Chapter 18
It had been quite a week, and I was happy that today was Friday.
All week long, I’d been watching Laurel. Devin put the thought in my head that something was up with her. She didn’t seem off in any way, but now that she was on my radar, I grew more and more suspicious of her. Every time I saw her on the phone, I wondered if she was talking to Patrick.
It would break my heart if she was the one telling him anything. Laurel was good at her job, and I could trust her to run things in my absence. If she turned out to be a snake… I just didn’t want to think about that.
I’d gotten to the shop early because I had an eight o’clock appointment for a wax, facial, and exfoliation for Korri’s grandma, Ms. Sherry. She and Mr. Daun were leaving to go on a cruise, and she said she needed me to get her right. I loved that woman. She’d always been so nice to me and treated me like a daughter, even after Corey’s death.
When I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed a car parked that didn’t belong to any of my staff. I didn’t think anything of it because I shared the parking lot with the barbershop next door. Looking around, I got out of my car and approached the back door I normally entered through.
After unlocking it, I headed inside to my office to put my things down. I checked my email and looked over the books before heading to the front to make sure everything was in order. I then headed into my suite to ensure I was stocked for the shift. As I checked my inventory, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw that it was Devin calling me. I smiled as I swiped the screen to answer.
“Good morning,” I said, cheerfully.
“Good morning, beautiful. You made it to work okay?”
“I did. I’m just getting ready for my client and stocking a few things. Why are you up so early?”
“I had something to take care of with the fam last night.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Oh. Was it?—”
“Nah. Not yet. This was a pressing matter out of town. We’re on the way back. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t have any trouble.”
“I’m good.”
“How’s my new little friend?”
I giggled. “She’s good. She had a field trip today, so she’s excited about that. They are going to Disney on Ice . She loves music and Disney, so that’s right up her alley.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Y’all busy this weekend?”
“Not that I know of. Why?”
“I thought we could do something. You know, me and lil’ mama can get to know each other better.”
I liked that he was willing to include her. My weekends had been strictly reserved for my baby since all of this had been going on. It was nice that he realized spending time with me meant spending time with her.
“We can do something.”
“Bet. I should be back in time to bring you lunch?—”
“Look at this muthafucka here,” I heard in the background, followed by laughter.
“Y’all niggas can kiss my black ass,” Devin fired back.
I giggled. “I take it they aren’t used to you doing things like that?”
“Nah, they aren’t, and they love to be in my damn business. Anyway… I’m gonna see you later, okay, love?”
“Okay.”
We disconnected the call, leaving me smiling to myself. I was enjoying his company, and it wasn’t feeling so weird with me being pregnant and involved with him anymore. We got along well, and I sensed he was exactly who he portrayed himself as. Most of all, I felt safe with him at my side. There was nothing wrong with that.
Brushing off the thoughts, I put the phone down and went back to checking my inventory for this appointment. Noticing that I was out of towels, I left the office and headed to the basement. The washer, dryer, and the rest of the supplies were stored down there as well. As I opened the door, I could hear hushed voices talking at the bottom of the stairs. I froze. Who was in here, and how did they get in here? Footsteps approached the stairs, and I saw that it was Patrick.
“Patrick! How the fuck did you get in here!” I yelled.
“Pipe all that down.”
He walked away, leaving me standing at the top of the stairs. I knew I shouldn’t have gone down, but I had to know what the fuck was going on in my shop. When I got to the bottom, my eyes widened at the sight of Patrick and three unknown men bagging up cocaine in my fucking basement.
I immediately put my shirt over my mouth.
“Are you fucking crazy!” I yelled. “Patrick, you can’t be serious! This is too much. How did you even get in here?”
“Take your ass back upstairs and mind your fucking business.”
“This is my business! My literal business. What the hell do you think you’re doing!”
He dropped the items in his hand and stormed over to me. Grabbing my arm, he yanked me toward the stairs. He was being so rough that I lost my footing and tripped going up the stairs. The next thing I knew, I’d fallen, landing right on my stomach. Patrick didn’t pay me any mind as he dragged me to the top of the stairs and shoved me out.
“Don’t bring your ass back down here. Matter of fact, close up shop today. We’re gonna be a while.”
He slammed the door, leaving me in the hallway writhing in pain. Tears streamed down my face as I struggled to climb to my feet. Suddenly, I felt a warm liquid seeping through my scrub bottoms.
“No… no, no, no, no, no!”
I held onto the wall as I stumbled toward the front where my phone was. The pain in my stomach was unbearable. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.
“Romi! I’m here! Thank you so much for squeezing me in!”
I felt a sense of hope hearing my client come through the door.
“Ms.-Ms. Sherry!” I called, leaning against the wall.
I could hear her heels clicking across the floor. “Romi? Are you okay? You sound—Oh my God!” She ran to me and helped me up. “Baby, you’re bleeding. What happened?”
“I fell… my baby…”
I was in full-blown tears at this point. Sherry helped me out front. Just as we made it, Laurel came through the front door.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed, rushing over. “What happened!”
“She fell,” Ms. Sherry said. “Help me get her to my car. I’m taking her to the hospital.”
“You should call an ambulance—” Laurel started.
“Bitch, don’t you see she’s bleeding? Help me get her in the damn car.”
Laurel moved to my side, and together, they got me out the door and over to Ms. Sherry’s BMW. The pain was at an eight and climbing as they strapped me inside. I heard Ms. Sherry tell Laurel to close up shop and meet us at the hospital with my things. She climbed into the car and cranked up.
“Hold on, baby,” she said, backing out. “We’re gonna get you some help.”
I closed my eyes and cried and prayed. My baby had to be okay. She just had to.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The sound of the heart monitor woke me from my slumber. My eyes fluttered open, and I was met with blinding white lights. Where was I? How did I get here?
“She’s awake!” I heard my sister say.
The next thing I saw were the faces of her, my parents, and Ms. Sherry. My mom’s eyes were red, and my father looked full of worry.
Nay smiled softly as she leaned over, stroking my hair. “How are you feeling, sissy?”
“Where am I?” I asked, barely above a whisper.
“You’re in the hospital?—”
“Hospital?” My hand instantly flew to my belly. “My baby… is my baby okay?”
I began to panic as my memory came back to me in pieces. I remembered falling then Ms. Sherry being there, but the rest was fuzzy. The monitor started going off, and the nurse ran in to check on me.
“Ms. Mitchell, you have to calm down, sweetheart,” she said, squeezing my hands.
“Is my baby okay? Please, just tell me!”
My ob-gyn walked in and came over to the bed. She looked at me with a sympathetic smile that almost sent me into another panic.
“You’re okay. You’re okay. Baby Juri is okay too. Take some deep breaths for me, Romi.”
I tried my hardest to gather myself. They weren’t going to tell me anything until I was calm, and even then, what if it was something I couldn’t handle? Closing my eyes, I took several deep breaths until my heart rate returned to normal.
“Please,” I whispered. “Is my baby okay?”
“We weren’t able to stop the contractions, so we had to deliver her. She’s tiny, three pounds twelve ounces. Her lungs aren’t fully developed, so she’s on a breathing tube. Her sucking and swallowing reflexes aren’t fully developed yet either, so she has a feeding tube. Even with all that, she’s a strong little girl. I have full confidence that with a couple of weeks in the NICU, she will be ready to go home.”
I burst into tears.
My heart was broken that my baby had to come before her time because of me. My family crowded around me, offering me love and support.
“She’s gonna be good, baby,” my father said, kissing my forehead. “Our girl has a strong mother, and she’s got your strength too. God’s got his hands on her.”
“I just wanna see her!” I wailed. “Please, can I see her?”
My doctor nodded. “We can grab you a wheelchair and take you to her.”
She left the room, and the nurse began unhooking me so she could transport me. A minute or so later, the doctor returned with the wheelchair. I tossed back the covers and allowed them to help me out of bed. The pain was a solid seven, but I would brave through it to see my baby girl.
Once settled in the seat, I reached for my mother’s hand. I was going to need her to face this moment.
“We’ll wait for you here,” my father said, kissing my temple.
“I’m gonna go pick Korri up from school,” Renay said.
“Thank you.”
“I love you, sis.”
“I love you too.”
As I was rolled out of the room, my name was called. I turned to see Laurel running down the hall toward me.
“Hey, you’re up,” she said, hugging me. “I brought your things by earlier. I wasn’t sure what to do today, so I closed the shop.”
“You were there?”
“Yeah. I helped Ms. Sherry get you into her car.”
“Oh… well, thank you. You can wait inside if you want. I’m going to see Juri.”
“Okay.”
She kissed my cheek and dipped into the room. I grabbed my mother’s hand as the nurse began rolling me down the hall. It was the longest five minutes of my life. When I could finally see the NICU sign, my chest began to tighten. The doors opened, and we rolled through. I took a deep breath as we headed into the room where Juri was being held.
As we approached the incubator, my hands began to tremble. My mother squeezed tightly, giving me reassurance. The sight of all the wires and tubes hooked up to my baby broke my heart.
“Here she is,” my doctor said. “I know this looks scary, but she’s not in any pain. Given time, the wires and tubes will be gone.”
“Can-can I hold her.”
“Of course. We encourage skin to skin with preemies as it helps them thrive. We can get you sanitized, and you can hold her.”
It took a few minutes to fully prepare Juri and I. I sanitized my hands, and the nurse helped me partially undress while the other nurse gathered Juri. She was so tiny as they brought her to me and placed her on my chest. Tears immediately began to pool in my eyes, but I held them back.
“Hey, pretty girl,” I said softly. “Mommy is so happy to meet you. I’m so sorry you had to come early but so happy you’re here and you’re okay.”
I stared down at her. Though she was a preemie, she had some of Korri’s features. I peeked under her oversized beanie and smiled.
“You’re gonna have a head full of hair, just like your sister.”
My mother giggled. “Can you imagine having two bushy heads to do?”
“Right.” I kissed Juri’s temple. “You’re gonna be a good girl for mommy, aren’t you? Even if you aren’t, I’ll love you the same.”
All I could do was stare at her. She was early, but she was perfect. No matter who her father was, she was here, and she was mine. Nobody was going to take that away from me.