by K. T. Richey
Chapter 33
It was Christmas Day and Misha was returning home from celebrating the day with her family at Uncle Paul’s house. It was loud as usual. Everyone kept asking her questions about Bernard. She didn’t tell them what happened between them and that she had not heard from him in several days. She was tired and ready to go to sleep and her back was bothering her. She looked forward to a long night’s rest. She hoped Miracle would allow her to get the good night’s sleep that evaded her in the last few days.
As she reached the top step leading to her apartment, there was a package outside her door. She struggled to lean down to pick it up.
“Wait. Let me help you with that.”
Misha looked up. It was Bernard coming out of her neighbor’s apartment. She could see her neighbors standing behind him with big smiles on their faces. “Bernard. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Did you think I was going to miss spending Christmas with you?” He looked at the neighbors and thanked them for allowing him to stay with them until she arrived. Misha unlocked her door. She and Bernard walked inside.
“You could have called me,” Misha said.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“How long have you been here?”
“In Atlanta?”
“At my apartment.”
“Not long.”
“I’m glad you’re here. I’ve got something for you.” Misha walked to her small Christmas tree that stood on a table in front of a window. She took the lone gift from under it and handed it to him. “This is for you.”
“Thank you.” Bernard opened it to find a thick gold engraved men’s bracelet. “This is nice. Thank you. I’ll wear it every day. Open yours.”
Misha wobbled to the table and sat down. She opened the package. It was the book Judy had given her. “Oh.”
He saw the expression on her face. “Why you look like that?”
“I’m sorry. A friend gave me this book a long time ago.”
“You read my book?”
“Your book?”
She looked at the cover of the book. M. Bernard Taylor. She looked at him. “I didn’t know this was your book. Did you autograph this copy?”
“No. So you read my book. Did you like it?” He sat down beside her.
She did not want to tell him it was not one of her favorites. “It’s been so long. I don’t really remember. I’ll have to read it again.”
“Before you do, I have something else for you.” He handed her another beautifully wrapped package.
“Do you always go over the top with gifts?”
“Stop asking questions and open the box.”
She opened it and unfolded the tissue. She could see what looked to her like copies of his birth certificate. She looked at the name. She looked at him. She looked at the other papers. A copy of his social security card and a copy of his driver’s license were in the box. Tears began to flow down her face.
“Misha, I told you my father’s name is Matt. His legal name is Matthew Bernard Taylor. My name is Matthew Bernard Taylor Jr. I didn’t think you would believe me. That’s why I copied all this for you. I started calling myself Bernard when I went to college. I thought it made me sound black. My family calls me Matthew or Spanky.”
“Spanky?”
“Yeah. I used to get into a lot of fights when I was young. My parents whipped me so much, some people began calling me Spanky. It sort of stuck. I want you to call me Matthew. I love you. I love Miracle.”
He knelt down in front of her. “I have one more gift. You said the Lord told you to call me and I would come. I heard you. At first I didn’t know why I kept coming to Atlanta. I kept making up excuses to come here. After I met you, I wanted to be here with you. But my ministry in Washington needed me. I’m still their pastor and I had a commitment to fulfill. But, I also wanted to be with you. So now I’m asking you to come with me, back to Washington, and be my wife. I know I can trust you. You’re an important part of my life and I don’t ever want to leave you here again. I don’t know what I would do without you. You complete me. Please marry me.” He opened the ring box. Misha could see the ten-carat diamond ring he held before her.
“You’re Matthew?” she questioned him in disbelief.
“Yes. I’m Matthew. I heard you call me. I’m here. Marry me. Go back to Washington with me.”
“I’m pregnant.”
“Really? I haven’t noticed.” Both of them laughed. “So what do you say? Yes or No.”
“I’m pregnant. I can’t get married now.”
“We can get married after Miracle’s born.”
She wiped the tears from her face. “Okay. After Miracle’s born?”
“Yes.”
“Then yes, I’ll marry you.”
They stared into each other’s eyes. Then Misha burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“You just put my mother on the map. Aunt Mattie will never outdo this one. You’ll find out about that rivalry later.”
He stood her up and passionately kissed her and Miracle kicked him.
It was New Year’s Day and Misha’s back was still bothering her. Dr. Trinidad told her she had started dilating. She was miserable. Her misery could not destroy her excitement. Bernard was flying back into Atlanta to be with her until she had the baby. His plane was landing in an hour and she could not wait to see him. She decided she had enough energy to meet him at the airport. She got dressed and drove to the small private airport to wait for his plane.
The door of the Learjet opened and Matthew stepped out. Then, out of nowhere, pain started in Misha’s back and she could feel its squeeze all around her abdomen. She bent over in pain. The pain took her breath away. Matthew walked into the small waiting area and noticed Misha bent over in pain. He dropped his bags and ran to her.
“Misha. What’s wrong?”
“I think I had a cramp.”
“I didn’t expect to see you here. You shouldn’t have come down here.” He hugged her and another pain hit her. She squeezed him so hard he couldn’t breathe. “You’re in labor. We need to get you to the hospital.”
“No. It’s over,” she said as the pain eased. She stood straighter. “In the birthing class, the instructor said I’m supposed to wait until the contractions are two minutes apart.” Then a gush of water flowed down her legs. “Oh my God. I think my water broke.”
“We’re getting you to the hospital now,” Matthew said as he held Misha around her waist and began walking toward the door. Along the way, he asked an attendant to collect the luggage he dropped on the floor and take them to his car. The attendant met them at the door.
“Sir, would you like me to call an ambulance?”
“No. I have a car waiting for me.” Matthew spotted the long black sedan with the driver waiting outside. He hurried Misha to the car and instructed the driver to take them to the hospital.
Matthew sat on the edge of Misha’s bed. The room was quiet now and she was asleep. Her labor went quickly and she delivered Courtney Elizabeth Holloway three hours after arriving at the hospital. She was a healthy seven pounds, two ounces. Her skin was a bright pink and her eyes were as blue as Bernard’s.
The room was quiet now. Misha’s family had left an hour ago. Bernard sat in the rocker beside the bed, watching Misha sleep peacefully. Although he was not Courtney’s biological father, he was just as proud to cut the umbilical cord and hold her for the first time.
The sound of a whimper came from the bassinet that sat on the other side of Misha’s bed. He walked over and picked her up. Cradling her in his arms, he returned to the rocker. He picked up a small glass bottle filled with baby formula and started feeding her while rocking back and forth in the chair. He began to sing softly to her. She opened her eyes and looked at him. Eventually his singing woke Misha up and she sat up in the bed to watch the two of them.
Misha watched the scene play out in front of her. Bernard was going to be a good father. He seeme
d at peace feeding Courtney. He was not nervous during the delivery. She recalled the shock on her mother’s face when she walked into the room to see Bernard coaching her with the horrible contractions she was having. Although she did not say anything, Misha could tell her mother was disappointed not to be coaching her. She simply stood back and watched the birth of her third grandchild and stepped up to deliver the news to the other family members waiting in the lobby.
“I didn’t mean to wake you.” Bernard glanced at her.
“No. I’m fine. How’s Courtney?”
“I think she’s hungry.” He held up the empty bottle.
“She eats like her mother.” He laughed and stood. He handed Courtney to Misha and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Bernard, she’s so beautiful. Look at all this curly blond hair. I wonder if it’s going to get darker.”
“It might. Mine did.” He stared at the two of them. “You are beautiful too.”
“I look a mess.” She lifted her hands to her head and brushed back her hair.
“No, you don’t. You’re so beautiful and so is our daughter.” He leaned over and kissed her but was interrupted by someone clearing his throat. They looked up and saw two men and a woman standing in the doorway.
“Eric. Hi. Bernard, this is Eric Davidson, my attorney. Is it ten already?” Misha said.
“Actually, it’s after ten. This is Ivan Haselden, the attorney for the State. This is Jennifer, the lab tech,” Eric said, pointing to the people with him. Bernard reached out his hand to shake theirs. Bernard lifted the sleeping Courtney from Misha and placed her in the bassinet. The attorneys watched his every move.
“Say, you look familiar. What’s your name?” Eric asked.
“I’m Bernard Taylor.”
“Bernard Taylor the gospel singer?” Eric’s smile widened. “Misha, you didn’t tell me you knew Bernard Taylor. Well, it’s nice to meet you. We’re here this morning to do the paternity test on Courtney. We won’t be long. Are we ready?”
Misha watched as Mr. Haselden whispered something to Eric and they excused themselves and walked into the hallway. When they returned, Eric said they wanted to do a paternity test on Courtney and Matthew.
“He’s not Courtney’s father.” Misha sat up in the bed.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. However, we can’t help to notice the similarities in your baby and Mr. Taylor. You two are in a relationship. I mean you were kissing when we walked into the room,” Mr. Haselden said.
Misha could not believe this man was standing in her hospital room making accusations and smirking at her.
“But, he’s not Courtney’s father. Heckler raped me. It’s his baby.”
“Well, if it’s not Mr. Taylor’s then you have nothing to be worried about.”
“But . . .”
Bernard held up his hand. “No, Misha. I’ll do it. What do you want me to do?”
Jennifer began opening a small package. She stopped and looked at him. “I need to see some identification.” He pulled his driver’s license out of his wallet and gave it to her. She wrote the information on a sheet of paper and handed it back to him. “Open your mouth.” She pulled out a very long Q-tip-looking stick and rubbed the inside of his mouth. She did the same to Courtney after checking her hospital bracelet, waking the sleeping baby.
“I guess in a few days we will know exactly who this baby’s real father is,” Mr. Haselden remarked.
Misha, disgusted with the man’s remark, replied, “I guess you will.”
Chapter 34
“Bernard, we have a lot to do before your family gets here.” Misha rushed around her apartment trying to organize everything. Bernard held Courtney as he rocked back and forth in the rocker. Courtney twisted her lips at him, trying to make sounds as he made faces and talked to her in a high-pitched tone. “You’re spoiling her. Don’t hold her all the time.”
“Look how cute she is. Besides she wants me to hold her.”
“She wants you to hold her? How do you know that?”
“She told me.” He held her close to his face. “Tell your mama you asked me to pick you up.” He smiled and continued playing with the baby, who kept her focus on him.
“I’ll remember that when she’s screaming in the middle of the night. She’ll be screaming just for you. Now I’ve got to go to the grocery store to make sure I have food in the apartment. A lot of people are going to be in and out of here in the next few days for the wedding. I’ve got to have something to feed them.” She looked at Bernard ignoring her. “Bernard, are you listening to me? Bernard?”
“We’ve got to get some groceries,” Bernard repeated.
Misha shook her head and walked out of the room. There was so much to do before their wedding in two days and all Bernard wanted to do was play with a two-month-old baby.
It had been a whirlwind two months. In that time, she and Courtney flew to Washington to meet Bernard’s family and announce his engagement to his church. Then, the media came knocking with questions about her sincerity with their relationship. Before, no one knew who she was. Now everyone had something to say about her on the Internet. She learned to ignore the hype. There were a couple of engagement parties given by his celebrity friends. She had to withdraw from Clark Atlanta and apply to attend graduate school at University of Maryland. She had to do all this in addition to planning a wedding and packing to move to DC.
She stopped and took a deep, relaxing breath. Her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. It was Eric.
“Hey, Eric. I hope you’re calling with good news.”
“I heard from the attorney representing the consulting firm. They have offered to settle with you. Since the paternity test showed Heckler was the father of your baby, they have agreed to pay all your medical expenses. I have already forwarded them the bills.”
“That’s good. It’s about time.” Misha folded a baby blanket and tossed it into a laundry basket.
“They also offered to settle your claim.”
“For how much?” Misha walked to her kitchen and lifted the top off the bottle sterilizer.
“Three million dollars.”
She stopped. Her hand stayed in midair above the sterilizer.
“Say what?” Misha was stunned. “I don’t think I heard you. How much did you say?”
“Well, they want to give you two million for the attack and one to take care of Courtney. So in all, they offered three million to settle your claim.”
“Three million dollars? What do you think?” Misha tried to hold back her excitement.
“I think it’s a fair settlement. But, it’s up to you.”
“If you think it’s fair, then I’ll take it.”
“Now we haven’t heard from the Workers’ Compensation Commission. I’ll send them an offer. The school district could still want to go to trial. They probably won’t since the consulting firm is settling. I should hear from them before you get back from your honeymoon.”
“Eric, thank you so much for your help. I appreciate all you did.”
“That’s my job. I’ll see you at the wedding.”
Misha hung up the phone and began jumping up and down, praising God. Bernard stepped out of the nursery, still holding Courtney in his arms. “What happened? Who was that on the phone?”
“It was Eric. They gave me three million dollars. The consulting firm settled for three million dollars. Praise God. I can’t believe it!”
“I’m so happy for you.” He reached out his free arm and hugged her. She continued her praise. She looked up at him and it looked like he wanted to cry. She pulled back.
“What’s wrong with you?”
He held her close again. “I’m so happy. Now you can pay for the wedding.” He started to laugh.
“Get away from me.” There was a knock at the door. “You better make sure you have your checkbook tomorrow when we have to pay the last of the vendors.” Courtney whimpered. “I’ll get the door. Did you call Bishop and tell him abou
t rehearsal Friday night?” Misha asked as she walked toward the door.
“He’ll be here early Friday morning.”
Misha opened the door and saw Bernard’s family standing in front of her. “Dr. Taylor. I didn’t expect y’all here until this afternoon. Come on in.” They hugged Misha as they walked into the apartment. “I thought your flight came in this afternoon. Let me take your coats.”
“Spanky chartered an early flight for us so we could all come together. Where is my granddaughter?” She watched Bernard’s mother race through the apartment, looking for Courtney.
Matt Sr. settled into the sofa. “Misha, you don’t have to call us Dr. Taylor. You’re going to be a part of this family in two days.”
“Misha, look at all the weight you lost. You don’t look like someone who gave birth two months ago. It took me months to get rid of that baby fat.” Bernard’s sister said, noticing Misha’s weight loss.
“I got a personal trainer,” Misha replied. “Where are your husband and kids?”
“They’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Look who I have,” Bernard’s mother sang as she entered the room holding Courtney, who was wide-awake and looking at her.
Bernard followed her into the room and greeted his family. His father and sister walked to greet Courtney.
“Bernard, if I didn’t know any better, I would think you fathered this child. Look at her blond hair and those big blue eyes. She looks just like you when you were a baby.” His mother sat down on the sofa, holding the baby while everybody else surrounded them.
“That’s what everybody says. But we have the results of the paternity tests. She’s not my biological child. But she’s all mine. Funny how God works things out.”
“Can I get y’all some coffee?” Misha asked them. They ignored her and she decided to go into the kitchen and start the coffee anyway. She smiled as she peeked into the living room, seeing her new family cooing over the baby. Her beautiful little girl whom God blessed her with had no resemblance to her or Heckler; for that she was thankful. Ironically, she looked like Bernard: blond hair and soft blue eyes. She literally jumped whenever she saw him and cried when he was not around. There was a special bond between the two.