by Love Belvin
“TB part of that beard gang. My fuckin’ gawd!”
“I hope that chick he hugging is the replacement for that gold digger.”
“That’s his new chick? Damn! Wasn’t he just engaged to the hazel-eyed hoe?”
“TB stay with dime pieces!”
“Can I get one?”
“I knew he was gonna get tired of old girl. #DumbAssTrick”
“#byejade go trick the next baller! leave trent alone!”
“Did old girl give the ring back?”
“TB came to his senses and dropped the thirsty cocksucker.”
“That can’t be her real hair!”
“Jordan hooked him up with one of his stripper broads. Ha!”
I tossed the phone on the island. Taking a deep breath, I rubbed my face, remembering I didn’t put on makeup yet.
“It’s his first lady, dumb twads!” I groaned in my palms.
It was now clear why Lashawn was upset. People commented freely on information they had no privy to. Trent told me to unfollow all the gossip blogs last year after the pictures of us on the yacht got out. I didn’t think that would allow me an escape. Even AJ Calloway reported about it on Extra! I did unfollow the blogs, but couldn’t help peeking in every now and then. And on occasion, Lashawn would send me things like this. The general consensus of Trent Bailey fans was that I was a gold-digging whore, who didn’t deserve their redeemed champion. I knew it shouldn’t, but it hurt. When I met him and learned about his fall from grace, I used to say it was Trent and me against the world. Lately, I’d been feeling it was me against his world.
Traveling back across to the counter, I decided I had to push that out of my head. I wouldn’t even respond to Lashawn yet.
Elle: The intern is telling me about a Trenton Jackson commenting on FB posts asking you to check your inbox. She said she can see you’ve been seeing his messages and she doesn’t know what to do. Should we block him? She’s not allowed to check inboxes or block without approval. I didn’t want to give the green light considering his name.
I took a deep breath and backed out of that text thread, going into another. The sound of a cough had my head lifting from my phone. Across the exam room, the doctor was typing at the computer all the information Jade had to fill out once we got here. We were waiting on her to finish up in the bathroom.
+1(310)555-8427: What the absolute fuck? How long are we going to do this? You can’t do a 5 min convo?
I felt my nose go wide as I deleted it. Then I moved on to text April. I hadn’t heard much about my moms since she was discharged from the hospital last week. My little cousin, Kendal, posted a picture in front of an emergency room about checking in on his sick auntie. I had a feeling it was my moms he was referring to.
Me: Yo April. Whats good with mom dukes?
The door cracked open, snatching my attention. Jade tried managing with her clothes in one hand and a small plastic cup covered with a napkin in the other. She wore a gown and socks as she walked out wobbling, trying to cover her backside. I jumped to my feet, grabbing her clothes, and she took the cup over to the doctor.
“Okay.” He acknowledged her, taking the urine. I watched his every move with it, knowing what it would be used for. “My nurse here will take your blood work and I just plugged in your vitals and other pertinent information.” He tossed a strip into the clear cup and rolled on the stool like a pro over to the table where Jade climbed onto, handing the nurse a printout. “Let’s get your legs up here. Scoot down so you’re not nice and comfy.” His humor was whack as he nodded to a nurse, who had her tray set up to take blood.
My attention was on Jade’s spread thighs.
Why her legs gotta be in there?
I tossed Jade that question with my eyes, but she didn’t catch it. Her attention was on the nurse, who told her in the lowest tone she was about to take her blood then smiled. Jade nodded with blinking eyes that shifted to focus below at something invisible, it seemed.
The doctor rolled back to the counter where the computer was. I don’t know what I was expecting next. Maybe to see what he was going to do with her legs in the metal holders with her goodness spread eagle to him? But no.
He went back to the counter, peeped the cup, and hummed, “Mmmhmmm.”
‘Mmmmhmmm’ what?
I wanted to ask as he pushed his feet against the floor to wheel back to my wife’s open legs. “Positive,” he spoke low without a smile.
“Oh!” The nurse piped out. “It’s positive, Ms. Matthews! Did you hear?”
Jade’s eyes blew up. “Huhn—no. What was that?”
I don’t know what I hated more: the fact that she missed she was having a baby or hearing her referred to as Ms. Matthews. She was not Ms. Matthews. She was Mrs. Bailey and I wanted the doctor and his nurse to know that. But of course, that wasn’t possible yet because our marriage was still on the low. The low that was about to blow because she was, true indeed, having a baby. My baby.
The doc brought a metal clamp between her legs. “I’m going to move forward with the pap smear and cervical cultures,” the doctor shared as he pushed his hand—or something—inside her.
My eyes flew to Jade and caught hers closing as she took a deep breath. I couldn’t see what he was doing from my angle, but could tell by her facial expression, they were “in touch.”
“Okay,” she answered without breathing. “How far along?” Her eyes opened to the ceiling.
“Based on the first day of your last full cycle…” he stalled, looking like he was reaching inside of her. Dawg, how deep are you? I knew them walls—every inch—and never got lost inside! “…I would say about sixteen weeks.” His eyes were to the wall as he kept reaching. Feeling. Then he pulled out. Pulled out. “Yup. About the size of an avocado. You’re just into the second trimester, sweetheart.”
“Second trimester…” Jade breathed, eyes to the ceiling, blinking hard.
What is a trimester exactly?
I didn’t ask. Couldn’t find my voice.
The nurse had taken her blood and was wrapping her up with a band aid. She tapped Jade’s arm and smiled.
“We’re going to do an ultrasound to see what’s going on with the little tyke in there.” He waved on a cart the nurse was wheeling over. “Do Mommy and Daddy want to know if they’re having a quarterback or a cheerleader?” he asked with dry humor.
By the time my eyes shot over to Jade, hers were already on me. Her closed mouth twitching and eyes blinking, but on me this time.
She swallowed. “That’s entirely up to you.”
Her tone was so…formal. Professional. And her eyes didn’t stay on me long. They moved back to the ceiling.
I nodded to the doc, who locked eyes with me. He had some type of stick attached to a wire in his hand. After nodding to me, he rolled it over the gel on Jade’s flat stomach.
“So, no morning sickness, change in eating, fatigue, or moodiness this time around?” he asked Jade as he watched the screen that was full of brown cloudy shadows.
“No.” Jade’s answer was short and fast. “Nothing.”
“You were lucky to go so long without any symptoms,” his voice was low. It was like he was making small talk while concentrating on navigating the stick over her. “Just a spike in weight. Was it like this your first pregnancy?”
“No,” her voice cracked and my head flew to her face.
She wasn’t crying, but she swallowed hard. Jade’s expression was empty. She just stared up to the ceiling. My line of sight followed her to a small vent over the exam table. But nothing attention-worthy. Then I found my way back to the monitor and—
My God…
Tiny feet. Two… With five toes a piece.
What the fuc—
Then there were legs, a butt, hands, arms, and a head. I felt my body shake as I looked back to Jade. She wasn’t with me. Her eyes were on their favorite spot in the room. The ceiling vent.
There was a whole damn baby inside my lady. A whole godd
amn baby!
My baby…
“Ut!” the doctor spit out.
“Oh!” the nurse followed him.
“You ready to know who will continue your legacy, Mr. Bailey?”
No doubt, people reduce you to your occupation when you’re a public figure.
I couldn’t speak, just nodded.
He moved the stick again over Jade’s belly and I caught her torso jumping a little. She was uncomfortable. My eyes shot all over, trying to keep up with all that was going down.
“Hereeee we go,” he sang, concentrating. “A little lady. You see?” His head flipped back to face me. I had no idea what I was looking at. “Here are the little thighs and at the apex are the genitals.” He waited for my response.
“I don’t see anything.”
“Because that’s your girl.” He winked and smiled for the first time.
I squinted, trying to see what a baby girl looked like. My baby girl.
Shit. I can make babies?
“Congratulations, Mr. Bailey!” the nurse cheered. “Ms. Matthew!” she added, holding Jade’s hand.
My lady may have managed a fake smile, but her eyes never left the ceiling. And that’s when a familiar feeling washed over me. A mother not excited about something important to me.
That’s not how she looks at Kyree…
Hell, it wasn’t even how she looked at me since I admitted to having feelings for her. And I understood. I got it. I fucked up. Jade didn’t want kids at this point in the game. She felt she had something to prove to the world. I didn’t agree, but got how I made this happen.
God, what have I done?
Was I overreacting about Jade’s temporary disappointment? Should I just eat her attitude and wait for her to bounce back in a couple of hours? Jade was tough, had faced harsher circumstances than this. She was good. I would take care of her and the baby. She knew that.
I wasn’t expecting to be a father, but I’m good on it.
As the doctor talked to Jade about prescriptions and upcoming appointments, I faded to the back and tried to shrink myself so she could breathe easy. I was used to doing that when necessary. I even ignored when we were about to leave and Jade was back in her clothes, holding paperwork they gave her while waiting on the nurse to come back with her prescriptions, and she studied the pamphlet with the words Unplanned Pregnancy? You Have Options.
Time. Jade just needed a little more time.
Any minute now. She’ll snap out of it…
As I heard the garage close behind me and walked into the side of the house, by the coat room, I asked, “You want me to go pick up the prescriptions later?”
Jade kept moving, taking off and hanging up her coat on the rack. “No thanks. I need to go back out later anyway. Your order is ready for pick up at Neiman’s, I need to pick up something for Ky’s presentation tomorrow, and his father wants him to stop by. Then I need to hit up Target to get the linens for the guestroom down here.”
She didn’t look at me while she moved, starting down the hall to the kitchen. After hanging up my bubble vest, I followed her. Watched her. She looked the same. Not pregnant. Her booty jiggled the same pace and her hips swinging was the same. She brushed the back of her neck, and I noticed the white nail polish nicely done. Physically, nothing was different. She was good. Still had time to adjust.
I yanked my beard, thinking.
“Hey, April.” Jade tossed her a smile while going in the opposite direction to the counter, checking the crockpot.
“Wait till ya get a load of this!” April spoke to the laptop at the island. “I just got off the phone with my sister, Lucy. She asking if Trent broke up with his girlfriend. I said, ‘Lucy, that man engaged to her. Ain’t no breaking up!’ She told me to go to this website where they got pictures of Trent posing with some cute girl with a big afro.” She turned the laptop toward us, although we were across the room. “Who that girl with the fake hair?”
Jade looked quickly, walking over to the sink to wash her hands. I squinted at the screen.
“Oh.” I chuckled, moving to the fridge for a snack. “That’s my pastor’s wife. And I think that’s all her up top. You ain’t recognize him in that pic?”
I couldn’t believe they got a shot of that. People make stupid shit out of nothing.
“Oh. I ain’t recognize him.” April’s forehead wrinkled as she studied the pictures again. “I ‘on’t know how I missed that beard. It’s almost like yours. I still can’t believe you grew it back out.” I laughed, now eating out of the big bowl of fresh fruit Jade cut up for me. “Anyway, did you read the headline?” she yelled. “Gold-digger’s Day’s Done! What the hell?”
I laughed, forgetting how dramatic April could be. She was such a soilder at Shank’s side, I was used to her calm and toughness. Now, she acted like she wanted to fight somebody. That CMD was coming out.
“Don’t pay that no mind,” I spoke with a mouthful. “They post anything for clicks. I bet a lot of people don’t even comment on that website.” I shook my head, going back to the bowl for more.
At least the blog, Spilling That Hot Tea, tried digging for the truth and most times got close to it instead of posting bull.
“Yeah.” April huffed. “Like this fool gonna say right here, ‘Good thing he made his exit before the “accidental” pregnancy came’! Can you believe that?”
A clash rang around the kitchen from across the room.
“You good, yo?” I didn’t see anything out of place.
Jade’s back was to us and her hands were gripping onto the countertop, shoulders shaking.
What the…
“Jade, what’s wrong, baby?” April asked.
She swung around, towing a big closed mouth smile. One I could tell right away wasn’t real. Jade’s arms shot into the air and dropped back down, slapping her thighs.
“The accidental baby’s here!” The fake smile dropped.
In a millisecond, I saw the red in her eyes. Then her face spasmed. Next came a rush of tears and she howled a cry. Her hands slapped her mouth, not wanting it to spill. Her shoulders shook and eyes closed tightly. She was losing the battle of keeping the cry in. I’d never heard her wail like this. Something jerked in my damn belly.
Jade had broken down.
Automatically, I jumped to get to her. Her eyes went wild, hands shot in the air and palms opened up.
“No!” I froze. “I’m fa-ine!”
The tears wouldn’t slow. The wails wouldn’t stop if she wanted them to. And I could tell she wanted them to.
“Jade, baby,” April’s tone was a world away different from a few seconds ago, but she kept her distance.
We both did.
Jade shook her head, turned for the entryway, and jetted out the kitchen. I stood frozen, not knowing what to do. Then my legs moved to do what was natural. I tried going after her. I needed her to do this with me.
“Ut-uhn!” April shouted behind me. “Not right now. Give her a minute, baby.”
I stopped in my tracks, inches away from the door my wife just shot through. My gut told me to listen to April. She was a woman. Plus, I had seen her boss up enough to believe she knew what she was talking about. Out of nowhere, I realized I was out of breath. My jaw grinding and nose stretched. My hands went to my waist, but I didn’t move away from the doorway.
“Come back, Trent. Not right now.”
My phone vibrated in pocket. Not thinking, I went to snatch it out.
+1(310)555-8427: Trent please!
My head swung back. “FUCK!”
“Come on, honey. Just sit for a second. Just a few seconds.” I swung around and faced my aunt, flexing. Slowly, I walked over to the island and sat on a stool. April dropped her head into her hands, taking a deep breath. Then she looked up, across the room. “She know for sure?”
I nodded, a million and twenty things running across my mind. “Just came from the doctor’s.”
“How far along?”
I deleted the t
ext then tossed the phone back into my pocket. “Sixteen weeks,” I mumbled. “Not that I know what the hell that means.”
“Well, damn! She in her second trimester?” It was more of a statement.
I turned to look at her. “What exactly does that mean?”
“It means she approaching the middle of her pregnancy.” My face wrinkled, confused. “A normal pregnancy is forty weeks. They break up the weeks into three trimesters. She at the beginning of the second one.”
“We had this thing going on for sixteen weeks?”
“She ain’t have no symptoms?”
I shook my head. “The doc asked the same thing. She been complaining about gaining weight, but I thought…” I shrugged. “I ‘on’t know.”
“Not everybody have signs. Poor Jade seem like one in that small number. Probably thought the weight came from fixing all this good food.” She tossed her chin to the crockpot Jade was looking inside of when the shit blew up. “She probably thought it was happy weight.” April slapped her hip. “I had years with it.”
I had no idea what that meant. “A little girl,” I could barely get out.
April sucked in a breath. Her eyes turned dreamy. “A baby girl! Get outta town. Jade’ll do well by a girl. Don’t worry. In no time, all her attention’s gonna be on getting ready for her.”
“Public opinion,” I groaned, rubbing my face with my palms. “She’s fixed on that. I mean… I get it, but I been in the game for a minute: I’m used to people spewing bullshit. She gotta shake that.” I scratched the back of my head.
“Well,” her voice was low. “That ain’t easy when your man is larger than life.” She smiled at the countertop. “Your uncle may not’ve been a big athlete, known around the world, but he was the man in Camden. You know.” She pointed with her forehead, giggling. “Everybody wanted that Shank. And I was a tiny ole thing; just a few pounds more than Jade is now. People thought I only wanted Shank’s money. I was young, pretty, and had that body, honey. Whew!”
“Yeah, but you ain’t let them fade you, April.”
“You think they didn’t? Shiiiiit. People’ll say I stayed with him through all that cheating for the money. Ain’t no amount of money can replace loyalty. I stayed because I loved him. He loved me. Then when it came out that he was sick! Oooooh-weeeee!” she sang. “The rumors turned into me getting his disability.”
