Chapter 47 Ace
Ace
Somebody transformed the conference room into a three-ring circus.
It’s the end of a fucking era, though, so I’ll allow it. The fucking bridge is done.
And this is our final wrap party.
A balloon archway greets us at the door. Banners stretch out across the walls. CONGRATULATIONS! And WE DID IT! and the like. Tables of food line the outer walls, and the two makeshift bars are in the corners.
The liquor is flowing.
Somebody handed me a drink as soon as walked in, and now I’m on my second and feeling good as fuck. I’m not even irritated when I see Veronica, but that’s likely because I know I won’t have to deal with her ass again after this.
Hugh, my supervisor, taps his glass with a fork to get our attention. “To the long nights. The early mornings. The delays and the audits and the hearings. The compliance logs and drafting and all of it, every last bit. To never having to do this shit again on Dobler Street!”
We all drink to that.
“Wait, wait!” he says. “Ace, come over here.”
A few whistles sound out, and polite applause.
“To Ace. You steered the ship, kept us on course, and looked like a million bucks doing it. Isn’t he handsome? Look at this face. Thank you Ace!”
That gets a lot more applause. Ian and Colin are in the back hooting and hollering, but Veronica just stares.
I ignore that.
“Alright, everyone, let’s eat! The DJ is gonna start in about twenty minutes.”
Yeah, I’m not gon’ be here that damn long. Raya should be home from class by the time I get home. I wanna meet her there and make sure she’s straight. There’s nobody here at this party that I wanna see that I can’t see tomorrow.
She's due in a few weeks.
Hugh queues up a slide show on the screen on the back wall, and we’re regaled with photos of the build at every stage from conception to completion. Rebar skeletons. Pour days. Cranes in the sky, word to Solange. I’m in a lot of them with my hardhat on, making sure shit is good.
I’m proud of myself. I’m really that nigga here at this shit. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I really believe that.
“Mr. Taylor.”
I roll my eyes before turning toward her. I know that annoying ass voice anywhere. “What’s up, Veronica?”
“Congratulations.”
“Yeah. Same to you.”
Her eyes move over me like a cat. “The work’s done. Contracts are signed. I probably won’t be back in this office for a while.”
I hold up my glass to that.
“We should get a drink sometime,” she finishes.
“Got one right here.”
She tilts her head. “Why are you playing dumb?”
I make a face. “You know I’m married, right?”
She shrugs. “That’s never stopped a man before. Not with me, at least.”
“Well, I’m honored that I get to be your first.”
Her lips purse tightly as she looks over me again. “Sometimes men just want something different, that’s all.”
“If you knew my wife, you’d know that’ll never be an issue for me.”
She smiles, and it actually looks genuine. “Well, I guess it’s nice to see somebody happily married.”
“I am,” I say, and I mean that shit. No qualification or equivocation.
When the fuck did that happen?
“I figured it was worth a shot,” she says lightly. “Couldn’t hurt to ask.”
“Mmm…I don’t know. Depending on who you’re dealing with, sometimes it can hurt to ask.”
Speaking of…
“By the way, I heard about what happened. I never got the details, but I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Yeah. Thanks. It was a shooting. The police think it was mistaken identity.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I don’t have any enemies, so…” she trails off and takes a sip of her martini. I watch her and think about how close she came to being hurt.
She has no idea how big of an enemy she actually has. Or had. Hopefully.
"So they don't have any leads? There must have been cameras in the area."
"Nothing," she says. "The person covered their license plate, and honestly, the police didn't seem that eager to solve it. My insurance company has been more helpful than they have."
Cool. I'm done listening.
My phone buzzes.
Tori
Raya’s in labor! At hospital now. Northside
“Fuck!”
I hand Veronica my drink and race out of the conference room. I don’t even stop to get my bag, I sprint straight to my car.
I can’t do this shit again.
If something happened, I just…I don’t even wanna think about it.
Once I get on the road, I call Tori.
“Hey, Ace.”
“What happened?”
“She’s okay. She was in class and she started having bad contractions.”
“She’s not due for another few weeks.”
“The doctor says it’s not that early. The baby’s heartbeat is fine, Raya’s at four centimeters.”
“Okay, I’m on my way. Tell her I’m on my way.”
The phone shuffles, then I hear Tori’s muffled voice.
“Okay, she said take your time. She doesn’t want you dying on the way here.”
I’m sure we both roll our eyes at the same time at that, but hearing that makes me feel better instantly. She’s my same old Raya, not in too much pain to say some shit like that.
After Tori gives me the room number, I hang up and make it to the hospital in record time. I snatch my parking ticket out of the machine and race through the parking garage.
Upstairs in the maternity ward, my mother’s already there. I hug her and Tori, then I enter the room to see my wife.
She’s in the bed, hair pulled up in a messy bun, her face plain and composed. She looks beautiful. I swallow the lump in my throat and say, “Ray Ray.”
When she sees me, she smiles. It catches me off guard, because it’s the same way she smiles when I walk in the door after work. Like it’s any other day in the world, when, to me, it’s the most important day of my fucking life.
But I can’t make her feel that. So I just hug her, kiss her, and ask her what she needs.
“I’m good,” she says. “They won’t let me eat.”
“Yeah, that’s normal.”
“They said I can get the drugs when I hit five centimeters, so that’s what I’m waiting on.”
I nod. “Are you in pain? Want me to rub your back?”
“I’m good, babe.” She squeezes my hand. “One thing you can do, can you see if this tv gets cable? I wanna watch something.”
“Yeah. I got you. I guess I’ll…be right back. Wait, when’s the last time you had a contraction?”
“Maybe ten minutes ago?”
“How was it?”
She shrugs. “It felt like really bad cramps.”
I take that in for a minute. “Well, you’re doing good, baby girl. I’ma go check on the cable for you.”
“’Preciate you.”
Okay, then.
As soon as I step out the door, my mother is in my face.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“What do you mean?”
Mama’s brows knit together as she lowers her voice.
“She seems very…detached from reality. Like this isn’t actually happening to her.”
“She’s been having contractions, Mama. I’m sure she knows it’s happening.”
“I can’t explain it,” she says. “She’s…it’s weird, Ace. I don’t think she’s bonded with the baby.”
“The baby ain’t even out yet.”
“You know what I mean.”
Unfortunately, I do, but I won’t be explaining it to her. Instead, I hug her again and lead her over to the chairs in the waiting room. “I need to check on something. Sit tight. Alright?”
“Okay.”
I’m standing at the nurse’s station when Kamryn rounds the corner. Once again, she looks like she’d rather be somewhere else.
I forget my mission for a minute and follow Kam, grabbing her arm before she gets to the waiting area.
“Stay outta the room," I say roughly.
“What room?”
“The room where my wife is in labor.”
She rolls her eyes. “I mean, honestly, I don’t wanna be here at all.”
“Then why are you?”
“Because I’m not about to miss my first niece and or nephew being born.”
“And or? The fuck?”
“Shut up. You know what I mean.”
“If you think you gon’ be in there when she’s pushing, you must be smoking that good shit.”
She studies my face. “We both know I have every right to hate that bitch.”
“Watch your fucking mouth when you talk about her.”
“She blew up my car, Ace.”
“Kamryn. We don’t know that she did anything to your car.”
“We do know!” she says a little too loudly.
So of course my mama comes running up, her lips already fixed to shush us.
“Shhh! What is wrong with you two?”
Kam and I exchange looks. Whatever else is going on, we don’t snitch.
“Kam’s in a bad mood,” I say. “As usual.”
“I’m tired, Mama. I don’t wanna be here, but I don’t wanna miss it.”
My mother’s eyes narrow into slits. “Get your shit together,” she says sharply. “This is my first grandchild. You’re not gonna ruin this for me. Or for Ace. Or Raya. Do you hear me?”
Kam nods.
“Good. Stay out of the way.”
After I handle the TV situation, I head back to the room. A man is in there when I get back, and I quickly figure out that Raya dilated enough to get the drugs she wanted.
I can’t do anything but watch and hold her hand as the anesthesiologist administers the epidural. I remember all of this from when Elijah was born, but that ended up being the worst day of my life, so…I’m on edge right now.
After he leaves, Raya’s immediately relaxed. Flipping channels and everything. I collapse onto the chair and wait, staring at my wife, listening to the baby’s heartbeat, praying her and the baby both get through this.
Women give birth every day without incident, but that’s the thing about childbirth. There’s no rhyme or reason. Anything could go wrong at any minute.
“How you feel, babe?
She looks over at me and smiles. “I’m good. Feeling no pain.”
“Do you feel anything?”
“Just pressure.” She turns the tv down. “I have something I wanna ask you.”
I lean forward to get closer. “Anything.”
“If something happens, like if one of us had to be saved, I would want you to save me.”
I frown at that, for several reasons. “Where did that come from?”
“I’ve seen it happen on tv. I don’t know, I guess I just wanna make sure we’re on the same page. I mean, not to sound cold, but you can make another baby. You can’t make another me.”
My mind is racing, but I nod and keep my mouth shut. She needs to feel calm right now, so yeah, I agree. I agree with everything.
But inside, I feel like I’m going crazy.