An Unconventional Love: A Novella

by Warren, Alexandra

  The list goes on and on.

  “Hmm...well if not you two, then who?” The room stilled as all eyes went to me. The only person I had shared the pregnancy with was Ariel and that was only because she was becoming suspicious after a tip from Jamison. I wasn’t showing yet, so I could definitely hold my family off for at least a few more months.

  “Don’t look at me,” I said, as I quickly let my eyes fall back to my plate though my appetite had pretty much slipped away from the discussion.

  “I don’t know, Jaz. It is a little weird that you of all people aren’t at least having a glass of wine.”

  I gave my sister a stiff look as I replied, “I’m not having a glass of wine because I don’t want one, Bailey.”

  “Since when don’t you want wine?” She was really trying to press the conversation, but there was no way I was outing myself already.

  “Since today. Now let it go. If you want babies so bad, have them your damn self.”

  “Do not curse at my dinner table, young lady. And Bailey, leave that girl alone. Lord knows the last thing she needs to be doing is bringing a child into her mess of a life.” I couldn’t help being offended at my mom’s little snide remark.

  “My mess of a life? What the hell is that suppose to be mean?”

  “Strike two with the cursing. And you know exactly what I mean. You aren’t the most...stable.”

  “What’s so unstable about me? I have my own apartment, my own car, a good job and I’m in law school. I…”

  She cut off my mini-brag session, “That’s not what I’m talking about. I mean with your...lifestyle.”

  “My lifestyle? Oh, you mean the fact that I’m not sitting at home knitting sweaters and waiting for the Lord to send me some Holy brotha to start a life with? I’m sorry, but that’s just not how it works these days.” It wasn’t that I was against those that chose that way of life, it just wasn’t for me.

  “It worked for your sister.”

  Hardly.

  “I’m...not gonna comment on that for the sake of our audience but this whole making me out to be the bad guy just because I’m not like you is getting real old.”

  It was a known fact that my mom pretty much despised me because I practically did the opposite of everything she envisioned for me. She wanted me to be a nurse like Bailey, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. She wanted me to teach Sunday school like Bailey, I turned into a CME - Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Easter - churchgoer. She wanted me to marry a church-going, God-fearing brotha and well...we all know that wasn’t happenin’.

  “That’s what you think this is about? The fact that you aren’t like me? If I expected that, I would’ve surely given up on you a long time ago.” I had to laugh at that one.

  “Oh, so you’re saying you haven’t? Come on now, Patty. You’ve never really approved of any of my life choices and you know it.”

  “The only thing I never approved of is your fast behind giving your body to a countless number of men. I raised no daughter of mine to do such a thing.” Though the number was indeed countable, I really didn’t care what she thought of me. So instead I decided to taunt her about what she thought she knew.

  “Hmm...guess you just up and let me slip through your nimble little fingers then, huh?”

  “Oh no, that was none of my doing. This is all your father’s fault. He’s the one that turned you into a…”

  “Into a what? Into a woman that strived for her own? Into a woman with pride and dignity? Into a woman that didn’t take shit from hatin’ ass people like you?!”

  “You will not talk to your mother that way!”

  “Mother is a pretty frivolous title, don’t you think?”

  Bailey had remained quiet up until this point, “Jasmine, just calm down, okay? I don’t know how we got to this point, but this is ridiculous.”

  “You know exactly how we got here, Bailey. The same way we always do; her trying to judge me like she’s the Lord himself. Quit blaming me for what your husband did to you. Maybe if you would’ve given him a reason to keep his ass at home, you wouldn’t have had those problems.”

  I watched as in one swift motion, she pushed away from the table to stand up and lift a scolding finger in the direction of the door while she yelled, “Leave! Get out! Now!”

  I stood up just as swiftly as she had to yell back, “Gladly!”

  I snatched up my purse and jacket and stormed out of the house regretting ever being talked into coming in the first place. Once I made it to my car, I could only sit and stare down at my not-yet bulging belly. Even if I couldn’t see her quite yet, I knew she was there and had probably heard the whole thing.

  “I promise to never treat you that way, nugget.”

  )~o~(

  “Baby girl, you know that was wrong of you to say right?”

  Calling my Dad to vent about the situation a whole day later felt like the right thing to do. I just knew he would feel me, maybe call my mom out of her name, something to make me feel justified.

  Unfortunately, instead of giving me the affirmation I expected, he was actually on her side.

  “What was so wrong about it, Dad? It was the truth. She didn’t do what it took to keep you home at night so you ventured elsewhere.” The concept was clear as day to me.

  “Umm...not exactly, Princess. Your mom was...is a wonderful woman. I just wasn’t interested in that kind of commitment at the time. And with you and Bailey, I guess I felt forced into the whole idea of marriage and a happy family when I was nowhere near mature enough to handle it. It wasn’t right for me to step out on your mom back then just like it wasn’t right for you to throw that in her face.”

  “But Dad…”

  “No buts, Jasmine. You need to apologize.”

  “Oh hell no. There’s no way I’m apologizing to her. You must’ve forgotten all the things she said about me.” I would’ve been lying if I said it didn’t hurt to hear those things from my own damn mama. She was the one that was supposed to be there for me no matter what, my shoulder to cry on. Instead she was the one kicking me to the ground.

  “She was only speaking out of spite for what you reminded her of, sweetheart. But believe it or not, your mom loves you almost as much as me.”

  “Well to make things crystal clear for you, I don’t believe that. If she loved me, she would let me choose my own life instead of judging me for every step I take.”

  He sighed into the phone, clearly peeved that he wasn’t getting his point across. “She’s not perfect, Jasmine. I know she wants ya’ll to believe that bullshit, but we all have our flaws. I hurt that woman quite a bit; so much so that I’m surprised she still answers the phone when I call.”

  The DJ in my head scratched the record, stopping the track of my thoughts.

  “Wait a minute; ya’ll still talk to each other?” I just knew my mom had his number blocked, locks on the house changed; hell, maybe even a restraining order.

  “Almost every day. We may not be together now but there was definitely a reason for us being together back then. I’m just lucky she still allows me to be her friend.” Though I couldn’t imagine my mom being a good friend to anyone by this point, it was still interesting to hear my dad speak so highly of her.

  “Okay, this is getting...weird. I guess I just assumed you guys lost contact after the split.”

  “Not exactly. I mean, starting off we did. But slowly she started letting me back in her life.”

  “So you already knew about our blow-up before I called?”

  “I knew her side. But I also knew your side would sound very different so I let you tell it.” I was confident that my explanation of what happened would’ve been a little skewed if I knew he already had some background information in the form of her opinion. But I was still curious to see who he agreed with.

  “Then tell me; now that you have all the information, whose side are you on?”

  “Not important. What’s important is that I can’t have two of the most important women in
my life fighting so I need you to kiss and make up with her.”

  I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled over before I replied, “Not happening, Daddy. Sorry but not really that sorry. If she wants to make up, tell her to give me a call. But until then, I’m staying in my lane.”

  rich.

  This shit was becoming all too real.

  It was Jasmine’s first real prenatal appointment and since I told her I would be there for her every step of the way, I was standing outside of the OB-GYN’s office waiting for her BMW to pull up. Of course, even for something important like a doctor’s appointment, she was running a little late. I scrolled through my phone, checking some emails, until I heard her whipping into the parking lot. In no time at all, I could hear the click of her heels against the pavement as she headed my way.

  She continued walking past me, casually throwing, “Rich.” over her shoulder.

  I caught up to her just in time to get the door as I replied, “Miss. Jasmine.”

  “Surprised you actually showed up.”

  I was a little confused as to why she would think otherwise, so I had to ask, “Why wouldn’t I?”

  She shrugged her shoulders, continuing her pursuit of the receptionist’s desk as she answered, “Figured you were all talk.” I waited for her to check-in and get the clipboard of paperwork before I took the opportunity to make things clear.

  “Miss. Jasmine, I’m a man of my word. If there’s anything you’ll learn quickly about me, it’s that.”

  She plopped down in her chair, multi-tasking the paperwork and our conversation as she responded, “Well, I’m really not interested in learning anything about you. Quickly or slowly.”

  “You weren’t saying that when you were learning about my…”

  She cut me off, “Don’t you go there with me, Rich.” I put my hands up in defense knowing that even though I was getting under her skin, she knew exactly what I was talking about.

  And I definitely couldn’t wait to teach her another lesson.

  We waited for a good ten minutes before a nurse came out and whisked us to the back of the office. I stood outside of the room as Jasmine changed into a hospital gown though I wasn’t sure why she was desperate for the privacy as if I hadn’t already saw every inch of her the night we were together. But I wasn’t in the mood to cause a scene so I waited outside of the room as she asked.

  After a few minutes, I gave a little knock on the door before re-entering the room. I immediately sensed Jasmine’s discomfort about the situation, so I walked over to the side of the bed and grabbed her hand. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t pull back yet again. I didn’t say anything to her, didn’t even look at her, just rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb to hopefully help ease some tension. It wasn’t until there was a knock on the door that she pulled her hand out of my hold.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, I’m Dr. Palmer.” The woman stuck her hand out to me and I couldn’t help snickering at the way she addressed us knowing it probably annoyed the hell out of Jasmine. Instead of letting her handle it, I corrected her on my own.

  “Actually, it’s just Jasmine and Rich. We’re not married.”

  “Oh. My apologies. I just assumed that…”

  “You should never assume...Dr. Palmer was it?” Jasmine questioned with an attitude making the woman turned beet red.

  “Yes...yes that’s correct.” She was trying to regroup and I almost felt bad for her. Surely she didn’t mean any harm but that didn’t matter to the little firecracker on the table. Dr. Palmer took a deep breath as she said, “Let’s take a look at the baby, shall we?” Both Jasmine and I shook our heads yes as the doctor squeezed the tube of ultrasound gel onto her belly. She rubbed the gel around with a little wand before there was a loud thumping sound coming from the machine.

  “What’s that?” I asked, with my eyes glued to the screen as I watched a little sac come into view.

  “That’d be the baby’s heartbeat.”

  The baby’s heartbeat.

  I looked down to Jasmine whose eyes were also on the screen. A little tear ran down her cheek and I couldn’t resist the urge to lean in and swipe it for her. Her eyes darted over to me and there was nothing she could do to hide the fearfulness they held. It was then that I realized the whole purpose of me being there was so that I could make her more comfortable.

  I grazed her cheek with the back of my hand and whispered, “I got you.”

  )~o~(

  “No freakin’ way, Rich. I can take an unexpected baby, but I cannot take a whole new, fully-grown person moving in with us.” I had a strong feeling Rae wasn’t gonna approve but I knew I at least had to give her a heads up before approaching Jasmine about it.

  Rae was the easier target of the two.

  “I’m not raising my child in two different households and I’m not going anywhere, so that means Jasmine is gonna have to come here. Besides, you’ll really only be here for the rest of the school year plus the summer before I’ll be shipping you off to college anyway so it’ll just be a temporary thing for you.” I could tell those additional facts had her at least contemplating the idea.

  She crossed her legs on the bed before asking, “How far along is she?”

  “About 12 weeks.” The better mood she seemed to be in quickly faded at that information

  “So you’re tellin’ me I’ll have to spend my last few weeks here with a crying newborn and spend the six to seven-ish months before that with his overly-emotional mother? How much are you paying me?” Though I couldn’t knock her effort to get something more in exchange, I also knew I was already giving her plenty.

  “I’m paying you eight months of life somewhere other than the streets of California. That’s what I’m paying you.”

  “You wouldn’t put me on the streets, Rich.”

  “I wouldn’t put you there, but that’s surely an option if you don’t wanna be here with your future sister-in-law and nephew.”

  “Hold on. Sister-in-law? Now you’re gonna marry the girl?! You hardly even know her!” Rae was stating nothing but facts but that certainly wasn’t gonna stop me from making it happen.

  “But I’ll get to know her. And so will you. I’m gonna invite her over for dinner on Friday night and I want you to join us.”

  “Are you serious, Rich? You know good and well I always have plans on Friday nights.”

  “Well you can consider them cancelled.”

  “But Rich…”

  “But Rich, nothin’. This is very important to me, Rae. All you have to do is show up and maybe I’ll let you out early so you can still hang with your friends.”

  “I’m gonna need that in writing just in case you try to change your mind.”

  I guess we have two future lawyers in the family.

  jasmine.

  The last thing I needed to be attending was another damn dinner party.

  Yet here I was, trembling on my already expanding ankles as I mentally prepped myself for the visit.

  Though I knew I would only be sharing the table with Rich and his little sister, I also knew that could get just as ugly as the one with my own family, especially considering the capacity of my initial interactions with the both of them. But after consulting with Ariel, she made it sound like a no-brainer that I get to know his family. I mean, what if they had a crazy gene I needed to know about? Or a weird mole that everyone in their family shared that I could identify in pictures sprawled amongst the walls?

  I took a deep breath before I rang the doorbell of his actually flawless ass house in a pretty flawless ass neighborhood. Everyone had fresh, plush landscaping, three-plus car garages, columns as a part of their entryway; everything that rang upper-middle class. I guess in a way I had lucked out getting pregnant by someone with more than just street cred.

  The door was yanked open by a young girl I immediately recognized from the picture as the sister. She eyed me for a long time, before she gave me a full body scan that made me unconsciously strike a little pose. I kn
ew when a girl was sizing me up so of course I had to give her my best.

  “Damn girl, those heels are bad. For a pregnant lady, you are slaying hunty.” She even gave me a snap to solidify her appreciation. It was a warm welcome for what I was just sure was gonna be disastrous.

  “Umm...thank you, Rae right?”

  “In the flesh. It’s nice to finally meet the girl that’s carrying my little nephew.”

  Though I couldn’t even tell if I was really showing or if the little bump sprouting from my belly was from all the extra food I had been consuming, I quickly corrected her, “Niece.”

  “Right. Anyway, Rich is still getting dressed but you can come on in. He’s changed outfits like eight times so I think he’s nervous about having you here.”

  Nervous?

  If anything, I should’ve been the nervous one. I was coming into his territory, meeting his little sister and still technically getting to know him, all while carrying our itty-bitty baby.

  I followed Rae through the house as she gave me a quick tour as if she was a real estate agent. It was a little strange the way she kept asking me if I liked certain things about the house, but I figured it was just a part of her teenage, still caring what other people think, ways.

  As we made our way out of the guestroom, we practically bumped right into Rich who was looking good enough to forget we had ever done things the wrong way. He was wearing a plain white v-neck tee and dark grey chino pants but I swear he made it look fresh out of a magazine ad for something totally unrelated like a watch or cologne.

  “Miss. Jasmine. I hope Rae hasn’t been causing you any trouble.”

  No more trouble than what you’ve been causing in my panties since you showed up.

  “She’s been a gem, actually; showing me around. You have a beautiful home, Rich.”

  “I’m...glad you like it. Let’s go eat. Dinner should be good and ready by now.”

  Rae led the way as Rich guided me down the stairs with a warm hand against the small of my back. I would be kidding myself if I didn’t acknowledge the fact that everything about the situation suddenly felt very comfortable, but I knew it had to be part of the illusion Rich was steadily trying to create.