52/Danielle
After one of the nurses assured me that anesthesia was on the way to ease my daughter’s pain, I walked down to the waiting room and found Calvin sitting there watching television.
“Hey, you.”
“Hello, yourself.” He rose and walked over to me, and I found myself meeting him halfway.
It had been three months since I’d last seen him, and I couldn’t stop looking at him. He looked so good.
“What are you doing here?”
“My mom is in the hospital.”
While Calvin explained what was going on, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Why did I ever let him go?
“The doctor thinks she’ll be home before the weekend.”
I nodded. “Good to hear. Make sure you tell her I said hello.”
“I will.”
I’d had dinner with his parents once and adored the couple.
For a moment, we just stood there staring and grinning at each other.
“Ready to be a grandmother?” he teased.
“Don’t have much of a choice now, do I?”
He laughed. “No, but hopefully this means you and Portia have put aside your differences.”
I nodded. “I think we have.”
“Good.”
He took my hand in his, and I found myself taking a step closer. Just wanting to be near him.
“Well, I better go. I’m working the night shift this week and need to get some rest. I’ll stop by tomorrow and check on Portia.”
“She would like that.” And so would I.
I watched him leave and knew then that I was going to do whatever it took to get Calvin back.
As I returned to Portia’s room, I looked down at my cell phone, which I’d put on vibrate, and noticed I had five missed calls.
Every single one was from Chance.
Psycho.
I knew I better call him back or he’d never stop.
He answered on the first ring.
“Why the fuck you ain’t been answering your phone?”
“Because I’m at the hospital with Portia. She’s in labor.”
“I hope you ain’t with some other nigga.”
I rolled my eyes.
Did he not hear a word I just said?
“My daughter is in labor.”
“You must think I’m stupid. You and your daughter don’t even speak to each other.”
“I had a change of heart. She’s my daughter.”
“And I’m your man, and I need you to quit playing games.”
He is crazy.
I put a restraining order out on him, yet he still thought he was my man.
I don’t know why I never noticed before how selfish Chance was.
Everything was always about him.
“Chance, my daughter needs me. You and I are over.”
“Oh, so it’s like that?”
“Yeah, it’s like that. Leave me the hell alone, otherwise I’m going to have my brother pay you a visit.”
For once, he didn’t argue. He simply hung up.
Portia’s labor was long.
She finally got her epidural, but it seemed to slow everything down.
By midnight, I sent Mama home after promising to call her the moment her great-granddaughter was born.
Portia had dilated to seven centimeters by the time Demetrius arrived. He, his mother, Renee, and I took shifts helping Portia breathe through contractions.
Finally, at four o’clock in the morning, Etienne Charice Carlson entered the world, weighing six pounds, twelve ounces.
I couldn’t stop looking at my granddaughter.
She was so beautiful to me. A head full of curly hair. Tiny fingers. Tiny toes.
She looked just like Portia.
“Congratulations, Grandma. I’m going home to bed.”
Renee gave me a hug, kissed Portia on the forehead, and whispered, “You did good, lil’ mama,” before heading out.
While Demetrius and his mother stood nearby watching the nurses take the baby’s vital signs, I moved over to Portia and stroked her forehead.
“How’s my baby?” she whispered.
“Fine.”
“What’s she look like?”
Leaning down, I kissed her forehead.
“She’s beautiful. Just like you.”
Tears filled my eyes. “I’m so proud of you.”
She immediately started crying. “Mama.”
“Yes, baby?”
“I’m so glad you’re not mad at me anymore.”
My throat tightened. “That’s in the past. It’s time for us to move forward and raise that little girl together.”
“I love you, Mama.”
“I love you too.” Tears were running down my face now, but they were tears of joy.
It was a little after eight when I finally made it home.
I climbed under the covers and had just started dozing off when the phone rang.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know it was probably Chance.
“Quit calling me!”
“Ms. Danielle Brooks?”
I froze.
The voice belonged to a woman.
“Yes. Who’s calling?”
“This is Dr. Teresa Weber from the health department.”
I was suddenly wide awake. “What can I do for you?”
“For security purposes, can you please give me your PIN number?”
I rattled it off quickly, growing more nervous by the second. “Now can you tell me why you’re calling?”
“Ms. Brooks, I need you to come in and speak with us.”
“About what?”
My heart immediately started pounding.
There was a slight hesitation.
Just enough to make my stomach drop.
“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news... but you tested positive for HIV.”