by Andromeda
"Come on love, help me up," I say, holding out my hand. "The babies are hungry."
"Don't you mean you are hungry?" he asks, helping me up carefully.
"No, I mean the babies are hungry," I say sassily. "You know, the three babies you put inside me with your nonstop pounding?"
He smirks and wraps his arms around my waist, rubbing my belly. "If I had my way, you'd have five. The Rinaldi seed is strong."
"And that's why I thank God you're not God," I say with a playful roll of my eyes. "Now let me go before I eat your hand."
He lets me go and I smirk, walking as quickly as a woman six-and-a-half months pregnant can move to the buffet table. Millionaires, billionaires, and other stuck up snobs mill about; barking at the poor workers, trying to outdo each other when it comes to money and so forth.
I roll my eyes at them; money isn't everything. What happens if you lose it all? Sighing, I look over the choices of food; mainly Greek dishes. They do take requests and as I approach one of the servers who knows me, he smiles and goes to get my usual plate.
I have to have my jerk chicken, fried plantains, and fried rice. These babies crave it and after talking to the people and showing them how to make it, I can have it any time of the day.
"That looks delicious," a voice says next to me.
I turn and see a woman. She's about as tall as me, but about a head smaller. Her large almond eyes and long wavy hair is the color of pure chocolate. Her skin is the color of caramel. She is dressed in a dark purple sundress that doesn't hide her pregnancy bump; it's small, so I'm guessing she's in her 4th or 5th month. I swear, it was almost like looking in a mirror save for the hair and eyes.
"It tastes wonderful," I say with a smile.
"What is it?" she asks.
"Jerk chicken, fried plantains, and fried rice; I can have them make a plate for you if you want."
"Sí por favor," she says, and then blushes. "Forgive me, I sometimes forget myself."
I laugh and hand her a plate of food. "Trust me, I understand. I sometimes speak in my Mother tongue too. Where are you from?"
"Miami. You?"
"Kingston."
"Ohhh Jamaica?" she says with wide eyes. "That's very nice, I've always wanted to go there one day."
"Well maybe I can take you there one day," I say with a chuckle. "Oh, I'm Malaika by the way."
"Rosalinda," she says, rolling the R. "But you can call me Rose."
"Nice to meet you, Rose. So tell me, which one is yours?" I ask, gesturing to the different men milling about.
"That one," she says, pointing a tall man.
While not as tall as my Giovanni, he has very curly brown hair, silver-looking eyes, and creamy skin.
"He liked chocolate too huh?" I tease.
"You could say that," she says, and absentmindedly rubs her belly.
"Is he happy?" I ask, sensing something wrong.
"A little," she whispers.
I put my plate down. "Rose...?"
"We didn't exactly meet up...normally."
"How did you meet?" I ask. "If you don't mind me asking."
She looks into my eyes and shakes her head. "No, I don't mind..."
She's a sugar baby—well, was a sugar baby. She has two children and in order to support them, she became a sugar baby to the father of her child: Alphonse François. I've heard of him; he's French and big in the fashion world. The rest of her story is like mine: crazy ex's, lies, trouble, and then a baby.
"I...I'm not sure if I want this baby," she whispers. "I...I would never kill it but... Alphonse has been cold and distant to me ever since he found out. We've argued so much...the only reason I'm here is to be his arm candy."
I nod slowly and reach other to grasp her hand. "Forget about him. He doesn't matter. You and your baby do. If he doesn't want to be the father, then find a man who will; you don't need him. In the words of the ruler of this nation: who runs the world?"
"Girls," she chuckles. "And wait...I thought the president was the ruler of this nation."
"That's what they want you to think," I tease. "Now come here and I'll let you feel three strong kicks. I swear, these kids will be soccer players."
********************************
Giovanni
"Come on out, love! I want to see the gown!" I call from the bed.
I hear Malaika giggle, and she pokes her head out. "I'm hurrying! But I'm six-and-a-half-months pregnant, I'm going to be slow."
I chuckle and nod. "Alright."
Turning back to the TV, I change it to the sports channel and wait patiently. Life has been wonderful. With Malaika, I know my life is now complete, and while I know she can never replace Veronica, she has mended that hole in my heart. When we first got here, I sat down and told her everything; how I was mainly using Veronica to get back at her father, and how she died.
She looked at me with wide eyes and didn't talk to me for a good hour, but she didn't leave. Afterward, she told me about Derrick and I swear I wanted to kill something. That man is a monster, and I swore to her that he will never lay another hand on her again. Our hidden pasts are out on the table, and we have sworn to not let them tear us apart again. We have five children, two now and three on the way, and we have to be in this together.
"Ok Gio..." she says. "I'm coming."
She steps out, and my jaw instantly drops. Dressed in a see-through white halter-gown that drops at her upper thighs, she has knee-high fishnet stockings on. All the blood instantly shots to my dick, and it becomes very painfully hard.
"Y...you look beautiful," I whisper. "Now come here..."
Smirking, she walks over slowly, the gown moving over her like water as she moves to stand in front of me. Pulling her close, I press my lips to her, our breathing coming in soft pants as our hearts beat loudly in our chests.
We don't sleep at all that night, nor do we leave our room for the next two days I'm gentle with her for the sake of the babies, and I don't have her on her back. She either rides me, lays on her side, or gets on all fours. Honestly, I love when we are on our sides, my manhood brushes her g-spot at the right angle and she cries out my name at the top of her lungs.
We finally have time to cut loose and I pull out all the stops, not leaving her wanting in anything. She is my Queen, and will never be in want of anything. As she lays in my arms sleeping, sex sweat-soaked hair plastered to her forehead, I can't help but smile at her.
She is all I've wanted in a woman and more; beautiful, passionate about her work, children adore her, and she has wonderful family values. Not to mention, she's a killer in bed; damn, the woman has a lot of energy, but that's one of the main reasons I love her.
I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, and I’m deeply regretful for them, but with her by my side I know I can make it better. As they say: Rifiuti di un'altra persona è più grande tesoro di un'altra persona. Another person's trash is another person's greatest treasure, and I am never letting this treasure go.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Royal Visitations
Malaika
"Gio, have you seen my keys?" I ask.
Giovanni looks around and then points across the room. "There."
Seeing them, I walk over and take them, and when I turn around I see Giovanni with his hands on his hips.
"Mia angela..." he says. "We're supposed to be getting settled in our new house..."
I roll my eyes and scoff. We've been back from our honeymoon for about a month, and I found out that Giovanni had another gift for me—a new house for all of us: him, me, Robyn, Rosie, my siblings, and Remy if he wanted to move in with us; however, he has moved in with Marcus, and they have officially become a couple.
Our new house is the most beautiful house I've ever seen. I've always been in love with ranch-style homes, and Giovanni took the idea to the extreme. The house is HUGE! It sits on 20 acres of land, has 15 bedrooms, 17.3 bathrooms, two pools, a tennis court, and riding trails! And I'm not talking about bike riding.
I have a
lways loved horses, along with Robyn and my siblings, and Giovanni figured this out quickly; so every morning, I'm awakened by the soft whinnying of our six horses. I can't ride, of course, since I'm so heavily pregnant, but I do go to the stables and help some of the ranch hands clean their stalls or feed them. Mine is this most beautiful mare Appaloosa, whom I've named Starlight because of the star-shaped patch on her forehead. Giovanni has a stallion named Octavian, and he is always sniffing Starlight's tail if you know what I mean.
Life has been...perfect. I know it’s impossible to have a perfect life, but it seems like it. My life has done a complete 180! Look at me now; I'm married to the man I love (even though I want to kill him sometimes), have two beautiful children with three more on the way, and so much more! I really am blessed.
"I'll help you when I get back from work," I say.
He walks over and puts a hand on my belly, frowning. "I don't like you working so hard...shouldn't you be on maternity leave by now? You're 8 months..."
"Today is my last day," I say. "And I like going to work."
He frowns deeper and I can't help but sigh. The man has been all over me since we got back from the honeymoon, both in the good way and the bad. He treats me as if I'm a china doll, and sometimes a child. I admit, it was fun in the beginning, but after a while it just gets on my nerves. I am neither of those things, and he needs to back off just a bit.
"Gio, I'll be fine," I say for what seems like the thousandth time.
"I don't want you driving..." he says with a frown. “Why don’t I call come of our people to drive you?”
"Because you men drive like they are in a NASCAR match,” I say, rolling my eyes, wanting to end this conversation as quickly as possible. "I'll...call Pearl, ok?”
He nods slowly and I make the call. Within minutes, Pearl pulls up to our house and hops out.
"Damn, and I thought the White House was secure," she says. "I had to go through like six gates, 20 guards, and about 50 guard dogs."
I can't help but laugh at that; it's really only half true. We have three gates, 10 guards, and only 15 guard dogs.
Giovanni crosses his arms. "They are all necessary."
After the little 'meeting' with Derrick, Giovanni hasn't spared a dime in our protection. He has the top of the top security; you can only get through the gates if your name is on a list that changes daily. Additionally, you have to pass through men hired from the mafia, I'm sure, and guard dogs that are only trained in Italian. I even have two guards named Boris and Eugene who watch me and follow me everywhere. They even stand outside the door when I use the bathroom, which is a lot being I'm in my 8th month. I look like I'm ready to pop.
Pearl shrugs. "Didn't say I had a problem with it, just make sure to have me always on that list or give me a key card or something."
"Sure," he says before turning to me.
I smile and give him a deep kiss while he rubs my belly; one of the triplets gives a hard kick and I flinch.
"Damn...someone is going to be a football star or something."
"Don't you mean soccer?" Giovanni teases me.
I roll my eyes and head to the car with Pearl. "Whatever, I'll see you when I get off, ok?"
"Alright," he says with a chuckle. "Call on at your break, and when you get home...I have a surprise for you."
Pearl laughs as I buckle up. "And I wonder that that will be? Another diamond necklace?"
Boris and Eugene climb into the backseat, weighing it down heavily, but are always silent. These two men are frightening, but in reality are a bunch of teddy bears. Rosie and Robyn have them wrapped around their fingers, and I have frequently found them in the playroom playing dress up and having tea parties.
"I dunno," I say with a shrug as we drive off. "But I have a feeling it's going to be tear able."
"Girl, everything you wear around that man is tear able," Pearl laughs.
********************************
"Alright; that’s our last patient, Joy," I say with a smile. "And thank goodness— these three haven't stopped kicking for the last hour."
Joy laughs and with my permission, rubs my belly. "They are so active!"
"Just like their father," I say with a sigh, moving to a chair to sit down.
"And mother," Joy says laughing. "What other woman do you know that works up until her 8th month? Mala, you should have been on your leave like a month ago."
"I hate being idle," I say. "That, and I know that the moment I go on my leave, Gio will be on me even more than he is right now."
Joy laughs. We talk for a couple moments, and then go our separate ways. As I'm heading to the locker room to change into my normal clothes, I hear a soft cry. Turning around, I see a woman huddled in the door, panting heavily as she clenches the frame tightly in her fists. She's medium height, her long curly-brown is plastered to her forehead with sweat, her caramel skin has a red tint to it, and her eyes are tightly shut so I can't see their color. A second woman holds her and when she sees me, she waves me over.
"Are you a doctor?" she asks and I nod. "Good. This is my...friend Zuleikha."
"What's wrong with her?" I ask.
Zuleikha stands up and I see that she's pregnant, and heavily so.
"Kinda obvious isn't it?" the woman asks with a shy smile.
I look around and call to a nurse. "Get her to L&D," I tell her.
"Aren't you coming?" the woman asks as a stretcher is brought for Zuleikha.
I shake my head. "I work in Peds, not L&D."
"I want you there!" Zuleikha finally cries out, pointing to me. "Angel, make it happen!"
I frown slightly; honestly in my mind, I'm wondering who is this woman who thinks she can order around the hospital but the woman, I'm guessing her name is Angel, looks to me.
"Can you please?" she pleads. "Zuleikha is a...special case."
We watch as Zuleikha is wheeled away to L&D.
"Ummm...sure," I say uneasily. "I don’t know about it. Is there anyone I can call? The father..."
"NO!" Angel suddenly shouts.
Everyone stops and looks at her; heat floods Angel's cheeks and she bites her lip, lowering her voice. "I...erm I mean no. Zuleikha...doesn't want him to know..."
Ok, this got VERY weird. "Erm...ok...I'll give you the paperwork then..."
She nods and we walk to L&D. She sits down and begins to fill out the paperwork as I go to check in on Zuleikha. The woman is a screaming mess; I mean, I could hear her from the lobby. The nurses had changed her into a pink gown and an RN was trying to get her to open her legs to check her, but the woman was kicking her. Damn, gotta give her some credit; the woman's a spit fire like me.
I walk into the room and put my hand on the RN's shoulder, who gives me a glad look and steps out of the way.
"Listen...um... Zuleikha, was it? I'm Dr. Rinaldi and I'm here to help you.”
"T...that's a funny name," she pants.
I cross my arms. "So is Zuleikha," I say sharply.
She smiles for a moment, a slow smile that has some light behind it. "I like you. I want you as a doctor."
"I'm...not sure if you can do that, but I guess I can. Now will you sit back and let me check you?" I ask.
She stops screaming a second and sits back, slowly spreading her legs
"How far along are your contractions?" I ask as I pull on some gloves and check her.
"A...about every 10 minutes," she pants.
I slide a finger into her and don't get very far. A head! This woman's baby's head was almost out! What the hell has she been doing?
I quickly pull my fingers out and look to the nurse. "Get me a robe and some light. The baby's coming now."
"The first one's head is there?" she asks.
I look at her in shock. "The first what?"
She opens her mouth to talk when she screams, arching her back. I see her body tense and then...the virginal walls begin to open and I see the head coming close.
"Merde!" I curse, tearing the gown from the
nurse's hands. "This baby is coming now! Zuleikha, I need you to stop screaming for a damn second and then push, alright?"
She nods and I watch as two nurses lift up her legs. I hold my hands out and no sooner had I done so, the baby slides out. A girl. I quickly cut the cord and hand her to a nurse to clean.
Zuleikha falls back with a groan, panting heavily but her stomach is still slightly large. Apparently, she has a second one in there.
"We're not done y..." I begin to say when I hear loud shouts coming from the lobby. "What in the hell?" I wonder.
I look to Zuleikha, whose face has gone ashen. "Henrik..." she whispers.
"Who?" I ask.
"Damn it Sir, you can't go in there!" a feminine voice shouts when the door bursts open and a man stands before me.
He's tall; long, curly dirty-blond hair flops over his blue eyes, and his skin is the color of cream.
"Who the hell are you?" I ask. Normally I have a tame lounge, but after this crazy series of event I'm like screw it.
The man who had been looking at Zuleikha turns his blue eyes to me. "Who are you talking to? Don't you know who I am?"
"A man intruding in my delivery room," I snap. "And unless you are the father, I suggest you leave!"
"I am the father!" he shouts.
"Like hell you are, Henrik!" Zuleikha snaps.
He sighs. "Really Leia, are we going to talk about this now?"
"I want him out!" Zuleikha screams at me.
"Try to remove me!" Henrik shouts at me.
I'm going to get a migraine from these people!
"Look, will the both of you..." I begin, but I'm cut off by Zuleikha crying out again. Guess baby #2 is on the move.
Ignoring Henrik, I turn to Zuleikha and tell her to push. She begins to, but I begin to notice something is wrong. Her belly is shaped...weird. Frowning, I wait until she stops and then slowly slide a finger inside to check her; my jaw drops.
"The baby is breech," I say, looking to the nurses. "And from what I can tell, the cord is around its neck. We need to take her to surgery."
"WHAT!?" Henrik screams.
I flinch and glare at him. "Will you, for the love of God, stop screaming?!" I turn to the nurses. "Prep the OR and get her ready. We need to do a C-section."
