by Ancelli
“How’s your baby?” She sniffled.
“She’s getting stronger,” he leaned against the wall. “How are you doing?” He sincerely asked her. The last time he saw her she was in tears.
“I’ll be okay…” there were a few seconds of silence. “What are you going to do about the baby?”
Brandon watched as his grandmother hugged Kanielle. “What do you mean?”
“Are you going to be involved?”
What kind of stupid question was that? “She’s my daughter, of course I’m going be involved.”
“What about custody, are you still going to take her to court?”
Where were these questions leading? He would never take Kanielle to court. Deep down he knew she wouldn’t keep his daughter away from him. “No… we’re going to share custody.”
“Can I see her? Maybe spend some time with her?” Brandon didn’t know how to reply to that question. Was it wise to let her bond with a baby she thought was hers? “Right now only her parents and grandparents are allowed to see her,” he sighed.
“When she’s released?”
“I’ll have to ask Kanielle,” he didn’t know how Kanielle would feel about Maggie spending time with their baby. He couldn’t say yes without her consent.
“She’s your daughter too. You don’t have to ask her shit.”
“It’s her decision, Maggie. I’m so sorry about the way everything turned out.”
“Really, Brandon, because you have a baby and I have nothing! You won’t even let me spend five minutes with a child that could’ve been mine.” She yelled.
He shook his head; there it was, she wanted more than he knew Kanielle would offer. “Maggie if you wouldn’t have walked out on me, you would be in her life,” now he was getting upset.
“So, this is punishment for leaving you?” Maggie was once again taking shit out on him. Everything that happened wasn’t anyone’s fault, however in the outcome Kanielle was the mother of his daughter, not Maggie. If they were still married, things would definitely have been different, but they’ve all moved on. Now his focus was on his little girl and Kanielle, the hell with anyone else.
“I have to go,” he didn’t let her respond. Brandon closed the phone, and strolled up next to his grandmother. Kanielle was in with Cece.
“Maggie is having a hard time,” his grandmother softly stated.
“I know, but there is nothing I can do about it, she has Mike to help her through it,” Brandon continued looking at his new family. “Maggie made her choice, Granny.”
“She sure did,” his granny placed her hand on his back, and rested her head on his arm. “Kanielle seems like a very nice woman.”
He gazed at Kanielle. “She is.”
“Son, I see the way you look at the mother of your child. Do you have feelings for her?”
“Yes…” Brandon answered without thinking.
“Then you know what to do.” His granny smiled. “Everything you’ve ever wanted is right there in that room.”
***
Kanielle smiled, staring at her angel. She wiggled in the incubator, and began crying. “Mama is here,” she caressed her legs. “I love you…”
“I love you too, angel,” Brandon said from behind her. “Her breathing is so much better. Do you think she’ll leave this place soon?”
“Greg said no longer than three weeks,” Kanielle stared at Cece as she fussed. She was getting a little worried as her little girl continued grunting. “Ma’am…” She called over one of the nurses.
“Yes.” she strolled up.
“She sounds like she has gas, and she has a little rash on her cheek,” Kanielle pointed at her baby’s face. “She’s been vomiting a lot too.”
“Is that normal?” Brandon asked behind Kanielle.
The nurse took notes in her file, and then glanced at them. “She might be allergic to milk. I’ll have the doctor order some allergy tests, until we’re sure we can change her formula to ProSobee.” The nurse continued writing. “It’s soy based.”
Brandon smiled. “My grandmother is lactose intolerant.”
“That’s good to know,” the nurse said. “I’ll go talk to the doctor.” She walked between the incubators.
“Your tummy will feel better soon,” Kanielle checked the baby’s diaper. “She needs changing.” She turned looking for a diaper and wipes, placing them on top of the incubator.
Brandon moved closer. “Let me try.”
Kanielle giggled. “Have you changed a baby before?”
“No, but I have to learn,” he took the diaper and wipes out of her hands. “The nurse taught me how. You wipe front to back, right?”
“Right,” Kanielle entwined her fingers, stepping back. Robert wouldn’t be caught dead changing a diaper.
“Cece, Daddy knows what he’s doing,” Brandon placed his hands through the holes, lifted her diapers, and placed the new pamper under her bottom.
“Cece,” when did that happen?
“My daughter and I came up with that nickname,” he began taking off her pamper.
“Did you?” she watched as he handled Coral with care.
“Yep, she said her mom wouldn’t mind,” he glanced her way, and as he was moving the diaper. Coral started peeing all over the sheets. “Nooo…” He hurriedly covered her with a wipe and that didn’t help.
Kanielle covered her mouth with her hand, and started laughing.
“This isn’t funny,” Brandon’s eyes widened. “She’s too little to have so much pee.” Cece stopped peeing, and cried her lungs out.
“Here let me,” he moved back, and she took his place. Kanielle lifted her legs, cleaning her up, and getting her changed. “Good girl.”
He grabbed a couple of wipes, and cleaned his hands. “Cece… you got me.”
“Yes she did,” Kanielle twisted around looking for a nurse. She located one, and waved her over.
The nurse walked over. “Yes, ma’am.”
“She messed up her bedding.”
“I’ll be right back,” the nurse went over to the cabinets, taking out sheets, and a blanket. She walked back, opened the incubator, and gently picked up their little girl. “Here, Mommy.”
Kanielle took her, and Brandon kissed the top of her head.
“This is all I need…” Brandon put his hand on Kanielle’s shoulder.
Chapter Eighteen
Brandon’s grandmother gave Kanielle a white box. “I made this for Coral.”
Kanielle looked at the box, and then at Maureen. “Thank you.”
“Open it,” Maureen watched her.
She began opening the fancy box, and gasped once she uncovered it. Kanielle’s eyes watered as she gently pulled out the cotton white, pink, and blue fabric with satin and lace trimming around it. “Beautiful…” she softly said, looking at the blanket. Kanielle touched the material; Coral’s name was knitted in the middle, and her initials on each corner. Kanielle gently rubbed her hand over the name, “Coral A. Stokes.”
Maureen smiled. “It’s made from Brandon’s and his mother’s baby blankets, which I also made.”
She lifted the quilt to her cheeks, and felt how soft it was. Kanielle could tell it was made with love. This homemade blanket meant more to her than any store bought items she’d received for Coral. “What was she like?” Kanielle wiped at a falling tear, “Your daughter?”
“Candice was full of life. Nothing ever got her down, when life gave her lemons, she made the sweetest lemonade.” Maureen’s eyes shined. “She was beautiful, and so intelligent. She always saw the good in people, I don’t,” Maureen chuckled. “Candice didn’t get that from me. She inherited her calm and sweet spirit from my late husband. She couldn’t wait to leave the farm, just like Bran. I couldn’t blame her or him, we lived in the middle of nowhere. I think that’s why she married so young. Brock gave her what she longed for, a family of her own away from the country. Candice loved being a mother, she tried to put Brandon first in everything she did, he complet
ed Candice and Brock. They were taken from us too soon.”
“I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” Kanielle folded the blanket, placing it back in the box.
“Don’t be sorry for wanting to know more about Bran’s family.” Maureen said. “His mother has to be smiling down at you and Bran. You’ve created a perfectly mixed baby. Coral will be loved and protected.”
Kanielle’s lips curved up into a grin. “I thought you…”
“You thought I had a problem with you being black?” Maureen stared at her.
Kanielle nodded her head.
“Sweetie,” Maureen took her hand in her soft ones. “I didn’t expect you to be black, but I don’t care about that,” Maureen pointed into the NICU. “You see the smile on his face?” Kanielle looked at Brandon. “It’s there because of you, yes because of a mix up, but nevertheless, it’s because of you.” She stared at her. “The color of your skin can never take that smile away.” Maureen cupped Kanielle’s face with her soft motherly hands. “You’ll be a wonderful mother, Kanielle, don’t doubt that. God has blessed you with a beautiful miracle, one that my grandson needed too.”
“Thank you,” Kanielle covered his granny’s hand with hers. “I needed to hear that.”
***
Brandon and Kanielle sat across from each other at the hospital cafeteria. Coral was gaining weight and would be leaving the hospital soon. They took turns spending the night with Cece so she wouldn’t be alone. “My grandmother is heading back tomorrow.”
“Already? She’s been so sweet to me,” Kanielle opened the box his grandmother handed her before they left the nursery. “Look what your granny made for Cece. It’s beautiful,” she slowly pulled it out, showing Brandon. She felt the fabric again. “She quilted your baby blanket and your mother’s into this blanket.”
Brandon gazed at her. “She started it when I told her about the mix-up.”
“It was nice of her,” Kanielle touched the blanket, remembering her conversation with his grandmother.
“She likes you,” he moved his plate closer to him.
“I like her more,” Kanielle examined the fine man in front of her. When did her heart start beating so fast? “Coral is allergic to milk, it was causing her colic and the rash,” she frowned. “That other formula is expensive.”
“Cece will have anything she needs,” Brandon took a bite of his sandwich, and swallowed. “The last week has been crazy and we haven’t been able to sit down and really talk about our situation,” Brandon gazed at her. “First things first, I am not giving up my rights to my daughter.”
“I know… I only mentioned you giving up your rights – listen, I was very emotional at the time. Robert was crushed when we found out she wasn’t his.” Kanielle stared back at him. “I thought you were running away.”
“Running away?” Brandon took a sip of his water. “That little person in the NICU is everything to me,” he smiled. “It’s something I can’t explain, the moment Greg said she was mine, nothing else mattered but her.”
Kanielle didn’t know what to say next. How do you start a conversation about raising a child with someone you hadn’t planned it with?
“Have you heard from your husband?”
“No… You don’t have to worry about Robert. He doesn’t want anything to do with me or my baby.” Kanielle placed the handmade blanket back in its box. “Robert is no longer my husband.”
“Good. You deserve so much better.” Brandon’s lips curled up into a side smile.
The man was handsome, especially when he smiled. His eyes crinkled at the edges. Kanielle’s heart flipped. What was this man doing to her? She hadn’t thought about another man in over four years, but Brandon was always on her mind. The loving way he treated their daughter and his grandmother, made her heart melt. He was so different than Robert. She might just be on the rebound, and Brandon was the only man she’d been around lately. They saw each other every day.
“Maggie wants to see Cece,” He eyed her. “What do you think?”
“I don’t have a problem with your ex-wife seeing her, as long as you’re around.” Kanielle played with her food. “I feel sorry for her, I understand her struggles in trying to have a baby for so long, so I get how she feels. I never expected to be in this position,” she looked away from him. “I thought I was carrying Robert’s baby.”
“I know what you mean, but we will make this work.” He inched his chair closer to her. “Adapt, overcome, and make it work. That’s my motto.” Brandon clutched her hand. “We, me and you, were blessed with this angel. I personally don’t care about the past. Now, it’s about us, and our daughter. I will do anything to make this,” he pointed at him and then her, “work. We’ll make great parents.”
“Awesome parents,” Kanielle chuckled.
“We have to deal with the cards we’ve been given.” He released her hand, and picked up his last piece of sandwich. “Fuck everybody else.”
Kanielle grinned. “Us…”
“Yes us,” he took the last bite, and then took another sip of his drink. “I would like shared custody.”
“Shared custody?” Kanielle’s eyes widened.
“You’ll be her primary guardian, but I want to be involved in all decisions when it comes to her, from her medical care to education.” He pulled a white envelope from his front pocket, and handed it to her. “I will also be asking for visitation, one week a month.”
Kanielle slid her finger under the flap, opening the envelope. The things Brandon was asking for were doable. She pulled out a cashier’s check. “What’s this?”
“Child support,” he looked over at some nurses laughing in the center of the room. “I hope that’s enough, if not we can come up with a different amount.”
Kanielle raised her eyebrows, “This is more than enough.”
“She’s my child. I’m going make sure Cece and you have everything she needs.”
“Brandon, you don’t have to worry about me, I can take care of myself.”
He ignored her last statement. “Are you staying home with the baby?”
Kanielle chuckled, making Brandon twist his mouth. “I have a job.”
“Maggie was going to be a stay at home mom.”
“I’m not Maggie,” Kanielle didn’t mean to raise her voice. She was bothered that he mentioned what Maggie was going to do. She wasn’t that woman. “I have a mortgage, car note, and bills to pay.” Brandon just stared at her. “I don’t have a rich husband taking care of me, and even if I did, I would still work.”
“Who’ll be taking care of Cece, your mom?”
“My mother works.” She sighed, was Brandon the type of man that thought a woman’s place was at home barefoot and pregnant? “She’s going to a daycare one block away from my job.”
“I don’t like daycares.”
“Why?”
“Some of those places have too many kids, and not enough staff. Didn’t you see the article in the newspaper about the daycare downtown? He glanced at her plate of food that she had barely touched. “They were neglecting the kids.”
“I did my homework. This is one of the best daycares in town.” Kanielle stood, picking up her plate. “Coral was on the waiting list before she was born.”
“What’s the name?” Brandon stood too, taking her plate out of her hand, placing it on his platter, and then picking it up. They walked over to the trash and he emptied the contents in the can.
Brandon followed Kanielle out of the cafeteria, and she dug into her purse searching for the information he was inquiring about. She turned around, and Brandon was right behind her. She handed him the paper, “Here.”
“Don’t get upset,” he touched her fingers when he took the paper from her.
“I’m not.”
“Yes you are,” he chuckled. “I just want to check it out myself.”
“If this is going to work, we have to learn to trust each other.”
Brandon cupped her face. “I already trust you…” T
hey gazed at each other. “Kanielle, we will make this work, because our daughter will always come first.” He leaned forward, and Kanielle remained in her spot, mesmerized. “I’m going out on a limb here, but I think there is something between us. I feel that there has been for months, but we never acted on it.” Brandon caressed her cheek with his thumbs. “I know it may be too soon for you.” He gave her a feather soft kiss on her lips. “But I’m willing to wait.”
Kanielle stared at him. Did she just hear him correctly?
He took her hand in his, “Let’s go say bye to my grandmother.”
Chapter Nineteen
Three weeks later.
Coral was finally home after five weeks in the hospital, she’d gained a pound and a half. During her last three weeks in the NICU, Kanielle and Brandon had taken turns staying with her overnight.
He was on his way to her house, and Kanielle had to admit she was a bit nervous to spend time alone with him, especially after what he’d said in the hospital a few weeks ago. He was willing to wait until she was ready, but whatever happened to the woman he was dating? Every time she was around the man, her heart skipped a beat. He always found a way to make her smile. She loved hearing him talk to Cece in his baby voice. It was too soon for her to be feeling any kind of way for a man though.
Kanielle’s mom held Coral in her arms, nuzzling her cheek.
“You’re spoiling her.”
“That’s what grandmothers do,” she patted Coral’s back. “I spoil her and leave,” she chuckled.
“Are you really okay with Chris leaving?” Kanielle studied her mother’s features, trying to read her.
“He’s a grown man,” she patted the baby’s bottom. “I’m hurt it took him over a month to tell me. Am I that bad?”
“Mom… Chris thought you would be disappointed.”
“I’m proud of both of you. If he wasn’t happy, he should’ve come to me.” Her mom grinned watching her grandbaby. “Brandon has been a good influence in Chris’ life. What are you waiting for, Kanielle?”
“Huh?”
“Baby, I see the way that boy watches you.”