by Edwina Fort
I was in too much pain to answer. My cramps came like contractions. If I could just bite down and bear the intense pain for a moment it will eventually slacken. Jo got up from the bed and disappeared. He came back with a cool towel that he pressed on my head.
“Oh! That feels good…” I muttered before I drifted back to sleep. When next I woke, it was to see an older white man peering down in my face. I frowned looking up at him wondering if I was dreaming. Reaching up I touched his face and snatched my hand back when he giggled.
“Ahhh!” I yelled sitting up in my bed.
“J, it’s okay, this is Dr. Tiler. He came at my request.” I turned to look at Jo, who sat in a chair by my bed feeding Ayana a bottle. I had shown him this morning how to thaw the breast milk I had frozen for her.
“Why is he here?” My gaze went back to the doctor that was wiping his stethoscope off with an alcohol pad.
“Take a deep breath for me.” He said placing his warm hand on my back and his stethoscope to my chest. I took a deep breath, but my angry gaze went to Jo, who had the nerve to smile at me encouragingly.
“Well, because you scared the hell out of me earlier and I figured we needed a second opinion.”
What the hell! Second opinion on what? Rather or not I got my period?
“Second opinion? I got my period, not cancer! I told you to stay away!”
“Again.” The doctor said to me. I inhaled, but I was getting good and irritated.
“Sweetheart, that’s why we have the doctor here, let’s wait and see what he says.”
This ni---
“Jo, I don’t need no doctor to confirm I got my period!” I yelled him. He had the nerve to look startled.
“Calm down, J.” Then he looked at the doctor. “Is it some kind of fever or something? Could that be what’s causing the pain and the aggression?”
Oh, I was going to kill him!
The doctor asked me to lay back. I didn’t lay back as much as I slammed back on the bed, good and upset. He squeezed my stomach a little.
“Does that hurt?”
“Yes!” I growled folding my arms across my chest.
“When was your last menstrual cycle?” The kook asked me. I rolled my eyes, unbelievable.
“I am on my period right now.”
“Oh!” He said helping me back into a sitting position.
“It appears as if you’re suffering from severe Endometriosis.”
Jo frowned. “What exactly is that?”
“Severe menstrual cramps.” The doctor told him matter of factly as he packed up his bag. He pulled out a note pad and made a list. When he was done he handed it to Jo.
“Go get those things on the list, and…” He scribbled something on a prescription pad. “Get these from the pharmacy and our little patient will be right as rain in no time.” Jo laid the baby on the bed next to me so that he could show the doctor out.
As soon as he came back into the room I laid into him.
“A doctor, Jo?!” He held up his hands.
“Hey, you can’t blame a brotha for wanting to play it safe. What was I to think? You woke up clutching your stomach screaming. Is that normal? Does that always happen?”
I exhaled laying back in the bed. My anger was gone. It was kind of sweet that he came to check on me anyway, although he knew I wouldn’t be able to have sex with him.
“Yeah, it happens like this a lot. Sometimes it’s not that bad.” I chuckled. “Sometimes I don’t get it at all.”
“Okay, try to get some rest. Ayana and I are going to go out and get what’s on this list.” I stiffened. My baby has never been away from me. He must have seen the concern in my eyes because he came and sat down on the bed next to me.
“Do you think I’m going to hurt our child?” He asked softly as he reached up and slid the loc that had fallen into my face behind my ear. I shook my head.
“It’s not that. It’s just that this will be the first time she will be away from me.”
“Would it make you feel better if I didn’t take her?” For just a split moment, I saw Jo’s vulnerability for the first-time since I’ve known him. He will be hurt if I didn’t trust him with our daughter. I took his hand and kissed his knuckles that were so scarred up. It looked like they had been busted on more than one occasion.
“No, go ahead. You guys have fun, I’m going to sleep till you get back.” He chuckled and leaned down and kissed me gently on my forehead. I smiled, I loved when he did that.
“Okay, we’ll be back in no time.”
Oh y’all, I got to know another side of Jo over the next few days. He was so sweet. He cooked for me and he ran baths for me. He even held the hot water bag the doctor told him to get on my belly when my cramps got really bad. He dealt with the furniture delivery men when they came with the bedroom furniture.
Not only did I stay closed up in the house, he stayed with me. I was surprised that he didn’t leave to go to work, but he said he was on vacation, so everything was cool. He rode out the storm with me. The whole time I was telling myself not to read more into it than what it was in order to protect my heart, but how could I not.
Seeing this sensitive side of Jo made me feel as if maybe I was in love with him. And that scared the heck out of me, because I know I was setting myself up for heartbreak.
The morning after my period had gone, I woke up in need to feel rejuvenated. Jo was sleeping in the bed next to me, so I gently slid out and grabbed his button up shirt that lay across the chair and put it on. Carefully I walked across the floor and up the stairs to my greenhouse.
After mixing my essential oil blend into my misters I stood in the center of the room as they began to gently mist me and my plants. The sun had just begun to kiss the sky and touch me with its warm glow. The sharp fragrance of citrus opened my lungs. I held my head back and I thanked the Most High.
I thanked him for his son.
I thanked him for creating me.
I thanked him for loving me.
I thanked him for gifting me with his breath.
I thanked him for never forgetting me.
I thanked him for my mind and my hands.
I thanked him for Ayana…
It was in the middle of me silently thanking him when I felt Jo come behind me and wrap his strong arms around me pulling me into his safe embrace. And together we stood as the mist gently sprayed us both.
And finally, I thanked the Heavenly Father for Jo…
Chapter Eight
The Warning
Journey
Over the next few weeks Jo and I fell into something of a pattern. I know he said at the beginning that he and I will have separate places, but he must have changed his mind. He was always over here. If he went home, it was just for a minute to grab more of his stuff. He was firmly integrated in my home and I didn’t mind at all. I liked the pattern he and I had settled in.
We woke up in the morning and the three of us had breakfast together. He’ll kiss us both on his way out. We’d text each other back and forward throughout the day if something awesome happened to us. He texted me a picture the other day of a man they had been after for insider trading or something like that, who had painted himself white and stood up against his wall with his eyes closed in an attempt to blend in to the wall and hide from Jo. Under the pic it said: I can’t make this stuff up, with crying laughing faces.
When he came home from work he’d sometimes bring me flowers or jewelry. He’s now taken to bringing me rare plants. I don’t know how he comes across them, but I love them more than the jewelry.
“I’ve never met a woman that prefers plants over diamonds.” He’ll say.
“That’s ‘cause you never met a woman with eyes to see. The real treasure is flowing through the stem of this plant.”
And because he makes me feel so good, I try and return the favor. So, I’ve started preparing meals for him that are ready when he comes home and I’ve even taken to bathing him. I prepare his bath with an essenti
al oil blend that helps him to relax after a long day. And as I bathe him I tell him about my day and the amazing things Ayana did on that day.
It was during one of these baths that he gently grabbed my arm and looked into my eyes.
“How do you do it?” He asked. I frowned slightly confused.
“Do what?”
“You make me feel like a king.” I smiled, his words more precious than gold. When he got out the bath he’ll then lay me in the bed and make me feel like his queen.
It felt surreal. He and I began to experience baby firsts together. Like Ayana’s first word believe it or not was dada. She said it one night while the three of us lay in bed watching a movie. Well at least we were trying to watch a movie. At almost five months Ayana was on the move, she scooted all over us seeming thrilled to have both of her parents with her. It was then she pulled herself up on Jo’s chest and yelled dada to his face.
His mouth opened in surprise, you would have thought somebody had named him father of the century with the way he jumped out of the bed with her in his arms. He had me dying laughing as he did a little dance no man his size should ever do while chanting that he was our baby’s favorite parent. I lay there a little salty because he and I had a little wager to see which parent she was going to call on first and I was sure it was going to be me. Anyway, I don’t feel too bad, I read an article that said the d sound was a lot easier for most babies to say, which is why most of the time, their first word is dada.
We even witnessed her pull up on the furniture for the first time, eat baby cereal for the first time, and even try to hold her spoon for the first time. And I’m not going to lie, it felt good to have somebody else that love her just as much as I do to share those moments with.
I said all that to say that I was helplessly in love with Jo. And no matter how I tried to tell myself I was all kinds of fools, I kept falling deeper and deeper in love. So much so that when he showed me he was the jealous type, I just brushed it off as a mishap. I would later find out that I should have paid more attention, but I’m getting ahead of myself in my tale.
Let me tell you guys about the first time it happened.
That week had been a busy week, I’d come home from the nursery that Monday to find my mom and Rome sitting in my living room.
“Oh, my goodness! How did yall get in here? I have a high-tech security system at the gate.” Rome looked at me for a moment to gage whether or not I was serious, when he saw that I was he held his head back and barked with laughter. The jerk! All this time I’d been living with a hacker and didn’t even notice it.
My mom didn’t answer, she just got up and took Ayana out my arms.
“How is my grandbaby doing? Granny has missed you so much.” She cooed as she began to take off her little jacket.
“I’m good mom, thanks for asking.” After hearing the belligerence in my tone my mother finally acknowledged me.
She smiled. “That’s wonderful, baby.” But then all her focus was back on Ayana. “Grandma got to change your diaper, somebody wet.” And then she was gone up the stairs.
Still standing there by the door in a bit of a shock to see them inside my home, I looked at Rome and gestured after our mother.
“I see yall have made yourselves comfortable.”
He chuckled, coming to his feet to hug me. “Aww, don’t worry ‘bout that, little sista, you know we had to come check you out and make sure everything was okay.”
I took my coat off eyeballing him. That was a bunch of crap. He wasn’t the visiting type, he was the calling type.
“Mmmhhhmmm, so what’s the real reason you came?” A smile appeared on his handsome face. The light brown eyes he’d inherited from our mother brightened.
“I need you to keep ma for a while. We got her things settled into that spare bedroom next to Ayana’s.”
“I’m not a child, son! I don’t need a baby sitter!” My mom yelled down from upstairs.
“Why?” I asked him.
“Got a little situation I need to handle back at the house and I don’t need ma nosing around in my business.” I frowned.
“What kind of situation?”
“Rome got a hot babysitter!” My mom yelled down before he could even answer. I lifted an eyebrow looking at my brother with a smirk on my face.
“You’ve got a babysitter?” I could tell by his grin he was feeling whoever this was.
“Yeah, yo’ boyfriend sent her after me.” Something in his tone made me worry.
“Where is she?” I whispered, knowing my brother well. He grinned wickedly.
“Chained to my bed.” He whispered back. My mouth dropped.
“Oh, my goodness, Rome! Are you crazy?!” I yelled. He snatched me to him putting his hand over my mouth.
“Would you shut yo’ big mouth!”
“What has he done now?” My mother called from upstairs.
“Nothing, Ma!” I looked at him shaking my head. “Have you kidnapped this woman?” I whispered.
The grin on his face grew as he nodded.
“Dammit Rome, you breaking your contract.” This made the grin disappear.
“Fu—” He began, but it was me who now covered his mouth. “F*** that contract and f*** that bastard fed that got my little sista knocked up. I got somen for that mutha f***a.” I bit my lip. It pained me to see that my brother still hated Jo, especially now that I loved him.
“Rome, he ain’t that bad.” He shook his head.
“Naw, I see you done got comfortable with dude. But you don’t know the stuff I know about him. He bogus as hell.”
“What do you know?”
He looked at me for a minute before he just pulled me in for a one arm hug. “Don’t worry about it shorty, your big brotha gon’ handle everything. And on that note, I got to ride. Ma, I’ll be back to get you in a few weeks.” He called upstairs.
She came down the stairs with Ayana in her arms. “Okay, baby. Be careful.”
Wrapping her free arm around him she hugged him, but then she pulled back just a bit and gently palmed his handsome face.
“Ms. Bonita is a beautiful woman, not just on the outside but on the inside as well. She just don’t know it. Maybe my son can show her.” He held his head down for a moment before he looked back up at her.
“How?” He asked so low I could barely hear him. My mother smiled.
“Tenderness, baby. Nobody has ever been gentle with her.” Rome nodded and kissed my mother on the forehead.
Tenderness?
It was a little too late for that. Rome had the poor woman chained to his bed. I shook my head as he walked out the door. I couldn’t believe he’d kidnapped a woman. Rome had girls and women alike throwing themselves at him and always had. Although he’s my big brother and gets on my nerves a lot, I’ll admit to the fact that he is quite handsome, both of my brothers are.
We stood in the door and watched him go. As soon as his rental disappeared out of sight, I turned and looked at my mom.
“Alright, woman! Spill! Who in the world is Ms. Bonita? And how in the heck did she catch Rome?”
Joseph
For the last two weeks I have been working from my office inside of my father’s senate office. I wanted to make sure I had a smooth transition from retiring from the Bureau to working full time here. I was working on closing my last few cases and after that I would be finished with that chapter of my life.
I settled back in my chair. The time was soon approaching where I was going to have to decide what it is I was going to do, whether I was going to run for my father’s senate seat or not. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be able to take the job to fight for the common man and to fight for all those without a voice. Ideally that’s what’s been sold when you think of a politician. But the fact was I knew the truth. I knew what was really happening behind the scene.
The people haven’t put a politician in office since the days of Roosevelt, and yeah, they make it sound good, flash all the right lights, and play all
the right commercials. But the fact remains, every political figure in office is just a puppet and the money that put them there is the puppet master. I’ve watched my father jump through hoops for as long as I can remember. He’s never looked like a man to me, because there was always someone else controlling him.
The African-American community of the state of Florida put him in office in hopes that he can bring change to their suffering. That’s how he ran his campaign; he jumped on the Change band wagon at the right time screaming, Yes, We Can!
Ha! What a damn joke!
My father can’t do anything that Macon Cooperation won’t allow. He was there damn mouth piece and now he wanted me to trade places with him and I just wasn’t feeling it. A knock on my door brought me out of my head.
“Yes,” I called picking up the file on the Turner case.
“Mr. Warren, there is a Rome here to see you, sir.” I stared at my secretary surprised. I couldn’t help the smile that came to my face.
“Send him in.”
My secretary stepped to the side as Rome dressed in designer jeans, Jordan’s and a white t-shirt walked through the door. Outside of the gold watch he wore on his wrist and the diamond stud in his ear, there was nothing on him that testified to the true wealth he possessed, way more wealth than any drug dealer whose file has ever crossed my path.
This was my first clue that he was involved in something way bigger than the dope game. Well, that and the fact that he had several Swiss bank accounts that were hidden so well my tech team barely found them.
He whistled as he came through the door looking around my office.
“Wow, look at you. I see you’re being a good little boy and following in your daddy’s shoes just like you’ve been trained to do. I’m sure he’s so proud.”
God, I hated this kid.
I sat back in my chair raising my arms to fold my hands behind my head. The smile was still on my face.
“And I see you’ve finally grew a pair of balls and ventured out of your hood. Didn’t think the gangstas ever did that.”