My Baby Is A West Coast King 3

by Shvonne Latrice

  “Hello?” I answered, rolling my eyes.

  “Hey, I have a show tonight and was wondering if you wanted to come see me live.”

  “Actually, no, I can’t. I’m under the weather and I don’t think going out into the cold night air would be a good idea.”

  “Oh, damn. How about I bring you some soup and shit after my show?”

  I smiled to myself, liking how sweet he was. He was the real sweet though, without the underlying crazy like Chaz.

  “Thanks, Hudson, but I have plenty of soup here.”

  It was quiet for a moment before he said, “Damn, you just won’t budge, huh?”

  “Nope. Have a good day and good luck with your show.” I hung up, feeling slightly giddy because I did like him and the sex was pretty great. However, I was enjoying having fun, sleeping with Adrian some nights when I wanted to be made love to, and then getting fucked nice and hard by Hudson when I wanted to. In a perfect world I could have them both.

  “Oh fuck!” I called out, clutching my stomach.

  Peeling the covers back, I saw I’d bled a little, so I got up. My doctor’s appointment was in an hour so I needed to shower anyway. I gathered the things I needed, slipped my shower cap on, and then hopped in to scrub down. I got out to brush, floss, and rinse my teeth, and then went to get dressed in simply tights, a t-shirt, and my Adidas Tubulars. After brushing my hair down, I spritzed on my body spray, and then left out the door to the doctor.

  After sitting in the waiting room for fucking ever, I was finally called to the back of the office to get my blood pressure taken, and then weighed. After explaining to the nurse my concerns, she led me to a room to wait for my physician.

  “Hello, Mrs. Benjamin. I haven’t seen you in a while, which I guess is good.” Dr. Day sat down at her computer and smiled. After clicking around she said, “Everything looks good except you did gain a little weight which isn’t a problem, because you’re not over but—”

  “I gained weight? I work out faithfully and haven’t changed my eating habits.”

  “Have you been under stress lately? Sometimes stress can make you gain weight, Mrs. Benjamin.

  “I umm, I… no I’m not under any stress,” I lied. “But I’m here because I’ve got a stomach virus and I need you to give me something for it.”

  “Okay, what are the symptoms? And did it come after eating food you’ve never had or rarely eat?” She pulled out her notepad.

  “I’ve been throwing up for the past three days, every damn morning, I can barely keep certain foods down which is why I don’t understand how I gained weight. And then I had some stomach cramps, followed by a little spotting. And no. I didn’t have anything new.”

  Nodding she asked, “And are you and your husband having unprotected sex?”

  “I’m not sure why that would mean anything. I have a stomach virus.”

  “Yes. that could be possible, but you could also be pregnant, Mrs. Benjamin.”

  My heart seemed to stop as I watched her huge lips move. I’d been so reckless that I hadn’t used a condom with Hudson since I met him. He could have been a diseased prick, and I didn’t even think about it. I was losing my fucking mind behind this divorce, and that stupid ass mistress Erynne.

  “No, Dr. Day. I’m pretty sure I’m not pregnant.”

  “Well let’s just be sure.”

  She stood up and removed a pee cup from the cabinet. She scribbled my name on it, and then told me to follow her to the bathroom. I felt like I was on death row the whole way there, and when I went inside the bathroom, I said a prayer to God. I couldn’t be pregnant again, but if I was I was gonna get an abortion.

  I peed in the cup, and after flushing and twisting the cap on, I washed my hands while staring at myself in the mirror. In my head I just kept chanting, Please God don’t let me be pregnant. Please God don’t let me be pregnant.

  I went back to the room to wait, and after forever it seemed, Dr. Day returned holding her folder and clipboard. By the wide ass smile threatening to burst through, I already knew the results of the test.

  She thought I was pregnant by my husband and would be elated, when really I was pregnant by my side nigga who I didn’t even know that well. I had a husband, a girlfriend, and for now a baby daddy. My life was never dull I’ll tell you that.

  “You’re gonna be a mommy!” she squealed and hugged me. I chuckled and grinned, wanting her to believe it was all good.

  “Great,” I nodded. “Been wanting a baby for the longest.”

  I couldn’t wait to get to that abortion clinic.

  “So happy for you, Mrs. Benjamin. Now follow me.”

  She took a look at the baby and I was almost a month pregnant. I didn’t really want to see it because I didn’t want to get attached, knowing this muthafucka was about to get scraped the fuck out. On my way out of the doctor’s office, I dialed the clinic from last time, and waited as the line rang, while sitting in my car.

  “Downtown Medical Center, this is Ophelia, how can I help you?”

  “Hi, Ophelia, this is Jade Benjamin.”

  “Oh, hi, Mrs. Benjamin, how may I help you?”

  I was so embarrassed because it seemed like Ophelia never had a damn day off. That bitch was always at work and always answering the fucking phones. She had this chipper tone, even though I knew she was probably talking shit about me in her head due to my frequent visits.

  “Yes, well I’d like to schedule an abortion as soon as possible.”

  “Oh... Okay. Give me one moment so I can pull up your chart, Mrs. Benjamin.”

  I was so ashamed that I said, “Now is just not a good time for a baby so my husband wants this again.”

  “I understand. Mrs. Benjamin, according to your chart here, if you’d like to schedule a procedure of this type, you would need to come in and speak with the doctor first.”

  “What? Why? I’ve never had to do that before! If I come in there I want it to be because I’m getting the procedure, not for anything else. I have a different doctor for checkups and other things.”

  I was getting pissed. I wanted this shit out of me, and right fucking now.

  “No, it’s not a checkup.”

  “Then what the hell is it, Ophelia? I’m not in the business of wasting my gas! So either tell me something over the phone, or book the fucking appointment.”

  “Let me see if I can get the doctor on the phone for you, Mrs. Benjamin. I’m not allowed to—”

  “Just hurry up!”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  I inhaled and exhaled heavily as I listened to the boring ass hold music. My phone began buzzing against my ear, and when I pulled it away I saw it was Adrian calling. I hit ignore, and then put the phone back to my ear to wait.

  “Okay, Mrs. Benjamin, he’s in his office and I’m gonna transfer you over now.”

  “Mhm.”

  “Dr. Geese,” the doctor answered.

  “Hi, Dr. Geese, this is Jade Benjamin. I tried to schedule an appointment for an abortion, and your nurse or whatever the fuck she is, is giving me a hard time. I do not want to come down there unless it’s for the abortion.”

  “Yes, she explained it to me. Mrs. Benjamin, the problem is that you’ve had five abortions, and if we do a sixth, you may not be able to conceive. I explained this to you when you got your last abortion, that it may be the final one before it starts to affect your reproductive system.”

  “Isn’t there like a pill or something that’s safer?”

  “Yes, but because you’ve had so many, it may still affect your ability to procreate down the line. Now I would discuss this with your husband and see if he—”

  I hung up and threw my phone into the passenger seat. Unbeknownst to Chaz, he’d gotten me pregnant more than once and I’d gotten rid of them all. The first time was before we were married, and after we got married it was like every other month I was pregnant again. I even took birth control, but it was like he had super sperm or something. Only reason I told him about
the last one is because of Dr. Geese’s warning, which had me wanting to keep it. In the end I just decided to use my last scot-free abortion, thinking I wasn’t gonna be in this predicament again any time soon.

  I saw Dr. Geese was calling me back so I hit ignore. I didn’t need to say anything else to him. Maybe if I found another clinic that didn’t know my history they’d do it. But damn, did I really want that risk? I wanted children in the future, but just not right now.

  Cranking my car, I saw the clock read 1:30 p.m. because I’d been at Dr. Day’s office for two whole damn hours just to find out some shit that only took ten minutes to reveal. I sped home after getting some food, and as I ate my burrito, I saw my lawyer Veronica calling.

  “Hey,” I answered, munching on the big ass wet burrito.

  “Hi, I was just calling you to make sure you’re gonna be ready for the meeting this week. Chaz is going to have to pay up, especially because he has this girl he’s been flaunting around town, and you’ve been alone. I guess his lawyer’s advice went right over his loser head. It looks perfect for us.”

  “Veronica, I umm, I’m pregnant.”

  I thought about keeping it a secret, but if I kept this child, someone would catch on, and I didn’t want Chaz or his lawyer trying to get me later on. I’d never been divorced, so I didn’t know how shit worked and if they could like retroactively fuck me over.

  “Pregnant? Please tell me it’s Chaz’s’ ‘cause that would be great.”

  “No, umm,” I stabbed my burrito, “It’s not his.”

  “Jaaaaddde…”

  “I know! I know! Dammit!”

  “Okay, in the meeting, just take whatever he offers, and then let this be done so you guys can get divorced,” she sighed. “If you have that baby while still married to Chaz, he can claim it and I’m sure you nor the real father would want that.”

  “I mean but technically Chaz and I are not together, so this baby shouldn’t hinder me, really.”

  “Well it does. You’re having a baby by another man. That doesn’t make things look good for you, Jade. Just take whatever he offers. I will make sure it’s good, but just take it, alright?”

  “Fine.”

  I slammed my phone onto the coffee table, and then sat back to eat my burrito. Next thing I knew, I had dozed off.

  ***

  That evening…

  KNOCK! KNOCK!

  I opened my eyes and realized I was still on the couch. Sitting up, I gathered my thoughts as the person beat on the door some more. Standing, I went to look through the peephole and saw Hudson out there with his fine chocolate ass, holding a brown paper bag.

  “How did you know where I lived?” I opened the door.

  “I didn’t, really. You accidentally sent me your location through text after our phone call, and I just assumed this was your home.”

  “Stalker.” I stepped back to let him in.

  “I brought you soup, juice, club soda, cookies, and some good movies.” He grinned, setting the bag on the counter and removing everything as he called it out. “Even got you some of that expensive ass Mucinex.”

  “I uh, I don’t have a cold… Hudson.”

  He looked over his shoulder at me before turning to face me completely.

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  Fuck it.

  “We weren’t careful, so yeah, now I’m pregnant.” I threw my arms out and let them lazily collapse back against my thighs as I shrugged. “Don’t worry though, I may get an abortion.”

  “No you’re not.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Exhaling, he looked down at me and said, “Jade, don’t get an abortion, please. We may not be in love and shit, but a child is a blessing.”

  “What? You don’t even have a job! You tell jokes on stage for God’s sake! I’m not going through the same shit I went through with my husband, plus a damn baby! You can forget it!”

  “Jade… I have a job. Comedy is my passion but I only do it on the side until it can make me the kind of money I need to support myself.”

  Now why couldn’t Chaz do that? Even though Chaz made pretty good money back then, a real job was a nice security blanket. But according to my lawyer, Chaz was making big bucks these days, and it was only going to improve. I’d fucked up my chances of getting any of that.

  “You have a real job?” I frowned as Hudson cupped my shoulders and kissed my forehead.

  “Yeah, I’m a paralegal. You’d know that if you let us spend some time together, that didn’t involve you purring in my ear sweetly when I make you cum.”

  “Shut up.” I chuckled. I looked around my living room and then back up at him. “I thought you had a show tonight.”

  “I do, but it’s not until 8:30 p.m.”

  “Would you like your baby mama to come?” I smiled bashfully, right shoulder pressed into my cheek as I cocked my head. Suddenly, the thought of Hudson and I didn’t seem so bad.

  “Of course. But only if afterwards we can come back here or to my place and chill before we fuck.”

  “I guess I can do that.”

  “Yeah?” he pulled me in, and leaned down to kiss me.

  For some reason, I couldn’t wait to get divorced now.

  Chapter Nine: Chaz

  Two days later…

  Again, Jade and her lawyer bitch Veronica weren’t on time, so my lawyer, the mediator, and I were just sitting here waiting for them to show up. If Jade agreed to my terms and I agreed to hers, we would be signing paperwork this week and we’d be divorced. A part of me wanted to just agree to whatever the fuck she wanted, but I knew myself, and I just couldn’t back down to her ass. She only deserved what I was willing to give, and her ass needed to be happy she was gonna get that.

  “Sorry we’re late.” Veronica walked in with Jade behind her. As much as I couldn’t stand Jade right now, she looked good as hell. Bitches loved to spruce up when you ain’t fucking with them no more, or maybe I just didn’t care to notice when we were together.

  “It’s perfectly fine,” Oscar, the mediator replied, clicking his pen so that he could write with it. “Okay, so let’s just get down to business. Mr. Johansson informed me that you two came to an agreement as far as what you’re clients will be willing to take, so that we can draw up some paperwork and get some signatures, correct?” He looked to Veronica.

  “Yes, that’s correct.” She nodded, rolling her eyes at me. Bitch probably wanted some dick.

  “Yes.” My lawyer nodded when Oscar looked to him.

  “Alright. Mr. Johansson, what does Mr. Benjamin want out of the marriage?” Oscar pressed his pen to the paper, prepared to write.

  “He just wants to be able to keep everything he’s earned from music, including any money he’s received while being signed,” my lawyer replied.

  “Okay, and is that fine with Mrs. Benjamin?”

  “Yes. That’s fine, but she would like Mr. Benjamin to pay her rent, utilities, and car note like he has been until she’s married or entering into a common law marriage. Also, she can choose to stop Mr. Benjamin from supporting her at any time. Mr. Benjamin can request to stop supporting if he hits a financial snag that prevents him from being able to pay for his household and my client’s. He would need to show proof, however.”

  “Is that okay with Mr. Benjamin?” Oscar looked at my lawyer and then me.

  “That’s cool, let’s just get this shit over with and make sure the document specifies exactly what I’m paying,” I said, sighing.

  “Well, this is great. So all that needs to be done is the paperwork. You guys can all come back later this week and then sign. I must check my schedule first though. After that, everything is pretty much done and you two will be finished with one another.” Oscar smiled.

  “Great.” Jade nodded, glancing into my eyes for a second.

  It was crazy how much I used to love this girl. If someone told me we’d be sitting here a couple years ago, I would find that shit hilarious. I probably would have beaten their
ass too.

  “Alright, well we’re done here, and I’ll be giving your lawyers a call when everything is ready for you.” Oscar shook my hand and then Jade’s.

  The five of us walked into the hall, and our lawyers as well as Oscar started to converse as Jade and I stood off to the side.

  “So you’re ready to be a single man?” she inquired.

  “Not really gonna be single.”

  “Oh yeah, I forgot you have a girlfriend already.” She looked down at her feet. “You love her now? Or is it still too new?”

  I hadn’t even thought about it myself. Erynne told me she loved me, and I never said it back just because I didn’t know and I didn’t want to lie. But now that Jade was asking me, it made me wonder again.

  “I do,” I said it as if I were just realizing it. I guess I was just realizing it.

  “That’s good. I umm, I think I found someone I like but I’m not sure yet.” She finally looked up from her shoes. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this right now since we’re still technically married.” She chuckled awkwardly before clearing her throat.

  “Is it a woman?” She shook her head ‘no’. “It’s cool to be yourself, Jade. I still love you no matter what, even though I’ve wanted to strangle you these past few months.”

  “You still love me?”

  “I was with you for a long time. I asked you to be my wife; of course I love you. Do I want to be with you? No, I want Erynne. I’m in love with Erynne, but I do love you. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

  “Hmm.” She nodded, and I could see in her face that she was surprised.

  “Ready, Jade,” Veronica walked up, buckling her briefcase.

  “Huh? Oh, yes.” She shoved her hair behind her ear. “Oh, bye Chaz.”

  “Bye, baby.”