11. Taelyn
SOME TIME LATER…
“My lil cousin is about to turn twenty-nine. Lawd, that tells me that I’m getting old,” Khiajah jested.
Me, Mauri, Khiajah, and Tana were at Tana’s house for a girls’ night. I rarely hung out with my sister and cousins outside of Mauri because of our age gap. The main reason I started to hang out with Mauri was because of our mutual interest in technology. Selfishly, now that I was no longer friends with Blair, I opted to try to get closer to them. Draco and Dr. Prentiss also encouraged it.
My cheeks warmed. “One year away from the thirties club so that y’all can stop treating me like a baby.”
I took a bite of my vanilla ice cream with Takis crushed on top. This shit was so fucking good. I accidentally stumbled across the combo a couple of weeks ago when I spilled Takis into my ice cream. The residue from the chip was in the ice cream. I was too lazy to throw it away and make a new bowl, so I ate it.
“Sis, when is the last time that you had a period?” Tana’s question caused my spoon to stop in midair. She threw her hands up in mock surrender. “I’m just asking.”
My spoon didn’t stop because of shock from the question. It stopped because I couldn’t remember for the life of me.
“Um, I-I’m not really sure.”
“Do you and Draco use protection?” Mauri inquired.
I tilted my head before I told them we didn’t. Tana popped up from the couch and rushed off upstairs. Khiajah and Mauri wore smirks of giddiness. Moments later, Tana reappeared with a pregnancy test in hand.
“Come on, bitch. Get your ass in that bathroom, and let me know if I’m going to be an auntie.”
I wanted to protest. More than anything, I wanted to know if I was pregnant myself. Draco had been claiming that Lilly Milly felt different for a while now. He never suggested that I take a pregnancy test, though, so I pushed his claim to the back of my mind. A part of me thought it was verbal foreplay because the thought of me having his baby made me cum every time.
I put my ice cream bowl on the table before I grabbed the test. I read the instructions to the test when I got into the bathroom. A few minutes later, I washed my hands and emerged from the bathroom. Tana told Alexa to set a timer for fifteen minutes.
“How are you going to feel if that test comes back positive?” Khiajah questioned after she took a sip of her drink.
I shrugged. “Is it wrong to be happy? I’ve always wanted my first child before thirty. I want to have all of my children before I turn thirty-five. Draco is already thirty-six.”
My sister’s cheeks rose. “It’s not wrong at all, especially when it’s with the right person, your person. When I was pregnant with Amarisa, I was excited, but deep in my gut, I knew I wasn’t with the person that was meant for me. Hell, it was not even deep in my gut. It showed in the bruises that Gibby left behind.”
She dazed off for a moment. A tear fell, but she smacked it away. She focused back on me before she continued.
“I don’t think that I’ve ever admitted this out loud to anyone outside of God. When I lost my baby, I was completely devastated. The circumstances around how I lost her made me think that I would never be able to breathe again. It wasn’t until some time later that I felt like losing her was the best thing that could have happened. I didn’t want to lose her how I did, but I would have never survived a lifelong connection with a man like Gibby. When Brandon and I became one, I knew he was my person and the one I wanted to have all my babies with. You see I did just that.
“Sis, I thank God that you were able to find your person the first time around. A lot of women weren’t as lucky. Kissed a lot of frogs before they met their king, you know?”
I was much younger when my big sister went through an abusive relationship and lost her baby. The entire ordeal was confusing for me because my young mind couldn’t understand how she could subject herself to something like that knowing who our family was and how they got down. That nigga almost broke her, but Brandon was there to help her heal. From what I heard, Gibby changed for the better and was married with two children. He was paralyzed from the waist down, compliments of our family.
He made good on the guaranteed money that he made from his MLB contract that they had to give him. Good investments and business helped his money grow. Every year, a big donation was made to domestic violence organizations by Gibby in the name of my late niece. The donation grows larger every year because of the additional contribution from my sister and brother-in-law. I guess, in certain situations, people could change if they put in the work.
Before anyone could answer, the alarm went off. I told Tana to check it. She rushed into the bathroom while the rest of us stood up. I was so nervous. Her scream told me everything that I needed to know.
“I’m going to be an auntie!”
Khiajah and Mauri erupted in cheers to join Tana. I didn’t release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding until Tana hugged me tight. I was going to be a mother.
“How am I going to tell Draco?”
Khiajah put her hand on her hip. “Tell him? Bitch, you’re a Smith-Christianson. This has to be a fuckin’ production.”
“Oh, I know. We can do it at your birthday dinner! Yes, that’s perfect!” Tana was excited while I was confused.
My face contorted. “Wait. What birthday dinner?”
Tana smacked her forehead.
“Shit! It was supposed to be a surprise.” She raised her arms in the air. “Surprise, bitch!”
The room was silent for a moment before we all guffawed. For the next few hours, we planned an elaborate pregnancy announcement. I love it here.
ANOTHER YEAR AROUND THE SUN…
Tana told me that I still had to act like my birthday dinner was a surprise. I thought it was stupid since we planned this big announcement. I would follow her lead, though, since she was the party planner. The ploy to get me there was Draco just taking me out for dinner at my favorite restaurant—Hall’s Chophouse. Their rack of lamb was the chef’s kiss.
The strong arms that wrapped around my waist made me feel secure. His lips on my neck made me want to pull this dress and shaper off to have his dick deep inside of this pregnant pussy. It was like I found out that I was pregnant, then boom! I was hornier than a porn star with a multimillion-dollar contract.
“My birthday girl is so fucking sexy. I’m going to be on your ass all night because this ass in this dress got me feeling some type of way. If this dress comes up missing after tonight, it was me.” Draco kissed my neck then walked off.
I pivoted on my heels. I couldn’t contain my laughter. “Sir, did you just tell me that you were going to do something to my dress?”
“I made an inference, my love.”
He stood in the other floor-to-ceiling mirror as he fixed his tie. I thought my man was at his sexiest when he didn’t have his glasses on and his bottom grill in his mouth. When he emerged from the closet after he was dressed, I almost passed out on the bed. He wore a five-piece suit that complemented my dress. What took it over the top for me was the fact that he wore his glasses and the diamond encrusted bottoms. The way I fell to my knees so fast to let my man fuck my face so disrespectfully should be studied. I forgot to lift my hind leg, so I was gagging like a muthafucka in the beginning.
“Draco, if I go to wear my dress again and can’t find it, I’m going to try to fight you,” I said through my laughter. He played way too much. I loved his playful nature.
One night after work, I came to his house to spend the night. When I got to the door, there was a Nerf gun with extra rounds and a note that said, Come find me. I had so much fun that night. It also served as good target practice. His mother walked in on us in the middle of the game. All she said was, This better be foreplay to get to my grandbaby. She was serious about her grandbaby.
“Are you ready to go? Our reservation is in forty-five minutes.”
My baby was serious when it was time to be somewhere. I already knew that everyone would be there thirty to fifteen minutes before we arrived. I was so ready for my announcement. It felt good to know that he would be excited. Five minutes later, we were out of the door.
When we walked into the restaurant, Draco told the hostess that the McMasters party had arrived. Her goofy ass smile gave it away if I didn’t know. To further play along with the surprise angle, I acted curious.
“Baby, why did you get us a table all the way in the back?”
He glanced over his shoulder with a look that told me to trust the process. I giggled from behind him. When we arrived at a closed set of doors, she stopped for a second before she pulled them back.
“Surprise!” everyone shouted loudly.
There were so many people in the room. First of all, there were already a lot of Washingtons, Christiansons, and Smiths to begin with. Add the additional family friends, Draco’s connections, and others from my job, and I was surprised the restaurant had a room to accommodate us. I put on my best surprised face. When I glanced at Tana, she snickered before she mouthed the word bitch at me.
I walked around the room, speaking to everyone. It wasn’t until I was near the back that I saw someone who shouldn’t have been here. What the fuck!
“Happy birthday, friend!” Blair stepped up to me with a gift bag in her hand.
If her being here wasn’t weird, it was the sight of Roderick standing next to her with a goofy ass smirk. I had met him through his wife at his wife’s birthday party. The fact that he would be so bold as to come here with her was crazy work, assignment, project, or whatever you wanted to call it.
When she extended the bag to me, I stepped into her personal space.
“You and your boyfriend need to leave. You are not welcome here, and you should know that. I’m not sure why you came and with this bum nigga.”
Her head bucked back. “Taelyn, I’m here because I was invited. This is my boyfriend, so why wouldn’t I bring him?”
My head tilted. “When we had the conversation about not being friends, that should have been your sign to uninvite yourself. Now, I need you both to get the hell out quietly.”
Roderick stepped forward. “Look, you’re not going to talk to my fucking girl like that. I didn’t want to come to this bougie ass party any fuckin’—”
His words were cut off by a fist to the side of his face. Blair let out a scream. My head snapped to my left to see Draco standing there coolly readjusting his suit.
“Baby, what’s the issue here?”
I glanced down at the floor where Roderick groaned while he held his head. Blair was down there crying like the man was dead.
“Baby, you didn’t even know what was going on. You just knocked that man in the head.” I knew it was rude to laugh, but damn.
His jaw tightened. “I don’t give a damn what was going on. The volume of his voice was too elevated for me when talking to you. I need you two to leave peacefully.” He waved someone over after he told them to leave. “Blair, I don’t put my hands on women, but my homegirl Fiona does.”
Fiona smiled brightly. “Hey, boo. You would make a handsome man. Wait. If she becomes a man and him a woman, does that make them homosexual? I need to get clarity on that.”
I heard the underlying, psychotic threat, but I think it went over Roderick and Blair’s heads. Fiona was bat shit crazy for no real reason. She retired from the organization a little while ago, but she and her husband were always ready for action when they needed to be.
Blair and Roderick knew they were defeated when they scanned the room as if help was available. Unbeknownst to them, they were in a room full of killers. This was not the room that you wanted to make enemies in. She helped Roderick up, then tried to help him out. They were almost out of the door when Mega stopped them.
“Aye, leave that damn gift. You bought it for her, so leave that shit here, you take back giver.”
“Take back giver? What is that, Mega?” I had to ask because this man said whatever.
He looked at me as if I should know what it was. “Lyn, telling her that she’s an Indian giver is culturally insensitive. I will not be that guy.”
Yep, that’s the last question I will ask him tonight.
Blair pushed the bag into Mega’s chest before she guided Roderick out of the door. I hoped he didn’t have a concussion. His head bounced when it hit the floor. These are those good wood floors. As if nothing happened, dinner moved on.
“Pretty Girl, you look so beautiful. Trell, isn’t she beautiful?” My mama looked amazing in her dress. People often told me that I was the spitting image of my mama. I would have to agree.
My daddy had stars in his eyes when he looked at my mama. When we had outings like this, he stayed on my mama’s ass. She was unpredictable when it came to large groups. She could get overstimulated at any time. He was always ready to leave a place or situation.
“Yeah, baby, she’s gorgeous just like someone else I know.”
My mama’s head snapped in my daddy’s direction. His words must have been a trigger.
“Someone else like who? It better be me because Taelyn is my baby.”
Taelyn!
My father and Draco’s eyes softened. I felt a tear well in mine. “Mama, you gonna sit next to me?”
“Of course, I am. Where else would I sit?”
She bopped my nose with her index finger like she used to do when I was a kid. I wanted to be near her for as long as I could while I was Taelyn to her. God, please let it last at least until after I told everyone I was pregnant.
As we ate, talked, and just enjoyed being in the company of each other I had to take it all in. I loved my sister for planning this. Khiajah, Mauri, and Tana were in my face the entire night. When everyone was finishing their dinner, Draco stood up and used a knife to tap against his glass.
“I hope everyone is having a great night. First, I want to thank Tana for planning this dinner for my baby. Thank you to everyone who didn’t count it as a robbery to show up for my woman. Thank you to my people for coming to celebrate my woman.”
He pushed his chair out then faced me.
Oh, God! Is this it?
“Taelyn, I knew you were my person from the first day that I saw your beautiful ass. I remember going to my father almost immediately to ask him for advice. I asked my homeboys too. Once you got into the car with me for this ride, I knew I would never let you out. Your daddy, brother, and cousin sure tried to get you out though.”
The room chuckled when he gave my daddy, Mont, and Jacob a death stare.
“Our relationship has been a crash course in learning each other as well as loving each other. I even tolerated Mega’s weekly wellness check Zoom calls.”
Now the room erupted into laughter. Mega pointed at Draco.
“Aye, man, I had to make sure your ass was still alive. Congratulations on longevity and love, my man.”
Mega is and will always be a fool!
Draco brought his focus back to me.
“Taelyn, I love you. There is no way that I can go on another day without asking you this question.” He dropped to one knee after he grabbed a ring box from his pocket. “Taelyn Astoria Smith, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
He barely got wife out before I jumped up to say yes. Every female in the room cheered loudly. After he put the ring on my finger, he stood then wrapped his arms around me tightly. After our hug, I turned around.
“Mama, look!”
She stood then grabbed my hand to look at the ring. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes.
“My baby girl is getting married. Taelyn, I’m so proud of you.” She cupped my cheeks in the palm of her hand then pulled my forehead to hers. “Thank God that he let me be here in this mind to see it.”
Her voice was low. This was the first time I ever heard her reference that she knew what her condition was. Tana and Mont have told me in the past she did often. The drug trial that she participated in helped keep her with us for a longer time than some dementia patients. The more her condition started to deteriorate, she mentioned it less.
Her words were the dam for me. I was doing an ugly cry in her arms. Everyone just stood back and watched. Some had tears of their own. My mama rubbed my back as she shushed me while she said my name. They all knew what this meant to me.
My eyes made it to Neziah, who stood by with tears in his eyes and a smile. He gave me a head nod. I was the only one that knew Neziah was turned off by marriage because he didn’t want to get married without his mother. I tried to convince him that she was here, but he always brushed me off.
When everyone calmed down, it was my turn. Tana came over to give me the gift box.
“I wanted to thank everyone for celebrating me. Baby, I love you so much. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. McMasters, for raising this man to be just what I needed.” I shifted my body toward Draco. “I know it’s my birthday, but I have a gift for you. Open it.”
He took the box out of my hand with a suspicious glare. “What do we have here, Mrs. McMasters?”
He opened the box. He examined the contents. In the box was a Tiffany’s rattle, with a crochet hat, booties, and blanket set that was made by none other than Nedrick, and a onesie. The statement on the onesie asked Will you be my daddy?
He put the box on the table, jumped out of his seat, then wrapped his arms around me.
“Fuck yeah, I will be!” His lips crashed against mine.
“Oh my God! My baby is having a baby!” My mother’s voice was heard above the congratulations. The room quieted when she laughed. She pointed toward the left side of the room. “Chell, Delia, Lela, y’all take that shit! I’m having another grandbaby!”
The ladies immediately ran over to her with hugs and congratulations. My father came over to me with soft eyes. He pulled me into a hug.
“I’m proud of you. I love you, baby girl.”
Tonight meant everything to me. I was a pregnant, engaged woman. The pregnancy came before the marriage, but I knew Draco would never let the baby come before we tied the knot.