by Vivian Ward
Staring her down with my lips pursed, she could see that I was in no mood to play her games or put up with her bullshit.
“I’m kidding. You must be Tasha.”
“Yep. Come in.”
Leaving her standing in the living room, I went to Blake’s study to get him. At this point, I have nothing to say to his sister. She seems like an even bigger bitch than he led her on to be. He and Nikki were playing learning games on his computer as she sat on his lap.
“Your sister’s here,” my tone was more hostile than I meant it to sound.
“We’re coming,” he pushed the chair back and stood up. “Is everything okay?”
Folding my arms, I narrowed my eyes. “She asked if I was the maid when I answered the door.”
“Jesus! I’m sorry. I’ll talk to her. Where is she?”
“In the living room. I think I’ll take Carter to the nursery and nurse him before she sees him.”
The truth is, I need a minute to get away from the situation. I know if I go in there right now, I’m going to say some nasty things to her, and that’s not how I want to start a relationship with his family.
I’m better than her, and I’ll show her that. When I was finished feeding the baby, I joined everyone in the kitchen before I started preparing lunch. She flashed a sly grin in my direction as I fixed Nikki something to drink.
You’re better than her, Tasha. Just keep telling yourself that.
“Do I get to hold my nephew or not?” she looked at Blake, who was holding the baby.
“Sure! I didn’t know if you wanted him yet.”
“Of course I do. Let me see him.” She took the baby from Blake and held him up as she examined him. Looking at him carefully, she glanced at Nikki and then to me. “I don’t know Blake. He’s not as dark as his mother or half-sister, but you can tell he’s black.”
I slammed the spatula down on top of the stove and spun around on my heel. Right as I was about to say something, Blake held up his hand and cut me off.
I’ve had enough of her shit, and she’s only been here 30 minutes.
Her rude, condescending remark about me being a maid—I guess because I’m black—and then the comment about the baby, I was about ready to punch her in the face. I could take her beanpole ass right down to the floor. Picturing me pounding her face in as she cried helplessly on the kitchen floor made me smile. I even giggled a little.
“Damn it, Stephanie! That’s enough! Tasha is a good woman and a good mother. You will not disrespect her like that in her home.”
“I didn’t know that saying she was black is being disrespectful.” She rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. “All I’m saying is that I told you not to do the surrogate thing. I was right all along and now look at you. You’ve got a kid that’s not even yours, a half-breed and a black live-in…girlfriend, or whatever you want to call her. The situation couldn’t have gotten any worse!”
“You don’t talk about my kids like that! I don’t know who you think you are or why you think you’re better than anyone, but you’re not. This is my house now, and I won’t tolerate it.”
“How dare you talk to—“
“Steph, I think you should leave. Maybe come back some other time.”
Wow. He’s backing me on this.
It’s nice to know where his loyalty lays. I didn’t know what to say or think. Most guys would side with their family, but not him. His sister grabbed her pocketbook as she stood up from the table, lurching her chair behind her and huffed and puffed like the snob she is. She marched over to the front door, grabbed the doorknob and turned to face us.
“Blake Steven Adams! I cannot believe that you would treat your family like this!”
“Actually, sis, I treat my family well.” He smiled and turned to me. “Don’t I Tasha? I think I treat you guys pretty well. You, Nikki and Carter?”
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. It spread across my face like a bad disease. “I’d say you treat your family very well.”
His sister huffed and sashayed out the door. After we had heard the click of the door, we both sighed in relief. I felt bad that his sister didn’t even get to know us, nor stay for lunch, but with her attitude, I was glad to have her out of my hair. It surprises me how different the two of them are.
If he was anything like his sister, I might never have gotten the opportunity to come home with Carter and be part of his life. An empty feeling pitted my stomach as I thought about not having my boy in my life. He’s such a happy baby, and he’s so good.
“Sorry you had to endure that,” he said. His hands cupped my face as we locked eyes. “I promise that I will always be by your side, protecting and defending you. No amount of blood will ever come between us.” He kissed my forehead. “I don’t ever want you to leave my side.”
His beautiful words touched my soul. Suddenly, I couldn’t imagine not having him in my life. Tears of happiness began to well up in the corners of my eyes. I felt like I was his princess and he was my knight in shining armor. Everything was beginning to fall in place.
“Blake Adams, I’m glad I have you.”
Wrapping my arms around him, he pulled me in close to him and kissed me deeply. The feeling of his large hands caressing my back made me melt. As we were kissing, I felt Nikki tugging on the dress of my skirt.
“Momma? Momma. Momma!”
“What?” I broke our kiss and turned to her. “What honey?”
“Why did Aunt Stephanie say I’m not his and call Carter a half-breed?” Her watery eyes were sad, matching the expression on her face. My heart dropped as I felt her pain.
“When you’re older, I’ll explain everything to you, but you don’t need to worry about those things. Sometimes grown-ups say things that aren’t nice, but she didn’t mean anything by it.”
“That’s it,” Blake muttered. “I’ll be right back.”
I watched in wonder as he made his way down the hall and into his study before closing the door behind him. Whatever he was doing or had planned, he was on a mission.
Carter started crying, making me glance up at the clock. He didn’t have much of a feeding when Blake’s sister came over; it was time to nurse him. I grabbed Nikki and headed to the nursery to feed her brother while she colored.
Blake
The stunt my sister pulled pissed me off to no end. I’ve always known she can be a calloused bitch, but I never dreamed that she would treat Tasha and the kids the way she did.
It wasn’t right, and I was going to let her know about it. After she had left, I retreated to my study and called her cell phone.
“What do you want now?” she answered the phone.
“I can’t believe the shit you pulled while you were here. Are you fucking crazy? That’s my family that you treated that way.”
“I’m your family, too, Blake. You had no right throwing me out of your house like that. I’ve been your sister your entire life and she’s only been in your life for what? Nine or ten months? And she screwed you over on the deal, but I guess you’re okay with that.”
“Tasha didn’t screw me over on anything, Stephanie. Shit happens. Medical mysteries happen all the time. The doctors had no way of knowing that Debbie’s eggs would dissolve once they were implanted in the surrogate. There’s only been a handful of cases like this all over the world. Did you ever stop to think that maybe Debbie had a hand in all of this?”
She snorted.
“Debbie’s dead, Blake. Remember? You buried her. What the hell kind of drugs is that woman putting in your food over there?”
“Maybe Debbie had this wild idea in her head before she died and made it possible that Tasha and I would get together. Without her, I would’ve never been at that surrogate agency, nor would I have had a baby with such an amazing woman.”
“Yep, you’ve fucking lost it. Where is my brother?”
“I’m serious, Steph. I’ve not been able to get close to anyone since she died. Maybe she played a part in this so that I
would finally have someone—a good woman. One that’s worthy of me, and doesn’t put up with your bullshit.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong, and I’m not apologizing.”
“You’re making a big mistake because—”
“No, Blake, you’re making the big mistake. You should never have even entertained the idea of starting a family with the opposite race.”
“You’re such a bitch. Do you know that? Are you even listening to yourself? I love that woman out there, and I will never allow you to disrespect her like that.”
Wow. Did I just admit that I love her?
I can’t believe I said it aloud.
I’ve not even fully admitted it to myself. As much as I loved my wife, I never thought I could love another woman until now. Tasha’s the perfect mix of sweet and sassy. She’s sweet enough to capture my heart but sassy enough to keep me in my place.
“I don’t have to listen to this shit. I’m hanging up now.”
The phone went dead, leaving me sitting in silence. It wasn’t a bad thing, though. I took the opportunity to reflect on mine and Tasha’s relationship.
When the baby was born, things took a nasty turn. It was something that I didn’t think we would recover from, but since he’s been here, everything has been looking up. I know that when she first came to live with me, she was against it, and I didn’t know exactly how I felt about things either, but I knew I had to have her.
Ever since she’s been here, I’ve been happier than I ever have in the past three years. She fills a void in me that has been prevalent ever since Debbie died, and for once in my life, I’m happy with the decisions I’ve made.
Nothing would make me happier than to wake up next to her every morning for the rest of my life. As I was coming out of my study, she and the kids were sitting in the living room, playing and laughing. I watched them from afar as I saw how happy my family was and relished in how proud I am of my choices.
“What are you doing?” Tasha caught me spying on them from the hall.
“Just watching you guys.”
I walked over to the couch and joined them. Carter was babbling up a storm while Nikki tried to teach him to say ‘momma.'
He watched her like she was the most important existence in the universe. I wrapped my arms around Tasha as we listened to the kids carrying on.
Time has flown by since we brought the baby home from the hospital. We’ve been gearing up for his one-year check-up with his pediatrician. The doctor is going to be testing some of his fine and gross motor skills as well as his growth and development.
Tasha has been a complete ball of nerves the last couple of days, worrying about what the doctor will find. As we loaded the kids into the car and headed to his appointment, I reached over and grabbed Tasha’s hand, kissing it before holding it the rest of the drive to the office visit.
“You know things are going to be fine. Right?”
“I know, but what if they’re not? What if the doctor says he’s behind?”
“You’re a good mom, right?”
“I don’t know. I guess so.”
“Wrong! You’re an excellent mother. You would know if he was behind. You’re an old pro at this stuff. How was Nikki at this age?”
“About the same I guess, but what if I’ve missed something? I was reading this story once where there was something wrong with the baby’s brain, and the mother didn’t know. Everyone else could tell by just looking at the baby because its head was misshapen, but the mom couldn’t see it because all she saw was her beautiful baby. The mom wasn’t even aware of it until she started dating this guy—after the baby was a year and a half old—and he pointed it out to her. That was when she finally made the appointment. Turned out the baby had some rare deformity and they couldn’t fix it. As the baby grew older, his head continued to grow disproportionately. What if I’m that mom?”
I laughed. Sometimes she’s so hard on herself, but the truth is that I couldn’t ask for a better mother for my family.
“You’re so crazy. We both know there’s nothing like that going on with Carter. He’s a perfectly healthy, normal baby and he has a wonderful big sister who loves teaching him things. I bet he’s ahead of most of the kids his age.”
“I hope you’re right.”
The doctor’s office was crowded with plenty of kids ahead of us.
This is going to be a long wait.
Glancing around the room, there weren’t many things for kids to do while waiting for an appointment. There was one kid in particular who stuck out to me. He was a cute little boy, around Carter’s age, but slightly bigger than him.
The boy looked as though he was there with his mom, a white woman who vaguely looked familiar. I was watching the rambunctious boy bounce around as he tried to run but fell every few steps. Finally, the mom yelled his name, “Terrance!” It hit me. I knew this kid and his mom.
“Did you say his name is Terrance?”
“Yeah, he’s got an ear infection, so we had to book an appointment for today. They said they were busy and didn’t have any openings, but I didn’t think they’d be this busy when I begged for them to see him.”
“Do you remember me? I think we met before.” She studied my face for a minute.
“No, I don’t think so. Where did we meet?”
“I’m pretty sure I met you when you were in labor with him. Is his dad’s name Darnell?”
“Oh! Yes, I remember you now. He said you were there having a baby of your own. Is that him?” she nodded towards Carter.
“That’s my boy. He’s here for his one-year check-up.”
She looked over at Tasha. “Must be nice to have his father around to help out.”
“What do you mean? Where’s Darnell? Is he at work or something?”
“No, he left us a few months ago. I guess his vows at the altar didn't mean anything once he met some hoochie at the club when he went out for a boy’s night out. We got into a big fight, and I ended up throwing all of his stuff out on the lawn and told him never to come back.”
“That’s terrible. I’m so sorry to hear that.” Tasha has a way of making people feel better with her kind words. “Blake is a great father. I couldn’t ever imagine him doing something like that.”
Her sweet words made me smile. “Yeah, that’s a shame. I liked him when I met him, too.”
“He wasn’t so—”
“Carter Adams,” a nurse called him back to his appointment.
We grabbed the kids and headed back to the appointment. She showed us to a small, yellow-painted room and said the doctor will be in shortly.
“Are you still nervous now that we’re here?” I asked her.
“A little, but maybe you’re right. I tend to get hyped up over the simplest things. It’s just that he’s my baby, you know? They said he could have all these developmental problems when he was born, and it worries me.”
“Don’t let it bother you. Some kids do have developmental problems, but there’s usually some therapy or something they can do for them, but I think he’s pretty normal.”
Nikki and Carter played until the doctor came in. After a thorough exam and testing, the pediatrician said that he does have some delayed motor skills, but everything should improve in time. His speech, walking and everything seemed normal.
We need to work with him on grasping and picking up objects, but even then, the doctor said that some kids are just delayed in those areas. Tasha was so relieved to hear that. I could see the look of fear wash off of her face as her beautiful smile spread from ear to ear.
We left the doctor’s office with the whole family holding hands as I carried the baby. To celebrate the good news, I decided to take the entire family out to eat—including my sister. After making it back home, I called Stephanie to see if she could make it. Surprisingly, she agreed to join us.
“I’m taking the whole family out to dinner tonight and invited Stephanie.”
“What? Why?”
“This is
a special day for us, and I want everyone I love to be there, including her. You also might want to change into something else. We’re going someplace fancy tonight.”
Unhappy about my sister coming, she muttered something as she left the room and started to get the children dressed for dinner. I sauntered off to the bedroom to start getting myself ready, relishing in the fact that my whole family was getting together to celebrate a great day.
It was such a relief to know that Carter didn’t have any serious developmental issues of any sort. I never admitted this to Tasha, but I had my doubts and worries. A weight had been lifted from my chest, and I knew that we could finally focus on moving forward, leaving the past behind us. This includes my sister’s harsh words and demeaning behavior.
When I spoke to her on the phone, I made it crystal clear that she was to be on her best behavior and that she will treat my family with respect. I love Tasha and the kids.
There’s no way on earth I’ll tolerate anyone treating them unfairly. Even though Nikki’s not biologically mine, I treat her the same as I do the baby. She holds a special place in my heart and has taught me so many things about being a father.
My hope is that one day when she’s old enough to realize the difference between good men and bad men, she’ll use me as a guide and choose a man who will treat her like gold because that’s what she deserves. As I was putting on my tie, Nikki came into the room, dressed as beautiful as ever.
“Don’t you look gorgeous?” She beamed up at me, smiling just like her mom. “Is that a new swirly dress that your mom bought for you?”
“Yeah! See!” she spun around in her dress, making the skirt of it float around her as if she were Marilyn Monroe.
“Where’s your mom, baby?”
“She’s packing a bag for the baby before she gets ready.”
Wanting to help her, I walked into the nursery and finished packing the diaper bag and getting things together so she could get herself ready.
The kids and I played until she made her way downstairs in a stunning purple dress. The material clung to her skin perfectly, accentuating every beautiful curve God gave her. Her long, sleek hair curled around her glowing face.
