by Charae Lewis
“Sis, don’t start beating yourself up. She’s going to be okay. You didn’t know you were pregnant, Asia.”
“I know but I'm still worried. She looked lifeless when Big pulled her out. And when I tried to perform CPR, she wasn’t responding to it.”
“I can’t believe Big’s ass delivered a damn baby. Now I gotta check him because he done seen my sister’s coochie,” Aimee scoffed.
Paris giggled. “Girl, that man is probably trying to erase that memory from his mind.”
“Did anybody call Dinero?” Asia questioned.
“I think Big did. His ass is probably about to act a fool. What do you think he will say?” Aimee asked.
Asia shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Shit, he’ll probably be happy. Now he has a baby by the woman he still loves. I don’t think he will trip about it,” Paris added.
Rochelle grabbed Asia’s hand. “I need you to start praying for my grandbaby. I’ll be praying as well because she needs it right now. Don’t worry about anything because God has you covered. Now I'm about to go out here and wait for Dinero to come. I’ll be back shortly.”
Asia watched as Rochelle exited the room. This entire ordeal was weighing on her mentally. When she woke up that morning, she had no idea that her day would end with her suddenly becoming a mother. Asia closed her eyes and began to pray silently. All she wanted was for her child to be healthy and normal.
****
Dinero walked into the hospital and hopped on the elevator. Keith was trying to ask him a question, but he didn’t want to talk. All he wanted was to make sure Asia was okay. After they arrived to their desired floor, Dinero got off and walked down a hallway. He spotted Big and his mother seated on a bench. They stood when he approached him.
“What happened to Asia?” Dinero asked.
“She went into labor at her house. Big had to help deliver the baby,” Rochelle informed him.
Dinero twisted his face. “Labor? She was pregnant? Is it mine? How do I know it ain't that nigga she’s been fucking with?”
“Because she hasn’t been with him that long. According to her, the last time you guys met up, y’all asses were fucking when y’all were supposed to be discussing your divorce,” Rochelle sassed.
Dinero remembered that day vividly when he and Asia made love for the last time. He thought that they may have reconnected in some way, but Asia still had requested a divorce.
“I believe her and she didn’t know she was pregnant. The baby wasn’t breathing when she came out,” Big replied.
“Is she okay now? Where’s she at?” Dinero panicked.
“Calm down,” Rochelle coached and grabbed his hand. “She was rushed to the NICU. We don’t know anything yet, but Asia is really broken up. You need to go talk to her and comfort her.”
Dinero nodded. “What room is she in?”
Rochelle pointed to the room on the right and Dinero walked off. He couldn’t believe the news that Rochelle had just revealed to him. When he last saw Asia, she didn’t look pregnant at all. He didn’t understand how she didn’t know she was carrying a child. Then his thoughts immediately went to the baby. He hoped that her condition wasn’t critical.
When he walked inside, Asia’s face looked like she had been crying for hours. Paris and Aimee stood and walked out to give them some privacy. He then walked closer to the bed and stared intensely at Asia. She was trying her best to avoid eye contact with him for some reason.
“Asia, are you good?”
“No, I'm sad and lost. I fucking woke up with cramps and now I have a damn baby. And if you think that I hid this baby from you I didn’t—”
“I don’t think that,” he cut her off. “Calm the fuck down.”
“It’s just that she was struggling to breathe,” she told him, finally looking him in the face. “I'm scared that she's going to be messed up because I didn’t have any prenatal care and I was drinking.”
Dinero wiped her tears with his thumb. “Don’t cry. You didn’t know, a’ight?”
“I feel so bad. I wasn’t taking good care of myself. She probably didn’t develop properly.”
“Stop talking like that. She gon’ be alright.”
“I feel like shit. I really need a hug right now.”
Without thinking about it, Dinero eased onto the bed with Asia and held her tightly. He allowed her to cry on his chest as he rubbed her back. Although he’d told Asia to think positive, he was scared for his daughter. He wouldn’t be able to take it if she didn’t make it.
“So you really didn’t know that you were pregnant? Are you sure she’s mine?”
“Yes, Dinero she’s yours. I've only been dealing with Trystan for three months.” She sniffled. “And to answer your other question, no I didn’t know. I didn’t have any symptoms that normal pregnancies have.”
He nodded his head. “So who does she look like?”
Asia shrugged. “She looks like a baby. She was very light. She has the same eyes as me and maybe your nose. She has a lot of hair, too.”
“You better not have given my baby those tight-ass eyes of yours,” he joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Asia smacked her lips and chuckled. “You're an asshole.”
“I’m just trying to make you smile.”
Moments later, a doctor walked in wearing scrubs. Dinero and Asia instantly sat up, anticipating what he was about to say.
“Hi. I'm Dr. Chandler, attending NICU physician at St. Mary’s. Are you the parents of Baby Girl Parish?” he asked, referring the baby to Asia’s last name.
“Yes,” They answered in unison.
“Well, I have some bad news. Her heart isn’t working properly. One of her heart valves doesn’t close like it should, therefore it’s leaking blood. This is extremely dangerous because it’s causing a significant backflow of blood.”
“Oh my God,” Asia gasped. Suddenly she began to sob while Dinero tried his best to console her.
Dinero held her close to his chest in attempt to calm her down. “So what’s your plan?”
“We have to perform surgery, but I would suggest waiting another month since she was born a month early.”
“But she’s so little, though. She can’t take that kind of trauma,” she cried.
Dinero wanted to break down with her because he couldn’t fathom his little girl going under the knife. Since Asia needed him to be strong, he decided to keep his emotions to himself. “Asia, I know you're upset, but they have to do it so her heart can be straight,” Dinero explained.
“Here’s the plan, we’re going to transfer her to Children’s Hospital where they have the best pediatric heart surgeon there. We’ve already alerted the staff over there, and they’re awaiting the baby’s arrival.”
“What if the surgery doesn’t work? What will happen next?” Asia questioned.
“If surgery doesn’t fix the problem, then she may have to get a heart transplant. But that’s only in the worst case scenario.”
Dinero wanted to drive his fist through the wall at the thought of the baby needing a transplant. He couldn’t stomach his baby girl going through that type of ordeal. He looked at Asia who was visibly upset, and decided to keep his emotions at bay. He had to be strong for her because he knew that the news was breaking her heart.
Dinero wiped his hands down his face. “A’ight, do whatever y’all have to do. Can we see her first?”
“Sure, but only parents are allowed the see her right now. I’ll send the nurse to escort you to the NICU.”
Dinero nodded his head and watched the doctor leave out of the room. He then turned to Asia and said, “Stop crying. We gotta be strong for her right now. She’s gon’ be straight.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I feel it in my heart that she will. Don’t you trust me?”
“Barely,” Asia scoffed.
Dinero tried his best not to laugh at her expression. He wasn’t expecting that as her answer. He quickly became serio
us again. “A’ight I get that, but just trust that she’ll be fine. We should go see her.”
Asia nodded and then grabbed his hand, so she could get off the bed. Dinero helped her down and walked out of the door. Instead of waiting for the nurse, the couple headed to the NICU. His heartbeat felt as though it could be heard miles away. He wasn’t prepared to see his first child in the condition that she was in. He spotted the incubator that read Baby Girl Parish. Dinero could feel his heart palpitate as he looked at his daughter lying with numerous tubes attached to her teeny body. Although she was hooked up to different machines, she was so beautiful to him. She had deep brown straight hair, with light skin. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and shower her with kisses.
Dinero looked down and saw Asia bawling while clenching his shirt. He walked her over to the chair and sat. It was breaking his heart times two to see his baby as well as Asia in pain. He didn’t know how to fix what they were experiencing, and it left him extremely frustrated.
“Asia she’s going to be okay. Don’t cry,” he told her as he lovingly rubbed her back.
“I’m just… so scared for her.”
He sighed deeply. “I am too but we gotta think positive right now. She’ll be good.”
Dinero took a deep breath almost not believing his own words. Everything was starting to weigh down on him. He and Asia had already suffered a loss before their divorce. He knew that if his child didn’t make it that it would nearly kill Asia, and he couldn’t watch her endure any more pain. She’d already suffered a lot of emotional damage because the death of her mother and her father’s betrayal.
Dinero got himself together and prayed that his daughter would be okay.
Chapter Eleven
Trystan dialed Asia’s number for the third time that night. He had wanted to see her, but she wasn’t answering her phone. He knew that she hadn't been feeling well, and figured that she was asleep. He put his phone away and prepared for his studio session. His album release date was quickly approaching, and he needed to finish some more tracks. Trystan stood from his seat and walked toward the booth. Before he could step inside, the studio door swung open and in walked Danica.
Trystan wasn’t too thrilled about seeing her since their last encounter ended with him walking out on her. She had been calling him all week to only be directed to his voicemail. He hadn't been in the mood to deal with her, so he chose not to. She walked over and stood in front of him. She looked pretty, rocking her natural twist out.
“Can I talk to you outside?” she asked.
Trystan nodded and followed her out of the studio. They sat on a bench located in the hallway. He said nothing as she fidgeted her fingers.
“I've been calling you,” she finally spoke.
“Yeah, I know,” he responded dryly.
“So you ignore my calls now. Is that how we do?”
“Man, Danica gone somewhere with that dumb shit. Don’t act like you weren’t acting bitchy the other day.”
“You pissed me off, Trystan.”
“Why? Because I peeped the game your ass was tryin’ to play.”
“No,” she denied. “You always think you know what you're talking about. Nobody cares about your relationship with Asia.”
Trystan turned to her with an irritated expression. “You know I would respect you ten times better if you would just keep it real with me. Just say that you don’t like me being with Asia.”
“I said I don’t care,” she stressed with watery eyes.
“Stop lying and say what you mean. I hate it when you try to act all hard, knowing that you're a softy.”
Danica rolled her eyes and then crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, Trystan, I don’t like you being with Asia. I've been here for years, and I don’t understand how you just chose her over me.”
He listened as Danica shared her true feelings. He already knew that she was feeling some type of way about Asia. He just wanted her to say it.
“I didn’t choose her over you. We’re not even together.”
“Yeah, but y’all act like it. That hurts me, knowing that you're laying up with her, when I've been here for you all of this time. I've waited patiently for you to choose me, and you still have yet to do it. So in a way, me moving to Texas is not only for a new start, but to get away from you,” she revealed.
Trystan felt guilty after she shot her words at him like venom. He wasn’t aware that she had been suffering watching him develop feelings for Asia. He hated to be in this position. Being torn between two women was nothing to brag about.
“Damn, Danica, are you really trying to throw away our friendship and move away?”
“I think it’s best for me. I can’t keep tormenting myself by being friends with you because it’s not what I want.”
“So what do you want me to do?”
“I can’t tell you that. Just live your life and forget about me.”
“Here you go talking that bullshit,” he huffed.
“Actually, I'm not.” She stood. “I have to go see my mom. I’ll see you around.”
Trystan shook his head as Danica walked off. He hated her behavior, and wished he could slap some sense into her. He couldn’t understand why she was so threatened by Asia. It wasn’t like he didn’t give Danica any of his time. In fact, Trystan made sure that he spent enough time with Danica, so she wouldn’t feel left out.
He took out his phone and quickly sent her a text saying that he would come see her tomorrow. Trystan didn’t want Danica moving away because of him. He wouldn’t be able to take it knowing that his best friend had left the state on account of him. After a few minutes of sitting, he finally stood and walked back into the studio, so he could finish his album.
****
One month later…
Dinero sat in the waiting room along with his brothers and Keith. The day had finally come for the baby to have surgery and Dinero’s anxiety was through the roof. He tried all month to prepare himself for this moment but nothing help. Each day, he had to sit in agony and watch as his baby girl struggled to breathe and sometimes eat. He wished that he could trade places with her. Dinero’s time had now been spent with the baby and Asia. It seemed as though he lived in the hospital. The baby had been in surgery for almost an hour and he was on the edge. The women were in another room with Asia, who was also a nervous wreck. He bit his nails praying that everything would go okay in surgery. He had never been under this amount of stress ever. His phone signaled that he had a text message. He looked and saw that it was his father alerting him that he was on his way to the hospital. Dinero replied to his text and returned to his nervousness.
“Aye, Fabian said when his flight lands, he and Braylon are gon’ stop by,” Kiyan informed him.
Dinero nodded. “A’ight.”
“Man, if baby girl don’t make it, I know that shit will probably fuck you up,” Keith stated.
Dinero glared at him, not liking what he’d just said. “Why the fuck would you say some shit like that when my fuckin’ daughter’s in surgery, you stupid mothafucka?”
Keith gave him an appalled look with a shoulder shrug. “What, bro? I'm just saying that it can happen.”
“Don’t nobody wanna hear that negative-ass shit, though,” Case spat.
“Damn, my bad,” Keith shot with an attitude.
“You know what? Get the fuck out. I don’t want you here,” Dinero quipped.
“Oh, I gotta leave now?”
“You heard what he said. Take your bitch ass on somewhere,” Big snapped.
“So y’all gon’ treat me like I ain't family? That’s fucked up,” Keith fussed.
“Mothafucka, is your last name DeMao? If not, then you ain't family. Now take your negative ass on before you be arriving in the ER,” Keece threatened.
Keith stood and then nodded his head condescendingly. “A’ight, I’ll leave, but that’s fucked up, Dinero.”
Dinero shot him a middle finger before he walked out of the room. He didn’t ca
re how Keith felt. He was already on pins and needles, and he didn’t need Keith’s negative-ass comments to affect him.
“Keith be acting like a bitch sometimes. I don’t trust him,” Keece declared.
“Man, fuck him. I’ll be right back,” Dinero announced and then walked toward Asia’s room.
Camara, Aimee, and Paris along with Rochelle, were posted while Asia sat in the recliner.
“Aye, Keece want y’all to come out and tell him what y’all want to eat,” Dinero told them.
“Word?” Paris perked up. “I'm hungry too.”
“Shit, me too!” Camara added.
“I need to go pump anyway,” Aimee announced.
He watched as they all walked out of the room and then began to chuckle.
“What's so funny?” Asia asked.
“I was lying. I just wanted them to leave.”
Asia smirked. “You're still a jerk…lying ass.”
“How are you feeling?” he questioned as he sat in the chair.
“I'm nervous. My chest keeps hurting. I'm just waiting for the OR attendant to give us an update.”
“Yeah, me too. Keith just pissed me the fuck off. I almost dropped his negative ass in the waiting room,” Dinero huffed.
“I don’t like him. You know he tried to get my number a while back.”
Dinero’s face contorted into a mean scowl. “When?”
“It was a couple of months ago when I saw him at the club.”
“Why you didn’t say shit to me?”
“Because we weren’t speaking, Dinero.”
“So what? You still should’ve let me know. Now I'm really gon’ beat his ass,” he fumed.
Asia grabbed his hand and said, “You need to relax. We got bigger shit to worry about right now.”
“Yeah you right.”
“So we need to figure out a name for her. You have any ideas?”
“How about Dinera?” He laughed.
“Fuck no. I will not name her that shit.”
“Damn, why won’t you let me name her what I want? That’s my first baby.”
Asia smacked her lips. “She’s my first baby too, and a spinoff of your name ain't gonna cut it.”
