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14. Jacobia

A SHORT TIME LATER…

“Cobia, why would you eat that when it made you sick a few days ago. Baby, that makes no sense at all.” Joston fussed at me as I was on the floor, bent over the toilet, puking my guts out.

A few days ago, I had a craving for clam chowder. The crazy thing about that craving was that I didn’t like clam chowder. It was like, I woke up and my stomach said feed me clam chowder. I ordered some from a restaurant to come to my house. It tasted so amazing going down. Less than an hour later, I was on the bathroom floor, throwing up and in pain.

After I got myself together, I leaned against the wall. “Baby, I thought if I got it from a different restaurant that I would be alright. It’s hard to deny my cravings.” I shrugged my shoulders. “The baby wants what the baby wants. Maybe the third time is the charm.”

His eyelids expanded. “You can’t be serious right now. Jacobia, I promise you if I find out that you ate more chowder, I’m going to get in your ass. I’m not about to fucking play with you. Don’t blame my baby girl because your ass wants something you don’t need or like.”

I nodded. “I’m done.” He helped me up from the floor. I was so ready to have this baby. If Joston asked me for another baby any time soon, I was going to tell him to kiss my ass. This little girl had tried me in the ugliest of ways.

Joston waited for me to brush my teeth, then he walked me over to our bed and laid me down. After we made our relationship official, we agreed that he would move into my house in Christianson Circle. I broached the topic of us buying another home together somewhere. He knew how important family closeness was to me and shot that down. I appreciated that and loved him for thinking of me. He planned to add his house to his Airbnb portfolio. Our combined portfolios had fifteen properties.

“I’m about to go cook dinner. Take a nap before Chance and Lark get here,” he instructed. He didn’t give me an opportunity to say anything before he kissed my lips.

I wrapped my arm around his neck to deepen the kiss. He let me, until my hand went down to his dick. When he pulled away, I pouted. “Just a little bit.”

“Jacobia, you just finished throwing up. We can’t be sure if you’re done. You are not about to throw up on me.” He pecked my lips. “I love you though.”

I wanted to have a whole damn tantrum. Before one could set in, exhaustion set in first. From the first yawn, I knew I was a goner.

* * *

I wasn’t sure how long I was asleep when Joston woke me. His kisses lulled me out of my sleep. When my eyes fluttered open to see his perfect face, I smiled. “Are Chance and Lark here yet?”

“No, baby. Lark went into labor. They’re at the birthing center.” His smile was wide.

I tried to jump up, but the way my stomach was set up, it was a major fail. Joston tittered before he helped me out of the bed. I already had on leggings and a T-shirt. All I needed to do was slip on my slides.

Lark and I made the decision that we would have our babies at one of my auntie Delia’s birthing centers. I trusted no one more than I trusted her and her team. It took twenty minutes to get to the center. Lark and Chance were in the VIP suite. My heart smiled when I walked in. My cousins Tana and Xena were there. Both of them were doulas and midwives.

“Best friend, how you feeling?” I asked as soon as I got to the other side of the bed. I kissed her cheek.

Lark gave a faint smile. “I’m so ready to have this baby. Three centimeters to go.”

My eyes bulged. “I made it just in time. Where’s Mama Gloria?”

Mama Gloria had been here for a little over a month now. She was considering moving here because she wanted to be close to her grandson. There was so much support around my best friend. When she first moved here, she was so worried about being so far from her family. Now, my family had become hers. She may as well had been a Washington, Christianson, or a Smith.

“Mama is on her way. Her hot ass was on a date,” Lark responded, then rolled her eyes.

Like a perfectly staged scene, Mama Gloria walked into the suite. “Mama’s gotta have a life too, lil girl. Hey, son-in-love.”

Chance embraced her with a smile. “Hey, Mama. You’re here just in time. She’s almost ready if our boy doesn’t decide he wants to chill for a little while longer.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, my grandson is already temperamental.” She walked over to Lark and kissed her forehead right as a contraction hit. “Breathe, baby, breathe.”

Lark chose to go natural with her birth. I told her she was smoking fentanyl laced meth with a side of crack sprinkled heroin. I wanted all the drugs. “I feel like I have to push.”

“Let me check you,” Tana said before she came over to check her cervix. “Yep! Baby boy is ready to meet his parents.”

Joston cleared his throat. “That’s my cue to head on out to the lobby.” My baby walked over to me, then kissed my lips. He told Lark good luck, dapped Chance again, wishing him luck as well before he left the room.

Lark wanted Chance, her mother, and me in the room while she gave birth. For the next twenty minutes, I watched my best friend bring life into the world. It was a beautiful, yet mortifying thing to watch. When CJ (Chance Junior) came out, he was a big boy.

“My boy got some weight on him. Nine pounds and six ounces!” The pride in Chance’s voice and eyes was breathtaking.

CJ lay on Lark’s chest as she rubbed through his hair. His eyes were wide open. These new babies are different. After the baby was taken to be cleaned up, Chance brought Joston into the room to meet his godson. Everything was so damn perfect. I prayed my experience would be the same.

* * *

Joston is going to kill me. It wasn’t more than a week ago that I got sick from eating clam chowder. Here I was again, sick as hell. Joston went out to look at some properties that he considered purchasing. I told him that I didn’t want to go because I wanted to take a nap. That wasn’t the truth. I wanted clam chowder.

That was what I got for lying to my man. I got this chowder from a different restaurant than the first two that I had. Well, the third time was not the damn charm. I was scared to call Joston, so I took the safer route and called my mama. She was on her way over from the big house.

“Jacobia, where are you?” My mother was one of the loudest, quietest people that I knew. Lachelle Patrice Christianson didn’t say too much, but when she did, it was usually loud as hell. “There you are! What’s going on?”

I was ashamed to tell her because although she was safer than Joston, she would still fuss. “Mama, I ate some…” I couldn’t finish my sentence. I grabbed the trash can that sat next to the recliner that I sat in to throw up.

My mother rubbed my back as she told me to get it out. Clam chowder tasted like spoiled milk on the way up. “So, your hardheaded ass ate some more clam chowder, huh?

“Mama, it’s so good. I can’t help it,” I whined. “Can you help me clean up so I can take a shower before Joston gets back?”

She burst into laughter. “Lil girl, if your ass would stop doing what you’re not supposed to do, then you wouldn’t need anyone to clean or should I say cover up your bullshit. Come on.”

Mama helped me out of my seat. I went into the bathroom to start the shower, and she started to clean up the clam chowder. I stripped my clothes off. Before I could step foot into the shower, a vile taste rose in my mouth, prompting me to rush to the toilet. In the middle of releasing my stomach, the pain that hit my side almost crumpled me. “Ah! Oh, God!”

“Baby! What’s wrong?” my mother asked after she rushed into the bathroom.

I tried to say something, but another pain hit me. Next thing I knew, I was peeing on myself. “Mama, I peed on myself.”

When I glanced at her, she was on her phone. “Your ass ain’t peed nothing. Your water just broke.” The next thing I heard was her telling Joston that I was in labor.

My mama helped me get cleaned up and put on clothes. These contractions were not playing with my ass. “Mama, don’t tell him that I had clam chowder.”

“Lil girl! I know you not talking about no damn clam chowder. Bring your ass on,” Mama fussed. She helped me downstairs.

The door burst open as soon as we got downstairs. Joston rushed over to me. “Baby, baby! You okay?

Tears ran down my cheeks. “It hurts so bad. Ah!” Another contraction hit.

Seconds later, Joston scooped me up in his arms bridal style and rushed me into his SUV. I heard my mother on the phone calling all of the necessary people. All speeding laws were broken to get me to the birthing center. How Joston put me in the car was the same way that he took me out. By the time I was undressed again and in the bed, Tana, Xena, and another nurse, who I didn’t care to learn her name, buzzed around the room.

“Alright, cuz, let me check you,” Tana said after she gloved her hands. I jumped at the feeling of her fingers. “Do you feel like you have to push, Jacobia?”

I shook my head. “No, but I feel like I have to go to the bathroom.” Another contraction hit me. Joston kissed over my face while my mother had a cool washcloth on my forehead.

“Yeah, you’re ready. You’re ten centimeters, so we’re going to get ready to push,” Tana said.

No, that can’t be right. “Wait, Lark is not here?—”

“I’m here! I’m here!” She rushed into the room. When I asked where CJ was, she told me that Mama Gloria had him.

All the roles were reversed. It was Chance who dapped Joston this time and left to sit in the lobby. Now it was my turn to give natural birth, which was against my birthing plan. I blame that fucking clam chowder. My mother and Lark were on one side of my bed, and Joston was on the other. Tana was between my legs with Xena beside her, ready to assist.

Unlike my best friend, our baby girl wanted out almost immediately. Five pushes later, my daughter lay on my chest with loud cries. Joston leaned down, put his hand on her back, then spoke to our daughter. “Ssh, baby girl. Daddy is here, lil Lachelle Lark Broughton.”

There were two gasps heard in the room. My eyes shifted from my mama to my best friend. Joston and I went through so many name ideas, but Lachelle Lark felt right.

Tana and Xena wore smiles as they moved around the room. Our daughter weighed six pounds, two ounces. Her little ass felt like she was a whole ten pounds, but I digressed. After our baby girl was cleaned up, she was put on my breast to eat. I couldn’t stop looking at her. She had her father’s eyes but my lighter skin complexion, which wasn’t much lighter than Joston’s. With a head full of hair, she was perfect.

I’d just finished feeding my daughter. She latched on with no problems, thank God. Joston held her now to his bare chest while she slept. He wasn’t too far from falling asleep himself in his reclined position.

“Where is my baby girl?” My daddy’s voice boomed through the hallway. When my mama called him to tell him that I was going to rest tonight and everyone could come see me tomorrow, he had a whole fit. He firmly said that he would never fit in with everyone.

His feet stopped in the threshold of the door. His eyes darted around the room to scope the scene. I thought that he would go over to his granddaughter, but he didn’t. He came to me, cuffed my face, then looked at me with so much love. He kissed my forehead, then said, “My baby girl is a mama. I’m so proud of you, lil Cobia.”

Something about his words tiptoed on all of my emotions. My tears flowed from my eyes freely as my father continued to speak life into me. From the whimpering heard on the side of me, I knew that my mom and Lark were crying more than likely. The love of a father was nothing short of amazing. My daddy didn’t play about me. He made it known to everyone that I would always be his little girl, no matter how old I was. “I love you, Daddy.”

For the rest of the night, my father focused on me. He told Joston to focus on our baby girl while my daddy focused on me. He carried me to the bathroom, where my mama and Lark helped me get into a bath. Once I was done with my bath and dressed, my father came to carry me back to my bed. When I was a little girl, my daddy used to tell me the best bedtime stories. “Daddy, can you tell me a bedtime story, please?”

From his seat beside me, he rubbed his hand through my twist out. “Of course I can, baby girl.” He shifted his body to face me. “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Jacobia Justina…”

I settled in for what I knew would be the best story that he ever told. I peeked around the room to see that everyone was tuned into story time. Joston was still lying back in the recliner, but I still saw the smile that rested on his face. Peace settled over me as I listened to my daddy’s voice tell me a story that was all about me. Before I knew it, I was out like a light.

* * *

A FEW WEEKS LATER…

There were so many rewards when it came to being a mother. There were also a lot of things that people didn’t really tell you. If they did, it was glossed over like it was no big deal. I wished someone would have told me more about breast engorgement. The pain I felt last week was excruciating. Joston had to massage my breasts to help me hand express some milk. I thank God he was attentive when the lactation consultant went over different feeding positions and other things around breastfeeding.

Our baby girl was greedy as hell too. It took everything in me to stop my mama or one of my aunties from putting cereal in her night bottles. The schedule Joston and I had was that I breastfed during the day, and he bottle fed at night so that I could rest. One of my cousins, Tana’s friend, had a cleaning service. Youme gifted Lark and me two free deep cleanings, and if we needed weekly cleanings, it included laundry at 60 percent off for a year. Chance and Joston made sure we subscribed to that service. They tried to take as much as they could off our plates.

I sat on the couch in my living room. I had just finished feeding my baby girl. We all decided to call her Chelly since everyone naturally called my mama Chelle. Chelly slept comfortably in her bassinet, which wasn’t too far from me.

“Alright, ready for movie night?” Joston asked when he walked into the living room. He walked over to the bassinet, then stared down into it. A smile took over his face as he gazed at our daughter. I loved the way he loved her.

Chelly was a good baby who didn’t fuss unless she was hungry, wet, or had gas. She slept three to four hours at a time. In one of those sleep times, Joston and I always watched a movie, well as much of a movie as we could before we fell asleep ourselves. “I’m ready. What are we watching tonight?”

He plopped down next to me, wrapped his arm around me, then pulled me into his side. His lips pressed against my temple. “Let’s watch The Goonies .”

That made me perk up because it was my favorite movie, and he knew it. “Oh, if we’re going to watch my favorite movie, then I need to get my favorite snack. Do you want anything?”

He chuckled when I jumped up from the couch. “Just bring me a beer, baby. I’ll queue up the movie.”

I walked into my massive snack pantry to get my favorite snack in the world. When I spotted my homemade trail mix, I got excited. My eyes tightened, and my face scrunched a bit. What the hell is that? I walked over to the airlocked, covered container to see what sat on top of it. With a tilted head, I picked up the small box, looked at it, then opened it. My mouth dropped at the contents.

“Um, Joston!” I abandoned my mission for my favorite snack to return to the living room. My body froze when he came into view. He was on one knee. This is really happening. “Wh-what are you doing?”

This was the sexiest position that I’d ever seen him in. “Remember the night we got lifted and talked about everything under and above the sun? I asked you what your dream marriage proposal was. Do you remember what you said?”

Tears filled my eyes as I thought about that night. There was nothing like West Coast weed and edibles. It would have you higher than a giraffe’s pussy in heaven. That night, Joston made his oath that he would show me that he could be a faithful man. As much as I screamed that I wasn’t ready for a relationship, I knew that night that I wanted him to be my end all. From his oath came my comfortability. I opened my heart to him that night.

“I told you that I wanted my proposal to be intimate. I wanted it to be just me and my man, watching a movie.” When he asked me what movie I wanted to be on, I giggled. “I wanted it to be my favorite movie, The Goonies .” My eyes traveled to the large television that hung on the wall. The Goonies. I took another look at the perfect princess-cut diamond engagement ring inside of the ring box.

“Come here, baby.” He reached out for my hand. Once it was inside of his, he kissed the back of it. “Jacobia Justina, I think I’ve loved you since the first night you walked into my club with that bitch boy. I knew that night that I wanted you to be my forever. It took us years and a baby, but we’re finally here. Will you let me change your last name, Jacobia?”