because your man is the father of my baby . . . your niece or nephew. Now doesn’t that just ice your cake.” Kennedy laughed angrily.
Derrick just sat with his head in his hands. “Kennedy, I am so sorry—”
“Shut the hell up, Derrick, I’m not in the mood. And you . . . you should’ve told us. We love you no matter what and you know that,” Kennedy snapped and held her glare at Michael.
“Ken, let’s just go.” Simone grabbed Kennedy’s arm.
“I’m not finished yet, Simone.”
“I know, Ken, but don’t embarrass yourself over him. He’s not worth it,” Simone continued and pulled Kennedy by the arm.
“Oh yeah, Michael, one more thing. Don’t even think about coming home,” Kennedy said and spit across the table into Michael’s face.
* * *
Kennedy and Derrick walked out of the restaurant in silence. She looked at him with tears in her eyes. She thought Michael was the man for her, she was wrong. How could he do this to her after she had bragged about how much he loved her, how good he was? Derrick tried to hug her but she shrugged him off.
“Derrick, here. This is the reason that we came. We opened it by accident and we wanted to surprise you and meet Courtney . . . never mind,” Simone said and handed him the letter from Harvard.
Derrick opened the letter, read it, and a hint of a smile spread across his face.
* * *
Kennedy invited Simone to stay the night with her at Michael’s house. Embarrassed as she was, she didn’t want to be alone and didn’t want to stay at Simone’s. Simone tried to convince her to invite Derrick over but Kennedy couldn’t handle it, not right then anyway. Michael had hurt them both.
“Okay, the locksmith is gone and the locks are working,” Simone said and handed Kennedy the keys.
“Thanks. You know what, Simone?” Kennedy lay on the bed.
“What?”
“I didn’t see it coming, did you?” She turned away, not wanting Simone to see the hurt in her face.
“See what coming, Kennedy?”
“You know, about Michael. He didn’t seem bi to me. I never would’ve guessed.” Kennedy faced Simone.
“No, I can’t say that I did. But I heard that you can’t always tell. All bisexual and gay men aren’t feminine, you know,” Simone said and lay down next to Kennedy.
“I know now,” Kennedy said and closed her eyes.
* * *
When Kennedy woke up Simone was standing over her, staring in her face.
“Kennedy, you up?”
“You see me looking at you?”
Simone put her hands on her hips. “Let me ask you a question. Did you pee in the bed last night or did you dream that you were peeing?”
“Simone, are you completely out of your mind?”
“Well, then we better go. I think your water broke,” Simone said and smiled.
The bed was wet. Kennedy rubbed the sheets and brought her damp hand to her nose and smelled it.
“Kennedy, that’s nasty. What are you doing?” Simone wrinkled her nose up.
“You’re right, my water did break, it smells sweet. Amniotic fluid smells sweet, piss doesn’t.”
~ 18 ~
Kennedy had been in active labor for almost an hour when Jared walked in, carrying a picture of Kharri. He took down the generic hospital reproduction print from the wall and replaced it with Kharri’s eight-by-ten. Kennedy smiled at him between pains because he had remembered her focus point. Simone looked at him as though he had two heads.
“What are you doing, Jared. Do you think that’s good idea?” Simone pointed to the wall.
“Yes, it’s a good idea. Kennedy needs something else to focus on besides her contractions. It’s a Lamaze trick. We learned it a long time ago when we were expecting Kharri.”
Kennedy moaned loud. She had forgotten how painful labor was but had been constantly reminded every few minutes. Focus. Breathe through the pain. She was having a hard time. Jared leaned over her and dabbed the sweat from her face. “Just breathe, Kennedy, don’t hold your breath. That’s it, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Try to exhale with the pain,” Jared instructed with a calmness that only a health professional could master.
“That was a big one, Jared. I know the baby’s going to be here any second—”
“Take your time, Ken. Look at Kharri’s picture and remember how much of a joy she was to have around and just think that now you get to do it all over again. Simone, how long has she been contracting like this?” Jared held Kennedy’s hand and read the graph to check Kennedy’s progression.
“I don’t know, Jared, I haven’t been timing them. I just know that they’ve been pretty close together,” Simone said.
“Jared, I feel like I have to go to the bathroom, and I know what that means.” Kennedy gripped the bars on the side of the bed and held her breath.
“Get a nurse!” Jared yelled at Simone.
* * *
Kennedy lay on her left side and stared over at her son lying in the bassinet. He had made his appearance to the world at 10:37 on the morning of April fourth. Kennedy reached over, touched his face, and cried tears of joy.
With the tears still flowing down her face, Kennedy sat up and lifted the baby out of the bassinet and held him. He was so handsome, perfect, and small. Kennedy studied his face and saw so much of Kharri. Just as Kharri had, he would look like Kennedy.
“Open your eyes, little man, Mommy needs to see what you look like. I have to see your eyes in order to know what to name you.” Kennedy grabbed the baby’s little fist and shook it gently. She looked up and saw Jared standing in the doorway. “So are you just going to stand there all day and watch us, or are you going to come in and introduce yourself?” Kennedy smiled at Jared.
“I didn’t want to interrupt. You two seemed to be having a pretty deep conversation.” Jared walked over and held out his hands. “Do you mind if I hold him?”
“Be careful. Doesn’t he remind you of Kharri? Take a close look at him.” Kennedy held out the baby to Jared.
“Now that you mention it, he does. He looks just like Kharri. What’s his name?” Jared looked Kennedy in her eyes.
“He looks like a Niles to me. I’m naming him Niles, Niles James . . . after my father. And as far as him and Kharri looking exactly alike, it doesn’t mean anything, Jared. Kharri looked just like me, remember. Anyway, when are they going to do the test?”
“Now, if you’re ready.”
“We’re ready.” Kennedy smiled at the thought of being a “we” again.
* * *
After the DNA test Jared left so Kennedy and the baby could get some rest. She had been so excited with the birth that she didn’t realize how exhausted she really was. She lay the baby next to her and carefully cuddled him. She wasn’t letting him sleep in the bassinet. He was exactly where he was meant to be—right next to her.
Kennedy felt herself drifting off in a deep sleep when Mrs. Montgomery’s voice woke her up. Kennedy opened her eyes and saw Mrs. Montgomery standing by her bed, smiling. She looked so happy, and Kennedy hated to crush her spirits but she had to tell her the truth. Mrs. Montgomery would want to know why Michael wasn’t there with her and the baby.
“Hey, Ma. How did you know I was here?”
“One of the sisters from the church was in the Emergency Room and saw you come in. She called me, bless her heart. You all right, sweetie?” Mrs. Montgomery bent down and kissed Kennedy’s forehead.
“Yeah, Ma, I’m fine. Look at you all dolled up. Where are you going?”
“I ain’t goin’ nowhere but here, child. When Sister Moreland called me, I just knew
you were gonna have that baby. So I rushed to the church to pray and I asked God to minimize your pain. That’s why I’m all dressed up—you know I ain’t goin’ in nobody’s church in my street clothes. Although, it is all right. God says to come as you are, but I like to give Him my best because that’s what he gives me, Hallelujah!” Mrs. Montgomery raised her hand in worship and held her own private prayer service.
Kennedy closed her eyes and waited for Mrs. Montgomery to finish asking God to bless the baby when the hospital room door clicked close. Kennedy opened her eyes and saw Michael standing there.
“Get out!” Kennedy yelled.
“What’s goin’ on, Kennedy? You all right?” Mrs. Montgomery held her chest.
“Get him out of here,” Kennedy said, and Mrs. Montgomery turned to see Michael standing at the door.
“Kennedy, I know you’re mad at me and you have a right to be, but please let me see the baby,” Michael pleaded.
Kennedy ignored Michael and turned to Mrs. Montgomery. “Ma, do you know what your son did to me?” Kennedy watched Michael put his head down.
“Kennedy, don’t—”
“Don’t what, boy? Whatcha done did now, Michael?” Mrs. Montgomery turned to Michael and waited.
Michael put his hand out in defense. “Ma, it’s between me and Kennedy.”
“You heard your mother, Michael, now answer her question. Either you be a man and tell her, or I’ll be a snitch and tell her for you. It’s time to pay the piper, baby, now pay up.” Kennedy laughed.
“Michael, you got two seconds to come clean with me, boy. Now what did you do to this girl to make her so mad? You know betta than to get her all worked up and she in here. Don’tcha know she could have died during labor? You mens don’t think about that, but it’s possible, you know. You got Kennedy all upset and that precious baby is laying right next to her. Don’t you know by now that a child can feel its momma’s pain? I know I raised you betta than what you actin’.”