Chapter 16 #2
I could see what looked like the beginning of her spiraling, so I took both of her hands in mine. “Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves until we find out for sure.” I studied her. “Do you feel like you felt before? Do you feel pregnant?”
“I didn’t. But now? I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Do you think you can make it through the rest of the soft opening? Do you think you’ll get sick again?”
She shook her head. “I won’t eat anything else. And if I smell something, I’ll try to play it off.”
“When this is over, we’ll run to Red Leaf to get a pregnancy test.”
“We gotta go to Red Leaf to get a pregnancy test?”
“You want your mother . . . or my mother to know before you even finish peeing on the stick?”
“No. Okay. Let’s try to get through the rest of this soft opening.”
Once the last guests left the bed and breakfast and all of the vendors had been paid, we said our goodbyes to Pearlie and Theo. Bailey and I finally made the run to the big box store in Red Leaf and pick up what we needed.
Back at my house, Bailey spread all three urine soaked pregnancy tests out on the countertop in the bathroom connected to my bedroom.
“Say, let’s make sure to wipe that countertop down with bleach spray once we get our answer,” I said, pulling her down into my lap.
She’d been pacing back and forth in front of the foot of the bed while I sat there.
“Listen, if these tests say you’re pregnant, I’m telling you right now that I’mma be happy.
I’mma be nervous, and I’m probably gonna be focused on processing what it means to prepare for fatherhood, but I will be happy.
So even if I’m not jumping up and down, even if I seem distracted, I need you to know that I’m happy. ”
She snuggled against me. “Thank you for knowing I needed to hear that, Bright. And thank you for saying it.”
“I mean it.” I moved her hair out of the way and attached my mouth to the skin on her neck while simultaneously palming each of her breasts. “You’re my heart, lil mama. I never plan on letting you go, but if I stuck a baby in you? Oh, you for sure never getting away from me.”
She giggled and relaxed into me even more.
I let my hands travel from her breasts under the skirt she wore and into the waistband of her panties.
When my fingers found her center, she was already wet.
I pushed two fingers into her and they quickly disappeared.
“Greedy ass. You always want some dick.”
Her legs spread wider. “You always wanna give it to me.”
“I love you. What’s your excuse?” The words came out unbidden and for a milli-second the both of us froze. “Bae—”
“Are you just saying that because I might be pregnant?”
“Nah, I said it because it’s true.”
“Okay.” She sighed before busying herself with extracting my hands from her panties. “Okay. Because I don’t want anybody feeling like loving me is some kind of obligation or burden.”
I stood from the bed and pulled her into my arms. “Nothing about you has ever been a burden or an obligation to me, even when I had to get your mama to force you to let me into your space. I’m honored as fuck to even be floating around in your atmosphere, lil mama.
The fact that you let me love you and love up on you is a privilege. ”
She eyed me suspiciously for a few seconds before finally standing on tiptoe and placing a soft kiss on my lips. “Being the center of your attention for these past six months has been a gift.” She headed toward the bathroom.
“The way you take this dick is a gift,” I mumbled.
“I heard that!” She gasped loudly and I already knew what it was.
I strolled slowly into the bathroom. I expected to see three positive pregnancy tests.
Which I saw. What I did not expect to see was my girl crumpled into a heap on the floor, quietly crying.
I got down on the floor next to her. I pulled her into my arms and cradled her.
It seemed like she was trying to talk, but the sobs kept overtaking her.
“I know.” I whispered my assurance into her hair. “I know.”
And I did know. That last time she had a positive pregnancy test, the outcome was all bad. She lost the baby. Her husband abandoned her. He announced a second pregnancy and requested a divorce.
“I want this baby,” I told her. “I want this baby. I want this baby.” I repeated the message until she stopped sobbing.
“I’m scared that I’m gonna end up feeling all alone.” She whispered the words.
“I want this baby. And I want this baby’s mother.”
She sniffled a little. “Would it be okay if we kept this news between us? I know how my mother is. With me here in Jackson Falls where she can get to me, she’s gonna smother me. I need some time to process.”
“Yeah. Take all the time you need.”
End of October
Bailey and I were both born in October. I was born on the 19th of the month while she was born on the 29th. I suggested that we collaborate and do something together for our birthdays. That something turned out to be a big family dinner with a Roaring 20s theme.
“You ready to reclaim your birthday?” I asked her as the two of us stood outside the lodge’s main ballroom.
It had been transformed by the lodge’s resident event planner into several intimate spaces—an intimate 1920-esque dining vignette had been set up, as well as a space that was perfect for lounging by the room’s fireplace.
During one of our conversations, Bailey mentioned to me that birthdays weren’t a thing to her.
She enjoyed them as a child since Alisha always went out of her way to make sure each of her girls enjoyed themselves.
But when she was with her clown ass ex-husband, that went out the window.
He pushed the idea that celebrating birthdays on a grand scale was immature and for children.
He went out of his way every year to downplay her birthday until she finally gave up trying to celebrate it.
The new therapist she was seeing suggested that she reclaim the day by making it a big deal. The doctor wanted Bailey to create new memories and form new traditions. So here we were, outside the ballroom ready to start a new tradition.
“You look so handsome.” She adjusted the lapel on my pinstriped waistcoat.
I clutched the long strand of pearls that hung from her neck over her black flapper-style dress. I used them to pull her face to mine.
“Don’t break it.”
“Don’t deny me my kiss.”
She kissed my lips. When we separated, her hand subconsciously drifted to her midsection.
“You nervous about telling them?” We’d decided that this was the day we’d tell them about the baby.
“Yes,” she said on a sigh. “But at thirteen weeks with a clean bill of health, I’m hopeful that everything will be okay.”
“Me too, lil mama. Let’s go in.”
The roaring 1920s theme was evident throughout the space.
Everything was black, white, and gold. Candles and string lights gave the space a feeling of intimacy.
There were no flowers, only feathers and pearls.
Feathers in tall vases draped with pearls, feathers in short vases, and feathers in vessels as centerpieces on the long dining table.
There was a champagne fountain draped in pearls, and pearls adorned the table as decor.
Bailey’s sisters rushed up to us as soon as we entered the room. They exchanged hugs and kisses.
“Happy thirty-fourth birthday, Bailey Boo!” Collins practically shouted.
Church laughed while Perkins waved Collins off.
Perkins gestured toward the drink in Collins’s hand. “This is her first time drinking since she had Blossom. She’s already drunk.”
Bailey smiled at her sister. “Good for you, Collie. A little pump and dump never hurt nobody.”
Collins’s eyes widened. “Right? I pumped enough to make sure my baby could eat for the next few days. I just needed to feel like myself for one night.”
Bailey hugged her. “No judgment zone.”
“Thank you. Happy birthday, Bright.”
I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks.”
Alisha danced over holding Blossom. “Happy birthday, Bailey Boo.”
They hugged. “Thanks, Mom.” She gestured toward Blossom. “You babysitting tonight?”
“Yeah.” Alisha smiled down at Blossom. “We’re giving the new parents a night to themselves. Happy birthday, Bright.” She gave me a one-armed hug.
“Thank you.”
The night went on with going around the room greeting our family while a deejay played R&B in the background. After about forty minutes of mingling, we all took seats at the table for dinner.
The menu was curated by Brewer. Once he found out the theme of the party, he was intrigued and decided to be in charge of creating a menu that was a hybrid of popular dishes from the 20s, along with some of me and Bailey’s favorite dishes.
After dinner we moved from the dining set-up to the lounge area, so that our family could present us with our birthday presents. Most of the gifts were typical of what one would expect for their birthday, but there were several standout gifts.
My four brothers had gotten together and purchased a large, dilapidated property with views of the river for me. Based on the pictures, it was a rehabber’s dream. I knew I could make something showstopping out of it. It could be my own vacation villa by the time I was done.
I dapped them up and gave each of them hugs. I was touched by the gift and excited to start construction on it.
Alisha stood. As she did so, I sent a quick text to the lodge’s event planner.
“Bailey,” Alisha began, “I know this year has been really difficult for you. For a while there it seemed like the deck was stacked against you. I’m so proud of and inspired by the way you rode out the storm with fortitude, grace, and quiet courage.
“As your mother, I know your ins and outs. I know that there were times you felt like you didn’t know if you were coming or going.
I don’t expect you to be some strong, ever-persevering, mythical black woman.
You have just as much right as anybody else to break down and throw in the towel.
But the fact that you kept pushing, kept believing, and kept getting up every day—kept being the Bailey Boo that we all root for and love, just makes me feel like I did something right.
I made a lot of mistakes with you girls, but you four continue to surprise me with how great you turned out in spite of me.
” She wiped away tears as they trickled down her face.
“Bayliss and I have watched you turn the bed and breakfast into something phenomenal.
We could not stop gawking at all the finishes and your selections when we were there for the soft opening.
After a bit of consideration and speaking with Bayliss, I decided that it was impulsive of me to purchase it.
After working for over thirty years, the last thing I want to do is work somewhere else.
“But if it’s something that you’re interested in, we would like to gift it to you as a birthday present.
The deed has already been changed over to your name.
It’s yours free and clear to do with it whatever you wish.
” Alisha concluded her speech by handing Bailey a document that I presumed was the deed to the property.
Bailey broke into sobs. Almost everybody at the table got up to hug and comfort her at some point, because she was so touched by the gesture.
“Mom. Bayliss. I don’t even know what to say.
” She finally spoke after she pulled herself together.
“This is the most extravagant gift that anybody’s ever given me.
A bed and breakfast of my own. Wow.” She shook her head.
“I want to say more, but I promise I don’t have the words.
Just thank you. Thank you. We’ll talk about it later, but right now I’m overwhelmed. ”
She, Alisha, and Bayliss hugged.
“Whew,” Bailey said, reclaiming her seat. “This is a lot.”
“It’s not over,” I warned her.
Her eyes widened. “Bright, please, I can’t take any more big surprises.”
“You’ll like this one,” I told her with a grin.
At that moment, two of the lodge’s maintenance workers carted in a tree.
The tree was a sapling, but since it was a tree, it was still a large object to bring into a ballroom.
I didn’t care about that, though. “Bailey,” I said once everyone’s attention was on the tree.
“I bought this tree for you to plant in my front yard in the memory of Hart Kingsley. It goes without saying that your sleeping angel didn’t share my DNA.
But because I’m in love with his mother, he lives in my heart.
Even though he was only present for a short while, his presence changed the dynamic and the trajectory of both Bailey’s life and mine.
The mark he left is indelible as he brought the two of us together.
And without him, we wouldn’t be welcoming his sibling in twenty-seven weeks—give or take. ”
That announcement caused the entire room to erupt.