Sterling
“WHAT CAN WE find in the store today, hmm?”
I looked down at Ami’s sweet face and smiled even bigger at the gummy grin that was waiting for me.
She was dressed in the cutest yellow onesie with a matching bow holding back her thick curls.
Aldrich had been gone for almost five days and I was tired of sitting in the house.
It was the first solo trip that I was taking with her but at almost four months old I was less worried about taking her out.
“You got me talking to myself thinking you’re going to actually talk back. But come on, we need to find something for your daddy.” I kissed the top of her head
I was thankful for the car Aldrich insisted on buying because without it I would’ve been stuck in the house. I wouldn’t tell him that but I was going to be silently appreciative and buy him something as a way of saying thank you.
We were in the upscale mall in the city and I was thankful that no one really knew who I was.
The walk from the parking lot to the store I wanted to go into wasn’t far so I hadn’t bothered to valet it.
I wished that I had Aphrodite with me but I knew she’d only draw a crowd and I didn’t want to put her through that.
Ami and I were hunting for a gift that meant something to Aldrich and I wasn’t sure what I was looking for.
I had Ami strapped to my chest but was still pushing her stroller because I knew that even if I didn’t find something for Aldrich I was going to find something for us.
Weather here in Texas was very different from back home and since I’d only packed up so much, the amount I would normally bring for an assignment, I was constantly ordering items. It seemed that I was going to be needed for more events and the variety in my wardrobe had to elevate to look like I belonged in the spaces I was going to be in.
I wasn’t blind to the fact that being a part of Aldrich’s life, even if it was just in the capacity of his nanny, would put me in the spotlight.
I was going to face the same, if not worse, scrutiny for everything I did so I at least wanted to make sure that I didn’t give them something to talk about when it came to my looking the part.
I wasn’t sure if the part was girlfriend or nanny but I was gonna stunt on whoever had something to say about either position.
The bougie baby store that Carine and Rachelle had taken me to was up ahead and I was definitely going to drop a bunch of money. I knew that Aldrich would be mad that I hadn’t used the house account card that he gave me, but I wasn’t about to spend his money when I didn’t have to.
“I think you need a few pairs of shoes to go with your game day ‘fits, lil Ami. Can’t have you wearing the same things week after week and your daddy hasn’t gotten you anything but sneakers. He must not know you’re a princess, huh?”
She gurgled and cooed at me and I could only laugh as she kicked her legs like she was excited about shoe shopping. I had a few ideas of what I wanted her outfits to look like and was going to get basic shoes I could embellish for whatever outfit she wore. Same baby girl, same.
We maneuvered through the shoppers, which was lighter than I expected even for the middle of the week.
“Stop!”
The sound came from behind us and the tone was frantic so I assumed they had a shoplifter in the mall.
Since I wasn’t the type of person who worried about somebody stealing, because let’s face it corporations stole from people everyday, I went on about my business unbothered.
My cards were in the key cles attached to my keys since I hadn’t bothered with a handbag.
I didn’t want to worry behind it while I was solo with the baby so besides her stroller everything of value was attached to me.
It wasn’t until I heard the voice getting continually louder that I realized they were yelling at me.
I turned around confused when I saw the crazy lady from the hospital running toward me.
“Oh, hell.”
I picked up my phone from the cupholder of the stroller and started to dial Aldrich’s number just as she got in my face.
When her hands reached for Ami who was still strapped to the front of my chest, my protective instincts went on high.
My phone fell as I grabbed the woman’s hands and pushed them away from me.
“Are you crazy?”
She was wearing loose fitted clothing and sandals while I was in sneakers, leggings and a t-shirt. While I was sure that I could take her, I wasn’t going to let Ami be in the middle of a fight. Especially since being crazy gave people that superhuman crackhead strength.
“That is my grandbaby! You don’t have the right to keep her away from us!
You’re not even family so give me my granddaughter!
” She had been pointing her finger at me screaming as she spoke.
I took a step back just as she lunged at me again.
I used my free hand to reach for my keys because I was definitely about to stab this lady in the eye if she touched me again.
And God help her if she thought she was going to touch my baby.
“Somebody get this crazy lady away from me!” I didn’t mind yelling and drawing attention to myself if it meant protecting Ami.
People stopped and watched and I was sure that someone was going to pull out their phone and start recording.
My face wasn’t one that would draw attention so if it made it online, I prayed it would go through the media cycle quickly.
Or that someone could get it taken down.
The last thing that Aldrich needed was to have this type of interaction aired all over the news and social media.
With the baby strapped to my chest, I wasn’t about to risk her getting caught up in the fray, but her grandmother didn’t have any qualms about attacking me even if it meant that Ami would get hurt.
“Charlie, come to Grandma.” She started to coo at Ami again and reach toward my chest, a fucking violation and sexual assault if we’re being real, and I got fed up.
“Lady, get away from us!” I swung the stroller, hitting her hard enough for her to fall to the ground. She started screaming like I was murdering her and people started coming out of the stores and looking through the windows to see what was going on.
Finally, security rushed over after I had already handled this situation and part of me was pissed they’d taken so damn long.
Ami whimpered and I was bouncing her gently to keep her from crying.
My stress levels were too high for me to act as though I could fake like everything was okay, so soothing her was all I had.
I kept my eyes on everyone that was around to ensure they weren’t getting too close because I knew she had a husband and I didn’t want him to surprise me.
“Ma’am what is going on?” They were helping the crazy bitch up off the ground speaking to her as though she were the injured party.
“She has kidnapped my grandbaby!” She cut on the waterworks and my eye started twitching with how they were looking between the two of us like they weren’t sure who to believe.
I had a whole child strapped to my chest with all the accouterments of being her caregiver yet they want to take this lady’s word over mine.
This is Texas. And despite her having her head covered she had the complexion that made their protection a reflex.
“Miss, whose baby is this?” The older of the two officers walked closer to me and I protectively placed my hand on Ami’s back. My instinct was to walk away but I knew that would only escalate this situation.
“This is my charge, I am her nanny. If you will allow me to show you my employment contract in my email you will see that I have every reason to have this baby and this woman has been barred from having any contact with her. Not only that, but she attacked me while I was holding the baby. She has tried three times to snatch this baby off of my chest making physical contact with my breasts each time. At the least, that’s assault.
Isn’t there some type of charge that can be pressed against her? ”
He looked uncomfortable like the idea of bringing this woman up on charges for sexual assault just for touching my chest. “Ma’am this sounds more like a civil matter.”
“Civil? When you can check any camera in this place and see that she came up to me and tried to snatch my baby from my chest? When did it become civil to put your hands on another person?” I was pissed.
Not like I expected them to automatically believe me.
But their casual dismissal of my words infuriated me.
“I thought you said she was your charge.” His face changed for indifference to suspicion and now I was getting angry.
I had to clench my teeth to prevent myself from going off the way I wanted to.
Talking shit would again only put Ami in danger and if I got in trouble I didn’t know where they would take her or if they would release her to this woman’s custody.
My ego wasn’t so big that I couldn’t shut the fuck up so we could walk away from this.
“I am her nanny and I have been taking care of her since she first came home from the hospital. I see you are happy to ignore all that I said about her not being allowed contact with this child. Do you need proof of what I’m saying or will my word suffice for now?
” Okay, that last bit was arrogant but fuck them.
He looked at me and then back at Ami’s grandmother like he was trying to decide who he could bully the easiest. “No, I think it’s best if you all just leave the area. There’s no reason for you to stay after causing a disturbance.”
I slow-blinked because this backwater asshole was a rent a cop who wasn’t even trying to do the just thing, just the thing to make his day easier.
I had too many lawyers in the family and another on retainer who would own every dime he earned for the next twenty years if he didn’t do his job properly.