Making Babies With Mr White (BWWM Interracial Romance)
Page 6
“Well, mummy and son will just have to suck it up,” Natasha said as she let go of Rita’s hand and continued down the stairs on her own.
“This will not end well,” Rita said under her breath as they got to the bottom of the stairs.
“There is my beautiful granddaughter,” Estelle said excitedly as Natasha walked towards her.
“Hi Nan,” she said as Estelle kissed her cheek.
“Well, I’m sure you remember my friends Marci, Leanne, Moira and of course, Sherea,” Estelle said as Natasha shook their hands.
“Yes of course. Nice to see you all again,” Natasha said with a smile.
“You were always one of the good ones, Natasha, Leanne said as she gently tugged on Natasha’s hand, urging her to sit down. “Coming back home to visit. My Annette never even calls,” she added. The ladies laughed.
“I hope you are carrying a boy because they never forget where they came from,” Marci said with a smile. “But girls? After bringing home a quote unquote nice boy, you’ll be lucky to have them for Thanksgiving every leap year,” she added as Natasha joined them on the couch. “So how are you holding up?” Marci asked as Estelle set up some food on two plates for the girls.
“Good. At least the morning sickness is a bit more relaxed now,” Natasha said. Rita laughed.
“A whole lot,” Rita said matter of factly.
“You poor thing,” Leanne said with a smile. “But trust me when I tell you that it is all worth it when you see that little baby’s face,” she added.
“Speaking of, do we know what we are carrying? Blue or pink flannels?” Marci asked looking at Natasha.
“That Tasha is more old school than me. She said she wants to be surprised,” Estelle said as she walked to the table carrying a tray.
“There is a chance that we are talking blue flannels though,” Rita said with a smile as she stood up to help Estelle.
“Did someone take a little peek at the sonogram?” Marci asked with a smile. Natasha laughed as she took one of the plates from Rita.
“No, nothing like that at all,” she said. “It’s just that, I think I may have named my baby and he agreed,” she added smiling. The ladies looked at each other.
“Did you just say he?” Estelle asked looking at Natasha who was already digging into the food. Natasha nodded. “How would you even know that?” she asked, still looking at her granddaughter.
“It’s not fool proof, just that I called the baby Aiden and for the first time, he kicked,” she said excitedly.
“First time? How far along are you?” Marci asked.
“Five months,” Natasha said as she took a big bite of her turkey bacon. “Damn that’s good,” she said under her breath.
“Isn’t that a bit late?” Leanne asked looking concerned.
“Oh please. I didn’t feel her father move till I was in my third trimester,” Estelle said with a smile.
“Planning to go back to work after the baby comes?” Leanne asked. Natasha looked up at Rita and then at her Nan and shook her head.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” Natasha said. “I don’t think I want my child being raised by a stranger,” she added.
“Of course you don’t. You have all the money to just jet around the world on holidays,” Sherea said. Natasha looked at her surprised.
‘Do you have something to say to anyone, Sherea?” Rita asked looking at her. Sherea shook her head.
“Not anyone, just Tasha,” Sherea said without flinching.
“Okay, what do you have to say to me,” Natasha asked looking at Sherea.
“That could have been my grandbaby in you right now,” Sherea said. Leanne and Marci rolled their eyes.
“Well, maybe if your son had been half the man Mitchell is, it could have been,” Estelle retorted.
“What did you just say about my baby?” Sherea asked looking at Estelle.
“You heard her. You are always cuddling him making him some cry baby,” Rita said. Sherea rolled her eyes at Rita.
‘Girl, ain’t nobody talking to you right now,” Sherea said. By this time, what had started as an altercation between Sherea and Natasha had become a brutal exchange between Estelle, Rita and Sherea. For Natasha, she had always known that neither Rita nor Estelle liked Jay, not when they were dating and definitely not now. Sherea had always blamed Natasha for the failed relationship and even though Natasha tried being the bigger person, Sherea always seemed bent on being out to get her. Leanne, Marci and Natasha watched in horror as the three got into it.
“Well, someone is talking to you, Sherea, and this someone is telling you that you had better snap out of that damned box you are in,” Rita said angrily. “Tasha and Jay are over. That ship sailed a long time ago and it is not about to make a three-sixty,” she added looking at Sherea.
“Rita is right Sherea,” Estelle said. “You are my friend and I hate being in this position but you cannot keep on tormenting my granddaughter for the sins of your son,” she added. Sherea grabbed her purse and looked at Estelle.
“I don’t have to sit here and listen to this,” she said looking at Rita and then at Estelle.
“Well, you don’t have to,” Rita said.
“Rita, be respectful,” Estelle said in a warning tone.
“I would be if she deserved it,” Rita said still looking at Sherea.
“Rita!” Estelle said again, this time her voice a bit more stern than the first. Natasha put her plate on the table and looked at Sherea.
“Sherea, I respect you and I know you know that,” Natasha started. “But you have to understand one thing, Jay is not the good boy you always knew. He is a mess, at least he was when we broke up and I got someone good. Someone who puts my needs first and genuinely cares for me,” she continued. “I did not want this, any of this but it happened and it’s been two damn years so I think you need to get into that thought,” she said.
“Tasha’s right Sherea. Jay had his chance and he lost,” Marci said sympathetically.
“So did you leave him because he didn’t have a net worth of a billion dollars? Is that it?” Sherea asked. Natasha shook her head. She still couldn’t believe that Sherea was angry with her for the train wreck of a relationship with her son.
“It was never about the money and you know it,” Natasha snapped at Sherea.
“Really? Because you did not end things with my son until you hit the banker’s jackpot,” Sherea said looking at Natasha. Rita rolled her eyes and stood up.
“I don’t know about everyone else but I think it’s time for you to leave Sherea,” Rita said to the surprise of everyone on the room.
“Excuse you?” Sherea asked looking at Rita.
“You heard me, get the fuck out of Estelle’s house. You are just a big bag of bad fucking aura around here right now,” Rita said.
“Rita! Language!” Estelle and Natasha said in unison.
“I’m sorry, Estelle but it’s going to be a freezing day in hell before I let someone disrespect you or my best friend at their own home,” Rita said as she stared daggers at Sherea.
“I know when I am not wanted,” Sherea said as she stood up.
“Do you really? Because no one wanted you around half an hour ago but you are still here,” Rita said crossing her arms on her chest.
“Of course you would defend her,” Sherea said as she walked towards Rita. “Because when one gold digger hit the jackpot she dragged the other gold digger in the mines with her,” she added.
“What did you just say?” Rita asked angrily.
“Sherea!” Marci and Leanne exclaimed in shock.
“Seriously Sherea, hold your fucking tongue,” Natasha said standing up. This time it was her turn to be vulgar.
“Rita was right. Sherea, it’s time you left,” Estelle said as he walked towards the door and held it open. “Get out of my house,” she said looking at the woman she had once called her friend. Sherea smiled and walked towards the door.
“I had a feeling our f
riendship had run its course,” Sherea said as she approached the door.
“It did and I was just being nice,” Estelle said angrily.
“Hey Sherea!” Natasha called out. “I hope you take something from the friendship you had with my Nan,” she said.
“And what’s that?” Sherea asked.
“Let go of the reins you have on your son and maybe he will not be a total and complete disappointment,” Natasha said before sitting down. Sherea rolled her eyes and walked out; Estelle slammed the door behind her.
“Good riddance,” Rita said in a low voice but loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Can you believe the nerve of that woman?” Leanne asked.
“I always thought she was such a good woman,” Marci said sadly. “Decent even,” she added as Estelle sat down.
“I have known her for thirty years. The joke’s on me,” Estelle said with a sad smile. Rita walked over to Estelle and gave her a hug.
“Enough about her. You okay?” Rita asked looking at Estelle.
“I’ve never been better. But you have got a mouth on you,” Estelle said with a smile. Rita laughed.
“When you deal with snobby art people all day, you learn a few tricks,” Rita said looking at Natasha. “You good, Tasha?” she asked.
“Me and Aiden are just fine,” Natasha said with a smile. The two older women smiled at each other.
“I hope you have a plan B in case Aiden turns out to be a female,” Leanne said smiling. Natasha looked at her Nan and smiled.
“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it,” Natasha said with a smile. Marci took Natasha’s plate from the table and handed it to Natasha.
“Well, eat up now. You need to keep your strength up,” she said.
True, childbirth is no joke,” Estelle said. Natasha looked at the older women and then at Rita.
“Let’s not talk about that. That shit is weird,” Natasha said as she took a bite of her now cold turkey bacon.
“Tasha, language!” Estelle yelled angrily.
Chapter 7
Mitchell looked at the dinner table and smiled. He had managed to pull off a great dinner from scratch – so unlike him. He walked to the kitchen and put on a pair of oven gloves before taking the baked potatoes out of the oven. He walked to the dining table and carefully set the potatoes down. He smiled as he looked at the generous spread. He knew that cooking would definitely not be enough to make up for not being around for two weeks but he hoped that Natasha would see that he was trying to make up for it. He had been called out to Europe on an emergency and it was too much of a short notice for him to get someone to represent him, especially since the company was right in the middle of not one, not two but three major campaigns.
As much as his reasons made perfect sense to him, he knew that his wife saw things a bit differently as Rita had told her.
“You know that you are not neglecting her and I know that you are not but she doesn’t,” Rita had told her earlier that week. “You need to talk to her,” she had said.
“I will, as soon as I get back,” he said. “But this time around I had to leave. There were no two ways around it,” he added.
“I know, but you need to let her know that. Maybe it’s the miscarriages, I don’t know, but she feels a bit alone, especially since Stacy and I don’t hang out with her as much as we used to,” Rita explained.
Mitchell knew what he had to do. The talk with Rita had actually psyched him up to get home, so much that he took an earlier flight. When he got home, Natasha was not there. He took this opportunity to surprise her. It had been a while since he made her dinner, especially her favorite, baked potatoes. He had just finished setting the table when he heard the front door open.
“Hello, Maria is that you?” he heard Natasha calling out.
“It’s me, babe,” he called from the dining room.
“Mitch, hi. I thought you were not getting home till tomorrow night,” she said as she walked up to him. He kissed her and hugged her.
“I couldn’t wait to see you,” he said as he pulled away.
“Is that right?” she asked. He could hear the sarcasm in her voice. He looked at her blue sleeveless maxi dress and smiled, choosing to ignore her comment.
“You look so sexy,” he said a she led her to the table.
“Thank you,” she said looking at the table. “You cooked?” she asked. He smiled and nodded.
“I just thought that I needed to do something special for you,” Mitchell said. “Making up for lost time,” he said as he pulled out a chair for her. She sat down and looked at him.
“You know I love me some baked potatoes but there is a whole lot more you need to make up for. Food, however delicious will not hack it,” she said coldly. He looked at her and gave her a defeated smile. If there was anything that he had learned being with Natasha it was how to choose his battles in their relationship.
“We can talk about that later,” he said as he began serving her. “Want me to pour some gravy on that?” he asked looking at her. She nodded and poured herself a glass of water. “So, how’ve you been?” he asked when he finally set the plate in front of her.
“Good. The baby kicked again and you didn’t get to feel it,” she said without looking up. Mitchell sighed as he leaned back against his chair.
“I know, and I’m sorry,” he said looking at her. “But I’m here now. I want to make up for lost time,” he added.
“Yeah until the next conference call that begs you to hop on the next flight to Prague,” she said sarcastically. Mitchell looked at her and sighed. He didn’t know what to tell her. She needed to understand his position. He needed her to understand that his position at the company was not just another job. It was what his family had worked so hard to achieve and it was up to him to make sure that the sacrifices the generations before him had made were not in vain.
“You know that I don’t leave because I want to, right?” he asked looking at her. She shrugged and went on eating without looking up. The rest of the dinner was relatively quiet, maybe because he didn’t want to say something wrong, or maybe because she didn’t want to engage him in an argument. “I’m sorry,” he said as he looked at her from across the table. She rolled her eyes and took a last bite of her food. “What?” he asked looking at her.
“Nothing,” she said without looking up.
“Tasha, what?” he pressed. She raised her head and looked at him.
“I told you, nothing,” Natasha said, getting irritated. She looked into his eyes and saw the familiar look of love, and concern and some anguish. “I’m okay,” she said again in an attempt to get the whole argument, or whatever it was over with. Mitchell let out a cynical laugh. He knew exactly what that tone meant. Normally, he would have let it go but this had gone on long enough and even though the therapist told him that the problems in his marriage were a passing wind, he could not wait another month to address this. It had to be now. It had to be today.
Natasha put her fork down and reached for her glass. He watched her as she took a long sip of her water before she finally set the glass down.
“Thanks for dinner,” she said plainly as she smiled at Mitchell weakly.
“Anytime,” he said with a smile. She was about to stand up when Mitchell stopped her. “I think we need to talk,” he said looking at her.
“Okay. Is anything the matter?” she asked as she sat back down. He looked at her and ran his fingers through his thick hair. She felt a warmth go through her when he did that. He still had some effect on her, it seemed.
“A lot actually,” Mitchell said looking at her. “I feel like I am still in the dog house,” he said looking at her. Natasha gave him another weak smile.
“That’s because you are,” she said without blinking. Mitchell took a long deep breath.
“I told you what happened and I am sorry. But there was nothing I could do about it,” Mitchell said. She could sense the frustration in his voice. “You know what this new account means
to me, to the company,” he said as he looked at her. She rolled her eyes and took another sip of her water.
“That’s the problem right there. It is all about you and the company,” she said angrily. ”Call me when you finally realize that you are no longer single but married with a baby on the way1” she added as she tried to stand up. Mitchell got up and quickly walked over to her. “Move, I want to go to bed,” she said looking into his eyes. He shook his head and sat on the edge of the table looking down at her.
“We are going to talk about this tonight,” he said as he felt his anger begin to rise. “You know very well that Nolan Schmidt Communications is my family’s legacy. I have responsibilities there. I cannot just walk out on them,” he said.
“And I am not asking you to,” she said looking up at him. “It’s just that you are away so much and the baby is almost here,” she said sadly. Mitchell looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
“I know and I’m sorry. It is not something that is going to take forever,” he said as he took her hand in his. “I am sorry but I have to ask, Tasha,” he said looking at her. “Could you be acting this way because you are bored?” he asked. Natasha’s eyes widened as she yanked her hand from his grip.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she asked angrily. “So, just because I have one issue, you think I’m jealous?” she asked looking at him. She pushed her chair away from the table. “I can’t deal with this right now,” she said as she started walking towards the living room. Mitchell sighed as he followed her.
“Tasha, we have a problem and I need you to understand where I am coming from,” he said as he watched Natasha take a seat and switch on the TV. “Babe, talk to me,” he said standing behind the seat. She ignored him and cranked up the volume even though he was sure that she was not into whatever was on the TV. He walked round the seat and stood in front of her and grabbed the remote from her grip. “Why don’t you understand that whatever I am doing, I am doing it for us?” he asked looking at her.