by Lady Lissa
“You haven’t been around her lately, Nya. You don’t know how she’s been acting,” I said.
“She’s been acting like a woman in love who’s pregnant with her husband’s baby!” Nya said angrily. “How dare you accuse my sister of cheating on you!”
“Nya, can you keep in mind that your sister is nowhere to be found?!” I asked getting a little aggravated.
“Well, have you tried calling her?”
“Of course, but her phone and purse were left in the car!”
“Oh shit! That’s not good!” she said.
I wanted to say, no shit Sherlock, but I kept my mouth closed instead. We had to go out and look for my wife. “I’m going to call the police,” I said.
“It won’t do you any good. She has to be missing for at least 24 to 48 hours before you can file a missing person’s report,” she said.
“Dammit! So, what the hell are we supposed to do?”
“We can go look for her ourselves. We’ll just look around until we find her,” Nya stated.
“Alright,” I said as we ended the call.
For the next four hours, I searched the streets for my wife. Nya, Lyric and Harmony were also looking for Kiyah. I had no idea where she was or what was going on. I made my way back to the apartment feeling drained and like I hadn’t accomplished a damn thing. I was hungry as fuck and still didn’t know where the hell my wife was. I walked in the front door, exhausted and starving. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was almost six in the evening.
As I sat down to eat, my phone rang. It was Lyric.
“Hey Lyric,” I answered.
“Iman, have you heard from Takiyah yet?” she asked in a panic.
“No, and I don’t know where else to look or what to do,” I said as I breathed out an exasperated sigh.
“I just don’t understand why she would just disappear like that. Nya said you guys got in an argument. Was it that bad that she would just take off?”
I was sure that if Nya told her about our argument, she had also filled them in on what it was about. I mean, why only give partial details? It didn’t make sense.
“Well, she was pissed because I asked her if the baby was really mine…”
“Wait… you asked her if the baby was yours?”
“Yea…”
“Why would you ask her that? Kiyah loves you and would never cheat on you!”
“Yea, that’s what you guys keep telling me, but that ain’t what her actions been showing me…”
“Look Iman, my sister is nervous about having her first baby. I should know because I’m just as nervous. That doesn’t mean the baby isn’t yours, so for you to ask her that was definitely out of line,” she said.
“As soon as I find her, I’ll apologize. Okay?” I asked.
“Please let us know if she turns up. Call us, no matter what time it is!” she said.
“Okay.”
We ended the call and I rewarmed my food again. I was worried about Takiyah, but I wouldn’t be any good to anyone if I lacked energy. I began to eat my food while I waited for my wife to turn up. When I was done eating, I threw my food tray away and placed Takiyah’s in the fridge. I made my way to the bathroom to take a shower. This day had been a long and fucked up one.
I hated the thought of Takiyah being out there without her phone. I just prayed she came home soon…
*****
I settled down on the sofa because I knew I wasn’t going to sleep much tonight. It didn’t even make any sense to go in the bedroom. I was worried sick about my wife. It was now ten o’clock and she still hadn’t made it home. I didn’t know who to call because her sisters and mom had no idea where she was.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
That banging on my door almost made me fall off the sofa. I didn’t even realize I was falling asleep until that sound shook me up. And I said banging because that was exactly what it was. It wasn’t knocking like normal people did. It was straight banging like it was the police or something. I jumped up and ran for the door, worried that it might be bad news about Takiyah.
I pulled the door back and a police officer was standing there.
“Mr. Adams?” he questioned.
“Yea,” I answered. I was nervous as fuck as to why that cop was on my doorstep.
“We have a woman named Takiyah Adams in the back seat. We found her wandering the streets, so we picked her up. This isn’t a safe time for any woman to be out and about by herself, especially in her condition,” he said.
“You have my wife in your car?”
“Yes sir.”
“Oh my God!”
“Sir, did you two have a fight?” the police officer asked.
“No, we didn’t. She had a doctor’s appointment earlier and we found out the sex of our child. Long story short, we stopped for lunch. I went inside to get the food and when I came back to the car, she was gone,” I said.
“Well, we can release her in your custody, but I’d advise you to keep a close eye on her.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that your wife might need some help. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to her while she’s carrying your child, right?” he asked.
“No disrespect, officer, but you don’t know anything about my wife or her issues.”
“LET ME OUTTA THIS FUCKIN’ CAR!!” I heard Takiyah yelling from the back seat of the cruiser.
“I appreciate you for bringing my wife home, but can you please let my wife out of the car?” I said as I walked towards the back door of the cruiser.
“Okay, I’ll release her into your custody, but…”
“LET ME OUTTA THIS GOTDAMN CAR!” Takiyah yelled again.
“But if we find your wife running the streets like that again…”
“It won’t happen again,” I said.
He opened the door to the cruiser and Takiyah busted out the back door like a bat out of hell. “BOUT TIME!” she said as she huffed past us and marched into the apartment.
I thanked the officer again and headed inside the apartment. I was happy that my wife was home, but the woman I just saw looked nothing like the woman I saw earlier. Her hair was disheveled, she wasn’t wearing any shoes, and her hair was a tangled mess. She looked like she had been in a fight with a pack of wolves. I wondered what the hell had happened to her while she was gone.
“Where have you been, Kiyah?” I asked.
“You left me!” she said angrily.
“What are you talking about?”
“You left me at Olive Garden!”
“No, I didn’t leave you! You left!”
“I went to the restroom at the gas station and came out and you were gone!” she said.
“That ain’t true! I looked for you all over and couldn’t find you anywhere!” I said.
“Whatever! First you accuse me of cheating on you and then you just left me stranded! No phone, no purse, nothing!”
“If you were just using the restroom, why didn’t you come home when you were done? Why didn’t you call me or your sisters to come get you?” I asked.
“Huh?”
She stood there looking at me confused as I don’t know what.
“Where were you, Kiyah?”
“I… I… I don’t know,” she said.
Next thing I know, she was crying hysterically. What the hell was going on? What was wrong with my wife?
“Do you need to see a therapist?” I asked.
“A therapist? I’m not crazy!”
“No one said you were crazy, baby. Maybe the stress of the pregnancy is just too much for you. It might help if you spoke with someone,” I said.
“I’m just going to take a shower and get something to eat. I’m starving,” she said.
She walked to the bedroom and I followed her. I wasn’t done with this conversation. I needed to know where she had been for the past seven hours.
“I need to know where you were?” I asked.
“I need to wash my ass and
eat. I’m not talking about anything until I’m done!” she said as she brushed past me and went into the bathroom.
I almost followed her in there until she shut the door in my face and locked it.
“Dammit Kiyah!” I said as I slammed my fist on the door.
Chapter eleven
Nya
I hated that my sister was missing. Where the hell was she? What could have been so bad between her and Iman that she would just disappear for hours like that? The fact that she was out there by her lonesome without a phone or anything. I could tell that I was going to have a restless night tonight. I mean, how could I sleep when my little sister was missing?
I wanted to call Iman before I left, but Tyriq suggested that I let Lyric or Harmony call. He knew how upset I was with Iman for accusing Kiyah of cheating on him. I didn’t know what was going on in their marriage, but Iman knew damn well that my sister would never cheat on him. My sister loved him and was committed to her marriage. He must have really hurt her feelings for her to leave the way that she did. She didn’t even take her phone or purse with her. I didn’t know where her head was at right now, but I hoped she would come home soon.
When Lyric called me, I hoped she had some good news for me.
“Hey sis, did Ki return home yet?” I asked, anxious to hear the news.
“Not yet. Iman told me that he accused her of cheating and asked if the baby was his!”
“WHAT?!”
“Yea, that was my reaction too.”
“I can’t believe he asked her that shit! No wonder she took off!” I said angrily.
“I thought the same thing. He knows better, so I wonder why he even went there with her.”
“I don’t know, but he better hope nothing happens to our sister,” I said.
“I know that’s right. Well, I’m gonna try to get some rest. Today has been absolutely draining and unless Ki turns up, tomorrow will be the same,” Lyric said.
“I know. I think Dezi can feel my tension because she wouldn’t even let me put her to sleep. Her daddy had to rock her to sleep and you know how much I enjoy my quality time with my baby girl,” I said.
“Aww, it’ll be better tomorrow. Something tells me that Ki is going to show up bright and early, at least I hope so.”
“Me too. Well, get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
We ended the call and I went to bed. However, sleep didn’t come easy for me…
*****
The next morning, I woke up bright and early. The first thing I did was call Iman. He answered on the second ring.
“Hello.”
“Iman, it’s Nya. I was calling to find out if there was any word on Kiyah,” I said.
“Yea, the cops brought her home last night around ten.”
“What? The cops brought her home? Is she okay?”
“Yea, she’s fine.”
“Where was she all afternoon?” I asked.
“I don’t know. She won’t tell me,” he said.
“Well, is she alright? Is the baby okay?”
“I just told you that she’s okay. Look Nya, I gotta get to work. I’ll talk to you later.”
“You’re going to work?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you staying home with Kiyah?”
“Kiyah left for work about 20 minutes ago,” he informed me.
“Oh, well if she went to work, she must be okay.”
“That’s what I told you,” he said.
“Okay, I’ll call her later then.”
“Okay, bye.”
He ended the call and I wondered why the hell didn’t he call me last night when she made it home. What kind of shit was that? Well, at least my sister was good. I’d have to call her later though and find out what the hell happened to her yesterday though. I was so relieved when Iman said that she and the baby were fine. I would have hated if she had gone back to the abortion clinic. I didn’t believe for one second that any clinic would terminate her pregnancy at that stage, but you never know.
For right now, all I could do was be thankful that she was okay and back home where she belonged.
Chapter twelve
Takiyah
I didn’t know what happened to me yesterday. I felt like I just had to get away from my husband for a little while. When he accused me of cheating, that hurt me to my soul. I couldn’t believe how much those words hurt me. I was walking down the street when the police cruiser pulled up on me. They made me get in the back of the car, which made me feel like a criminal. In any case, I was glad to see them, so they could take me home. Believe it or not, I didn’t know any of my family member’s phone numbers by heart. I only knew them from dialing a specific number on my phone or pressing redial.
I was brought home and released into my husband’s custody like some juvenile delinquent. I was so embarrassed but thanked God that our neighbors were asleep when that happened. I woke up this morning, got dressed, grabbed my cup of coffee, and went to work like nothing ever happened. Of course, Iman and I got in an argument last night before we went to bed. He wanted to know where I was and I insisted that I didn’t know which I really didn’t. It was like part of my brain had lost its memory.
I remembered getting out of the car. I remembered walking to the store. I remembered walking back to the car and finding it gone. I also remembered being really pissed off, but nothing else until the cops found me. If I knew where I was, I’d tell him. But how could I explain to him something I didn’t have the answer to? As I went about my day’s work, I got a call from all three of my sisters. Their calls would have to wait. I had work to do, especially since I missed yesterday to handle pregnancy business.
Besides, I already knew what they wanted. They probably wanted to question me about my whereabouts yesterday, and that was definitely a conversation that could wait. As I drove to Hammond, I felt the baby moving around in my stomach. Tears immediately sprang to my eyes. Those weren’t happy tears like the normal pregnant mom who was anticipating the birth of her first child. Those were tears of frustration. I was so tired of this baby taking over my body like that. It was almost as if everything was about the baby and nothing was about me anymore.
As my little boy continued to do somersaults in my belly, the tears continued to flow. I had to pull over just to get myself together. I reached in the glove compartment and pulled out some tissue from the Kleenex box I had stored in there. Ever since I found out I was pregnant, and that Iman expected me to keep the baby, I’d cry at the drop of a hat. Everything set me off these days.
I cried like a baby until someone knocked on my driver’s side window. I dried my eyes and looked up into the face of the sweetest looking old lady. I lowered my window since she was trying to talk to me. “Are you okay, honey?” she asked.
“Yes ma’am, I’m fine,” I said.
“Are you sure? You don’t look fine,” she said.
“I’m okay. Thank you for asking.”
“Alright, you take care now.”
I waved at her as she walked off. I blew my nose, discarded the tissue and got back on the road. I wished I knew how to turn off the faucets. I was tired of all this crying. I hoped that once the baby came things would get better for me.
Three months later…
I started having contractions early this morning while I was getting ready for work. I still had a couple of weeks before the baby was due, so I thought they were probably Braxton Hicks. As I continued to go about my daily routine, another pain hit me. That one was so excruciating that it almost dropped me to the floor. Iman came rushing into the bathroom to see what was wrong with me.
“Are you having contractions?” he asked.
“Yes… but I’m sure it’s false labor,” I said as I practiced the breathing I was taught.
“Come and sit down.” He took me by the arm and was leading me out of the bathroom when my water broke. I looked up at him as he looked at the fluid around my feet. “We gotta get you to the hospital!”
&nbs
p; We walked slowly towards the bedroom. He grabbed my hospital bag and purse on the way to the front door. He picked up his keys on the holder and we headed out. He unlocked the door and we made our way to the car. He helped me inside the car, closed the door and put my bag and purse on the back seat. He hopped in behind the wheel and started the car.
On the ride to the hospital, he called the doctor to let her know that my water had broken. As the contractions continued, I found myself unable to stay still. I had heard stories about women giving birth, but I never thought it was anything like this. I was in so much pain.
“Are you okay?”
“Noooooo!! It hurts!” I cried.
“I know and I’m driving as fast as I can. Just keep breathing,” Iman coached.
The past couple of months had been a little stressful, but we managed to get along better. I still cried at the drop of a dime, but Iman and I were no longer arguing. He was super supportive of me and he really wanted the baby. He wanted to have his own family and I understood that. I was still a nervous wreck about becoming a mother, but I had to do it for my husband. I hoped that things between us would get better once the baby came.
My husband promised me that all ill feelings I had about being a mother would be erased. He said once I had the baby, I’d feel nothing but unconditional love for our son. I truly hoped he knew what he was talking about. As he pulled into the parking lot, he asked, “Can you walk with me upstairs to the maternity ward?”
All I could do was scream in agony from the pain of being in labor. He drove the car around to the emergency room and put the car in park. “I’m gonna go get a wheelchair for you,” he said as he got out of the car.
He went inside and came back out with a nurse who was pushing a wheelchair. He opened the passenger’s side door and helped me into the chair. The nurse told Iman to meet us on the third floor and pushed me into the hospital. She rushed to the elevator and hit the ‘UP’ button on the panel. When the car came to a stop, she pushed me inside and hit the number three.
Once she got me upstairs, she led me to a room. She gave me a gown to put on, so I slipped in the restroom to do so. When I was done, I reentered the room at the same time Iman was coming through the door. I gave him a weak smile before I rustled myself over to the bed. I climbed in and the nurse hooked up the monitor, attaching the straps around my belly.
