Chapter 20
Three Days Later
I was being discharged from the hospital today, and I wasn’t ready to leave my baby. Currently, I was sitting in the NICU holding her, just staring at her. She already loved the skin to skin with me, and I loved it too.
“Mommy is gonna miss you so much,” I said, kissing her tiny fingers. “I’m gonna come see you every day, I promise.”
The sound of light taps on the window caused me to look up. There stood Devin. I smiled softly and waved him in. He’d been with me every day for the last three days. Even if it was just for an hour at a time, he was here off-and-on all day long. He brought me food. He took me on walks to build my strength and endurance after my cesarean. The man was just everything.
Much to my surprise, Salima and Sharina came to visit me as well. Of course, they had questions about me and their brother in-law. They got to meet Korri, and by the end of the visit, they were claiming her and Juri as their nieces. As crazy as it was, I could really see them taking to my babies just from the way they acted with each other.
I waved him into the room, smiling as he approached me. “Hey.”
“Hey, love.” He leaned in and kissed me. “Hey lil’ mama,” he said to Juri.
She stirred slightly at the sound of his voice.
“She doing good today?”
“She is. We’ve just been chillin’ today, enjoying mommy and me time.”
He went to wash his hands before coming back over to stroke Juri’s head.
“She’s so damn little, man. Like, she could fit in the palm of my hand.”
I giggled. “In her defense, you’re a big man, Devin.” I looked down at Juri before looking up at him. “You wanna hold her?”
“You okay with that?”
“Of course.” I eased myself out of the seat and stood to my feet. “Take off your shirt.”
“You want me to start a problem in here?” he asked with a grin.
I rolled my eyes. “Take off your shirt, sir.”
He chuckled as he pulled the shirt over his head and draped it on the back of the chair. After he was seated in the rocker, I carefully placed Juri on his chest. She stirred for a moment, then settled in comfortably against him with a tiny sigh that made me smile.
“She does look super tiny against you,” I commented. “Cute, though. Look at you looking like somebody’s big papa.”
He chuckled. “Silly ass.” He looked down at Juri. “Tell mommy we are gonna be best friends, baby girl. We’re already locked in.”
He gave her tiny hand a fist bump, and I thought it was adorable.
“You ready to go home?” he asked.
I sighed. “Ready to go home, not ready to leave her.”
Tears instantly filled my eyes at the thought. Devin reached for my hand, and when I gave it to him, he kissed my fingers.
“Don’t worry. She’s in the best place she can be. If you want, I can arrange for her to have a private room. It’s too many people in and out of here with her. Her little immune system can’t take all of that.”
“You don’t have to?—”
“Romi. Would you like her to have a private room?”
I could admit I would feel better with her in a private room. The nurses had been doing great with Juri, but he had a point about the germs and her compromised immune system. I didn’t want her staying here any longer than she needed to. In addition, I could stay overnight with her if she had a room to herself. There was no question that I would want to be with her as much as possible.
I looked at Devin, who was patiently waiting for an answer. Slowly, I nodded.
“Then it’s done.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, cupping his chin.
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“Yes, I do. You’ve been good to me the last couple of weeks, Devin. I’ve been in a really dark place, and you have given me some of my most peaceful moments lately. You deserve thanks for that.” Carefully, I leaned over and kissed his lips. “When I’m healed, I’ll give you a proper thank you.”
He grinned. “Don’t tempt me with a good time.”
I laughed as I eased into another rocker and rested my head against the back. For the longest time, I watched him with my baby. He was gentle with her. He spoke softly to her, just talking about the most random things. I managed to snap a picture of them and send it to my sister.
NayNay: Look at that stepdaddy with his baby.
Me: Shut up, Nay.
NayNay: Ooo, she’s gonna love that man and you aren’t gonna be able to tell him shit about her.
Me: You think this will last that long? I don’t wanna get my hopes up, sis. I mean, I just had a baby. Everybody is gonna say I need to focus my attention on my children and not a man anyway.
NayNay: Bitch, what have I told you about people. Fuck them. That man knew you were pregnant when he had you spread eagle on your kitchen counter. He’s been at the hospital every day with you since you had Juri. You didn’t ask him to be a father nor did you expect it from him. That’s not what this is. You can be a mother and still have a man. We both know you aren’t the type of bitch to choose a nigga over your kids.
Me: I know. I’m just… I’m scared, Nay.
NayNay: I know, baby. It’s okay to be afraid.
I closed out of the messages and focused back on Devin and Juri. His eyes were closed as he rocked back and forth with her. I smiled. He had all the free will in the world, yet he was right here with me.
Home.
It didn’t hit me until we pulled onto my street that I didn’t have a thing ready for when Jury came home. The crib wasn’t put together. I had no preemie clothes or diapers. Her room wasn’t even ready. She was here, and there was still so much to do.
As we neared my house, I squinted at the array of cars out front. I looked over at Devin who wore a smirk on his face.
“What are y’all up to?” I asked.
“I don’t know whatchu’ talking about.”
“Devin.”
“You’ll see when we get there, woman.”
Just to fuck with me, he reduced his speed to a slow creep. I sat there anxiously, wondering what these people were up to. There were cars I didn’t recognize there as well, so I could only imagine who else was here. There was just enough space for his car to pull into my driveway. He got out and came around to retrieve me.
I held on to his arm as he led me up to the front door. As soon as we reached the top step, the door opened, and out stepped Korri with her hands behind her back.
“Hi, Mommy!”
“Hi, baby! I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” She smiled as she pulled a scarf from behind her back and held it up to me. “I gotta cover your eyes.”
I giggled. “What are you up to?”
“It’s a surprise!”
“Tell her to stop being nosy, lil’ bit,” Devin said, reaching for her.
She laughed as he lifted her into his arms and turned me around so she could put the scarf on me. Once my eyes were covered, I felt both of them take my hands. I could hear the door opening before they guided me through. The house was quiet, but I could smell something delicious in the air.
I was reluctant to let them lead me because I couldn’t see shit. After a minute or so, we came to a stop. A door opened, and I was led inside.
“Keep your eyes closed, Mommy,” Korri said as the scarf came off.
“Y’all are making me nervous.”
Devin snickered. “You just want to be nosy.”
“And do!”
“Alright, woman. On the count of three, you can open your eyes. Count her down, lil’ bit.”
“One… two… three!”
I opened my eyes, and my hand flew to my mouth. I was standing in Juri’s room, fully finished. The shades of pink, white, and gold came together perfectly. The white canopy crib with matching bedroom furniture was absolutely beautiful. I was in awe of the big, custom wood sign that spelled out Juri Angel. It was painted gold with pink and white flowers.
“Devin…” I whispered, my lips trembling. “Did you do this?”
“It was a collaborative effort. Renay told me you hadn’t gotten a chance to do baby girl’s room. I made a couple of calls and handed my card over to your mama and sister to get the furniture. Me and your dad put everything together while your mom, sister, and my sisters in-law did the decorating.”
“I don’t… I can’t… Thank you.”
I couldn’t fight back my tears any longer as I broke down. Devin pulled me into his arms and held me as I cried. Korri wrapped her arms around me from behind.
“Are these happy tears, Mommy?” she asked.
“Yes, baby. Very happy tears.”
We stayed in the room for a moment so I could take it all in. They had really gone all out for my baby. Once I’d gotten myself together, Devin and Korri led me back out front where I was shocked to see a whole baby shower set up, including a throne. There was food, mountains of gifts, and the smiling faces of both our families.
I was no good.
I started crying again as my mom, sister, Salima, and Shar gathered around me, pushing Devin to the side.
“Well excuse me!” he said, raising his hands.
“Shut up!” Shar and Salima said to him.
He grinned and shook his head as he stepped aside. The ladies loved on me for a minute before letting me go. I looked around at everything and everyone as I dabbed my eyes.
“This is beautiful. Thank you so much.”
“Thank that man,” Renay said, pointing to Devin. “All of this was his idea. He wanted you to come home to something that would make you happy. My future brother in-law said we were gonna get you right.”
“Period!” Shar said, snapping her fingers.
The group of men I knew to be Devin’s brothers all shook their heads.
“Yeah, I see it now,” Deuce said.
“Hell yeah,” Maceo agreed.
“See what?” I asked.
Deuce motioned between Shar and Renay. “They are carbon copies of each other.”
Renay placed her hands on her hips. “A baddie knows a baddie.”
Shar giggled as she hugged her. “And this is a baddie!”
The brothers rolled their eyes, causing Shar to kiss her teeth.
“Y’all are some real-life haters, including my own husband.” She waved them off. “Don’t pay them any mind, girl. They expect everybody to be as unapproachable as they are. Y’all are lucky my niece is here,” she said, pointing at Korri. “We’re here to make a good impression on the Mitchells. They don’t need to know how we act just yet.”
That statement didn’t stop them from going back-and-forth. My parents found the banter amusing. Devin shook his head as he came over to me.
“I want to officially introduce you to some people,” he said, taking my hand and Korri’s. He led us over to a man and woman whom he favored as well as another man beside them.
“Romi, Korri, these are my parents, Stanley and Allison. And this is my stepdad, Alec. Y’all didn’t get a chance to meet at the wedding, but Romi did Shar’s makeup.”
All of them smiled at us.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Mr. Dillinger said, extending his hand.
“Very nice,” Ms. Allison agreed, pulling me into a hug. “My son has told me a lot about you, baby.” She stooped to Korri. “It’s nice to meet you, beautiful.”
Korri blushed. “Nice to meet you!”
“Our apologies for just coming into your home,” Mr. Alec said. “Devin said he wanted to introduce us, and we were pretty excited. We come bearing gifts, though!”
“It’s totally fine,” I assured him. “And thank you so much. You’ve all raised such a sweet, caring man.”
His mother beamed. “That’s my baby,” she said, pinching his cheeks.
“Come on, Ma,” he groaned.
Behind us, his siblings laughed. He turned to them with a glare and grabbed our hands and led us over to them.
“Let me officially introduce you to these fools. I think it’s really only two. You already met Mia and Jaeda.”
“She has the Legos, Mommy!” Korri exclaimed. “She showed me pictures!”
Jaeda laughed. “She’s a girl after my own heart.”
“This is Kerrion. Of course, you know who Maceo is from the wedding. And you already know Stanley from getting his facials .”
Deuce glared at him. “I’ma beat your ass,” he mouthed.
“Wait, you’re out here getting facials?” Mia asked, touching his face.
He slapped her hand away. “I went with my wife, and it’s not your business. Now, Romi, I thought we were better than that. What happened to client privileges? You just violated HIPPA.”
I laughed. “I’m sorry. I thought he knew.”
He shook his head. “I should take my gift back, but I’ma let you live. Let me see lil’ mama.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket and went to my photo album to show them pictures of Juri.
“She’s so cute and tiny!” Jaeda declared. “Oh, I know you can’t wait for her to come home.”
I nodded. “I really can’t. It was hard walking out of there without her, but I know she’s where she needs to be. She’s got a private room now, so I feel a little better knowing it’s not too many people in and out of her room. The mama in me is ready to go back right now, but your brother insists that I get a good night’s sleep in a real bed.”
“They can be kind of bossy,” Jaeda said, smirking. She swiped the phone, and the picture of Devin and Juri popped up. “Smoke! This is too cute!”
She showed the picture to her siblings, and they all smiled.
“You can barely see her for those big ass hands,” Kerrion jested.
Maceo reached out and covered Korri’s ears with a grin. “You got her resting comfortably on them titties, boy.”
“Maceo!” his mother scolded. “Not in front of the baby!”
“I covered her ears, Ma. Everybody here either has titties or likes titties.” He removed his hands from Korri’s ears. “You didn’t hear that, did you?”
She giggled and shook her head no. Ms. Allison rolled her eyes as she turned to my parents.
“I promise they were raised with some sense.”
My mother laughed. “You haven’t been around this one,” she said, motioning to Renay. “We’re used to the child that says whatever is on their mind.”
Renay scoffed. “I just want to point out that you and Daddy told us never to censor ourselves. I’m just following through.”
Maceo nodded in agreement. “You know what, hell yeah. Y’all can’t tell us stuff like that then fuss when we are exactly who you taught us to be.”
“Period!” Renay and Shar said in unison.
“Aht aht!” Deuce said, going to pull Shar away from my sister. “We’re gonna end this friendship before it gets started. One of you is enough, Sharina.”
The room erupted with nothing but trash talking. I covered my mouth and laughed.
“I think it’s safe to say our families might mesh well,” I said to Devin.
“Too well.” He shook his head. “We can kick them out at any time.”
“No, no. I need this. Thank you, Devin.”
I beckoned him to me for a kiss. I was slowly but surely falling for this man. I couldn’t help myself even if I wanted to.