by Charae Lewis
“You’re an ol’ hating-ass Asian,” he joked.
Asia rolled her eyes. “Stop talking about my race because your daughter is part Filipino too.”
“I’ma talk about her lil’ ass too.”
She shook her head and then looked up at the ceiling. “Why Lord? Why don’t you love me?”
“Man, chill. What name did you have in mind?”
“I was thinking Mila Jovelyn with both of our last names.”
“Hell nah,” he scoffed.
“What?”
“Why do you want her to have your last name? This shit is going to confuse her.”
“No, it won’t. Besides, we’re not married anymore.”
“So what? I don’t want her to have your last name.”
Before Asia could respond, the OR attendant walked into the room after a quick tap on the door.
“Hi. I came to report that everything is going great. We haven’t stumbled upon any complications so far. So continue to keep your fingers crossed.”
Dinero breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks. Do you know how long it’s going to take before we’re able to see her?”
“It’ll be a little while longer, okay? But everything is going well,” she assured them.
“Okay. Thank you so much,” Asia replied.
The attendant exited the room, leaving the parents elated by the progress of the surgery so far.
“See? I told you everything was gon’ be straight.”
Asia smiled. “You did, but the surgery isn’t over yet, so I can’t become too excited. I just want to see her.”
“We will soon. Just be patient.”
“When did your mean, crazy ass become so damn calm? Don’t get me wrong because it’s a nice change, but I'm not used to you comforting me.”
“Damn, Asia, you make it sound like I'm a bad guy or something,” he shot.
“You're not a bad guy, but you have had bad moments. But that’s neither here nor there now.”
“Yeah drop that shit because I ain't in the mood to talk about how bad I did you.”
****
Laree sat at her best friend, Moe’s house visiting her. It had been a month since her fiasco with Dinero, and she was feeling regretful. She shouldn’t have damaged his property. Laree had tried to call him several times, but she’d learned that he had blocked her number. She’d even tried to browse his social media accounts, but was blocked there too. All she wanted to do was apologize for her actions.
“Why are you so quiet?” Moe asked her.
“No reason. I was just thinking. Hey, can I see your phone?”
Moe gave her a quizzical look. “For what?”
“I wanna use it to call Dinero because he won’t recognize your number.”
“Girl, haven’t you learned your lesson from when he slammed your ass on your windshield?”
“I just want to offer him an apology. Now will you let me see your phone or not?”
Moe shook her head and then handed Laree her phone. Laree excitedly dialed Dinero’s number and anxiously waited for him to answer. After three rings he finally did.
“Who is this?”
“Hey, it’s me, Laree.”
“What the fuck do you want?”
“I just wanted to apologize for breaking your windshield,” she timidly spoke.
“I don’t give a fuck about that shit no more. Is that the only thing your nutty ass wanted?”
“Well, I want to pay for your windshield since I broke it.”
He smacked his lips. “Bitch, my shit got fixed an hour after I slammed your crazy ass. I don’t need your money. Shit, your loony ass was probably gon’ pay me in Monopoly money thinking that it was real. Now stop calling my fuckin’ phone.”
“Okay. Is Asia around?”
“Bitch, bye!” He hung up.
Moe laughed when she saw the look on Laree’s face. “What did he say?”
“He cursed me out like he always does. I'm not gon’ call him anymore. I just hate how he blocked me and Asia’s friendship.”
“Girl, there was no friendship. All she did was take your pictures,” Moe stressed.
“Not true. She told me to hit her up whenever. She even gave me her personal number.”
“Yeah, okay, Laree. You need to leave her and Dinero alone. You know I asked around about him, and people said that he and his family were ruthless. You should be lucky that all he did was slam your ass.”
Laree sighed. “I know. He scares me so I'm staying away for sure. He thinks that I'm crazy because he found my depression medication.”
“Does he not know that millions of Americans suffer from depression? That does not mean you're crazy. You can be a little compulsive, but you're not crazy.”
“I know and I tried to explain that to him, but he didn’t want to hear me. So fuck him.”
“Good, and leave his ex alone. You don’t want him to harm you because you keep trying to contact her,” Moe advised.
“I know, but I felt like our friendship was just starting, though.”
Moe cut her eyes over at Laree. “That was a business transaction you guys did. That was not the start of a friendship. I hate to break it to you, but she only was providing a service that you paid for.”
Laree didn’t want to believe that she and Asia didn’t share a friendship, but it was evident by the way she was ignoring her. Asia didn’t even show up to deliver her pictures, and that hurt Laree.
“Okay, I get it. Do you have to say it so harshly?”
“Yes, I do because sometimes when I talk nice to you, you act like you don’t comprehend what I'm saying. That’s why I try to tell you like it is.”
Laree smiled. “I guess I appreciate that.”
“Good. Now promise me that you’ll stay away from Dinero and Asia.”
“Oh, I promise. I don’t want any more dealings with them, especially Dinero.”
Chapter Twelve
Carlotta sat at the bar in the casino with a sour look on her face. She had been losing money all night and was in a terrible funk. It also didn’t help that her sister, Cherry, had won a sum of one thousand dollars. All night Cherry had been throwing her winnings in her face, and she hated it. Carlotta gulped down her shot of Hennessey and immediately ordered another one.
“Are you ready to go after this last drink?” she asked Cherry sharply.
“Damn, can I at least order another drink? Don’t be mad ‘cause your ass didn’t hit shit.”
“Whatever,” Carlotta scoffed.
Suddenly, a gentleman approached the bar. He ordered a shot of Paul Masson. Carlotta sized him up and determined right away that he had money. She could tell by the diamond watch that rested on his wrist. When he pulled out a knot of money to pay the bartender, her antennae flew up.
She nudged Cherry and whispered, “I think I found my next sponsor.”
“Girl, you better get on it.”
Carlotta cleared her throat and then tapped the burly man. He looked back at her with a pleasant expression on his face.
“Nice watch,” she complimented him.
“Thanks, beautiful. What are you drinking?”
“Hennessey. Why? Do you want to buy me a drink?” she flirted.
He bit his lip. “I can do that.”
He ordered her another drink as well as Cherry. He wasn’t someone Carlotta usually went for because he was on the hefty side. But if he had money like she suspected, then she could get past all of that.
“So what's your name, handsome?” she quizzed as she purposefully crossed her leg to expose her thigh.
“James. And yours?”
“It’s Carlotta, sweetie.”
“Carlotta, huh? That’s a nice name. How has your luck been tonight? Are you winning or losing?”
“Well, I hadn’t been very lucky until I laid eyes on you.”
James smirked. “Well, we might have to change that. Come on,” he demanded and grabbed her hand.
He walked her over to th
e black jack table. Carlotta became excited at the possibility of playing on his dime. For the next hour, Carlotta played until she finally hit. Although it was five hundred dollars, she was still grateful that she didn’t leave the casino completely broke.
“So does our night have to end or can we go play?” Carlotta purred in his ear.
James’ face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. “We can get a room at the hotel. But let me be clear on something. I'm not renting a room to go to sleep.”
Carlotta could read between the lines. She didn’t mind putting her pussy on a platter since he’d helped her win some money.
“You can have it all night if you’d like.”
“That’s what I like to hear. Go tell your sister that you're staying with me.”
Carlotta happily obliged and walked over to the slot machines where Cherry was posted.
“Hey I'm about to go put in some work for big daddy. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Cherry gave her a sneaky grin. “Don’t hurt him.”
“Bitch, I'm trying to do everything. His thick ass is paid.”
“All right, I’ll see you later.”
Carlotta walked back over to James ready to put in some work. She knew when she gave him a taste of her honey pot that he would be hooked. It was time for her to be taken care of, and James looked like the perfect candidate.
****
“Hello. I am Dr. Nadir, the chief neonatal cardiovascular surgeon that performed the procedure on Baby Girl Parish. I just wanted to let you know everything went great and that you can see her now. She’s been transferred to the neonatal recovery room.
It seemed as though everyone in the room released a breath that they’d been desperately holding. Asia was so relieved that Mila’s surgery was a success. She couldn’t wait to see her little angel. Since they could only visit her two at a time, Dinero and Asia went to see her first. She was extremely nervous as she held onto Dinero. When they walked into the NICU, they spotted Mila in an incubator with multiple tubes, which were attached to monitoring devices coming out of her tiny body,
The baby’s hair was covered in a pink hat and a huge bandage covered her chest incision. Asia couldn’t do anything but cry silently. It tore her heart to pieces to see her newborn baby in such a fragile state. She looked over at Dinero whose face held a grieved expression. Asia reached into the opening of the incubator and held Mila’s little hand.
“Mommy’s so sorry,” she whispered.
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Because it’s my fault she’s going through this.”
“No, it’s not. Damn. You didn’t know you were pregnant, so stop blaming yourself. Do you think I wanna keep hearing this shit?”
“Fuck you,” she whispered harshly. “You don’t know what I'm going through.”
“What the fuck do you mean? You act like I haven’t been here with you going through the same shit. Do you think I like seeing my baby like this?” he fumed as he pointed to the baby.
“You know what? Just leave. I don’t want you here.”
“I ain't going nowhere. Newsflash: She’s my daughter too. We’re bonded for life, so you better get used to me being around.”
Asia rolled her eyes and focused her attention on Mila. She was still struggling with the fact that she and Dinero were now forced to be a part of one another’s lives. She didn’t know how she was going to deal with sharing a child with him. Despite Dinero’s feelings, Asia felt guilty about the trauma her baby had been born into. In her mind, if she would've known that she was pregnant, she would’ve taken the necessary precautions to ensure that she delivered a healthy baby.
“So are you going to give her my last name or what?” he asked, breaking her from her guilty thoughts.
“Nope. Her last name is Parish,” she responded just to piss him off.
“Why do you enjoy pissing me?”
“Because I want her to have both of our names.”
“If you give her your last name, I'm not going to sign the birth certificate,” he threatened.
Asia snapped her neck at him. “Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
“All right, Dinero. Damn. You’re so damn petty. That’s why I'm putting you on child support.”
“So? I don’t care about that shit. I’ll pay whatever I have to when it comes to her.”
Asia shook her head because this was going to be a long road with her and Dinero. They continued to sit in silence as they watched Mila. Suddenly, Dinero began to snicker. Asia gave him a weird look, wondering how he found any humor in their situation.
“What the hell are you laughing at?”
“You. Your ass thought you had gotten rid of me.” He laughed.
Asia couldn’t help but laugh too. This had to be the cruelest joke that God had ever played on anyone, ever.
“Only you would think this is funny. Ignorant ass.”
“I'm just fucking with you.”
“So do you still say that she’s going to be okay?” she asked worriedly.
“Yes, she will. She’s a DeMao, so I know she’s going to be fine.”
To hear Dinero speak so confidently about Mila’s progress put Asia at ease. He had been assuring her that she would be fine, and so far he was right. Although, the remorseful feelings were still present, Asia was happy that it was Dinero who was helping her get through this devastating predicament.
****
Laree looked down at the flowers in her hand and released a deep breath. She was hoping that she’d made the right decision to come see Asia. Although she had promised Moe that she would stay away from Asia and Dinero, she couldn’t. When Laree went to visit Asia’s Facebook page, she couldn’t ignore the post that said, pray for her. Once she saw that Asia’s location was at Children’s Hospital, Laree wasted no time to go up to the hospital. She knew she would look crazy just showing up, but she wanted to make sure that Asia was okay.
Laree walked through the sliding doors and headed for the information desk. Before she could open her mouth, she saw Meesha and Terri. When Meesha spotted Laree, she tapped Terri who gave her a disgusted look. Laree nervously looked away but it was to no avail. The girls hurried and approached her.
“What are you doing here?” Meesha asked.
“I’m just here to check up on a friend,” Laree lied.
“Which friend? Dinero or Asia?” Terri quizzed, not in the mood for her games.
“Neither one,” she answered, hoping they would leave her alone.
“Come take a walk with us Laree,” Meesha suggested.
Laree wanted to say no, but she was too afraid to voice her objection. So she apprehensively followed them outside. When Terri opened the front door of her car, and ushered for her to get inside, Laree’s fear multiplied. Without saying a word, she slid in as knots began to form in her stomach.
Meesha got in the driver’s seat while Terri sat in the back. Meesha turned to Laree with a scowl on her face.
“What the fuck is your problem? Who shows up to a hospital when they weren’t invited?”
“I told you that I was coming to see my friend,” Laree timidly explained.
Terri smacked her lips. “Don’t bullshit us, you pathetic bitch. Do you think we’re fucking stupid? You were coming to see Dinero and guess what? You shouldn’t have done that.”
Suddenly, Meesha whipped out a pocket knife and violently pressed it up to Laree’s throat. A droplet of blood fell on Laree’s white t-shirt. Terri forcefully grabbed her dreads in an attempt to keep her head still. Laree frantically tried to reach for the door handle but learned that it was locked. Tears began to paint her skin with the thought of being killed in a car.
“Please,” Laree begged.
“Shut the fuck up!” Meesha bellowed. “Mothafucka’s are tired of giving your mental ass chances! You already got your ass slammed! Now what else do you need in order for you to stay away from Dinero and Asia?!”
“I'm sorry! I promise
I’ll stay away for good!” Laree screamed, not believing that she had a knife sticking her in the throat.
“She ain't gon’ learn Meesha. Slice that bitch up,” Terri urged.
“Nooo! I’ll stay away for good! Please don’t hurt me!” Laree sobbed.
The girls instantly began to laugh at Laree who looked like she was shitting bricks. Meesha reluctantly put up her knife while Terri let her hair go.
“Now if I catch you anywhere near Asia or Dinero, we’re going to finish the job. You got it?”
Laree nodded and hurried to jump out of the car. She was terrified as she ran to her car and hopped inside. If she didn’t get the message before, she was sure to get it at that moment. Dinero and Asia would be nothing more than a memory. She sped out of the parking lot while letting go of any thoughts of coming in contact with Asia and Dinero.
****
A few days later, Asia sat in the waiting room with Aimee. It was the evening time and most of their family had gone home. Asia insisted on spending every waking moment at the hospital with Mila. She held her cell phone in her hand, dreading the call that she had to make. Trystan had been blowing up her phone for quite some time now, but Asia had been too consumed with her baby girl to talk to him. She figured it was now time to break the news.
“How am I gonna break this to Trystan? I know he’s going to be hurt.”
“You have to tell him, Asia. You didn’t know, so he can’t get mad at you for this,” Aimee explained.
“I know, but I feel like I'm about to break his heart. Damn, I didn’t ask for this shit.”
“So you regret Mila?”
Asia twisted her face. “Hell no. I love my baby. I just hate that I'm about to let someone down.”
Aimee shrugged. “You gotta do what you gotta do. You had no control over any of this.”
“Yeah, you're right. I'm about to text him to see if he’ll come up here, so we can talk.”
“Are you seriously about to invite him here with Dinero’s crazy ass in the next room?”
“No. I'm going to meet him downstairs in the lobby.”
“Oh…” Aimee breathed a sigh of relief. “I was about to say.”
Asia shot Trystan a text asking to come see her. He responded and agreed to come to the hospital. Asia’s heart was beating as if she’d just performed an hour of cardio. What would Trystan think of Asia when she revealed that she’d just had a baby? She was sure that he would flip once she informed him that Dinero was her child’s father.
