Marcus: The M Series, Book Three

by Ryanne Anthony

  “You're Brown's daughter. Uh... Sidra, right,” he murmured.

  “Hello, Mr. Cannon,” she said, confidently extending her hand. “Good to see you again.”

  He shook her hand. “Yeah, you too. What, um... How long’s it been?”

  “Eight years,” Sidra informed him. “My parents’ twenty-fifth anniversary party.”

  “Right, right... I remember. How have you been? Are you Marcus' new nanny?”

  “No, Matthew,” I warned. He turned to me.

  “What? I'm curious about an old friend's daughter.”

  “I bet you are. No, or I’ll call Mariah to handle you.”

  He smirked then his eyes widened. He shook Sidra's hand again.

  “Nice to see you again, Sidra.” Turning back to me he asked, “Twins in the nursery?”

  “No, in the kitchen. Mariah, Mother and Rachel are feeding them.”

  “How's that breast feeding thing going,” Matthew sneered, walking from the room backwards.

  “Breast milk in a bottle only now, Toad.”

  “Damn,” he laughed. “I never saw one feeding! What time does she pump?”

  “Get out of here, Toad,” I yelled and frowned as he ran from the room, laughing.

  “I see he's still the same,” Sidra mused.

  “You know of his... antics, Sidra?”

  “Oh, yeah, Dr. Cannon. He used to flirt viciously with my mother and aunt. I know he's harmless. He just needs a firm hand and/or to be humored.”

  I smiled at her. That's exactly what Mariah had said about him.

  “Sidra, I think I agree with my wife. Let's give this a trial period, say thirty days? We’ll see how we gel in that time.”

  She beamed at me. “I agree. Thank you, Dr. Cannon.”

  “I return to work tomorrow and I hate to leave Mariah alone with the twins. Can you start in the morning?”

  “Absolutely. I'll be here at eight a.m.,” she informed.

  “That's perfect. And call me Marcus,” I smiled. “Let's go to the kitchen. You can meet the grandmothers now.”

  December 25, 2014

  The twins and I were in the nursery that Christmas morning. They were speaking gibberish but somehow they understood one another and reacted. They were having a lively conversation while playing with giant blocks.

  Suddenly, Mariah stormed in and sat across from us on the floor, glaring at me. I assumed she was ticked that I hadn't gotten the twins ready to go to Mother's for our annual Christmas activities and dinner. Matthew was going to be there any minute to relieve Sidra, who agreed to help us for a while before leaving for her family’s festivities.

  “Look, there's Mommy,” I said to the boys, attempting to distract her. I wanted to get that look off her face.

  “Mommy,” they yelled excitedly as they toddled off to her. She smiled and kissed them then returned her glare to me.

  “Ut-oh, Daddy's in trouble,” I murmured.

  “Bad Daddy,” the boys chided as they settled on Mariah's lap.

  “I was going to get them dressed, baby, but we got distracted when you left to answer the phone.”

  “That's not what I'm not mad about, Cannon.”

  Ooh, 'Cannon.' That's not good. It never is when she addresses me by my last name only.

  And that tone; I was in the shithouse without a toilet.

  “Then what are you mad about, baby?”

  “You getting me pregnant,” she scowled at me.

  I laughed. “You're ticked at me for something that happened over three years ago?”

  “No! I'm ticked at you for something that I'm sure happened last Halloween!”

  “Halloween?” I thought back and remembered the all night romp we had while the twins were at Rachel's. My heart raced in excitement. “Are you pregnant?”

  “Yes! Merry Christmas,” Mariah shouted, making the twins jump. “I'm sorry, babies,” she murmured as she kissed them. They hugged her tight and kissed her back. “Mommy's very sorry. Let's get you dressed for Gram's, okay?”

  “Yay,” the twins cheered then went back to their blocks and gibberish.

  Mariah got off the floor and went into the twins’ closet. I stood at the door while keeping an eye on the boys.

  “What's got you so upset? We said we wanted more children, baby.”

  She stood in front of me, glaring hard. “We agreed to discuss it in three years, Marcus. Three years is four months away.”

  “So it happened earlier than expected. So did the twins.”

  She snorted as she walked over to the changing table, picking up Alex along the way. She hastily removed the robe I put on him after their bath. She was very angry and I needed to try to calm her. I walked to the hall and called out for Sidra. She was there quickly, as usual.

  “Yes, Marcus?”

  “Sidra, will you dress the boys while Mariah and I have a talk?”

  “I can dress my own children, Cannon,” Mariah yelled at me.

  “Baby, please. You're angry and you're upsetting Alex. Let's go talk about this in our room and see if we can get you to calm down.”

  She looked at Alex, whose lip was trembling as he stared at her. She kissed his forehead and murmured something to him that made him smile, then carried him to Sidra. She stormed out of the room and walked quickly to our bedroom, and paced on the far side of the bed.

  I closed the door, sat on the bed and entwined my fingers under my chin. My inner elation was replaced with fear and I couldn’t look at her. I was scared she was leaving me again and needed to brace myself.

  “Are you going to disappear again,” I asked quietly.

  She stilled. “That's not funny, Marcus.”

  “I wasn't joking.”

  Mariah plopped down on the bed, still on the other side, and fell back. “I'm not ready,” she whispered. “I'm enjoying the boys but they are a handful. How am I going to fit another baby into this chaos?”

  “Baby, it's not only you. You have Sidra and me. Not to mention our parents, siblings, and Rosa. Please don't stress over this.”

  “I'm trying not to, Marcus. I just feel a little overwhelmed.”

  I laid back and my head was parallel to hers.

  “Baby, I'm sorry you feel this way. I want you to be happy about this. I am.”

  Mariah turned to me. “You are?”

  “I am. I want to jump up and down and scream it to the world.”

  “Then why haven't you,” she whispered.

  “You don’t seem happy about this, and I don't want to upset you any further.”

  “I am, I just…” She looked at the ceiling and whispered again as a tear rolled down to her ear, “I still hear your voice telling me you don't want children. I feel like I got away with betraying you once and that you won't be so forgiving the next time. This time.”

  I stared at Mariah and counted in my head to relax the anger away. I had no idea she felt that way. I jumped up and walked around the bed, straddled her and put my hands on either side of her head. She looked at me and I saw all the fear she spoke of in her eyes. She actually believed I was going to bail on her and had braced herself. Like I could ever let her go.

  I bent and kissed her deeply, and was thrilled she returned it. I broke away and stared, thinking, ‘I hope she didn’t think that was a goodbye kiss.’ I had to quell her doubts, and now.

  “There is nothing –” I started, then took a deep breath and put my forehead to hers. “There is nothing I regret more in my life than pushing you away while you grew with our sons. I was a total and complete asshole about the children statements. I love our sons.” I placed a hand on her belly. “I love this little guy, too, Mariah. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. I want what we're building together. I don’t want my life any other way. I love you, baby, so very much. Please be happy about this new little one with me.”

  “Are you sure about the baby,” she whispered.

  “Outside of wanting you for my wife, I’ve never been surer of anything.”<
br />
  Mariah stared at me for a long time then rolled to her side and sobbed. I laid beside her.

  “I love you, too, and I want this baby so much, Marcus,” she cried. “I was happy when Rob told me but then that stupid voice...”

  I kissed her face and wiped her tears. “Fuck that voice, baby; it's just a nuisance. Trust me, I’m where I want to be and I couldn’t be happier.” I pulled her to me. “When are you due? July?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  I grinned. I couldn't hold the excitement any longer. “I get to watch you grow with my baby inside you. I missed not being around during the first time and I’m going to make it up to you this time around. I'm announcing this after dinner!”

  “No, Marcus. Wait until Valentine's, at least.”

  I jumped up and went to the door. “No, baby, I can't! I'm too excited! Sidra,” I yelled running down the hall. She ran from the twins’ room and looked at me nervously, holding a half-dressed Donnie.

  “What happened, Marcus?”

  “Mariah's pregnant,” I loudly announced. “I'm going to be a father again!”

  “Cramp,” Matthew called from downstairs as he closed our front door. “Did I hear right? Cookie's pregnant?”

  I grinned big. “Yes, she is!”

  He took the stairs two at a time. “Is she staying this time? Should I put Richards on notice?”

  “Shut up, Toad. Nobody's going anywhere!”

  Mariah exited our bedroom and I lifted her, hugging her tight.

  “I hope it's a girl that looks just like you, baby.”

  “That would be so awful for her to have this face,” she laughed.

  “Are you serious? You're beautiful, baby.”

  Matthew kissed her cheek. “When are we gonna tell him it's mine?”

  I shoved his arm; Mariah smacked his forehead. He grinned wide.

  “Seriously, congratulations, you two. I hope it's another boy. I'd hate to build an arsenal again.”

  “Again,” Mariah asked.

  “Yeah. I had the lot on rubber bands and paper clips. I had to protect Evelyn from those lowlifes at school, leering and drooling at her the way they were. Twerp and I stayed in detention for fighting.”

  “In that case, I hope it's another boy, too. You wouldn’t like detention for adults,” Mariah laughed.

  * * *

  At dinner, surrounded by all of our family, I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. I think I had a bite of turkey and a sip of wine because I was too damn excited to eat.

  “Marcus, what’s going on with you,” Monica asked. “What is with that grin? It's been on your face since you got here!”

  I grinned bigger. “Just happy to see all the swollen bellies, whether it be from the good food or new babies; especially the ones we’ll meet in the summer, specifically in July.”

  “Marcus,” Mariah gasped next to me.

  I grinned at her. “What, baby?”

  She sighed in resignation. “Everybody? I wanted to wait to say this but this one...” she tapped my forehead but still, that grin wouldn’t go anywhere.

  “What is it, honey,” Rachel asked, putting her fork down.

  “Well, um... I'm pregnant again.”

  Silence.

  “And I'm the father,” Matthew said grinning, attempting to lighten the tension. Evelyn smacked his shoulder.

  “What,” Mariah asked looking around the table. “Say something, Marcus,” she whispered.

  I didn't have to.

  “This is a happy thing, right?” Tom asked, gripping the table, narrowing his eyes at me. “I'm not going to get a call in the middle of the night telling me my sister has disappeared again, am I, Cannon?”

  “No fucking way,” I said, still grinning. “If you ever hear Mariah's pregnant again, you can jump for joy right along with me.”

  Rachel sighed, completely relieved.

  Tom studied me, his eyes narrowed. “Joshua?”

  Joshua’s lips twitched. “Yeah, Tom?”

  “Still want in on that watermelon farm,” Tom laughingly asked. “Congratulations!”

  We all laughed. Everyone cheered loudly as I sported the biggest grin ever.

  July 26, 2015

  “Come on, Mariah, push,” Rob urged.

  “What the hell do you think I’m doing, you spawn of OB devils,” Mariah shouted. “I'm so tired! I have nothing left!”

  She'd been laboring for at least fourteen hours straight, naturally. She said this pregnancy was a lot easier than the last but for some reason the baby wasn’t descending as it should. I climbed in the bed behind her.

  “Baby, you don't want a C-section, do you?”

  “No,” she moaned as she collapsed on my chest. A nurse put an oxygen mask on her face.

  “Then you have to try again. Come on, baby, let's find out what we made. I know I’m ready to know if it's a boy or a girl; aren't you?”

  She cried again as Rob adjusted her oxygen. “Marcus,” Rob called urgently. His eyes darted to the fetal monitor; the baby's heart rate was fluctuating.

  “Page John Brewer, stat,” I ordered. “Come on, baby. We have to get the baby out now; it could be in distress. You have to push.” I entwined our fingers. “Let's go, baby. Sit up.”

  She sat up and screamed as she pushed.

  “Good one, Mariah!” Rob yelled. “The baby is right here. Two more and you're done! Let's go!”

  I glanced at the monitor. The heartrate decelerated. The baby had to come out now.

  “Come on, baby. Squeeze my hands and push.”

  Mariah blew several breaths then dipped her chin. She reddened with her pushes.

  “Stop, Mariah! The head's out. Shit! I need more hands! Is Brewer here yet?”

  “Yes, Dr. Brand. He's gowning now,” a nurse answered.

  “Tell him to get in here now!”

  I frowned at his tone. “What's wrong, Rob?”

  “What's wrong with my baby,” Mariah gasped.

  John walked in and looked. “Damn it,” he yelled. “Stool!”

  “What is it, John,” I demanded. He ignored me and hurriedly sat and worked with Rob.

  “The cord is around the baby's neck, twice. Don't push, Mariah. Breathe in deep,” John finally answered.

  “Is the baby blue,” I asked quietly.

  “No,” Rob sighed.

  They were silent as they worked to remove the cord and it felt like an eternity before Rob told Mariah to push again.

  “Deep breath, Mariah, then I want you to push gently. Let's go.”

  “Come on, baby. Squeeze my hands again.”

  Mariah squeezed and pushed, screaming as the baby passed through her. Rob worked quickly to sever the cord and John whisked the baby away.

  Greg was in the corner, worriedly watching, as he waited for the cord blood. Mariah grunted as Rob delivered the placenta and after he clamped it off, he handed it to Greg.

  “Keep me posted,” Greg said as he quickly left to harvest the blood.

  Our baby had not cried yet. Mariah began to sob. I comforted her as much as I could, but I felt as broken as she did. I held my wife tightly as we watched a nurse hold oxygen to our baby’s face while John vigorously rubbed its back.

  “John.”

  “Checking her second Apgar, Marcus.”

  Mariah cried. “Her?”

  “Yeah, it's a girl, guys,” Rob quietly informed, standing. “Sorry. I'm done with Mrs. Cannon. Where's her chart?”

  He walked over to John and peeked at the baby and smiled, relief washing over him. Suddenly the baby cried and I felt all the tension leave Mariah’s body.

  “Ms. Holloway?” John called. “Apgar 6 /9.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief and kissed Mariah’s head. “You did it again, baby.”

  The baby quieted and finally Ms. Jones brought our wrapped up baby to Mariah.

  “Oh, my God,” Mariah gasped. “She looks just like Diondra!”

  “She must’ve looked just like you; this bab
y is your twin.”

  Mariah laughed. “No, she isn't!”

  “Do you have a name, Mrs. Cannon,” Nurse Holloway asked.

  “Marcus?”

  “I have no idea. You did a good job with the boys, baby, you choose,” I insisted.

  She looked at the baby for a few minutes, then looked at me.

  “Lila Katherine Cannon,” she said, smiling.

  I hugged her tight. “What about your mother?”

  “Mom would kill me if I named her ‘Rachel.’ It's her mother's name, too.”

  I nodded and stared at my daughter. She really was the spitting image of Mariah.

  “We're going to take you to your room now, Mrs. Cannon,” a nurse informed.

  “Marcus, you should go introduce the baby to the family,” John insisted. I owed him big.

  I kissed Mariah's head again and got off the bed. “I'll be right up, baby.”

  She smiled. “Okay, boo.”

  Rob patted my back, offering congratulations. “Good job, Frank.”

  I owed him, too.

  “Thanks. Remember, Sammy: I have an important appointment in six weeks.”

  He scoffed. “Are you going to threaten me every time I deliver a child of yours?”

  “Damn right,” I snorted as I wheeled the nursery bed into the hall. “It's a very important appointment.”

  Ms. Jones accompanied me as I wheeled the baby to the waiting room and peeked through the door. Everyone was there. Ms. Jones opened the door and I wheeled the baby inside. The family looked up then rushed me.

  “What a beautiful baby,” Lisa sighed.

  “Mariah said she looks just like Diondra.”

  Mother gasped and gripped my arm. “She?”

  I gave her a huge grin. “Yes, it's a girl.”

  “I win,” Ethan and Monica exclaimed. Ethan shouted, “Pay up!”

  They all laughed. Congratulations flowed and my back was patted continuously. The women hugged and kissed me.

  “What's her name, Cramp,” Joshua asked, stuffing a cigar in my mouth.

  “Lila Katherine.”

  “Oh, thank God,” Rachel gasped. “I'd have killed her if I heard the name Rachel.”

  “Mariah said that,” I laughed.

  “She knows me well,” Rachel tearfully smiled.

  Mother beamed. Dad wept at hearing his mother's name. “Very good, son. Thank you,” he said as he gripped me tight. I returned his hug.