Chapter 22
“Tia…open the door.”
Meadow tapped her knuckles against the wood again, gentler this time.
The hallway of Tia’s house was quiet, as she felt the polished floor cool under her feet.
Morning sunlight filtered through the window at the end of the hall, glinting on the expensive picture frames and the faint smell of eucalyptus candles drifting from the bathroom.
The lock clicked, and the door cracked open just enough for Tia’s eyes to peek out, glossy and nervous. “Meadow,” she whispered. “I’m scared.”
Meadow slipped inside and shut the door behind them. “You actin’ like you never peed on a stick before.”
Tia paced barefoot across the tile, hands shaking just a little. “Not since I been married. This feel different.”
“Girl, sit down before you fall.” Meadow caught her arm and guided her to the little bench by the window. “Where’s the test?”
Tia pointed to the counter.
White plastic…face down.
Meadow stared at it, then back at her friend. “You want me to flip it over?”
Tia had been putting off taking a pregnancy test as long as she could. She wanted to enjoy her girl without sadness just in case she wasn’t pregnant. Now, with her leaving in the morning, she knew she needed to get it over with.
Tia tore at a hangnail nervously. “I don’t know. Yes…Maybe…No.”
“Tia.”
She covered her face. “Okay…yes. Flip it over…damn!”
Meadow didn’t rush. That wasn’t how moments like this needed to move. She walked to the counter slowly, picking up the test with two fingers like it was fragile. “Tia…look at me.”
Tia lifted her head.
Meadow flipped it.
She didn’t speak immediately. Stillness settled across the bathroom. Even the air felt softer.
Tia’s chest dropped. “It’s…negative?”
Meadow nodded.
No hesitation...no shock…just truth.
Tia covered her mouth with both hands as tears rushed forward faster than she could blink them back.
“It’s okay,” Meadow whispered, reaching her quickly.
Tia shook her head hard. “No, it’s not. I thought…I really thought I was. I let myself believe it and I shouldn’t have.”
Meadow pulled her in close, letting Tia fold into her chest. Tia cried quietly at first, then harder, her shoulders shaking. Meadow held her tighter, one hand on the back of her head, the other on her back.
“You’re allowed to want things,” Meadow told her. “You’re allowed to hope for things. That doesn’t make you foolish.”
Tia sobbed harder. “Don’t tell Blain. Please don’t tell him. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew. I didn’t want him stressing or rearranging his whole life on a maybe. I just… wanted to know first.”
“You did the right thing,” Meadow assured her. “And when you’re ready, y’all will try again.”
Tia wiped her face but the tears didn’t stop. “It’s just…the timing felt right.”
“I know, babe.”
“It felt like God was nudging me.”
“Maybe He is,” Meadow said, voice calm. “Maybe He’s preparing you…Maybe He’s getting something ready behind the scenes. You don’t know yet.”
Tia’s face crumpled again.
“Sit,” Meadow urged, guiding her down to the floor with her. The rug was soft, the cool tile sending chill bumps over their bodies. Meadow took her hands and closed her eyes. “Bow your head.”
Tia listened.
Meadow squeezed her fingers. “God…I’m asking you to touch my girl, cover her body, balance her hormones, set her heart at ease. Remind her she is not broken…remind her she is not behind…remind her she is not forgotten.
Bless her timing, bless her womb, bless her marriage, and bless her rest today and every day. Amen.”
Tia’s forehead hit Meadow’s shoulder as she cried again, this time quieter…a wounded kind of quiet.
Meadow kissed the top of her head. “You’re a Black queen…whole, perfect, and capable. This ain’t the end of anything.”
Tia sniffed. “Thank you.”
Meadow rubbed her back slowly. “Always.”
They just sat there for a while, allowing Tia to work through her feelings before she had to put on a happy face so she didn’t alert Blain. He knew her inside and out, so he’d pick up on any crack when it came to her.
Meadow watched Tia quietly, guilt crawling up her spine.
It didn’t seem fair. She’d been out here laughing, lusting, letting Zaire touch parts of her heart she didn’t even know were open…
letting him spill all that love and possibility into her body…
while her best friend wanted a baby so badly it lived in her eyes every time she talked about the future, and still didn’t have one.
Meadow wanted children too. She dreamed about them. But wanting wasn’t the same as aching.
Not like Tia…Tia deserved a baby in her arms before anybody.
The thought made Meadow’s stomach twist…made her body tense…made her mind race toward the nearest pharmacy and that little pink box that gave you three days she suddenly wasn’t sure she should ignore.
She swallowed hard, staring straight ahead.
It was the first time joy felt complicated.
The first time her blessings tangled up with someone else’s pain, and she didn’t know what to do with that.
When Meadow and Tia made it to the kitchen, Zaire stood at the island slicing fruit while Blain leaned against the fridge drinking coffee. The morning sun hit the windows, lighting up the black granite counters and the clean lines of the cabinets.
Zaire wore a black tee, his chain peeking through, forearms out, his watch catching the light every time he turned his wrist.
Meadow’s heart did a stupid little flip that she pretended not to feel.
Blain noticed the girls first. “Good morning.”
Zaire looked up next. His eyes softened before the rest of his face did. “Morning.”
Meadow smiled but didn’t speak. She walked over to him slowly, the pace her body chose without her permission. Zaire shifted just enough to open space for her, and she fit herself under his arm effortlessly.
He kissed the side of her forehead…quick, soft, nothing flashy.
Blain smirked into his mug.
Tia pinched her lips to hide a grin.
Brent chose that moment to walk in.
He froze for half a second when he saw how close they were, then covered it with a smirk. “Well damn. Y’all comfortable in here.”
Zaire didn’t look at him. He kept slicing his fruit. “Sup, cuh.”
“That’s all I get?” Brent shot back, leaning against the counter.
Zaire shrugged. “What you want? A speech?”
Blain snorted into his coffee. “Here we go.”
Brent folded his arms. “You flew all the way out here for her?”
Zaire placed a strawberry into the bowl. “You asking questions you already know the answer to.”
“Well,” Brent lifted a shoulder, “some of us like things clarified.”
Zaire finally glanced his way…quick, uninterested, dismissive. “Then clarify this…she not for you.”
Meadow’s eyes widened. “Zai—”
Zaire shook his head. “Nah, I’m not bein’ rude. I’m bein’ clear.”
Brent clenched his jaw. “Say less.”
“Already did.”
Blain put his mug down. “Aight, y’all done. Ain’t nobody fighting in my kitchen.”
Meadow nudged Zaire’s waist. “Relax.”
He met her eyes. Something softened immediately. “I’m chill, cuh.”
And he was. The energy changed instantly when her hand slid over his stomach. That was enough to ground him.
Tia watched them quietly, her chest warming. “So what’s the plan for today?”
Zaire wiped his hands on a towel. “We go out. Shop a little cause my baby don’t know how to spend her man’s money. Probably grab some food, chill, and go to a concert later.”
“What concert?” Tia perked up.
“A listening party,” Zaire explained. “Jacory’s dropping new music.”
Tia’s jaw dropped. “Little Jay Jay?!”
Blain grinned. “Yup.”
Meadow’s eyes widened. “We’re going to that?!”
Her and Tia grew up watching little Jay Jay on KidVerse. They loved her even more when she stepped into her true purpose and took the music industry by storm.
Zaire nodded, his tongue coating his plush lips. “You wanted a good time, right?”
Her smile spread slowly. “I really did.”
Tia clapped. “Oh we getting cute today.”
Meadow laughed softly. “Obviously.”
Zaire looked at her again, eyes dipping down her outfit. “You already cute…fine shit, cuh.” He licked his lips.
Meadow rolled her eyes and bumped his shoulder. “Boy…”
Blain glanced at Meadow, then at Brent still standing in the corner. “We should get ready. Y’all go shower. Me and Zaire gon’ clean up this kitchen.”
“Yea,” Brent scratched the back of his head. “I got an early flight…leaving today instead of tomorrow.”
Tia felt bad but already knew Blain had to have a real conversation with his big brother last night, once he knew Zaire would be coming to claim what was already his. Brent didn’t want to stop his pursuit of Meadow but knew when to bow out.
“Safe travels,” Zaire tossed out.
“Always,” Blain said.
Meadow didn’t miss that little protective edge in Blain’s voice, neither did Zaire.
Zaire leaned his hip against the counter, watching Meadow while he ate his fruit, eyes dragging along her face like he wanted to memorize every mood she was in.
Meadow took a breath and tapped his arm. “Com’ere. I got you something.”
His brow lifted. “For what?”
“Just c’mon.”
He followed her up the steps, down the hallway, and to the guest room. She reached into her shopping bag and pulled out the socks nervously.
Zaire stared at them for a second, his face unreadable.
Meadow’s stomach tightened. “You don’t gotta like it. I just saw it and thought…”
He moved before she finished, taking it from her hands gently. He rubbed his thumb along the custom stitching.
“This hella fire.”
Meadow smiled. “You’re hella fire.”
He looked down at her. “You ain’t have to get me nothing.”
“I wanted to.”
He opened it, checking the inside, the quality, the stitching. “This the third best thing anyone has ever given me.”
She screwed her face up. “What are the first two?”
“My Mama gave me life…and my Unc gave me an old golf club when I was about eight.”