by Harris, K
“I think she is an opportunist.”
“I can see that. Anyway I’m about to roll out, gotta take Mya to her doctor’s appointment.”
“Alright baby boy, tell my future sister in law I said ‘what’s up’.” Thomas teased. Barron flipped him off.
Barron pulled through the circular drive in the front of the hospital Mya worked at so they could drive to her appointment together. She quickly got into the car and greeted him with a sideways hug before putting on her seatbelt. Today had been a tad bit stressful on him but from the look on her face it was a lot more for her. He found himself staring at her natural features with no make-up, her body in scrubs, and hair in a high ponytail. She was texting quickly on her phone, no doubt probably texting Damon as usual. The envious feeling was starting to creep back up right where it left off. They were so close, it was sickening.
“So how was your day?” He asked to try and deter her attention to him versus her phone.
“It was interesting.”
“Care to elaborate.”
“Well… I have been getting these looks from a lot of the staff as if they know something I don’t. Then I went to the break room during lunch and someone had put a magazine onto the table with a picture of us when we were out for lunch. Of course people wouldn’t know it was me unless they know me personally but it’s just that I know someone put it there as a sign saying ‘I know who this is.’”
“Maybe it’s not as bad as it seems.”
“Maybe I’m just being paranoid. It’s not like I’ve never been in pictures before while being out with Damon.”
“Then you should be used to it.”
“I’ll never be used to it.” Mya giggled not picking up on Barron’s obvious attitude towards her and Damon’s relationship. “I don’t like being center of attention. That’s when trouble rears its ugly head.”
Barron and Mya walked into her obstetrician’s office in silence. Mya was anxious to find out what she was having but Barron was nervous as hell having never been in this situation. When they finally called her name to the back, he was relieved to be away from the prying eyes of people in the waiting room. He knew some of those looks were from fans or just people who knew who he was. Thankfully Mya was none the wiser because she was reading a book on her iPad and that was just fine with him. The less she freaked out the better for him. He busied himself with sending a heads up to Thomas to be ready to shield the news that’s bound to surface about his soon to be fatherhood.
“Good afternoon Ms. Daniels. Nice to see you again.” The doctor spoke to Mya and then looked to where Barron was seated. “Hello sir. I’m Dr. Jacobs.”
“Hello Dr. Jacobs, I’m Barron Anderson.”
“Father?”
“Yes.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the uncle, Damon Johnson already. It’s such a wonderful surprise to see a woman with the support of two men in her life. You are a very lucky girl Ms. Daniels.”
“That I am.” Barron could feel the steam rising within him that Damon had been to appointments, being a part of this pregnancy since day one.
“Well let’s get going on this appointment shall we?” They both nodded both eager to find out what the sex was and if the baby was healthy. Squirting the gel onto Mya’s stomach, moving the wand around to different parts showed a dark area on the screen with some white throughout. The doctor first pointed out the strong heartbeat, then the fingers, toes, and other body parts. Skipping the genitals all together to build up anticipation.
“What do you want dad?”
“A girl.”
“A girl?” Mya questioned.
“Most father’s all want a boy, it’s rare to hear of one wanting a girl.”
“I’m unique, what can I say.”
“That you are.”
“Well it looks to be a… Oops I’m sorry mom what do you want.”
“A girl as well.”
“Congratulations, it’s a girl!”
“Really?!” All the anger that Barron once had oozed away and was replaced with happiness of seeing his little angel’s first picture.
“I will print you guys off some pictures and get your DVD ready. Everything else looks good. I will see you in a month Ms. Daniels.”
“Okay thank you Dr. Jacobs.”
“Nice meeting you Mr. Anderson.”
“You too see you next time.”
After the doctor left out, the nurse came back about five minutes later with a return appointment and the video from the ultrasound. Barron noticed the nurse kept giving him a knowing look secretly telling him that she knew exactly who he was. He feared that someone in this office was going to leak to the press everything that should be kept between just them. Like the sex of the baby, if they didn’t release that information then he feared that someone would. Plenty of magazines pay a nice little penny for the scoop. The couple walked out with smiles on their face regardless of the pending issues that might arise. Barron made a mental note to discuss this issue with Mya later today because there might be some precautions that need to be taken.
“I am so dang hungry.” Barron chuckled at Mya’s sudden outburst of hunger. “What, that’s not funny. I am.”
“What do you want to eat sweetheart?”
“Umm… Chicken wings… Spicy… some cold slaw… ooh and some jo jo’s… extra ketchup with some banana peppers… and”
“Whoa!”
“What?”
“First I haven’t found anywhere here in the ATL that has jo-jo’s. What do you know about them jo-jo’s girl?”
“Whatever boy you tripping… I used to hit up Chester Fried all the time.”
“Me too especially when I’m not training. Oh snap, I keep forgetting you from around the Little Rock area too. That explains what you want to eat.”
“Why? I’m just craving that, thank you very much.”
“Okay, quit pouting. Daddy gonna make that meal happen for you.”
“Okay daddy whatever you say.”
It took some serious research but finally Barron got everything she requested to eat down to the jo-jo’s. To his surprise, he was actually enjoying that meal of choice more than he thought. He hadn’t eaten like that in years. Eating with her definitely couldn’t become habit because she was pregnant, eating for two. He had no excuse. When he spoke to his mother about the crazy stuff she has been wanting to eat adding the fact that he has grown a little attached to eaten it as well, she laughed. His mother went on to explain that it was a part of the sympathy pains in so many words that he was feeling. It’s men’s own natural way of supporting the mother of their children. Even though she hadn’t decided on moving in with him he knew the decision would be coming soon. Mainly because he spends a lot of his free time at her place or his anyway. Changing her address will just make the commute easier.
Chapter seven
Mya was feeling the pressure of moving in with Barron. All the time leading up to the appointment, they would be together when she was off of work. He spent a couple of nights after they found out the sex of the baby. Finally the start of her work week had approached again but this day started off interesting to say the least. Constantly throughout the day she got weird phone calls asking her questions about her relationship with Barron B.A. Anderson. At first she was convinced that this was all some sick joke but soon realized that it was far from that. The nurse’s station was at an all-time uproar over whether the gossip blogs were accurate or was it just rumor that she was involved with B.A. Of course she tried her best to ignore the inquiries but that soon was blown out the window when pictures were added to the blogs of the two out on the town. The caption read: Soon to be UFC Champion fighter and alleged mother of his unborn!
Mya was livid that someone had caught such a candid picture of the two as they shared an embrace that could be viewed as more intimate than most. The next one is the one that really made her blood boil. ‘According to inside sources the unidentified w
oman with the future UFC champion is a local nurse by the name of Mya Daniels. The two have been seen together on countless dates with just the two of them. Sources say that the two met during his birthday party that was held here in downtown Atlanta.’ “Shit!” Mya exclaimed truly feeling betrayed that someone had the nerve to actually give out her name and the details of how they met. She couldn’t even fathom any one close to her being the one to divulge that information like that. Just as that thought exited her mind her phone started to vibrate her pockets non-stop. Checking the screen she saw her mother’s picture clear as day.
“Hey Ma?” She stepped away from the desk to answer the call because it had to be important if her mom was calling her knowing she was at work.
“Hey baby. What is going on down there?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m getting all these damn phone calls asking if I knew the relationship between you and some fighter. Mya you know we didn’t push to know who my grandbaby is by or anything but…”
“Mama…” Mya sighed.
“It’s true, huh? Mya how the hell did you meet this guy?” Her mother wasn’t upset she was just a little concerned.
“Mama, I don’t know who is listening where and why. I gotta talk to you when I leave work okay?”
“Call me as soon as you get off. We need to talk about this. People at your daddy’s job are asking is it true? I almost slapped the shit out of some little teeny bopper that works in my office because she called you a gold digger. You better tell me something before I get fired.” Mya had to laugh at that threat herself.
“I promise I will call. I gotta go.”
“Okay, be careful. Don’t make me hop on the first thing smoking to Atlanta little girl.”
“Yes ma’am.” They hung up with Mya still laughing at her mama wigging out over this news. Hell she couldn’t even believe it was this serious but considering that he is a famous bachelor it warrants some curiosity.
“Mya, can I speak with you in the office please?” The director of the floor came out to the nurse’s station. She felt like she was being called into the principal’s office.
“Yes.” Mya didn’t have a good feeling about this.
“Mya, I won’t ask you about your personal life because it is none of my business. But the happenings on the floor while at this hospital is ultimately all of our business. With the plentiful distractions of recent we have to request that you take a mandatory leave of absence. We can’t fire you but we can ask that you leave on your own accord before something serious happens.”
“Are you serious?” Mya questioned not believing that she was basically being relieved of her job duties.
“It’s for the safety of our patients. The board feels it will only be a matter of time before security will be breached to get closer to a story. It really is nothing personal. You have done a great job in your position but we ask that you take into consideration the patient’s welfare.”
“Affective when?”
“Immediately.” Sharon the director of that department sadly stated. “Mya you can always come back after the baby is born. We are positive that the ruckus will have cooled down by then. Just think of it as an extended maternity leave.” Mya just forced a smile while removing her badge, giving her keys to the medicine areas, and left the office to retrieve her things from her locker. She didn’t even bother looking at anyone on the floor as she left with a brave front as if she wasn’t fazed.
That couldn’t have been further from the truth, she had worked really hard to get to where she was and it was all flushed down the drain by politics. She knew some of the people on the board didn’t want her to have the job to begin with so that was their excuse to knock her down a notch. ‘What the hell am I going to do now?’ Mya questioned herself but to no avail she got no answer.
As she promised she called her mother after she had gotten comfortable at home. Of course the fact that she was off work early caught Patricia’s attention immediately. Not only did she have to explain about Barron, now she had to tell her about her kind of sort of losing her job in so many words. There was no doubt in her mind that they would make it hard for her to come back when the time came. Even still if they did let her get her job back after the baby was born, she was only four and some change along in her pregnancy. She didn’t have that type of time stocked up. Since she rarely took time off, she had quite a bit of vacation time stored up but it was nowhere near enough for six to eight months of pay. Nor could they hold her job that long. She felt physically drained from trying to think too hard over what she would do next.
Spending the next few days hemmed up in her home refusing conversation from Barron or anyone else. Damon was away on a business trip but he couldn’t even get too far in getting her to open up. Luckily she had went grocery shopping or she would have been starving. The only things she did was shower, straighten up after herself, but mainly sleeping and eating. By the fourth day Barron was threatening bodily harm if she didn’t answer the damn door when he came by. Not wanting to call his bluff, she opened up when he rang the doorbell with a simple ‘hi’ and walked away leaving him looking stupid at the door.
“What the hell is up with you Mya?”
“…”
“Is everything okay with the baby?” He rushed to her side.
“Everything’s fine with the baby.”
“Then why have you been ignoring me?”
“I just have a lot on my mind.”
“You had me worried. If I didn’t receive your text every day to allow me to know you were okay I would have kicked your door in a long time ago.” That vision of him doing that popped into her head making her chuckled a little. “I’m serious. Now what can daddy do to help?”
“Can you get my job back?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I know you’ve seen the media sites.”
“Yeah that’s one of the reasons why I called to check on you but you ignored me.”
“Oh yeah, well I just didn’t feel like talking to anyone.”
“Even Damon?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Did you ignore everyone as you did me?”
“Careful Barron, an outsider might think you were jealous.”
“That also wasn’t an answer.”
“Barron I haven’t spoken to anyone besides my mother.” He nodded his head in response trying not to show how happy that made him that he wasn’t the only one she was shutting out. “The hospital put me on a mandatory maternity leave as they called it.”
“Can they do that?”
“According to the board they can because I would be putting the patients at risk.”
“Because you’re pregnant?”
“Because I’m pregnant by you. The press has been eating this up. The blogs, gossip magazines, and some supposed reporters have been calling non-stop for interviews or any kind of statement.”
“I’m sorry Mya.”
“It’s not your fault.” They both turned towards the door hearing keys in the lock. When the door opened, Mya pretty much figured who it was but Barron was pissed to see him just walking up in her house. He didn’t even have a key, what’s up with that.
~
“Hey boo.”
“Hey sugar bear.” And to top it all off they got pet names. ‘Ain’t this a bitch,’ Barron thought to himself as he watched them embrace feeling like an outsider suddenly.
“I guess I will go and let you two catch up.”
“You don’t have to leave. I didn’t even know you were here.” Damon said mockingly. Mya knew him oh so well.
“Damon behave. Barron you don’t have to leave. Excuse my best friend, he knows no boundaries. He comes and goes as he pleases.”
“No need to explain for me but she is right. I pop-up to keep her on her toes.”
“That’s what we call it now.” Mya folded her arms across her chest. He only smirked and nodded his head. “I’m gonna remember
that when I just pop-up when one of your friends are in town.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“I would.”
“Suit yourself but I bet you get an eye full that could possibly hurt your feelings.”
“My feelings? I doubt, my stomach maybe.”
“Oh it’s like that. See when the next time I help clean up your mess when you get another stomach virus.”
“DAMON!” Barron even had to admit their banter was funny even though it was a nasty thought. “So Barron you gonna join in on the laugh at Mya show Damon is putting on?”
“Huh?”
“Huh hell…”
“No seriously what the hell is going on that you two are all in the media? And what the hell is this I hear about them assholes at the hospital making you go on maternity leave now?”
“Damon, how the hell did you hear about that?”
“I have my sources. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“I don’t know who would maliciously leak my name like that.”
“Could it have been a family member?” Barron decided to get some much needed answers himself. He was wondering the same thing about who would bump their gums.
“No one knew who I was pregnant by. I wouldn’t tell anyone your name. Damon found out when we ran into each other at the restaurant.”
“What about the chicks you were with at the party?”
“Shannon and Kim wouldn’t know technically because I told them nothing happened between us.”
“Them raggedy bitches! Why didn’t I figure that out sooner? Hell yeah you know either one of them or they both did it together to get back at you for getting the prize before they could. I can’t stand them hoes.”
“What would they have to gain?”
“What do they ever have to gain by sleeping with the highest bidder?”
“Money!” Barron and Damon both said at the same time.
“Besides that, how much money do you have saved?” Damon asked.
“Enough.”
