Miranda inhaled and pushed with all of her might. She lay back on the pillow exhausted. “I can’t no more,” she cried. “I can’t do it.”
Her doctor looked up at Miranda. “Come on. Give me another big push. You’re almost there. Come on.”
“You can do it, Miranda,” Arykah encouraged.
“No,” Miranda cried. “Please, I can’t.”
“You can’t stop now,” the doctor said. “The baby is coming. Give me a big push right now.”
Miranda inhaled and pushed. “Arrrrrrrrrgh.”
“The baby is crowning,” the doctor announced.
Arykah couldn’t resist. She left Miranda’s side and looked for herself. “Oh my God,” she cried out. “I can see the top of his head, Miranda.”
“One last push,” the doctor said. “Come on, Miranda, let’s have a baby.”
With every fiber of her being Miranda inhaled and pushed her son out of her womb.
“It’s a boy,” the doctor announced.
Miranda heard her son cry and started to cry herself.
“You did it,” Gladys said with tears in her eyes. She kissed Miranda’s wet forehead. “My baby has a baby.”
“Congratulations, Grandma,” Arykah said to Gladys.
The doctor put the screaming boy on Miranda’s stomach. “Who’s gonna cut the umbilical cord?”
“I think the godmother should do it,” Gladys said to Arykah.
“I think so too,” Miranda confirmed.
Arykah shook her head from side to side. “Uh-uh. It’s too messy.”
The nurse put a pair of small shears in Arykah’s hand. “This is nothing compared to the soiled diapers you’ll have to change. Cut directly beneath the clamp,” she instructed.
Arykah cut the cord and frowned. “Oh, Jesus. Oh, Jesus. Oh my God.”
“Perfect,” the nurse said when Arykah had completed her task. She picked up the baby and brought him to Miranda’s face. “You have a beautiful son. We’re gonna weigh him, get him cleaned up, make a print of his feet, tag your name on his plastic ankle bracelet, and bring him right back to you.”
Everything was done in Miranda’s room, then her son was placed in her arms. Miranda looked down at his face. His eyes were open. “You tried to kill me, didn’t you?”
Arykah and Gladys chuckled.
“What’s his name?” the nurse asked Miranda.
“Maximillian Aristotle Blackmon.”
“What?” Gladys and Arykah shrieked at the same time.
Even the nurse was shocked. “Where did you get a name like that?”
“From a soap opera.”
“Maximillian Aristotle,” Gladys repeated. She couldn’t process it.
“A big name for such a little guy,” Arykah said.
“Yeah, but he’ll grow into it.” Miranda added.
“Are you sure?” Gladys asked her. “That boy has to go through life with that name. Why not choose something simple like ‘James’ or ‘Richard’ or ‘William’?”
Miranda looked at the nurse. “My son’s name is Maximillian Aristotle Blackmon.”
“His last name should be Williams,” Gladys told Miranda.
Miranda shook her head from side to side. “I don’t want Max to have Titus’s last name, and I don’t want Titus on his birth certificate either.”
“Miranda,” Arykah started, “Titus is Max’s father, and he should be held responsible for him as well as you. You’re gonna need support from Titus.”
Maximillian would be entitled to support from Titus no matter what his last name was, but Arykah felt that it would help the legal process if Miranda gave the baby Titus’s last name.
“But his parents doesn’t want him anywhere near his son.”
“So what?” Gladys asked her. “Eventually, Titus will have to face the fact that he fathered this baby. Give Max his last name.”
Miranda exhaled and looked at the nurse. “Maximillian Aristotle Williams.”
“You’ll be glad you did that, Miranda,” Arykah said to her.
“Okay,” the nurse said. “Williams it is. Will he be circumcised?”
Miranda frowned. “What’s that?”
“Yes,” Gladys answered the nurse. “Definitely.”
The nurse nodded and exited the room just as Lance was entering. “I heard Freedom Temple’s newest member has arrived.”
Miranda was happy to see her pastor. “Come on in, Bishop.”
Lance entered and gave Arykah her purse. He then went to see the baby boy in Miranda’s arms. “Wow, what a handsome li’l dude.”
“Miranda, tell your pastor what your son’s name is.”
She looked at her mother. “I’m not ashamed.”
“Clearly,” Gladys said. “Tell him.”
Miranda looked at Lance and said, “Maximillian Aristotle Williams.”
With her camera phone Arykah took a picture of Lance’s mouth that hung open.
He chuckled. “Maximillian Aristotle?”
Miranda nodded. “We’ll call him ‘Max.’”
“Whatcha think of that, Bishop?” Arykah asked Lance.
He shrugged his shoulders. “I kinda like it.”
Gladys’s eyes grew wide. “You do?”
“Yeah,” Lance said. “It’s a cool name. He may not get any chicks with it, but it’s a cool name,” he chuckled.
“Bishop, are you angry with me for getting pregnant?”
Gladys and Arykah looked at each other.
Lance sat on Miranda’s bed. “No, I’m not angry.”
“Were you disappointed when you found out?”
He looked at her. “I won’t lie and say that I wasn’t a little bit upset. You are a straight-A student, Miranda, and you had your whole life ahead of you. A baby will only slow you down.”
Miranda looked at her son and kissed his forehead. “Max may slow me down, but he won’t stop me from graduating high school next year. I’m going to keep my grades up, Bishop. I promise.”
Lance couldn’t ask for any more than that from her. “And I’m gonna hold you to that promise.”
The nurse came back into the room. “It’s breast-feeding time, Miranda.”
“Well, I guess that’s my cue to leave,” Lance said as he stood from the bed.
“Bishop, before you go, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” he said to Miranda.
She had been holding back a question that she wanted to ask Lance for quite some time but would have been devastated if he turned her down. Miranda knew her pastor was disappointed when he learned of her pregnancy. When the news broke and the gossip started to spread, Miranda distanced herself from Lance. She had stopped visiting him in his office after morning worship service. She avoided him in the sanctuary. But at her baby shower, Lance gave Miranda his personal number and made her promise to call him if she or her baby needed anything. That gesture reminded her that Lance was still her pastor; a man who cared for and saw after his flock. She swallowed, then asked, “Would you like to be Max’s godfather?”
Tears filled the eyes of Gladys and Arykah.
Miranda had just melted his heart. Lance smiled and said, “I thought you’d never ask.”
The following Friday evening Arykah and Monique were shopping in the baby section at Target.
“I’m looking for a small bassinette for Max,” Arykah informed Monique.
“For Max? He already has one, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, but I need one for my house. Gladys and Miranda are moving into their condo tomorrow. Lance and I offered to babysit Max all day and overnight so they can do what they have to do and get some rest.”
Monique nodded. “I know that’s right. Moving is no joke. They’re gonna need a good night’s rest after all of the unpacking and organizing they’ll have to do.”
“True,” Arykah agreed. “The last thing Miranda needs to deal with is a fussy, hungry baby while she’s getting his bedroom set up.”
Monique saw blue Superman onesi
es and couldn’t resist removing one from the rack. “Now isn’t this the cutest little thing?” She held it up for Arykah to see.
Arykah cooed. “That is adorable. Max would look so cute in that.”
“I gotta get this.” Monique placed it in the buggy she was pushing.
“He is so spoiled already,” Arykah said.
“I know,” Monique chuckled. “I can’t walk by anything and not get it for him.”
“I’m the same way,” Arykah laughed. “And Gladys appreciates it.” She pointed to the bassinettes on a shelf. “There they are, Monique.”
Monique pushed the buggy in the direction Arykah was walking. “Adonis and I stopped by the hospital to see Max on Tuesday just before he and Miranda were released. I have to say that he is the most handsome baby boy I’ve ever seen.”
“I know, right? I just can’t stop kissing those fat cheeks.” Arykah saw a bassinette almost identical to the one she purchased from Babies ’R’ Us. “Girl, look at the price on this thing. I paid three hundred twenty dollars for one just like this, and Target has it for only one eighty.” She shook her head from side to side. “A doggone shame.”
“Miranda should’ve registered here in the first place. Target got it going on.”
Arykah put the bassinette in the basket. “Now I need newborn diapers, formula, and bottles.”
“Why formula?” Monique asked. “Isn’t Miranda breast-feeding?”
“Uh-uh. Not anymore. Max stopped suckling her boobs when they got home from the hospital. Gladys has him on Enfamil with iron.”
“I’m sure Miranda is glad about that. When Adonis and I were at the hospital, she complained about the pain.”
Arykah laughed. “I guess it would hurt if someone was pullin’ on your nip all the time.”
“Humph,” Monique commented. “Depends on who you ask and who’s doing the pullin’.”
Arykah looked at Monique shamefully. “You is nasty.”
Monique shrugged her shoulders. “I’m just saying.”
When Arykah had piled the buggy with plenty of diapers, baby powder, formula, and more baby clothes for Maximillian, she and Monique proceeded to the checkout counter.
“Arykah?”
They were standing in line when Arykah turned to look at Monique.
“You wanna do it?” Monique asked.
It took a moment for her to realize what Monique was talking about. She shook her head from side to side. “No.”
“Come on, Arykah,” Monique said. “You know you want to.”
Arykah shook her head no again. “We’re too old for that now.”
“What?” Monique shrieked. “We just did it six months ago.”
“Well, now we’re wives, and I’m somebody’s first lady. I can’t be acting a fool with you.”
Monique saw a woman coming their way. “Here she comes. Pleeeeease, Arykah,” she begged. “This will be the last time, I promise.”
Arykah saw the woman getting closer to them. When the woman stopped to glance at something Arykah looked at Monique. She couldn’t resist. “Okay, go ahead. Hurry up before she sees you.”
Monique left the line and went to stand a few feet away. She and Arykah were excited when they saw the woman push her buggy to the line and stand behind Arykah. Monique grabbed a small bag of chips from a rack she stood next to. She went and cut in line right in front of Arykah.
Arykah looked at Monique as though she was crazy. “Excuse me. Don’t you see me standing here? You can’t jump in front of me.”
Monique looked at the contents in Arykah’s buggy. “Your buggy is full. I only have a bag of chips. You can wait.”
By now, the two of them had the woman’s full attention.
“I don’t care what you have,” Arykah fussed. “You gotta wait in line like everyone else.”
“That’s right,” the lady behind Arykah said to Monique. “Where is your respect?”
Arykah turned around, frowned at the woman, and yelled, “Who are you talkin’ to? Do I look like I need your help?”
The woman was taken aback. She didn’t know what to say. “I . . . I . . . was . . .”
“You . . . you . . . was . . . what?” Monique asked the woman mimicking her. “Does she look like she needs your help?” She glared at her.
“You need to mind your business,” Arykah said to the woman.
“Yeah,” Monique agreed. “This is between us. It ain’t got nothing to do with you.”
The woman quickly pulled her buggy back and went to another line.
Arykah and Monique laughed until their bellies ached.
“We are two whole fools,” Monique said.
“I hope you got that out of your system, Monique, ’cause I ain’t doing it again.”
Early Saturday morning, Arykah and Lance drove up to Gladys’s house at the same time the movers arrived in a forty-foot truck. Arykah and Lance exited their car. Lance went toward the movers that he hired, and Arykah went to ring Gladys’s doorbell.
“It’s moving day,” Arykah sang when Miranda opened the door.
Miranda held Maximillian in her arms. “Good morning, Lady Arykah.”
Arykah stepped inside. “Give me my godson.” Miranda did as she was told. “He’s been up since four this morning. Momma said newborns sleep a lot. Well, this one doesn’t.”
Arykah chuckled. “You are experiencing the new adventures of motherhood.” She placed Maximillian on her right shoulder, then looked around the cluttered living room. “Where’s your mom?”
Miranda looked outside and saw Lance speaking with the movers. “She’s in the kitchen packing up the dishes.”
“I’m gonna say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ to her, then we’ll be out of your way.” Arykah went toward the kitchen. “Hey, Gladys,” she greeted when she saw Gladys rolling glasses in sheets of newspaper.
Gladys looked exhausted. “Girl, I’m glad you’re here. That boy ain’t been to sleep since he left the hospital,” she complained.
“That was five days ago,” Arykah said.
Gladys’s eyes rose. “That’s what I know,” she shrieked. “That Enfamil must have steroids in it. Thangs have changed. When Miranda was an infant, all she did was eat, poop, and sleep.” Gladys looked at her grandson snuggled comfortably on Arykah’s shoulder. “I don’t know where that boy came from.”
“Well, you and Miranda can get plenty of rest tonight. Lance is outside speaking with the movers right now.”
“They’re here already?” Gladys asked. She picked up the pace of wrapping the glasses in newspaper. “I am so far behind.”
“Why are you doing that anyway? The movers are being paid to pack everything.”
Gladys exhaled. “Why didn’t you tell me? Girl, I’m runnin’ around here like a maniac trying to cram things into boxes.”
“I’m sorry. I thought I told you when we hired the movers. They have boxes too.”
Just then Lance entered the kitchen. “Mornin’,” he greeted Gladys. “You ready to make the transition?”
“Yep. More than I was five minutes ago. I just learned that the movers will take care of everything.”
“That’s right,” Lance confirmed. “The movers know what to do. They know where they’re going, and you don’t have to give them a dime. Arykah and I have taken care of everything.”
“I can at least tip them, Bishop. There’s a lot of stuff to pack and move.”
Arykah shook her head no. “They’re only packing up your dishes, clothes, toiletries, and personal stuff. You’re leaving all of the furniture behind, right?”
Gladys nodded. “Yes. All of the furniture is staying.”
“The movers have already been tipped handsomely,” Lance added.
“Well,” Gladys said, “you two have thought of everything.”
“Yep,” Lance agreed. “The only thing you and Miranda will have to do is unpack when you get to the condo.”
The three of them heard commotion in the living room and left the kitchen
.
“Okay, well, the bishop, Max, and I will get out of y’alls way,” Arykah stated when she saw Miranda directing three movers on what to do. “Where are Max’s things?”
“There it is, Lady Arykah,” Miranda said pointing to a light blue duffel bag on the sofa. “I packed extra diapers.”
“I bought diapers, a bassinette, and a car seat yesterday,” Arykah stated. It was wise for Arykah to have purchased the bassinette and car seat. Since she and Lance were Maximillian’s godparents, he’d be spending a lot of time with them. Switching his car seat and bassinette from Miranda’s possession to theirs would be time-consuming. “You can take the extra diapers out of his bag and keep them.”
Lance removed all of the diapers from the diaper bag and gave them to Miranda. He then placed the strap of the bag on his shoulder. He looked at Gladys. “Call us when everything gets settled at the condo.”
Gladys hugged her pastor. “Bishop, we are truly grateful for you and Lady Arykah. We appreciate everything.”
“Everything,” Miranda emphasized. “I can’t wait to see the condo. Momma says it’s to die for.”
“And there’s a swimming pool on the roof deck,” Arykah said to Miranda.
Miranda’s eyes lit up. “Wow. Really?”
“It really is something else,” Gladys said to her.
Arykah wrapped Maximillian in a receiving blanket. “Miranda, how often does he take a bottle?”
“Every three hours or so. I prepared and packed ten bottles in his bag but they gotta be refrigerated when you get home.”
“His li’l weewee is still irritated from the circumcision,” Gladys said to Arykah. “And his umbilical cord hasn’t completely fallen off.”
“Poor dude,” Lance sympathized.
“We’ll take good care of him,” Arykah said. She looked at Gladys. “Will you be at church tomorrow?”
Gladys shrugged her shoulders. “I ain’t making any promises. We’ll see how my arthritis responds to this move, unpacking, and situating.”
“I understand,” Arykah chuckled. “Call me in the morning. If you and Miranda wanna sleep in, Lance and I will bring Max to the condo afterward.”
Lance and Arykah left Miranda and her mother alone. They were overly excited to spend the entire day and night with their godson.
Lady Arykah Reigns Page 23
