by Bailey West
Nette left the room while I continued my conversation.
“How has your day been?”
“It’s been busy. We are about to hit the stage as soon as Lyrica gets herself together. She’s been sick for the past couple of days.”
“Really? What’s going on with her?”
“She’s been throwing up. She’s been getting dizzy too, like almost fainting. The doctor thinks it’s exhaustion, but they are going to run some test tomorrow. We couldn’t get her to postpone tonight, so she’s in her dressing room with an I.V.”
“Awe man! But the performances have been great according to the reviews.”
“They have been amazing. Once she hits that stage, we forget that she is battling something, but as soon as she stops performing, we have to be there to catch her, literally.”
“It’s probably just a bug because I’ve been sick too. I have a hard time keeping anything down. I think it’s a virus going around.”
“Oh yeah? You didn’t tell me that the last time we talked.”
“That’s because I’m fine. I have everyone here looking out for me. It’s gotten a little better, but I’m still cautiously eating soup and crackers.”
“Z, why didn’t you let me know? I could have sent chef over to cook.”
“Zeke, I’m good. I’m a doctor, remember? Surrounded by doctors all day. If it gets bad, I will get looked at. You know a virus has to run its course.”
“Yeah…”
“Ezekiel, I’m fine!”
He turned around to address someone that entered his room.
“Is she ready? How is she acting? Alright, here I come.”
He turned back to me.
“Where is my Lil dude?”
“He’s on his way back from a meeting.”
“With Pax and the distributors, right?”
“Yes.”
“I will try to call back tonight. If I can’t, I will catch him in the next couple days, okay?”
“Sounds good.”
“Z, take care of yourself. Don’t make me leave this tour to come and force feed you because you know that I will.”
“Babe, I’m good. I shouldn’t have said anything. I don’t want you to be concerned.”
“I won’t worry as long as you promise you are taking care of yourself.”
“I promise.”
“Alright, I have to go. I will talk to you later.”
“Dream about me.”
“Always…”
13
One of the hardest things about being on tour this time is the fact that I am missing BJ’s birthday. He’s turned four, and I was not there to celebrate with him. I wanted to try to catch a flight back home to celebrate with him, but I couldn’t make it work. I hounded my brothers and Nette trying to make sure his birthday is a special one even though I couldn’t be there.
I paid for his class to take a field trip to the Children’s Theater. After the production at the theater, they had cake and ice cream.
Everyone on tour got tired of me talking about missing his birthday, so every single person on tour from the stage hands to the sound engineer sent BJ a gift for his birthday. He would open those at the party at my house.
“Hey, Z,” I smiled when I saw her face fill my phone’s screen.
“Hey, Zeke.”
I heard kids screaming in the background.
“I guess the party is in full swing?”
“Yes, all of his classmates showed up plus all of the partner’s kids. There are a few kids from the church here too.”
“That’s what’s up!”
I ordered three giant bouncy houses for the party. Chef was preparing hot dogs for the kids and barbecue for the adults. My mom and dad were in town for the party as well.
“Is he having fun, Z?”
She turned the camera on the phone to face the other direction so that I could see him jumping into the deep end of my swimming pool.
“Doesn’t he look like he’s having fun?”
I smiled. I was happy he was having fun, but I hated that I was not there.
“He does look like he’s having fun. Are the lifeguards doing their jobs?”
I had hired two lifeguards since the kids would be in the pool, I didn’t want any accidents.
“Yes, they are working. Blowing those darn whistles at the kids.”
“Z, do you think he’s disappointed I’m not there?”
“Zeke, stop beating yourself up about not being here. You couldn’t do it. Did he seem disappointed when you talked to him last night?”
“No, he was too busy telling me about the production at the Children’s Theater.”
“Right. Did he seem disappointed this morning when you spoke to him?”
“No, but I don’t feel like I’ve done enough. My dad never missed our birthdays. He always figured out a way to be with us. I just don’t want him to feel like he’s not important to me.”
She walked away from the crowd and closed a door behind her. It looked like she was in the bathroom.
“Ezekiel, you have done so much. You paid for the field trip. You planned this party by yourself basically. He has at least a million gifts to open. Baby, you’ve done more than enough. He understands you have to work. He’s fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Her words made me feel a little better about not being there.
“Did he give you your gift?”
“He did! Zeke that was so sweet.”
I’d asked Paxton and Roman to take BJ out to pick out a gift for Zora for his birthday. My father taught my brothers and me to celebrate our mother on our birthday. We give her a small gift on our birthday every year to thank her for giving birth to us. I wanted BJ to continue that tradition with Zora. My brothers took him out and let him pick out her gift.
“Paxton sent me a picture of the necklace he found. Is it edible?”
“Yes, it’s a candy necklace.” She moved the phone so that I could see her wearing it.
“He has great taste.”
“He does,” she laughed.
“It was important for him to choose the gift himself.”
“Well, I love it. Thank you, Zeke.”
She smiled. I love her smiles.
“Alright, enjoy the party. I will call you tonight if it’s not too late.”
“Zeke?”
“What’s up?”
“Thank you. This means so much to me and to BJ. I don’t know what we would do without you.”
That made me smile.
“I’m the lucky one.”
“Dream about me.”
“Always.”
Zora
I was startled awake by my phone singing Zeke’s ring tone. I looked at my clock. It was two in the morning. He never calls this late. I sat straight up in the bed to answer it.
It had been two weeks since BJ’s party.
“Zeke?”
“Z, is BJ asleep?”
“Huh? Um…” I was trying to clear the fog from my brain after being jarred from my sleep. “He’s with Doctor Mill…”
He interrupted, “Come open the door.”
I jumped up from my bed, grabbed my robe and put it on as I ran down the steps to the front door. I disengaged the alarm and snatched the door open.
Zeke was standing on the other side smiling. I didn’t give him a chance to say anything before I jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist. He caught me and moved into the house. Our lips violently crashed into each other like ocean waves crashing into rocks. He held me up while he kicked the door shut and re-engaged the alarm.
He pushed my back into the wall of the foyer while I worked frantically at getting his shirt pulled over his head and out of my way. He opened my robe and saw that I was naked underneath. He growled his approval. I held on while he shoved his jogging pants and underwear down to his knees, freeing Clyde (I had given him a nickname). I could feel Bonnie (Zeke’s nickname for her) we
eping in anticipation of being reacquainted with him.
With no preamble, I sank down onto him while he thrust into me. We both yelled out in pleasure. God! This felt like being in a desert for weeks and finally finding a fresh source of water. He felt so good. He filled me completely. He held on to my rear cheeks as he aggressively pumped in and out. Hearing his grunts and feeling his strong muscles holding me up turned me on. We locked eyes and didn’t break eye contact until I felt my release coming.
“Zeke,” I cried.
I wanted to hold out. I wanted to make this last longer, but I had lost all control.
“I know. Make it wetter for me baby.”
He changed his angle slightly, and that was it for me. I came so hard! I tightened my legs around his waist as I soaked Clyde with my juices.
“Damn, Z,” he thundered as he came right behind me. He held me in place several minutes before he slowly slid out of me and lowered me to the ground. I rested my head on his chest while we both fought to regulate our breathing.
He kicked off his shoes and pants that were still resting at his ankles. He grabbed my hand and led me to my bedroom. He went into the bathroom and turned on the water to fill the tub.
He came back out smiling.
“What are you doing here?” I smiled back.
He put his arms around my waist and said, “Lyrica’s doctor told her she needed to take a few days off. She is canceling the shows for the next couple of cities. I missed you, so I got on the next thing smoking to see you.”
“I missed you too.”
“Come on and take a bath with me.”
He helped me into the tub, and then he got in behind me. I rested my back against his chest as he began to tell me about all the things he’d been experiencing on tour.
“I think this is the last touring gig I am going to take for a while.”
“Really? Why? I thought you loved being on the road.”
“I used to love being on the road. I guess you get older and your priorities change. I would much rather be on a field trip with B or spending quality time with my Lady.”
“You’re still sad that you missed Braeden’s zoo field trip?” I chuckled.
“Yeah! I love the zoo. I wanted him to experience that with me for the first time. Not some random soccer mom.”
“You sad for real!” I laughed.
He laughed too.
We washed each other and got out. He put on a pair of his pajamas that were left at my house while I put on my nightgown.
We laid in the bed together quietly for several minutes before I said, “How is Lyrica doing?”
“She’s better now that we know what was wrong with her.”
“Was it a virus?”
He hadn’t told me if my diagnosis of a virus was accurate for Lyrica, but I was totally off with the diagnosis for myself.
“No, she’s pregnant.”
My stomach dropped.
“Really? Is she happy about it?”
“I think she is. She seems to be happy. She just found out which is why the doctor told her to chill for a few days. We may even postpone the rest of the tour indefinitely. Obasi wants her to postpone, but of course, Lyrica thinks she will be able to be violently sick every day and still put on a great performance.”
I sat quietly for a few minutes thinking about how I should continue this conversation.
“What’s on your mind, Z? You got quiet on me.”
“I was just thinking about kids. Do you want kids?”
“If you would have asked me this question before I met BJ then I would have told you absolutely not. Now that I have Braeden, I want fifteen more just like him,” he chuckled.
I love the way he calls BJ his. I know that he genuinely loves him. Hopefully what I say next will go over well.
“What if the next one would be here in about seven and a half months?”
“Seven and a half months,” he chuckled. “You would have to be preg...”
He sat straight up in the bed. I sat up and faced him. He reached over and turned on the light on my nightstand.
“Z, you’re pregnant?”
I nodded my head.
“With my baby?”
I nodded my head again. I was searching his face trying to figure out if he was happy or mad. Right now, he looked…confused.
“So, what you’re saying is in seven or so months, I’m going to be somebody’s father? There is a human being growing in your stomach that we created?” He looked at my stomach and then at me.
I nodded my head.
“Wow,” he whispered.
I started feeling nervous not knowing what he was going to say next.
“Ezekiel, I’m sorry. Remember I was adding the flax seed to our shakes? I had no idea that it could interfere with birth control. I mean it’s rare but that the only thing I can think of that could have happened. If I had known, I wouldn’t have let us go with a con…”
“Z, what are you talking about? Why would you apologize? You don’t want to have my baby?”
“What? Yes, I want to have your baby. I thought you were upset and I was trying to explain…”
He interrupted my sentence by leaning in and kissing me.
“I’m very excited. I’m the first one to give Momma a grandbaby. Now she’s about to have two! My brothers are going to be so jealous!” he laughed. “Did the virus that you were sick with affect the baby at all? I mean is she okay?”
“I didn’t have a virus. It was the baby.”
“So, you’re good? Our baby is good?”
He said, ‘our baby.' That made me smile. I nodded my head.
He leaned into me forcing me onto my back. I opened my legs so that he could lay between them.
“That’s why Bonnie felt different. Softer, wetter, more responsive; if that’s possible. I thought it was just because you missed me.”
He kissed my neck knowing he would get a response from me.
“Yeah,” I moaned as he kissed the most sensitive area on my neck.
“Let’s see if she will respond that way again.”
“Let’s.”
Ezekiel
I’m laying here with Zora in my arms. She fell asleep after our third round. I’m tired, but I’m so wired with the news of my impending fatherhood. I haven’t moved my hand from her stomach since I pulled her close to me while she was falling asleep. I’m going to be a Dad. That is so crazy. I love Peanut already. Yeah, I started calling our baby Peanut in my head as soon as it registered that Zora was pregnant. I didn’t think I wanted a Lady or a family, but right now, I couldn’t be happier.
I rubbed her flat stomach as I spoke out loud,” Hey Peanut. It’s your daddy. I just found out about you a couple hours ago, but I love you so much already. Your mommy is going to make sure that you grow big and strong while you are in there. When you come out, your big brother Braeden and I will make sure you are taken care of. I plan on making sure that you have everything that you need for the rest of your life. I want you to know that you were created in love. You have the best mommy. I love your mommy so much and you will too. I can’t wait to see you, Peanut. I love you.”
I love Zora. I haven’t said it out loud until now. I realized I loved her when it became easier to sleep with her in my arms. I knew it when she began to dominate my thoughts. Not because of our amazing sexual chemistry but because of the way she gets this squint in her eyes when she is about to do something mischievous or the way we silently judge people without saying a word to each other. Like one time, we were together at a store in the mall. A woman came out of the dressing room to ask her husband how she looked in a dress. She wasn’t a bad looking woman but her breasts were very small, almost non-existent. Her husband told her she filled the dress out nicely. Zora and I locked eyes and both of us knew what the other one was thinking. She was going to need a padded bra with that dress. Another time we were at dinner together and the waitress kept saying ‘pacific’ or ‘pacifically’ instead of specific
or specifically. Every time the waitress used the word incorrectly, I would look at Zora. We never said a word but I knew exactly what she was thinking.
I’ve never told a woman that I love her because honestly, I never have. With Zora, it’s different. I want a future with her and my kids. I could not have chosen any better than Zora to be the mother of my children. I guess since she is pregnant now I can say that I wanted the condom to break a long time ago. When we stopped using them, I wanted to hide her birth control. I wanted her to have my baby.
I walked into the kitchen the next morning to find Zora making breakfast. She had on my shirt that I wore last night. I walked up behind her putting my arms around her waist. I kissed her neck.
“Good morning, sleepy head.”
“Good morning. It smells good in here.”
“This is my second go at these eggs. I had to stop cooking the last batch to go and throw up. This morning sickness is wearing me out. When I was pregnant with BJ, I had it for the first three months.”
“Awe man. I’m sorry. Here, let me finish cooking this,” I moved to take the spatula from her.
“No, I’m okay. Usually, after I throw up a few times in the morning, I’m good.”
“So, what else do I have to look forward to during this pregnancy?” I grabbed a cup out of the pantry to pour a cup of coffee.
“Let me think.” She moved the eggs from the skillet onto our plates. She walked over to the island and put my plate in front of me. I pulled her between my legs as I sat on the stool. “They say all pregnancies are different, but with BJ, I started out sick in the mornings for the first few months. Then I was horny and hungry all the time.”
“So, no different than before the pregnancy then?”
She laughed and hit my arm. “Basically.” We laughed.
I pulled her closer to me and rested my hands on her behind.
“How do you feel about this? I know that it was not in your plan to finish your residency pregnant.”
“I freaked a little when my doctor told me that I was pregnant, but after I thought about it, I was fine with it. We’re together. You are a fantastic role model for BJ, and I know you will be the same for this one. I think the thing that scared me the most was how you would react to the news. I know that you didn’t plan on having children.”
