Chapter 10
Trill-Land, ’LoLux Estate
Toni was finally about to have my baby and a nigga ain’t even know how to feel right now.
I just knew everything in me had locked in the second my mama said she was three centimeters.
From that point on, it wasn’t no more space for confusion, tension, or none of that shit we had been goin’ through.
All I saw was my wife and my child, and the way her body was fightin’ through that pain made somethin’ in me tighten the fuck up.
I stayed right here with her with one hand pressed against her lower back while the other stayed firm on her stomach, feelin’ every shift in her body while she tried to breathe through it.
Toni wasn’t weak, and ain’t never been weak, but this right here was different, and I could see it all over her face, even when she tried to hold it together.
The way her hands kept reachin’ for me, and the way her body leaned into mine without even thinkin’ told me everything I needed to know.
“I got you… come here,” I murmured low, already slidin’ my arm around her before pullin’ her closer into me so she ain’t have to carry none of that weight by herself.
My mama moved around us with that same calm presence she always had, but I knew her too well not to feel the difference.
This wasn’t just another woman in labor to her.
This was her daughter-in-law in labor with her grandchild.
It was her son standin’ right here, and she handled us with care that ain’t even need to be announced.
“We’re going to move her now,” she said, her voice smooth and composed, already thinkin’ ahead. “Kay’Lo, baby support her. Don’t let her take the full weight on her own.”
“I got her,” I replied without lookin’ away from Toni, already adjustin’ my hold so she could lean into me however she needed.
The walk through the house ain’t feel the same.
Every step Toni took felt heavier, and when another contraction hit, it wasn’t nothin’ light about it.
Her body tightened up so fast it had her foldin’ into me with her head pressin’ against my chest while her hand gripped my shirt like she needed somethin’ solid to hold on to.
“Breathe through it, Toni,” my mama guided her gently. “Don’t fight your body. Let it do what it needs to do.”
I kept my hand movin’ over Toni’s back with slow strokes that stayed consistent while I held her up, lettin’ her lean into me without hesitation. “Yeah… right there… I got you, baby,” I told her low, my voice right by her ear so she ain’t have to search for it.
By the time we reached the delivery room, I ain’t waste no time gettin’ her settled.
I helped ease her down on the bed, adjustin’ the pillows behind her, my hands movin’ over her like second nature while I made sure she was supported the way she needed to be.
I had the whole room set up and ready for weeks. Everything she could ever need to have my baby was already here.
My mama glanced at me once, then nodded toward the bed. “Get in bed with her, son,” she said, softer now, but still firm in a way that ain’t leave room for hesitation. “She needs you close. It’ll help her body release and settle into the process.”
I ain’t even think about it. I climbed in bed with my wife, turnin’ on my side so I was right in front of her, our faces close enough that I could see every change in her expression.
My hand came up to her face without me thinkin’, my thumb brushin’ along her cheek while I looked at her the way I ain’t let myself in weeks.
She looked back at me with somethin’ soft in her eyes, and that shit hit me harder than I expected.
Then, after weeks of holdin’ out, I leaned in and kissed her…
I pressed my lips to hers and stayed there, feelin’ her respond instantly, her hand comin’ up to the side of my face while her fingers slid to the back of my head and held me right there.
Damn… I missed that.
I ain’t even realize how much I missed the shit until I felt her lips on mine again and felt the way she melted into it even while her body was goin’ through all this.
Another contraction hit her while we was right here, and instead of pullin’ away, I leaned in deeper, pressin’ my mouth to hers, lettin’ her know I wasn’t goin’ nowhere.
My tongue slid against hers slow, lettin’ her feel me right here with her while her body tightened up under my hand.
She gripped me harder, her breath shakier now, and I kept kissin’ her through it.
My hand stayed spread over her stomach, holdin’ her and my baby at the same time while my mouth worked hers, my tongue draggin’ against hers in a way that made her melt even through the contraction.
She let out a soft sound into my mouth, her fingers pressin’ into me, and I swallowed it, keepin’ her close, and grounded, lettin’ her feel me instead of that pain takin’ over everything.
I ain’t let up or pull back. I just kept kissin’ her through it real slow and deep, like I could take some of that pressure off her just by bein’ locked in with her like this.
When her body finally eased up, I was still here with my lips brushin’ against hers, my breath mixin’ with hers while my thumb moved over her stomach like I was remindin’ both my babies that I had ’em.
“My baby comin’ for real…” I murmured against her mouth, my voice low and full, my thumb still movin’ over her belly while I looked into her eyes. “You hear me? You bringin’ her here.”
Her fingers tightened around the back of my neck, and I could feel her breath change. I could feel how she was holdin’ on to me while that pain rolled through her, and I stayed right here, still kissin’ her through it, not lettin’ her drift off into that space by herself.
“You good,” I told her, my forehead restin’ against hers for a second before I kissed her again. “You strong as hell. Ain’t nothin’ stoppin’ you from doin’ this.”
She nodded, her eyes locked on mine, and I kept goin’, givin’ her what she needed without thinkin’ twice about it.
“I’m right here. I ain’t goin’ nowhere. You hear me?” I said low, my hand still movin’ over her stomach, rubbin’ her through it while I kept my body close to hers. “You don’t gotta do none of this alone.”
My mama came back in after a minute with a cup. Her presence was still calm and warm as she handed it to Toni. “Drink this, sweetheart. It will help your body relax and keep your contractions from overwhelming you too quickly.”
I helped Toni sit up just enough to take it, keepin’ one arm around her while she drank, then eased her back down slow, pullin’ her right back into me, not lettin’ our connection break.
After a while, her body started to ease some. The tension in her shoulders dropped little by little, and her breathin’ slowed until her eyes got heavy.
She fell asleep right in my arms.
I stayed still, just watchin’ her for a second, takin’ in the way her face finally relaxed, the way she leaned into me even in her sleep, and I leaned in, pressin’ a kiss to her lips, then another one right under her jaw.
“Yeah… get you some rest,” I said low, my hand still movin’ over her stomach.
My mama stepped closer, her voice soft but sure. “I’ll give you both some time. Call me when she wakes up again. We’ll reassess then.”
“Okay ma,” I replied, my eyes still on Toni.
Once she left, the room went quiet again, and it was just me and my babies.
My hand stayed on her stomach, rubbin’ slow while my mind drifted without me even tryna control it.
I started thinkin’ about my daughter for real, and how she was gon’ look, how she was gon’ sound, and how it was gon’ feel the first time I held her.
That’s all I been waitin’ on.
All this time, all this shit, all the tension me and Toni been goin’ through… none of that changed this part.
I wanted my baby…
I tightened my arm around Toni, real careful not to wake her, and rested my face close to hers, breathin’ her in while I stayed right here.
Just a lil’ longer… and my daughter was gon’ be in my arms.
I still had Toni in my arms, holdin’ her close while she slept against me, her body finally gettin’ a small break after everything it had just been put through.
I ain’t move not once, not even when my arm started feelin’ heavy, ’cause the way she was leaned into me told me she needed that contact more than anything else right now.
My hand stayed spread over her stomach, rubbin’ slow like I had been doin’, feelin’ my baby shift under my palm every now and then.
For a second, it almost felt peaceful in here, like we had found a pocket of quiet in the middle of all this.
But then that peace ain’t last long.
Toni’s body tensed up outta nowhere, and I felt it before I even saw it. It was the way her stomach tightened under my hand and her fingers grippin’ at me like she was reachin’ for somethin’ to hold on to.
“Mmm… Kay’Lo…” she let out, her voice low and strained as her eyes squeezed shut.
I was already adjustin’ my hold on her before she could even try to move on her own. “Yeah, I got you… I’m right here, baby,” I told her, my voice low and close to her ear while I slid my hand down to her lower back and started rubbin’ into it, givin’ her somethin’ to push against.
She couldn’t even respond but just leaned into me harder while her breath started comin’ uneven, and I could feel how strong that contraction was hittin’ her this time.
“Breathe, baby… come on, breathe through it,” I murmured, keepin’ my voice calm even though every part of me tightened seein’ her like this.
She tried, but it wasn’t like before. This one had her fightin’ just to catch her breath, her chest movin’ faster while her face tightened up like she was tryin’ not to let it show how bad it hurt.
The shit hit me in my chest different ’cause I ain’t like seein’ her like this at all.
“Ma,” I called on the phone without even thinkin’, or takin’ my eyes off Toni while I kept my hand movin’ on her back. “She just woke up. She in a lot of pain.”