Epilogue
“I can’t believe you, making us late for the baby shower,” Ryann complained as I helped her out of the back seat of the truck. I leaned over and kissed her lips, which she puckered for me, in spite of her fussing.
“Is it my fault your pussy tastes and feels so good?”
She slapped my chest, though she also giggled. “Shut up!”
“Finally,” Zyah interrupted our banter, as she headed over to us. She tipped from the building to meet us on the sidewalk, as it was a snowy January day. “We’ve been waiting on the guests of honor.”
“Blame your friend,” she told Zyah.
“Well, you were probably throwing it back at him, so you’re to blame, too.”
I laughed loud as hell because she was right. As much as she complained about me slowing us down, Ryann was always down for having her pussy diddled.
“Uh, I can’t believe you,” she told her sister.
“Yeah. Yeah. They’re anticipating heavy snow today. Let’s get this shower started so we can release these people before the roads get too bad.”
That was what came with having a January due date in Chicago. There was always a chance that the weather was going to work against you.
We walked into the venue and greeted our guests.
Food, good vibes, joy, and love flowed as we fellowshipped and played games that Zyah and Gensie came up with.
Mrs. Upton approached Ryann and me as we sat on our designated thrones and opened gifts. “The snow is really coming down. Do you think we should make an announcement or something?”
I wasn’t too concerned initially, because Mr. and Mrs. Upton lived in Virginia. People from out of town tended to view Chicago’s weather with more angst than Chicagoans did. But then I remembered that Mrs. Upton was a native Chicagoan and my concern grew.
“Yeah,” Ryann said. “We’ll thank them for coming and open the rest of our gifts at home.”
“Okay.” Mrs. Upton went to the deejay booth, grabbed the microphone, and thanked all of the guests for coming. As she was making her announcement, almost everybody’s phone let out an obnoxious beep, followed by more beeps.
“Emergency alert,” I said.
Ryann nodded. “Perfect timing. Let’s stand by the door and thank everybody for coming.”
“How ’bout me and your mom stand by the door thanking people while you sit here and rest, Ry.” I gave her a stern look. “It’s been a long day, baby, and you’re thirty-eight weeks pregnant. Today’s been a lot.”
“A few more minutes aren’t gonna hurt me, Brix.”
I shook my head. “You’re so damn stubborn.”
She stood up, giving me a playful grin. “And that’s why you love me.”
“That is not why I love your fine ass,” I muttered as I followed her toward the door of the venue.
It didn’t take long for the event space to empty. The day was cold and snowy, and the sun was quickly setting. Nobody enjoyed driving in a snowstorm after dark.
“Let’s start taking your gifts to the truck, so we can all get out of here,” Beaux suggested.
“Go get in the truck,” I directed Ryann, and this time, my tone left no room for her stubbornness. “As soon as we get these gifts loaded, we’re going home and you’re staying off your feet for the rest of the weekend.”
“But I’m coming to Monday night’s game.” She pouted.
“If you don’t go get your ass in the truck, I’mma spank it.”
She grinned but acquiesced. “Okay. Okay.” She stood, and I heard the most unfamiliar, familiar sound.
“What was that?”
She was no longer grinning. “Uh, I think my water broke.”
Beaux, who’d been walking past with an elegantly wrapped gift, stopped in his tracks. “What?” he practically bellowed.
Since the deejay was packing up, the only noise was the chatter of the people who were related to Ryann and me. The sound of Beaux’s word reverberated through the space.
Mrs. Upton rushed over. “What’s up?” Once she really processed the way Ryann was holding herself and the stricken look on her face, she jumped into action. “Are you in labor?”
“Her water broke,” I said.
Mrs. Upton’s eyes shot to the small puddle on the floor, then back to her daughter. “Okay.” Her ability to become instantly calm was unparalleled. “Brix,” she almost sang my name.
“Yes?”
“Call your doctor. Tell her that Ryann’s water broke. Beaux, go get my husband. Tell him what’s happening. Tell him that I’m riding in the car with Ryann and Brix.”
Beaux took off.
Her attention turned to me. “Let’s get her to the truck and head to the hospital. First babies usually take a little while, but with the snow and stuff… we don’t want a side of the road delivery.”
Shit, say less! I thought to myself as I took Ryann by the elbow.
Zyah ran up just as we crossed the threshold to the sidewalk. “Oh my goodness, is Ryann in labor?”
“She is.” The sense of calm remained with Mrs. Upton. “Zyah, please make sure that all of the gifts get loaded up in somebody’s car, then meet us at the hospital. Which hospital are we going to, Brix?”
“Emmanuel.”
“Meet us at Emmanuel, Zy.”
“Okay.” She leaned around her mother. “I love you, Rowdy. Don’t have my baby before I get there.”
“Okay,” Ryann agreed softly.
“Let’s go.” Mrs. Upton directed us toward my truck.
Somebody must have told my driver, Cedric, what was up, because he was out of the truck waiting to assist us when we got to him. “We’re going to the hospital, right?” he clarified.
“Yeah, Emmanuel, over on 95th street.”
“Got it.”
“You ain’t gotta rush, Cedric. Get my baby and my baby there safely, please.”
He made eye contact with me. “Got it.”
In the truck, Ryann admitted that her back had been hurting almost all day and she felt what she described as a “pulling” in her lower stomach from the moment she arrived at the shower.
I wanted to be pissed at her, but I was too nervous.
By the time Cedric eased away from the curb, she was having contractions.
Traffic was terrible, and for a minute there I was really concerned that we might not make it to the hospital.
“What did the doctor say?” Mrs. Upton asked as we remained at a stand-still, the twenty-seventh vehicle waiting for the light to turn green.
“Uh, she’s on duty. She said for Ryann to start heading to the hospital.”
“Okay.” Her head bobbed in a nod. “We’ll be there soon enough.”
Ryann inhaled on a contraction.
“That’s the opposite of what you should be doing, Ry Ry.
I know it hurts, and I know you’re scared,” Mrs. Upton said softly to her eldest daughter, “but you gotta breathe through those contractions. Tensing up only makes them worse. When the next one starts coming, tell me. Me and Brix will help you.”
Some men would’ve tried to play it off, or act all hard, but I was glad as hell that Mrs. Upton was in the truck with us.
She’d been through labor and delivery four times.
She understood the assignment. She was a calming force for both of us as she directed both Ryann and me on what to do and how to move. I owed her a phat ass gift card.
Once we got to the hospital, Cedric ran in and got a wheelchair. I arranged Ryann in it, then the three of us walked up to labor and delivery.
A Few Hours Later
“Awwww, what’s her name?” Zyah was the first one to hold her, and she gently stroked our daughter’s cheek.
“Brixtonia,” I joked.
Everybody in the room—Mr. and Mrs. Upton, Grandpa Tony, Genesis, Christian, and Beaux—all stared at me.
“He’s joking,” Ryann told them. “Her name is Brylee Rae Cole.”
“Not Upton-Cole, huh?” Grandpa Tony asked, shooting a knowing look toward Genesis. “I like it. I’m not with those hyphenated names.”
“None of my children’s names are hyphenated, sir,” Genesis said to our grandfather. “I’m the only one.”
“If I was your husband and you didn’t wanna take my name, I’d give you back.”
“I would never marry you, Grandpa. Even if you weren’t my granddaddy. Don’t nobody want no mean husband, like you,” she told him.
We all laughed.
“Give me my great-grand.” He waved Genesis off and turned to Zyah, who handed the baby right over.
The conversation in the room continued, but my attention landed on Ryann.
“Hey, baby.” I kissed her forehead. “You did so fucking good. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank God for my mom.”
“Facts!” I agreed. “I love your mom. She’s major as hell. The way she took charge but stayed calm... She was exactly what was needed at the exact time it was needed.”
“Speaking of mothers,” she said softly, “have you spoken to yours?”
“I haven’t, but you know Grandpa has. She’s his daughter and his love for her covers the multitude of her sins. He thinks she should know she has a new grandbaby, so he told her.”
“You think she’s gonna come see the baby?”
“I don’t know how she’d do that when she doesn’t have my address.”
She chuckled lightly. “My man is a grudge holder.”
I shrugged a little. “Enough about her.”
“You think they’re ever gonna give us our baby back?”
“Eventually.”
“Hey,” she said. We made eye contact. “I love you.” Tears pooled in her brown eyes. “You made my dream come true.”
I took her face in my hands and stared into her wet eyes. “I love you, too. You are my dream come true.”
The End