A Gangster's Dream 2

by Charmanie Saquea

  “That’s true. Thank you, Summer Love,” Dream said.

  “Welcome, Dreamy.”

  Carmelo turned toward Dream and kissed her lightly on her lips. “Don’t be nervous, baby. You got this. I love you.”

  “I love you too,” Dream said.

  Carmelo jumped out of the car and walked on the other side and opened both Dream’s and Summer’s doors. With one of his ladies on each side of him, he walked toward the entrance of the shop. People who knew Dream were waving, calling out her name, and congratulating her.

  They approached the entrance where the event planner was standing with a pair of giant scissors. It was the moment Dream had worked her entire life for. The moment she dreamt about since she was a young girl. She was about to cut the ribbon and open the doors to her very on boutique. She took the scissors and looked over at Carmelo. His smile gave her the boost of confidence she needed to get through the night. She raised the scissors to the ribbon and in one swift motion, she cut it. She was led inside where her workers were posted in their respective spots, ready for the event to get under way.

  The store had become so packed at one point that they had to slow down the amount of people they allowed in and started letting people enter in groups of ten to fifteen. Dream didn’t think the turn out would be as huge as it was, but she was proud and so was Carmelo.

  “I’m proud of you Dream,” Carmelo whispered in Dreams ear trying to be heard above the music.

  “Thank you Melo. I love you,” She said before getting on her tippy toes and kissing Carmelo.

  The night was going off without a hitch. People were coming and going with purchases and leaving behind praises to Dream about her boutique being hot. The night couldn’t get any better, and from where they stood, it didn’t seem as if it was going to take a turn for the worse either. That’s the funny thing about life, it has a funny way of throwing curve balls at you when you least expect.

  “Congrats, Dream,” a familiar voice said way above the music.

  Dream looked up and saw who the voice belonged to and instantly looked around for Carmelo. She knew that although Carmelo and Shaquille still did business together, they weren’t on the best of terms. That led her to believe that he showed up with the intentions to start shit.

  “Thanks, Shaquille,” she mumbled.

  It was her night and the last thing she wanted was some shit to pop off because Shaq decided to show up at an event he wasn’t invited to. When she saw Carmelo stalking in their direction, she knew that it was about to go down.

  “Fuck are you doing here?” Melo asked as he walked up on them.

  “Damn, Melo. That’s how you greet your right hand man? Plus, I came out to support sis and shit. It is a public store, right, or do ya’ll have a do VIP list around here or something?” Shaq said sarcastically.

  Melo seethed and blew out hot steam as he was trying to keep calm. The look on Dream’s face told him that he didn’t want him to make the situation bigger than it needed to be.

  “Shaq, do us a favor and dip,” Melo said calmly.

  “Oh, my money not good here?” Shaq asked.

  “My nigga, it’s a female store. Who the fuck you shopping for, son? Go ahead with that, Shaq. I thought I made it clear that I only wanted to see you if it was business related. You didn’t understand, or you thought I was fucking playing?” Melo barked as he took a step closer in Shaquille’s direction.

  “Melo, please not here,” Dream said as she reached for Melo’s arm to pull him back.

  “Yea, Melo, listen to Dream. Not here. But if this is what you really want, it can be arranged.”

  The indirect threat was enough to push Melo over the edge. Summer appeared just in time. While in the state he was in, she was the only one who could calm him down.

  “Uncle Melo, come dance with me,” Summer said, pulling Carmelo away from where Dream and Shaq stood.

  Melo may have been moving with Summer, but he didn’t take his eyes off Shaquille. He knew in that moment that their friendship that had been turned into nothing but business had been diminished even lower than that. It was only a matter of time before one of them pressed the other sideways and Melo had to make sure that person would be him.

  He danced with Summer but watched on as Dream escorted Shaquille to the door. He wanted to be mad at her for even sharing words with the nigga, but knew she had to save face for the sake of her business.

  It took a minute for the tension Shaq caused to go down but once it did, the remainder of the night went off without any problems. It was well after 4am when Dream, Summer and Melo were finally leaving the store and making their way home.

  <><><><>

  The next morning, Dream woke up to an empty house and a text message from Carmelo saying that he and Summer went for a drive. She was happy that they were gone because it gave her some time to take care of a few things. As of late, she had been extremely nauseous all the time and feeling fatigued. She had put off the inevitable long enough and decided it was time for her to find out what was going on with her body. After jumping in the shower, she headed down to CVS to pick up a pregnancy test.

  When she finally got home, she headed straight to the bathroom to handle business before Carmelo and Summer returned.

  “Arghhh,” Dreamed screamed out after vomiting everything she had eaten for lunch in the porcelain waste basket.

  She flushed the toilet before turning on the sink to wash her face and brush her teeth. With both hands resting on the sides of the sink, Dream leaned forward and stared at her reflection in the mirror. The woman she saw looking back at her wasn’t the woman she was a few months ago. Since making things official with Carmelo, Dream had become a better her. Melo had brought out parts of her she didn’t know existed, or maybe she knew they existed but was afraid to bring them out because of how emotionally abusive Brock was. Even with all the good Carmelo had done for Dream and how happy he made her, Dream knew that they weren’t ready to be parents.

  The thought forced her to glance down at the EPT that she had taken just ten minutes prior. The two solid blue lines that she wished were just her mind playing tricks on her were still visible. It was really happening. She was pregnant and extremely confused. Dream closed the lid on the toilet and took a seat. With both her arms folded across her stomach she rocked back and forth.

  There wasn’t any doubt in her mind that she and Melo wouldn’t make great parents. She loved kids and had seen firsthand how Melo was with Summer, so she just knew they would be perfect. The timing was just horrible. Her boutique was off the ground and doing extremely well, not to mention the custom orders she had been receiving. Her career was taking off just as she had hoped and Carmelo was still very much knee deep in the game. A baby at that time just wasn’t what they needed. The longer she thought about it, the harder it became for her to face her new reality.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t think she had time for a baby with her career because Dream was well aware of the many women who had successful careers and were great mothers. She worried more so that she and her child would lose Carmelo prematurely. No one wanted to bring a baby into a picture where everything was up in the air. With the life Carmelo was living, he could be there one day and dead or in jail the next. It wouldn’t be fair to child. Dream didn’t worry about herself much because she knew that with or without Carmelo, she would be okay. A child in the picture changed things.

  She needed the sound advice and consoling that only her mother could provide. But, with her out of the country, Dream had to settle for the next best thing.

  She picked up her phone that rested on the side of the sink and scrolled through her contact list until she came to the number she was looking for and pressed call.

  “Hello, my darling,” Carmelo’s mom sang into the phone.

  “Hey, mama,” Dreamed whispered.

  “What’s wrong with you? What did that knuckle head do now?”

  Dream sighed before revealing what was weighing heavy on
her.

  “I took a pregnancy test a little while ago and it came back positive.” She sniffled to keep the tears that threatened to fall at bay.

  “Oh wow, this is amazing news. I’m so excited. With Summer knocking at the door of adulthood, a new baby is exactly what we need around here. This is great. Wait… Why do you sound so down about this? I thought you and Carmelo were in a great place.”

  “We are, it’s just…”

  Dream spent all of forty five minutes expressing each and every last one of her concerns to Carmelo’s mother. Just like the refuge she hoped to find in her mother, she found it in Melo’s. The sound advice and comforting words were everything she needed in more at that time.

  “Listen to me, Dream. I know firsthand how scared you are of losing Carmelo. Believe me, I have those same exact fears. They don’t go away, no matter what. I’ve known the type of things my son has been involved in since as long as he been doing it. As a mother, I did my best and worked my hardest to keep him on the straight and narrow. Men are going to be men and sometimes we just have to sit back and allow them to do so. They don’t make the best decisions at times, but our job as women and supporters is to first and foremost speak our mind. If you don’t agree with the things Carmelo does, let him know that. Just know that at the end of it he will do what he wants to do. You going to have to accept it or move on, sweetie. As his mother, I’ve accepted it and I am just sure that every night before I lay these eyes to rest, I pray to the good Lord that he covers my boy. You have to do the same. Don’t not allow your fear to block the blessing which is this child you are carrying. If we allowed fear to dictate our life, where the hell would we be? I sure as hell would have never gotten to see the Eiffel Tower, which is a breathtaking experience I am so glad that I had. I’m scared shitless of flying. No, it doesn’t compare to what you experiencing. It’s just an example how fear can strip of us the most joyful experiences. Don’t allow that, baby,” Melo’s mom expressed.

  Dream quickly wiped away the few tears that had found their way through the barricades of her tear ducts and let out a sigh.

  “You are absolutely right. This is exactly what I needed to hear and I’m so thankful that you are here for me. Your words really made everything seem ten times better,” Dream admitted.

  “That’s what I’m here for. Now get your behind dressed and come pick me up. We have a doctor to see. Don’t worry about an appointment. This doctor will kick all his patients out for me if I asked him to. He got a little thing for me. If I wasn’t a happily married woman, chilllllllld! But yea, enough of that. Get ready and come on.”

  Dream let out a soft chuckle.

  “Alright, mama, I’ll be there soon.”

  “Okay, see you in a bit.”

  Dream ended the call feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Of course, she still had her concerns and still worried, but she wasn’t going to let those thoughts consume her. She looked down at her tiny belly and rotated her pointer finger in circular motion around her belly button.

  “Mommy can’t wait to meet you, love you up and spoil you down,” she said while smiling from ear to ear.

  Dream knew that if she didn’t move quickly, Carmelo’s mother would be ringing her phone of the hook. She had to put some pep in her step to get what was destined to be a long day started.

  <><><><>

  Dream was a bottle of nerves as she pulled up to Carmelo’s mother house. The two were going to the doctor today to see how far along she was and to take the necessary steps to assure that her baby would be healthy. She was happy that Carmelo had left the house early this morning so she wouldn’t have to explain where she was going.

  She wasn’t ready yet to tell him that she was pregnant because she didn’t know how he would react. They had never talked about having children and she knew how men in the game could be when it came to having kids. She never thought about the repercussions of their actions when they were being intimate without a condom. She just prayed that he wouldn’t be mad at her when she told him the news or feel like she was trying to trap him.

  “Girl, cut all that foolishness out. I told you that you have nothing to worry about.”

  Dream sighed and wiped her sweaty hands on her pants. “I’m sorry, ma. It’s just I’ve never been in this type of situation before.”

  “Dream, I know my son. He will man up and take care of his responsibilities. He’s basically helped raised Summer, so why wouldn’t he raise yours?” his mom asked, trying to talk some sense into Dream.

  “You’re right. I am tripping, huh?” Dream said as she backed out of the driveway.

  On the ride to the doctor, Dream was feeling bipolar. One minute she was nervous about the idea of having a baby, then the next minute, she wished she could fast forward time so she could see her beautiful creation.

  “Thanks, mama,” Dream smiled when they pulled up to the doctor.

  “Chile, don’t be thanking me. I’m just doing my job. Now let’s go in here and see about my grandbaby. It’s been sixteen years since I held one and you got me all anxious.”

  The two walked hand and hand into the doctor’s office. After filling out the necessary paperwork, Dream sat waiting for her name to be called. The two made small talk as they gushed about the fact that a new equation was being added to the family.

  “Dream Coleman,” a nurse called out.

  “Come back with me?” Dream asked Mama Love.

  “Of course, come on.”

  When they reached the examination room, Dream got excited all over again. She was starting to regret her decision to not tell Melo because she wanted him to experience this with her, but she figured there would be plenty of doctor’s appointments for him to be at.

  “Hello, Ms. Coleman, how are you?” Dream’s OB/GYN asked.

  “I’m good, just a little anxious.” Dream smiled.

  “I understand one hundred percent. Who do we have here?” the doctor asked.

  “I’m her mother-in-law and that little one’s nana,” Mama Love gushed.

  “Excellent. Shall we get started?”

  “Yes, we shall.”

  The doctor did the pelvic exam and confirmed that Dream was indeed pregnant. She was 12 weeks, to be exact. The doctor gave her some prenatal vitamins and gave her instructions on when to take them. Dream was in awe. In about six months, she would have her a little prince or princess.

  “This is so unreal to me right now. I never thought I would be someone’s mother,” Dream said as they waked from the back.

  Before Mama Love could respond, Dream was colliding into another woman, knocking papers out of her hand.

  “I’m sorry,” Dream said as she picked up the papers and handed them to the woman.

  “It’s fi…”

  Dream looked up and was face to face with Chrissy, Carmelo’s ex-girlfriend. Dream’s eyes traveled down to her stomach and she was shocked to see a baby bump. Her mind started traveling one hundred miles per minute. Is that Melo’s baby? she thought as she looked Chrissy up and down.

  “Dream, what’s wrong, baby?” Mama Love asked.

  “Nothing, I’m fine,” Dream said as she walked away from Chrissy.

  Nobody said anything else until they reached the car. Dream was stuck in her own thoughts, when she went to put the key in the ignition, Mama Love put her hand over Dream’s.

  “Now Dream, you know I don’t like being lied to, right?”

  “Yes.” Dream nodded. “I know.”

  “So who was that?” Mama Love asked.

  “You never met her?” asked Dream.

  “Uh, was I supposed to?”

  “That was Carmelo’s ex.”

  “Carmelo’s what now? Ex what?”

  Dream couldn’t help but to chuckle. “His ex-girlfriend.”

  “Chile please, I have never know Carmelo to have a girlfriend until you came around. I hope you’re not thinking that girl is carrying his baby.”

  Dream shrugged. “I don’
t know, they were messing with each other, so who knows.”

  “Well, why don’t you ask him to be sure, or I will, because you know I don’t have a problem asking,” Mama Love said.

  Dream had to think about it for a second. If there was a possibility that Carmelo could be the father of that girl’s baby, she was sure that he would have told her. She didn’t want it to seem like she was insecure or anything because she wasn’t the least bit worried about her position in Carmelo’s life.

  “Nah, it’s fine, if it was his, I know he would have told me, so I’m not even going to stress it.”

  Dream had faith in her man. So far, they hadn’t had any real problems in their relationship besides Carmelo pulling that disappearing act and they had worked that out. She didn’t want her questioning him to feel like she didn’t trust him because that was far from how she felt.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Dream was in her boutique working on some designs for a dress that was being custom made when she started not feeling too good. She took a cracker out of the package and popped it in her mouth. She took a sip of her ginger ale, hoping that would make her feel better. She had been feeling like this for a few days and finally she knew why. She couldn’t keep her mind off the news she learned earlier that day. Not to mention running into Chrissy at the doctor’s office had also put a damper on her mood.

  The sound of her cell phone ringing halted her from the design she was currently working on. She smiled when she saw Summer’s name on the caller I.D.

  “Talk to me, Summer Love,” she said into the phone.

  “Dreamy, what are you doing?” Summer asked.

  “Working on some designs. What are you doing?” Dream retorted.

  “Oh nothing, I'm bored. Sooo...” Summer said.

  Dream knew what that meant. She had been around Summer long enough to know that meant that she wanted something. “So, what?”

  “Can you design me a dress? It’s for junior prom. It's a few weeks away so I'm not in any rush,” Summer said.