A Trillion to One

by Chenell Parker

  “She better be after she ripped me apart trying to get out. I’m stitched the fuck up,” Amore replied while winching in pain.

  “That pussy gon’ be even tighter. Damn, I can’t wait,” Trillion replied while licking his lips.

  “You got six whole weeks to fantasize about it. That’s how long it’ll be before you can get it again,” Amore pointed out.

  “It’s all worth it,” Trillion replied as he smiled down at his daughter.

  “Yep, I got another broke best friend,” Amore replied, making him laugh. She’d gone through hell with labor pains but it was all worth it when she saw her baby girl.

  After a while, Trillion laid his daughter down and helped Amore take a shower. She fed the baby while Trillion freshened up and he took the baby once again. After talking for a while, Amore went to sleep while Trillion answered a few emails. He called and checked on Tristyn before he laid the baby on his chest and drifted off to sleep too.

  The following morning, Amore got up to Trillion’s voice. He was on the phone while he stood over the incubator changing the baby.

  “Aye, let me call you back bro. Amore just got up,” he said before hanging up the phone.

  “Did you get any rest?” Amore asked him as he picked the baby up.

  “Yeah, I’m good. I wasn’t the one who pushed out a baby yesterday. As long as you’re well rested, I’m cool,” Trillion replied as he kissed her lips.

  “I need to use the bathroom,” Amore said.

  Trillion laid the baby down again and helped her to the bathroom. Once she completed her morning hygiene, Amore decided to walk around the room for a little while. She didn’t want to stay in the bed too long and get stiff.

  “Are you hungry baby?” Trillion asked her.

  “I’m starving,” Amore replied.

  “Tristyn called me a million times for me to pick her up. I’ll grab you something to eat while I’m out. Do you need anything else?” he asked her.

  “No, I’m about to take me a nap until you come back. Chanell and Dallas are gonna get Ms. Ruby for me before they come up here. She wants to see the baby. You don’t mind, do you?” Amore asked him.

  “Come on Love. You know that’s not even my character. I know how you feel about her and I don’t have a problem with that. Her grandson is not a reflection of her,” Trillion answered.

  “At all,” Amore replied.

  “I’ll be back in a little while. She’s fed and changed, so hopefully she’ll let you rest,” Trillion said before he kissed her and walked out of the room.

  Amore checked her Instagram page and left a message of thanks for her and Trillion’s followers. There were too many comments to reply to everyone so that was the next best thing. Once she’d done that, Amore drifted off to what she hoped was a peaceful nap. She didn’t know how long she’d been sleep, but she woke up to a sight that made her heart drop. A white woman who she’d never seen before was in her room holding her baby. It was like a scene from a Lifetime movie and Amore was paranoid.

  “Who the hell are you and why are you in my room holding my daughter?” Amore asked.

  “Who I am is of no importance to you. This little princess here is the only one that matters,” Claire replied as she smiled down at her newest granddaughter and rocked her in her arms.

  “Bitch, don’t let the stitched up pussy fool you. I’ll get out of this bed and do you dirty. Now again, who the fuck are you and why are you in my room?” Amore yelled angrily.

  “My son, he sure does know how to pick them,” Claire said as Amore pieced everything together. She’d never met Trillion’s mother before and she had no desire to change that. As far as she was concerned, Jackie was his mother and she acted as such.

  “Look, I don’t have a problem with you coming to see your granddaughter but this is not how you go about doing it. You could have called your son or something before you just showed up here like this,” Amore reasoned as she slowly got out of the bed and walked over to her.

  “I don’t need you or my son’s permission to do anything. And trust me, I don’t need to go through you to have a relationship with my granddaughter. Giving birth to her is probably the best thing that you’ve ever done in your pathetic little life. I must say though; your people are getting smarter. Having a baby by a rich white man is a guaranteed paycheck. At least you won’t have to go on welfare like the rest of them,” Claire snarled snobbishly.

  “Bitch-,” Amore yelled before Claire continued.

  “Here’s a check for fifty thousand to start her off. I only hope that she sees a dime of it since I’m sure you don’t work. Besides opening your legs for my son, what else are you good at?” Claire asked as she shoved the check into Amore’s hand.

  “Okay, I get it now. A beautiful black queen snatched that fine ass white husband of yours right from up under you and now you look at all of us like we’re the enemy. I already know your story boo. You were a fucked up mother and now you’re trying to make up for it with your grandkids. But see, I’m nothing like Leah. You could never have a relationship with my daughter when you have hate in your heart for me. Fuck you and fuck your money,” Amore said as she ripped the check up and threw it at her.

  She was still in pain but she didn’t give a fuck. She would lay Trillion’s mama out in that room and be paging the doctor to snitch her back up. That bitch was bold but she had the right one. Trillion told her that Leah was afraid of his mother, but Amore didn’t have a scared bone in her body.

  “Wow. You’re even worse than I thought,” Claire chuckled sarcastically.

  “Bitch, put my baby down so you can catch these hands hoe. Pale face, thin lip bitch. You got the right one,” Amore said as she got closer to her.

  Before she could do or say anything else, Trillion walked through the door with a bag of food. He was smiling when he walked in but his smile faded as soon as he saw his mother.

  “What are you doing here?” Trillion asked, right as Amore took her baby out of Claire’s arms.

  “About to get the fuck beat out of her. Get this bitch away from me. Now!” Amore bellowed angrily.

  “Hey Nana!” Tristyn yelled when she walked into the room holding Chanell’s hand. Dallas walked in right behind them, followed by Ms. Ruby.

  “I ran into my bestie downstairs.” Chanell smiled as she looked at Tristyn.

  “Come give Nana a hug before I go,” Claire said as she bent down to embrace Tristyn.

  When his mother walked out of the room a short time later, Trillion followed her.

  “What are you doing here Ma?” Trillion asked her again.

  “Where else would I be Ty? I had to find out from some of your cousins who follow you on social media that my granddaughter was born yesterday,” Claire replied.

  “Okay but that didn’t give you an open invitation to show up here. Amore doesn’t even know you. She just had a baby yesterday and you got her all upset with your bullshit. I can only imagine what you said to her. Just know that she’s Trinity’s mother and whatever she says goes. If she doesn’t want her around you, then I have to respect her wishes,” Trillion noted as he saw his father and Jackie walking down the hall holding hands.

  His father had balloons in his other hand and Claire looked like she was about to start hyperventilating. It had been years since she’d seen the two of them together and it pained her whenever she did.

  “Hey baby. Is everything okay?” Jackie asked as she looked at him. She knew how Trillion looked when he was upset and that was the look that he was wearing now.

  “Hey Ma. Yeah, I’m good. Y’all can go in. Amore and the baby are awake,” Trillion replied as he kissed her cheek. Claire’s face turned red with anger when she saw how affectionate her son was with the other woman.

  “Oh, but I suppose they got an open invite,” Claire snarled once her ex-husband and his wife walked away.

  “Have a good day Ma. And the best thing for you to do is stay away from Amore. She won’t always be stitched up and in
pain,” Trillion said as he turned and walked back into the room. Amore was sitting on the bed frowning as her cousins stood close by. His father had the baby while he and Jackie talked to Tristyn and Ms. Ruby.

  “I’m sorry Love. I didn’t know that she was coming up here,” Trillion said as he sat on the side of the bed and kissed Amore.

  “Don’t apologize for her ass. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Amore replied.

  “Did she leave?” Dallas asked.

  “Yeah, she’s gone,” Trillion replied.

  “Damn man. I was trying to see if she could write out another check,” Dallas said as she held up the torn check pieces.

  “What check?” Trillion asked.

  “Bitch, throw that shit away,” Chanell fussed at her sister.

  “Talk to me, Love. What happened?” Trillion asked.

  Amore was talking low, but Trillion heard everything that she’d said. His nostrils flared when she repeated some of the things that his mother had said. She had Amore fucked up and he couldn’t wait to tell her just that. She was acting like Trillion was obligated to include her in everything but that was the furthest thing from the truth. She couldn’t pick and choose what part of his life she wanted to be a part of and he wasn’t compromising with her. She didn’t want to be in his life when his father left and he was good on her now. Claire was trying to force her way in and that only made shit worse.

  “I tore that shit up and threw it at her,” Amore said, referring to the check that Claire had written her.

  “Fuck that check! Y’all don’t need a muthafucking thing from nobody!” Trillion fumed.

  “Relax baby. I’m good. I’m happy that you came in when you did though,” Amore laughed.

  “I’ll get at her about that shit later,” Trillion promised her.

  “Meadow said congrats,” Dallas said as she read a text message on her phone. She was the only one who stayed in contact with her sister since Amore and Chanell didn’t deal with her anymore. Dallas hated the way that things were but she understood their feelings. Meadow was wrong and she admitted that. Sadly, their sister and cousin weren’t so easy to forgive.

  “Fuck Meadow,” both Amore and Chanell said at the same time.

  “Y’all need to stop. We’re still family,” Dallas noted.

  “We know that but she obviously didn’t care. She didn’t shit on you like she did me and Amore, so you wouldn’t understand. I love my sister but I’m good on her,” Chanell replied.

  “Like I always say, we were too close for that. We were all that each other had at one time but she tried hard to forget where she came from. It was all good as long as she was at the top looking down at us. And had the nerve to come at me on some friendly shit like I’m dumb. Bitch, don’t burn a bridge and expect me to send a boat. I’m good on her ass too,” Amore noted.

  “Alright, let me sanitize my hands, so I can hold lil Miley Cyrus,” Dallas said as she walked over to where the baby was.

  “This bitch,” Amore mumbled as she shook her head.

  After a while, Claire’s visit was a thing of the past. Amore had visitors throughout the day and she was given the green light to go home the day after. She was healthy and so was her baby girl. She was happy for that much and she couldn’t ask for anything more.

  “B aby, she’s crying!” Amore yelled when she heard Trinity start to whimper over the baby monitor.

  Tristyn was the first one to run down the hall, followed by her father. She was helpful with her baby sister and she loved to help feed her. Trinity had gone for her two-week shots earlier that day and she had been cranky ever since. Amore took a minute to warm her a bottle while Trillion went to get her.

  “Get me a bottle Love,” Trillion requested when he walked into the kitchen.

  “I’m warming it now,” Amore said.

  “You wanna hold her?” Trillion asked.

  “Why, so she can cry? You know she hates me,” Amore replied.

  “She’s a newborn baby Amore. You’re her mother. She doesn’t hate you,” Trillion assured her.

  “Well, why doesn’t she cry when you hold her then? She cries every time I even touch her. Like I just said, she hates me,” Amore said sadly.

  Trillion hated that she felt that way about their baby but nothing that he said seemed to change her mind. Stacy and Jackie said that she was going through postpartum depression, but Trillion didn’t know what it was. Amore made bottles, washed clothes and anything else that didn’t require her to actually hold their daughter. She looked at Trinity with a blank expression on her face and he hated that the most. He didn’t want to believe that Amore didn’t have motherly instincts because he knew that wasn’t true. She was great with Tristyn but Trinity intimidated her for some reason.

  “Maybe you should talk to somebody about how you feel,” Trillion suggested.

  “Why do I need to see a shrink because my own baby doesn’t like me?” Amore questioned.

  “Stop saying that shit Amore. I hate when you say that.” Trillion frowned.

  “Well, it’s true,” she shrugged.

  “Can you just do that for me, Love? Please? They gave you a lot of paperwork when you were discharged from the hospital. Call one of those numbers and make an appointment,” Trillion said.

  “Okay,” Amore conceded.

  “Promise?” he asked.

  “I promise,” Amore said, making him smile.

  “Can I feed her daddy?” Tristyn asked when she walked into the kitchen.

  “Yeah, you can feed her. You got your mama scared to death of you, Trinity,” Trillion laughed as Amore tested the warmth of the bottle.

  “I’m not scared of her. I like her. She just doesn’t like me,” Amore said.

  “You don’t like your mama Trinity? Huh?” Trillion asked as if his daughter understood.

  “Come on Tristyn. Her bottle is ready,” Amore said as she handed it to her.

  “I don’t want to anymore,” Tristyn said as she walked away sadly.

  “The hell was that all about?” Trillion inquired.

  “I don’t even know.” Amore shrugged.

  “Damn man. My baby got everybody in their feelings,” Trillion said while shaking his head.

  Amore wasn’t the only one who had been on one. Tristyn had been acting strange as well. Truthfully, she had started to act weird before Amore even had the baby. Every time they asked her what was wrong, she always smiled and told them nothing.

  “I’ll go talk to her,” Amore said as she walked away towards Tristyn’s room. When she opened the door, Tristyn was lying in her bed watching a movie.

  “I’m watching Frozen,” Tristyn said as she looked at her and smiled.

  “Push over girl. You know that’s one of my favorites,” Amore said as she kicked off her slides and climbed into bed with her.

  “I love you, Amore,” Tristyn said, melting her heart. Amore never got tired of hearing her say that.

  “I love you too, baby. And listen, if something is ever wrong, you know that you can always talk to me about it,” Amore replied.

  “Okay.” Tristyn smiled.

  “Is something wrong now Tristyn? Do you want to talk?” Amore asked her.

  “No, nothing is wrong.” Tristyn smiled as she snuggled up closer to her.

  Amore decided not to push the issue. She watched the movie with Tristyn before she got up to cook dinner. Once they ate, she got Tristyn ready for bed while Trillion tended to Trinity. When they both went to sleep, Amore stripped out of her clothes and went to take a shower. She was naked standing in front of the mirror when Trillion walked into the bathroom with the baby monitor.

  “Ugh, look at these stretch marks,” Amore complained as she pinched the fat on her belly.

  “Shit is crazy, huh?” Trillion asked as he walked up behind her and kissed her neck.

  “What’s crazy?” Amore countered.

  “How much I love everything about you that you hate about yourself,” Trillion replied as he bent do
wn and kissed her stomach.

  “You always know just what to say.” Amore smiled.

  “I see beauty in everything about you, Love. You see stretch marks and I see the gift of life. There’s nothing more beautiful than that,” he noted.

  “It’s way too soon to give up the pussy but I can damn sure swallow a few of your babies,” Amore replied as she dropped to her knees and pulled down his boxers.

  A week later, Amore was coming from her second session with the hospital’s physiatrist. Trillion was right and talking to someone was proving to be exactly what she needed. He didn’t look at her like she was crazy and nothing that she said seemed out of the ordinary to him. He actually made her feel better when he said that what she was experiencing was normal. Amore loved her baby. She just didn’t think that her baby loved her.

  “Hey cousin,” Amore said when she answered the phone for Chanell.

  “Bitch, where are you?” Chanell asked loudly.

  “I was on my way home. Why? What’s up?” Amore asked.

  “Girl, ask me why this nigga just busted out my store windows,” Chanell yelled.

  “Who?” Amore asked as she made a U-turn and headed towards her cousin’s shop.

  “That stupid ass nigga who Dallas’ girlfriend is married to,” Chanell fumed.

  “I know you fucking lying. Bitch, I’m on my way,” Amore replied before she hung up and sped all the way to her cousin’s shop.

  When she got there, AJ, Abe and three police cars were out front. AJ was heated as he paced the sidewalk with the phone up to his ear. Abe was on his phone too, but he seemed to be more calm than his little brother was.

  “Hey cousin,” Dallas said when she walked up and spoke to Amore.

  “Hey cousin my ass. I thought you left that Cathy bitch alone,” Amore whispered harshly.

  “I did leave her alone and Azra too. I’m over playing all these games. I haven’t been talking to either of them but they’ve both been calling me like crazy. Cathy popped up over here and he must have followed her. Bitch bringing all that drama to my sister’s shop,” Dallas fussed.