by Teneka Woods
Tora shrugged. “Maybe there’s something she sees in him that she lacks herself. It can happen. Smart women fall for their polar opposite all the time.”
He sighed heavily and shook his head again. “The baby is a month premature because of his punk ass.”
“Are you going to the hospital to see them?”
“I want to, but with the way I’m feeling right now I might end up cussing Levi’s ass out.”
Tora sucked her teeth. “Nate—”
“I’m serious,” he said.
“Your sister’s relationship with that man has nothing to do with you, so you need to stop all this crazy talk.”
He reached over and grabbed her hand. “I’m just worried about her. That’s all.”
“I understand,” Tora said, “but saying something to him is not gonna make Sunny love him any less. If anything it’ll probably make her love him more. And hate you.”
Nate chuckled. “I hear you, babe. Now let’s go home and take a quick shower so we can go and see my new niece.”
Tora smiled and they pedaled the boat around, returning to the dock.
She liked the sound of that: Let’s go home.
FORTY-ONE
Sunny was alone and just waking up when he entered her room. A slight frown creased her forehead when she saw him. Then she smiled.
“Brother, what’re you doing here?”
“I came to see you. Duh.”
She rolled her eyes.
“How’re you feeling?”
“I feel okay. Just tired.”
He took a seat on the bench next to the window. A bucket of white flowers sat on the table next to him, along with a teddy bear and bouquet of pink, and black and white polka dot balloons.
“What about the baby?”
“She’s fine. They have her in NICU right now.”
Nate knew it was the place where they kept the preemie babies. The ones who needed prolonged extra care. The ones who had the potential for developmental issues. “She got all ten fingers and toes?”
Sunny rolled her eyes again. “Yes, brother, she has all ten fingers and toes.”
“Alright,” he laughed. “Just making sure.” He picked up the teddy bear. “I’m sorry I didn’t think to get you a gift.”
“Those are from Kaneesa and the ladies at the office.”
“Where is Levi?”
She straightened a leg, wincing as she readjusted the blanket at her waist. “I told him to go home so he can get some sleep. He was very tired this morning.”
“Are the kids with him, too?”
“No. He took them to their grandma’s—his mama’s house—last night. Anaya was crying when I talked to her this morning because she wants to see the baby. I told her her daddy is gonna bring her up here later so she can see her little sister.”
“You know she’s gonna be all over her like she was with Duece.”
“Oh god, yes,” Sunny smiled and shook her head. “I still think about that day I walked into the nursery and she was trying to pull Duece out of his bed. He was about as big as she was at the time! And she really thought she could carry him. At two years old!”
Nate chuckled and returned the teddy bear. “What did you name her?”
“Skylar.”
“Walker? That’s pretty dope.”
Sunny twisted her lips. “She’s a Fontenot, you know that. Just like Anaya and Baby Levi.”
He sat back against the bench. “Will I be able to see her today?”
“Yeah, I just have to tell the nurse and she’ll escort you down there. They’ll probably ask you a few questions to make sure you’re not sick or anything.”
“Tora is with me,” he said. “She wants to see the baby, too. She’s in the waiting room.”
Nate’s first thought was that she looked just like her daddy. She already had Levi’s unibrow, and lips that appeared to be in a perpetual pout. The only thing Nate could see the baby inherited from Sunny was her long lashes.
“Awww,” Tora said, standing beside him as they peered through the Plexi-glass. “How cute.”
“Another little munchkin added to the bunch.” Nate hoped his niece grew up to look more like her mother than her father. He leaned in closer to the glass. She was so tiny and all he could think about was how she should still be inside the womb.
“This makes number six, right?” Tora asked.
“Yep. Number six,” he nodded his head. “Another little one for Uncle Nate to spoil, according to Sunny.”
“She’s right, because it seems Bryanna and Melody have you wrapped around their fingers.”
Nate could only smile proudly. It was true. Bryanna, Melody, Evan, Anaya, Baby Levi, and now Skylar could have anything they wanted from him.
His mother and father had made it to the hospital by the time he and Tora returned to Sunny’s room.
“How did you make it here before us?” Victoria asked after he’d given her his standard kiss on the cheek and then a hug to his father. “I thought you would’ve been working late.”
“I took a sick day.”
Sunny and Victoria gasped at the same time.
“Brother, you told me you weren’t sick!”
“Why would you go visit the baby if you’re sick, son?”
“You’re not supposed to be around the baby if you’re sick!”
His mistake didn’t dawn on him until he saw the concern on both of their faces. “Relax. I’m not sick.”
“You just said you were sick, Nate,” Victoria said.
“I said I took a sick day.”
“Isn’t that what a sick day is? When you take a day off work because you’re sick?”
“Yeah, but we just took the day off to relax and hang out.”
Victoria looked from Nate to Tora and then back at Nate again. “Son, are you telling me you lied about being sick just so the two of you can hang out? You’re abusing your employer’s benefits?”
“Ma—” Nate groaned, closing his eyes. He wished he’d kept his mouth shut.
“What if you get sick for real, Nate?” she said. “If you start calling off work arbitrarily, when you really need days off you won’t have any to take, or your employer won’t believe you—”
“Oh, god.” Nate raked a hand through his locks.
“This is why a lot of companies are doing away with sick time and going PTO. Because of situations like this where people abuse the system. That’s what weekends are for, Nate, if you wanted to hang out.” She looked over at Tora as if she just knew Tora was the reason he decided to call in sick from work.
“Ma, can we please not—”
“You know I didn’t raise you to be unethical, Nate.”
He looked at his dad who stood chuckling and shaking his head.
“Pop, haven’t you called in sick before when you just didn’t feel like going to work that day?”
“Uhhh… maybe when I was younger, son. Sure, I’ve done that a few times.”
“See, Ma?” he said, smiling.
Victoria sighed and adjusted her purse on her shoulder. “Honey, let’s go so we can see our grandbaby,” she said to Gerald, and they left the room.
* * *
“Are you the black sheep in your family or something? No offense, but it seems like your mom doesn’t like you at all.”
Nate busted out in laughter. He and Tora were lying in his bed on their backs, staring up at the ceiling.
“What makes you think that?” he asked.
“She seems annoyed by you. But I noticed she doesn’t act like that towards your sister and brothers.”
“Well… I wouldn’t say that she doesn’t like me. She’s just a strict parent, and she wants things to go her way all the time.”
“That’s not strict, that’s controlling, Nate. And she talks to you like you’re still a child. I’m sorry, but I wanted to say something so bad today when she was going on and on about us taking a day off.”
“Why didn’t you?” he said.
Nate chuckled. “You stood there and let me take the heat all by myself. That wasn’t cool.”
“I just didn’t wanna cause any more stress for anybody.”
“I’m used to it. I’ve been dealing with Victoria Helena Walker’s attitude all my life.”
“How does your dad deal with her? He’s so cool and relaxed. I wonder if he feels like he has to walk around on pins and needles when they’re at home together.”
“Not really. She caters to him, actually. He does the same for her, too.”
Tora huffed. “I find that hard to believe on her part.”
“Are you talking about my mama?”
“I’m just saying… she’s not very nice when it comes to you. Or me for that matter. And I don’t like it. I’m so close with my mom and dad, and I know for sure if I were to take you home to meet them they would invite you in as if you were their own son. Your mom may as well spit on my shoes with the way she looks at me.”
“Stop it,” Nate shook his head. “She’s not a cruel person at all.”
“That’s how I feel sometimes. I hate to say it, but it’s almost like I’d rather not be around her if she’s gonna act like that.”
Nate reached over and pulled her close to him. He knew his mother was a tough woman to warm up to. A couple of his past girlfriends had the same complaint, but he hated Tora felt this way. Spending time with his family was an obligation, and now that she was officially his woman, he couldn’t imagine not having her by his side at their gatherings.
FORTY-TWO
“Gosh!” Tora yawned for what seemed like the dozenth time within a few mintues. “I am having the hardest time keeping my eyes open.”
“That man keeping you up every night, ain’t he?” Candace laughed and popped her gum. “Believe me, girl, I understand.”
“You are so crazy,” Tora said. “Sometimes we do stay up pretty late at night watching Netflix, but—”
“Uhn-huh. Are you sure y’all be watching Netflix or does Netflix be watching y’all? Tell the truth.”
“You know what?… I’m not even going there with you, girl,” Tora laughed, and commenced to pulling outfits from the racks to start the new window display for the fall season.
“I know how it is when you can’t get enough of each other. You don’t mind losing a little sleep just to get a fix.”
Tora yawned again. Her eyes were watery because she’d yawned so much. “I need a nap. It seems like for the past couple of weeks all I wanna do when I get home is take a nap.”
“Really?” Candace said. “Maybe your energy is low. Do you take vitamins?”
“I used to. Years ago. But those things made me hungry.”
“Hmm… that’s a new one for me. I’ve never heard before of vitamins making someone hungry.”
Tora pulled out her mobile phone to check the time. She had two hours left of her work shift and was tempted to go to the restroom stall and sit on the toilet just so she could close her eyes for a few mintues. She was that tired.
Candace said, “Oh! I know what I meant to ask you. What are you doing after work today? There is something for the wedding I want to go and look at, and I want your opinion.”
“Didn’t you just hear me say I need a nap? I am going home to get in my bed.”
“Aww, c’mon, Tora. I want you to come with me. There’re these hats I’m thinking about getting for my bridesmaids. I think they’ll go great with the dresses, but my sister said they’re ugly. She doesn’t have much fashion sense, so I don’t trust what she says anyway.”
“Why do you want the bridesmaids to wear hats? What kind of hats? Sounds old-fashioned.”
“It’s not old-fashioned,” Candace said. “I think it’s classy.”
“Everybody doesn’t like to wear hats. You might wanna take that into consideration, too.”
“But it’s my wedding.”
Tora shrugged. “Just trying to warn you.”
“I have a picture of the hat I can show you,” Candace said, reaching into her pocket for her phone. “I got the idea from a photo I saw in Vogue magazine.”
Tora looked at the photo. The hat wasn’t ugly, but it wasn’t cute either. “I’ll have to see it against the dress,” she admitted.
“You don’t like it? I think it’s beautiful.”
“If you like it, that’s all that matters. It’s your wedding as you said.”
They ended up someplace on Harwin Drive which, to Tora, was nothing more than a low-budget flea market. Underneath dim overhead lights were rows and rows of tightly-packed racks containing gowns and tuxedos and pant suits, and every formal event accessory imaginable. The clutter and density of it all gave her a headache. She believed they were there to see a particular hat, but nearly an hour later of shadowing Candace, Candace still hadn’t shown her this hat she just had to see.
“I’m going to find a place to sit down,” Tora said. Her patience was gone.
“What’s wrong?”
“I told you I’m tired, girl,” she said, stifling a yawn. “You wanted me to see the hat, now where is it?”
“Ohhh… it’s not in this store. It’s at the one down the street.”
Tora’s eyes narrowed. “Candace—”
“Alright! Alright! I promise we won’t be too much longer.”
“Why are we here anyway when you’ve already chosen the bridesmaids dresses? And please don’t tell me you got them from this store because, if that’s the case, I could’ve made the dresses for you myself.”
“Oh nooo.” She laughed. “I just like to come here to see what they have and to get some ideas.”
“Ideas for what?”
“I don’t know. I just like to browse, okay? I’m in love with all things wedding right now.”
Tora sucked her teeth.
“You’ll understand once you start planning yours.”
“Well… that’s not happening anytime soon,” Tora said.
They were in the kids’ section now and Candace picked up a dress that could have easily been a poodle on a hanger because that’s exactly what it looked like.
“I still haven’t decided if I want one or two flower girls,” Candace said. “I kinda like this.”
Tora shook her head. “Will you put down that ugly dress?”
“Now you sound like my sister.” Candace turned the dress around to look at the back. “I consider this fashion-forward.”
“There is nothing forward about it. It’s not even backward. Whoever designed it needs to be shot. Where would a kid where something like that? It’s a mess.”
“Geez… you must really be tired because you’re talking about shooting people and everything.”
“I’m beginning to think your sister is right because if you think that atrocity is cute then, yeah, I question your taste. That’s why they have it so dim in here so you can’t see how bad this stuff really looks.”
Candace laughed out loud and returned the dress to the rack. “Fine.”
“Can we leave this place already? It stinks in here, too.”
“Oh god, Tora… are you sure you’re not pregnant because I’ve never seen you aggravated before?”
“What?! Girl, no! Definitely no. I’m on the pill to make sure there won’t be any accidents.”
“Ruki and I decided we’re gonna wait a couple years before we start our family. Travel a little bit. I may even take a few classes on visual design. Ruki’s dad lives in London, and he hasn’t seen him in like six years, so we’re hoping to go and visit him. Actually, he has a lot of family in London he told me.”
“His dad’s not coming to the wedding?” Tora asked as they exited the store. She was glad to be outdoors and away from that musty interior.
“There’re some issues with his visa, and I don’t know all of the specifics, but Ruki said it’s a high chance he won’t be able to attend our wedding, which is kinda sad if you ask me. I’d rather he be
there than my mother-in-law.”
“Oh yeah,” Tora nodded in agreement. “I can definitely relate to that sentiment.”
* * *
She didn’t realize she’d slept so long until she woke up and noticed she’d slept right through her alarm and saw the missed calls and text messages from her parents and Nate.
Mink mewed softly, and Tora was surprised to find her lying right next to her. Mink never slept in her bed, preferring her own cat bed in the den.
After a quick trip to the bathroom Tora called Myles, then Sharon, before calling Nate.
“Woman, I’m glad you called because I was sitting here right now putting my shoes on, about to head over there.”
“What are you talking about, Nate?” Tora smiled.
“I was wondering why I haven’t heard from you all day.”
“I hung out with Candace for a little while after work, and then I came home and fell asleep.”
“You know I need you here,” he said. “I had to eat dinner and watch Power all by myself. I didn’t like it.”
Tora went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. She was starved. “I can’t spend every night at your place, Nate. I have cats to take care of, remember?”
He sucked his teeth and she laughed.
“I may stop by after work tomorrow.”
“May? Naw… I’m thinking you need to come over right now.”
“It’s damn-near midnight, Nate, I’m not leaving my apartment this late.”
He chuckled. “I don’t expect you to, but… I’m bored. And I’m lonely without my lady.”
Tora blushed and rolled her eyes at the same time. She grabbed the box of Hot Pockets from the freezer and popped them into the microwave.”
“I talked to Sunny today,” he said. “She told me they might let her come home Sunday.”
“Wow. Already? That’s cool. So she and the baby are doing good?”
“Well… the baby’s not eating as much as she should, so they’re trying to figure out why.”
“Oh. Is Sunny breast feeding?”
“I don’t know,” Nate said. “I mean… I assume she’s not. She didn’t breast-feed Anaya and Deuce.”
