28. Quameer
quameer
. . .
When Capone asked me to help him move a few things into their new crib at the compound, I should have learned my lesson when he got me to help him clean that garage. We spent half the day moving all his guns and important things that he didn’t want the movers to touch.
Usually, I was up in the morning to make sure I could help Suga to the bathroom. With her in the last month, she could barely move around the house and everything hurt. My ass was too tired to get up this morning and woke up with drool all over my pillow and the other side of the bed empty.
I reached over and felt that she was gone and got up. Capri was in her nesting stage, and the last time I left her ass alone I caught her trying to rearrange furniture in the baby’s nursery. The house wasn’t set to be completed until next year and I wasn’t with having my daughter not coming home to a nursery and space made for her.
Plus, I didn’t want to take that away from Suga either. This was our first baby together and there was so many first that we were experiencing. We were staying at Jean and Des’s house since I didn’t feel like driving back and everybody was on baby watch when it came to Suga.
Capri loved to come here because her mother spoiled her. Jean was rubbing feet, cooking her whatever, and making sure whatever she needed she got. I mean, shit, she deserved all of that. My baby was like the baby Buddha. Everybody stopped by to check in on her and rub her stomach.
Yawning, I made my way downstairs. “Happy Daddy Shower!” I damn near fell down the steps when I heard them screaming.
Suga, Peach, Gams, and Jean all hollered. They had a banner set up pink flames with ‘welcome baby Inferno’ There was a baby cake on the counter with cupcakes too.
Suga didn’t want to have a baby shower since her gender reveal was so big. I kept asking if she was sure because I lowkey wanted one. I wanted to get one of those old school wicker chairs and sit in it.
Suga could sit in my lap, but the chair was for me. Men never had baby showers, and it was my balls that got the damn job done in the first place. Grant it, Rayce’s mama was throwing that shit back which is how she ended up pregnant.
In the end because we waited too long and because of the holidays we decided not to go with one. We were all on baby watch waiting for Rayce to bring her ass on. Daddy wanted to kiss and hold her the minute she came out.
Every damn person in our family was on baby watch. Niggas didn’t even text me to see how I was anymore, they were asking if her water broke.
“Daddy, this is your own special baby shower. Suga mama planned it for you,” I laughed because Capri was sneaky as shit.
“Oh yeah?” I picked Peach up and she kissed my burns before giving me a tight squeeze. “Suga mama is sneaky as hell. You can’t put your shoes on but you can sneak and plan this?”
“Not funny, Quameer!” Capri laughed and came over to kiss me on the lips. “I love you… and I wanted you to have the experience for your pregnancy,” she teased.
I kissed her and rubbed her stomach. It amazed me how big her stomach had gotten, and how a baby was going to come out of her. I couldn’t wait to experience that shit because I never got to see it.
“This is all for you, Dumplin… I am so proud of the man that you are.” Gams came over and hugged me.
Jean smiled. “Meer, I had my reservations about you and Capri, but I can say that you both have come together and made something beautiful. All I could hope for my little girl… the right kind of love… you know I have to love you to be up early putting this together cause my daughter can’t sleep and wants to whisper on the phone all night.”
Peach got down and stole a taste of the icing on her finger while I continued to hug and hold my Suga. “I told your husband I would protect and love her and I meant that… I don’t never say shi… stuff that I don’t mean… ain’t that right, Sug?”
“Never Meer Cat.”
I wasn’t feeling Suga on her feet so I walked her ass right over toward the dining table they had sat for me. Cappadonna, Alaia, Capella, Aimee, Promise, Rory, and the twins had gone on their annual vacation they took around Christmas.
After Promise tried to beat Rory’s ass over a wrapped gift, they realized they needed to remove her from our homes since we had Christmas trees and presents under the tree already. I sat down at the head of the table while Gams made me a plate of the food that they all prepared.
“We came right on time… I heard we having a daddy shower for Pissy… why I ain’t never had one?” Capone came over and hugged my head and I shoved his ass away from me.
“You made me slave knowing my shower was today.”
“Slaving or helping out your favorite brother-in-law? Half that shit was Erin’s since she didn’t want the movers to move it.” He put it back on his wife and she rolled her eyes.
“Maybe the next one I might give you one… start a tradition… and Winston is a damn liar.” She shoved her husband and made her way around the table to Capri.
“Don’t call me no more… y’all used all the favor cards.”
“Let me feel auntie’s baby… is she going crazy today?” Erin ignored me and went right to Capri and started messing with her stomach.
“So crazy,” Suga replied nonchalantly while eating a piece of bacon with chocolate syrup on it. I watched as she dipped the bacon in the chocolate and my stomach turned.
“Suga, that’s nasty as hell.”
“Salty and sweet, and it taste so good,” she smiled, and continued to eat her bacon in peace. She knew her crazy ass cravings were nasty too. Once she dropped this baby none of the shit, she been eating would even taste good.
We had pickles and chicken fingers soaking in our damn fridge because she claimed that’s what the baby wanted. Honestly, I was about ten minutes from calling child protective services on her for Rayce.
“We wanted to come together and celebrate this moment for you. Capri told us how much having a baby shower meant for you and she wanted to do something small.”
I kissed the back of my Suga’s hand and looked at her. “I love you, Meer. I know you never got to experience any of this with Peach, so I wanted to make this special for you. So, in the living room I have a surprise for you.”
Helping her out the chair, we walked to her parents’ living room and I smiled hella wide at what my wife did. “Sug, you serious?”
She was so excited to show me that she looked up me, then winced a bit. “Yes. You wanted the chair and I found it and ordered it. You can put it in the garage when the new house is finished.”
I had a four-car garage and a workshop area where I could work on my bikes. Now that shit had calmed down, I had more time for my old hobbies. Ever since we ended Tasha, life had calmed down and we were chilling.
“You alright, baby?” I asked and she waved her hand, telling me to sit in the seat.
Gams came and rubbed her back and stomach as they watched me sit in the chair. I leaned back in the chair and got comfortable. “This shit uncomfortable. How all those pregnant ladies from back in the day was sitting in these?”
“Hurt my ass when I sat in it when I was pregnant with the twins.” Jean chuckled.
“Well, look at you… the daddy shower has become a thing,” Blair laughed as she rounded the corner.
“It should have been a thing… I bet not see none of you niggas steal my idea either,” I raised my voice so Capone could hear me.
“Too late… mine gonna be bigger too. Might get fucking dolphins to swim in the pool and squirt water at me as I walk by.”
“Winston that is not funny,” Erin scolded her husband as he choked on his food from laughing so hard.
We all ate brunch together and talked about everything under the sun. It was small and intimate, and that was all I needed. My baby went out her way to do this for me and I appreciated it. At nine months pregnant, she did something because she wanted to make me smile. She was the one who was going to be giving birth and she was focused on me.
I sat at the kitchen counter as Jean and Gams finished cleaning up after brunch. “Are you sure you want me and your mama moving in with you and Suga pie? You are newlyweds and need your privacy.”
“Have you seen the size of their house, Gams? They have more than enough to be newlyweds and have you both.” Jean chuckled as she washed the dishes.
Capone and Cappadonna had the biggest houses on the compound. That was until me and Suga started building ours. She let me have control of our home, so I was doing the most to make our house into a home. Damn near ten thousand square feet of home with everything that she wanted.
“Gams, we want you and Mommy to move in with us. I like having you close and so does Suga.”
“I don’t want to intrude, Dumplin. Want to make sure that you both are sure.” Gams was always worried about inconveniencing someone. She couldn’t inconvenience me even if she tried. I would give my life and anything that I had for my family.
“As if you could… Gams, we used to talk about this and now it’s happening. I want you right there to experience it.”
Jean rubbed Gams back and smiled. “Gams, they want us around… that is a good thing.” I could see the tears threatening to fall from Jean’s eyes and I stood up.
She stepped into my arms and I hugged her. “You good… don’t start crying. We love you, Mama Jean.”
“Meer, I thank God every day when I see my daughter’s name pop up on my phone. Hearing her call and tell me she needs me. There was a time when she barely called and she didn’t need me… I thank God for you because you healed my baby girl… you don’t punish me for the wrong I’ve done and how I’ve treated her in the past.”
“Not my place to punish you. It’s my place to protect her, and parents aren’t perfect. You’re learning your daughter…continue to learn Capri, okay?”
“I promise.” She hugged me tighter.
“Mommy! Meer!” I heard Suga scream.
“Plum, this baby is coming!” Desmond hollered.
I nearly tossed Jean into the sink with the dishes as I ran down the hall where Suga was with everyone. My favorite gray sweatpants she had on were soaked. “Oh fuck… where’s the baby bag?” I ran from one side of the room to the next not knowing what to do.
Blair had prepared us all for this and all of that shit went out the window. I couldn’t remember what the fuck we were supposed to do. “I have the baby bag!” Ryder hollered, and I finally stopped running around.
“Meer, you need to calm down… Capri is calm,” Blair replied, as she stood beside her. “We need to change your clothes and time your contractions on our way to the hospital.”
Capri held her father’s hand and Blair’s shoulder as she winced and took small breaths. “I’m having one right now… been having them all morning.”
“All fucking morning! Suga, why the hell you ain’t tell me?”
“I wanted to do this for you, Meer… it’s okay. She could wait for a little bit,” she spoke lowly as she crouched down low. “Ohhhhh…fuckkkk. Sorry Daddy.”
“Suga Cane, you good with me.”
Erin came into the living room with some fresh pants. “Breathe, Capri… in through the nose out by the mouth.”
“Have her sip some tea before she leaves.”
“Mommy, I don’t want no fucking….arghhhhh!” she screamed and nearly brought Blair to the ground with how hard she held onto her.
I replaced Blair, and held her hand. “Suga, you got this… you gotta breathe through them,” Ryder coached and used the stop watch I had in the baby bag.
“Peach, I love you.”
“Awe, I love you, too, Suga.”
“Please be quiet for Suga Mama, arghhhh! Change these fucking pants!” Suga screamed and she was lowkey hurting my ass, too.
Blair and Erin both pulled her pants down and quickly switched them while me and Des held her. “Baby Inferno is on her way,” Gams smiled with tears in her eyes.
“Oh shit, I need to get our phones.” I ran upstairs and grabbed our phones and anything else I thought we may need.
As I came downstairs Capone stopped me. “Breathe, yo… you got this.. ight?”
I don’t know why, but I needed to hear him say that. Smirking, I nodded and ran back to the living room where she now had Blair damn near on the ground again. “Quameer, this shitttt hurts!”
Erin ran back into the house. “I pulled the car toward the front.”
Des kissed Suga on the head. “I love you, Suga Cane… you have my grandbaby, okay. I’m right behind you.”
She nodded her head as we walked her out the house slowly. “I need Peach… Peach… come here,” Suga stopped short.
Even with her heavy breathing, she waited for Peach to come around to the front of her. “We can’t have Rayce without you, Peach… every Rayce needs a Ryder… you coming?”
Peach had the biggest smile on her face as she hugged Capri. She had mentioned she wanted Ryder in the room when she delivered, but I didn’t know if she was actually going to go through with it.
I helped Suga in the front seat and made sure Peach was in the back with Blair. Soon as I tossed the bags in the back, I pulled out and headed off the compound toward the hospital. As I pulled away, I saw Capone, Erin, Des, and Jean getting in their car.
“Sug, talk to me, baby.”
“It feels like my inside is going to break, Meer… Jesus, why did I allow you to do this to me,” she said through her breaths and Blair rubbed her shoulders.
“In through the nose, out by the mouth, Capri… you got this.”
I called Quasim while I raced to the hospital. “What up, Blaze?”
“She’s about to have the baby,” I said in a panic. We knew that this was coming and that she was going to have this baby, but a nigga was scared as shit right now.
“Breathe, Blaze. You about to become a daddy for the second time… shit we prayed about. Father God, we ask you to keep your hands on Capri and Meer as they bring forth my second niece into the world. Please see to it that Pri has a safe delivery and recovery. In Jesus’s name… amen.”
“A….mennnnnnn!” Capri screamed.
“Amen, Uncle Simmy!” Peach hollered over Capri’s loud screams.
“Shit… sounds intense.” Quasim chuckled. “I love you both and call me when baby Inferno touches down into the world. You got this, Blaze.”
“Thanks, Sim.”
“Never have to thank me… love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I kissed Capri’s hand and looked over at her. “We about to have our daughter, Suga.”
She gave me a nervous smile as she continued to breathe through the contraction. “It’s going to be four of us, Daddy.”
“You got that right, Peach… the four of us.”
“Until baby brother comes, right.”
“Hell fucking no!” Capri screamed while holding onto the door handle. “Blair, I need something… I need words, drugs, something!” she screamed, her damn vein in her forehead bulging.
“My hand, Capri… I need my hand,” Blair squealed as she squeezed the hell out of her hand.
I looked over at my wife as she went through contractions and felt grateful for this moment. As much as she was in pain, this was new for me and I got to see the woman I loved experience child birth for the first time, and I was right by her side to do it.