A Trillion to One

by Chenell Parker

  “I feel you cuz,” Trillion replied. He didn’t say anything to Jordon, but Erica and Stacy’s cars were parked in front on Jackie’s house right now. Unlike Jordon, Trillion knew how to mind his business.

  “Let me get back to work. And don’t stress cuz, I’ll find somewhere to put all this shit at until you can make room for it,” Jordon assured him.

  “I appreciate that fam. I’ll get at you later,” Trillion replied before he hung up.

  He called Amore to make sure she was good before he got out of the car. Amore was home alone and she hadn’t been in the mood to go anywhere. All she did lately was relax, read and wait for their daughter to make her arrival.

  “What’s up y’all?” Trillion spoke when he walked into the house.

  He kissed Jackie, Stacy and Erica, who were on the sofa, before he walked away in search of his father. It seemed like he interrupted something and he didn’t want to linger. Erica’s eyes were red like she’d been crying and he already knew what was wrong.

  “Hey daddy.” Tristyn smiled when Trillion walked into the dining room. She was sitting in there with his father and Trillion laughed once he got a good look at what was going on. He pulled his phone out and snapped a picture as he watched his daughter give his father a manicure. She had her polish out, painting each of his fingernails a different color. Gary was all into the tv and he didn’t care what she did to him. Tristyn was serious as she focused on polishing inside the lines.

  “Hey son,” Gary said when he finally looked up.

  “Man, what the hell you got going on in here?” Trillion asked as he laughed.

  “What does it look like? I’m getting pampered,” Gary smirked.

  “Show him your toes Papa,” Tristyn said proudly.

  “I know damn well you didn’t let her polish your feet,” Trillion replied.

  “Yep, they’re pink,” his father replied proudly as he lifted his foot to show him.

  “Man, no bruh,” Trillion said as he fell out laughing.

  “Where’s Amore daddy?” Tristyn asked.

  “She’s at home. Go get your bag so we can go,” Trillion answered.

  “Okay,” Tristyn said once she put the top on all of her polish bottles. She had a room at her grandparents’ house, so she grabbed her nail supplies and took them to her bedroom.

  “How’s Amore? Besides you getting on her nerves and stuff,” Gary chuckled.

  “I’m not getting on her nerves. I’m just concerned,” Trillion replied.

  “Trust me, she’ll know when she’s ready to go to the hospital. You won’t have to make her go when those labor pain starts coming,” his father noted.

  “I know man but my nerves be bad as hell every time she says something is hurting her. I’ve never been through the whole labor and delivery thing, so I be shook,” Trillion said while shaking his head.

  Admittedly, he did drive Amore crazy most of the time. She had gone to the hospital more times in the past two weeks than she ever had in her life. Her body was changing to make room for their growing baby and it was sometimes painful. Every little ache that she had made Trillion paranoid and he wanted her to get checked out. Even the doctors and nurses were tired of seeing her and she didn’t blame them. She was a first-time mother and he was more scared than she was. The pregnancy was a first for him too in a sense, so she tried to give him a pass.

  “Just relax son. It’ll be any day now,” his father assured him.

  “I hope so,” he replied, right as Tristyn walked back into the room.

  “I’m ready daddy,” she said as she handed him her bag.

  “I’ll talk to you later pops. I’m going bring her to see her mama before I head back home,” Trillion replied.

  “Aww man. I don’t want to go to that boring house,” Tristyn whined.

  “We won’t be there long but your mama wants to see you,” Trillion replied.

  “Did you ever get what you needed from Leah to register her for school? You have a few months before registration starts but don’t wait until the last minute. I want her to go to a nice school and spots for Pre-K fill up fast,” Gary said.

  “I’m not worried about that. She’s not going to public school,” Trillion said.

  “Why not? You went to public school and you turned out just fine,” Gary pointed out.

  “I know but that was only because we didn’t have any other options. There’s nothing wrong with public school but that’s not the route I want to go,” Trillion said.

  He started out in private school, but they could no longer afford it once he moved in with his father. His mother refused to pay his tuition, so he ended up going to the same public school that Blue and Rod went to. That was the start of most of his anger issues and he didn’t want that for his daughter.

  “Make sure it’s a good Christian school too,” Gary said as he got up to walk them out.

  “Me and Amore made a list. I’ll send it to you when I get home,” Trillion replied.

  He said his goodbyes to everyone before he and Tristyn left and headed to Leah’s house. Tristyn whined and complained the entire time, but Trillion ignored her. It was getting harder and harder to get her to Leah’s house but it had to be done. As crazy as Leah was, she was still her mother and she wanted to see her.

  “How long are we gonna be here?” Tristyn asked.

  “Just a few minutes baby,” Trillion promised.

  Since moving in with him all those months ago, Tristyn hated going to Leah’s house. He didn’t give her a choice though. She was only four and she didn’t get to make those kinds of decisions. When they pulled up, Trillion got his daughter out of her booster seat. As soon as they walked up on the porch, Leah opened the door wearing a big smile.

  “Hey, my baby. Come give mommy a kiss. I missed you,” Leah said as she reached out for Tristyn.

  When she didn’t move, Leah stopped smiling and looked at Trillion. He looked down at his daughter and shrugged at her new-found shyness. Tristyn was holding on to his leg like Leah was a stranger.

  “Stop acting like that girl. Go give your mama a hug,” Trillion coerced.

  “What’s wrong with her? She’s been acting crazy the last few times y’all came over here. That’s because you got your new bitch thinking that she’s my daughter’s mother,” Leah fumed.

  “If this is what you’re on, we can leave,” Trillion said.

  “I’m sorry Trillion but this shit hurts. She’s always been closer to you but it’s even worse since you took her from me. I want my baby back home where she belongs,” Leah replied.

  “You know that’s not happening. Now, I’ll never keep her away from you but I think it’s best if she lives with me,” Trillion said as he followed her inside the house.

  “That’s not for you to decide. You never even asked me before you took my child,” Leah said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “She’s my child too and I don’t have to ask you anything when it comes to her wellbeing. Your actions made the decision for me. And I didn’t come here to argue. You asked to spend time with Tristyn,” he reminded her.

  “Come here baby. You look so pretty,” Leah said as she looked at her daughter.

  She smiled when Tristyn finally walked over and hugged her. After a while, she loosened up and started talking. She still had toys in her room, so her and Leah played with Legos and colored for a while. Trillion used that time to text Amore and post the picture that he’d taken of Tristyn and his father on his page. Everybody thought it was the cutest thing ever and so did he. When Abby rolled into the room, Trillion had to do a double take when he saw her face. Abby’s eye was black and swollen and it looked painful. Her lips looked swollen too and she looked sad.

  “What’s good Abby? The hell happened to your face,” Trillion inquired.

  “She fell,” Leah hurriedly answered.

  “Yeah, this chair got caught up in something on the floor and I went tumbling down,” she replied with a nervous chuckle. Trillion could tel
l that she was lying but it wasn’t his place to call her out on it.

  “I was just coming to get some water. See you later,” she said as she turned her chair around.

  “I’ll get it for you grandma,” Tristyn offered as she jumped off the sofa and ran to the kitchen.

  “Thank you, baby.” Abby smiled as she followed her.

  “I know damn well you ain’t in here beating on your own mama,” Trillion said while frowning at Leah.

  “You heard her, she fell,” Leah replied with an unconcerned shrug.

  “That’s fucked up. And you think I’m letting my baby come back to live here. I’d die first,” Trillion swore.

  “Did you see me hit her? No, you didn’t. She said she fell and that’s what it is. Besides, a beating ain’t never kill her before. Her man beat her ass for years and she stayed with his bum ass,” Leah scowled.

  “You’re a seriously fucked up individual and I don’t know why I never saw that before,” Trillion replied as he stood to his feet.

  “Are we leaving daddy?” Tristyn asked excitedly as she ran back into the living room. Abby wheeled herself back to her room without another word or backwards glance.

  “Yeah, let’s go,” Trillion replied.

  “Why so soon? She just got here,” Leah said.

  “I got a lot of stuff to do. And speaking of that, I need her documents that I asked you for last week. I can’t register her in school without her social security card and birth certificate. I’ll need a copy of her shot records too,” Trillion replied,

  “School hasn’t even started yet,” Leah noted.

  “No but I’m not trying to wait until the last minute either. I need to buy uniforms and whatever else she might need,” he pointed out.

  “I always told you that I wanted her to be home schooled,” Leah reminded him.

  “Yeah, well things change. She needs to be in school around kids her own age. Go grab that for me so we can go,” Trillion said.

  “I couldn’t find the folder where I keep all of her important documents. I have to go get some duplicates of everything,” Leah replied.

  “When do you plan on doing that Leah? I need that as soon as possible,” Trillion said.

  “I’ll go tomorrow. I have a job interview at a law firm. Since you brainwashed your mother, I don’t have any financial help,” Leah snapped.

  Claire paid her bills up for a few months but she made it clear that it would never happen again. Trillion told her that Tristyn now lived with him and she was pissed that Leah didn’t tell her that before she offered her assistance.

  “Let me know when you get her stuff. I need to get her registered in school,” Trillion replied as he ignored everything else that she said. He grabbed Tristyn’s hand and walked out of the house.

  Trillion drove home with thoughts of Abby’s bruised face on his mind. He didn’t know what had happened to her but he knew damn well that she didn’t fall like she said. He didn’t know what had happened but nothing was bad enough to make Leah do her dirty like that. She looked awful and his heart went out to her.

  When they got home, Trillion looked around the house in search of Amore. When he called her phone and learned that she was sitting by the pool, Tristyn changed into her bathing suit and they went to the rooftop to join her.

  “Hey Amore.” Tristyn smiled when she saw her. Amore was relaxing in a shaded lounge chair reading a book.

  “Hey baby.” Amore smiled as she returned the hug that Tristyn was giving her. Trillion got his daughter situated in the pool before he joined Amore in the chair.

  “She needs to stop playing and get here,” Trillion said as he rubbed Amore’s huge belly.

  “How do you think I feel having to carry her around? I feel like I’ve been pregnant for a year,” Amore replied.

  “Man, I think Leah is beating on her mama,” Trillion revealed as Abby’s bruised face came into view in his mind once again.

  “What! Are you serious?” Amore questioned as she put her tablet to the side and looked at him.

  “Yeah and it’s fucked up because she can’t even defend herself. Abby got a black eye and a busted lip. They claim that she fell but I know they’re lying. That lady is scared and it’s her own daughter who she’s scared of. I wish I could just call somebody to do a welfare check on her or something,” Trillion said.

  “Do they do stuff like that for adults? I thought they only did that for kids,” Amore replied.

  “I’m sure they got something for the elderly and disabled people too,” Trillion noted.

  “I don’t know baby. Maybe you should just stay out of it. I would hate for you to make things worse by involving somebody else. Abby has to be willing to talk to somebody if she wants help. If she’s too scared to tell what Leah is really doing, then there’s no point,” Amore said.

  “Yeah, that’s true. It’s fucked up but it is what it is.” Trillion shrugged.

  He and Amore talked as Tristyn swam for a while. Once they got back inside, Amore gave Tristyn a bath before she and Trillion took their shower. She wanted to finish reading her book but Trillion wasn’t having it. He didn’t care that she was nine month pregnant and set to give birth any day now. He didn’t go to sleep without getting some first and he swore that he couldn’t sleep if she wasn’t in the bed with him. Since she knew that she wouldn’t be able to enjoy her book, Amore put her tablet up and got ready to join her man in bed.

  T rillion thought he was dreaming but he clearly heard Tristyn’s voice. He had promoted a party the night before and he had just gone to bed. He wanted to turn the job down but Amore encouraged him to do it. The pay was good and it was only for a few hours. According to the tracker on his page, Amore was officially overdue by three days and he was aggravated. He was ready to meet his daughter but she obviously wasn’t ready to meet him.

  “Daddy, don’t picnic but you have to get up,” Tristyn said as she shook his arm.

  “What’s up baby?” Trillion asked when he finally opened his eyes and looked at her. Tristyn looked cute in a colorful sundress with the matching hair bows. She had her shades on top of her head and she was wearing the purse that Amore got for her. Just the way she was dressed let him know that Amore was up and she was who got her together.

  “Don’t picnic daddy but we have to get to the hospital. My baby sister is coming,” Tristyn said, prompting her father to kick the covers away and jump up from the bed. He was only wearing his boxers but he didn’t even think to get dressed. He rushed out of the room in search of Amore.

  “Amore! Where you at Love?” Trillion yelled as he walked into the kitchen. He saw Amore standing there on the phone but she got off as soon as she saw him.

  “Get dressed, I’m in labor,” Amore said calmly.

  “The fuck! Why are you just standing there? Are you in pain baby? Did your water break?” Trillion asked as he fired off one question after the other.

  “I told Tristyn to tell you not to panic, but I should have known,” Amore replied with a roll of her eyes.

  Trillion wanted to laugh but it wasn’t the right time. He was wondering what the picnic comment was about but now he understood what his daughter was trying to say. He hurriedly rushed to the bathroom and completed his morning hygiene before getting dressed. Amore and Tristyn were standing by the door and the bags that Amore had packed a few weeks ago were at her feet.

  “What about Tristyn? We can’t bring her to the hospital,” Trillion noted.

  “Your daddy and Jackie are meeting us there,” Amore replied, right as they left out of the house.

  Trillion was excited as he went live on Instagram to let his followers know that his baby girl was on the way. Amore and Tristyn smiled and waved at the camera as he told them what was up. When they pulled up to the hospital, Gary and Jackie were parked and waiting in their cars.

  “Your cousins are inside,” Jackie said as Trillion helped Amore out of the car.

  His father carried the bags and the baby’s car seat whil
e Jackie grabbed Tristyn’s hand. Amore went straight to labor and delivery and was put into a room. When the doctor checked her, she was only three centimeters and it was too soon to get pain medicine. Everybody took turns coming to see her before going to the waiting room to wait for the baby to arrive.

  “Smile Love, everybody is saying hello,” Trillion said as he put the phone in her face.

  “Not right now baby. I’m in pain.” Amore frowned in annoyance.

  “They said they hope you feel better,” Trillion said as he read some of the comments to her.

  The labor pains were coming more frequently and Amore wasn’t in the mood to be friendly. Trillion was all smiles as he interacted with his followers and tried to include her. Amore was tired of him repeating shit that people said to her and she was tired of hearing his voice.

  “Trillion, shut the fuck up and get that camera out of my face! A bitch is dying in here trying to have your baby!” Amore yelled as another contraction hit her.

  Trillion caught it all on camera and his followers were cracking up. He was sure that it was going to be another hashtag and he was ready to make a profit from it. Since shit was getting real, he stopped recording and tried to comfort Amore as best as he could. It took forever for her to get some pain medicine but he was happy when she finally did. Only then did Amore smile and talk back to the followers when Trillion went live again.

  Six hours later, Trillion and Amore welcomed seven pound, eight-ounce Trinity Amore Yates into the world. She was a tinier version of Tristyn with a head full of silky hair. The new big sister beamed proudly every time someone said that her baby sister looked like her. When it was time for everyone to go home, Tristyn cried her heart out to stay. Trillion promised her that he would pick her up the following morning but that still didn’t calm her down. It wasn’t until he sat her in the chair and let her hold the baby did she relax. He took a picture of them and Tristyn seemed to be satisfied.

  “She’s so perfect.” Trillion smiled as he held his sleeping daughter. He was there from start to finish and that made Trinity’s birth even more special for him.