19. Micaiah
AUGUST – TWO WEEKS LATER
“Nobody said this road would be easy, but when you’ve got a G like me in your corner, you can skywalk over this shit.” –Love You Hard, MJ Stone
I held Myraj’s hand as we walked out of the doctor’s office and up front to the checkout desk. She was extremely quiet, and I could tell that she was fighting back the tears.
“Hello. Are you ready to check out?” the nurse asked as we stepped up to the window.
“Yes.”
“First and last name, please.”
“Myraj Nicholson.”
We waited patiently as the nurse typed a few keys and squinted at the screen. She looked up and stated, “She wants to see you again next week.”
“I know.”
“She also has it in here that you will have an in-home monitoring device to monitor you between your appointments.”
“I know.”
I hated that her voice had become a monotone, and she was barely engaging.
“Okay, as soon as I get your appointment scheduled, take this card across the hall to pick up your device, and they will show you how to set it up,” the nurse advised.
Myraj nodded briefly, and I stepped up beside her and took her hand in mine. We finished up the appointment scheduling before we headed across the office to pick up the device.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
I reached over the console and grabbed Myraj’s hand after we finally returned to the car twenty minutes later.
She sighed and turned her gaze out of the window.
I knew she was disappointed, but there was no way around what her doctor said.
She was about to enter her third trimester.
Dr. Rose had placed her on mandatory bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy to avoid preterm labor.
She had started having contractions a few days ago, and her blood pressure was high.
“How am I supposed to scale back my workload? I own a freaking company, Micaiah.”
“Dr. Rose said that she’s convinced that’s where your high blood pressure is coming from.”
“It doesn’t!”
“Hey, beautiful, I need you to breathe. Getting upset about it is gonna raise your blood pressure higher. You’ve been working longer hours since you got the contract with the airline, and then you immediately followed up with a new negotiation with Hartford Hotels.
You’re taking on major projects, Myraj.”
“I have to do that for my company. The doors are open for us to—”
“You have to do this for our daughter. If you decided you didn’t want to work another day in your life, you wouldn’t have to.
I would have your back and take care of you and my child and set up accounts for you both, but I know that you worked hard to build your business, so I don’t expect you to walk away from it.
I do expect you to do what’s necessary for your health and our daughter’s.
Now what are you choosing? Our daughter or your company? ”
“That’s unfair. That’s a no-brainer, Micaiah.”
“Is it?”
“Of course. I would give up everything for her. Don’t doubt what I’m willing to do for my baby.”
“Our baby.”
“You know what I meant. But there isn’t anything that I won’t do for her.” She rolled her eyes, and her lips were pursed in a fine line. I knew she was upset, but she’d have to get over it.
“Fine. It’s settled. You’re moving in with me.”
“Excuse me? That’s not what I agreed to. I’m not moving in with you, Micaiah.”
“Why not?” I asked calmly as I steered onto the highway.
“What do you mean, why not? Just because I’m on bed rest, it doesn’t mean that I’m handicapped.”
“Mm, in a nutshell, it does,” I replied and turned my lips down.
All this shit was triggering me and reminding me of everything I’d gone through with Malachi. I wasn’t repeating that nightmare again if I could help it.
“Fuck that nut and the shell it’s in. I’m not moving in with you.”
“You literally have to be in bed. You can’t get up to cook, clean, grocery shop, or anything else that you usually do and take for granted.”
“I can hire a housekeeper, order grocery service, and hire a private chef. As it relates to me, I can hire a nurse to help with personal factors.”
“Who’s going to answer the door?”
“That’s easy. I’ll get Mama or one of my brothers to come and stay until I get everything set up. After that, the chef, the housekeeper, and the nurse can answer the door for anyone else.”
I clenched my jaw. I was trying to stay calm, but she was making that shit hard.
“Why go through all of that when I’m here and willing to do all those things for you and more?”
“Because I’m not about to rely on you, Micaiah.”
“Why not? I have the time and the physical and financial ability to care for you full-time, and you have no one else capable of doing that.” I exhaled, still trying to remain calm, but her reasoning was making it harder with every word she spoke.
Her phone rang, and she groaned. “Who is it?”
“My mom.”
“Answer her.”
“I’m not in the mood to talk to her right now.”
“So because you’re in your feelings, you’re going to let her sit and worry. That’s not right, Myraj. You know that she was worried about you and how you’ve been feeling the last few days. Answer her,” I commanded.
“Fine,” she replied with an attitude.
“Hi, Mommy,” she greeted with a false sense of cheer when she answered the phone.
“Hi, baby. I was calling to see what the doctor said. I know that you had your appointment today. Myr-Myr, are those tears that I see on your face? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Mommy. I’m fine.”
“Don’t lie to me, Myraj.”
Myraj glanced out the window and exhaled heavily, but after her mother called her name two more times and she didn’t respond, I reached over and grabbed the phone from her hands.
I had met her mother a few days ago, but it was unplanned. I had popped up at Myraj’s house, and her mother was there. We talked for a while that day, and she really liked me. That was the first day that Myraj had been having contractions, which was why her mother was there and why I popped up too.
“Hi, Mrs. Nicholson.”
“Oh, good. She’s with you, Micaiah. What’s going on? Is the baby okay?”
“She’s okay, but Dr. Rose put her on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy. She’s concerned about the high blood pressure and the contractions that she’s been having.”
“So was I, and I’m glad they’re going that route. She needs to slow her behind down. Is that why she’s crying? That child can’t stay still to save her life.”
I wanted to say or to save her child’s life either, for that matter, but I knew that wasn’t called for, and it would only upset both ladies.
Besides, I was in my feelings at the moment, and I knew I was thinking about Karen, which was causing me to be firmer with Myraj than I might normally.
I wasn’t here for that, but I was upset that Myraj was acting the way she was.
“Yeah, well, she’s upset about it, and I’ve told her that I’m moving her in with me.
Because I work from home full-time, and I have the physical and financial means to provide for her, I think it’s what’s best for her.
She wants to hire a private nurse, but they can’t give her the same level of care that I can. ”
“I agree, Micaiah. That’s the best thing for her right now. No one else can do it, and she knows this. She might not like it, but this is in her best interest, and I’m glad that you’re taking over. She can be stubborn when she wants to be.”
“Mommy!” Myraj finally spoke up.
“I’m just telling the truth, honey. Let that Black man take care of you.”
I chuckled as I held the phone up to Myraj’s face so she could get the tongue lashing she needed to make her behave.
We talked for several more minutes with her mother.
“All right, baby. I love you and I’m proud of you. I know that this isn’t easy for you, Myraj, but you’ve accomplished so much. Sit back and enjoy your labor now and trust your staff can handle things in your absence.”
“Absent? I won’t be absent. Just a scaled down workload,” she balked.
“Either way, I will be praying for you. I will be here for you in every way that you need me to be. Just pick up the phone and call.”
“Thank you, Mommy,” Myraj replied in a tired voice.
We talked for a little while longer and ended the call as I was exiting the highway to her house.
“You get on my nerves,” she stated with a pout.
“What did I do?” I asked, glancing between her and the traffic I was maneuvering.
“Just take me to my house to pack up what I need.”
“That’s what I’m doing,” I replied with a smirk on my lips.
“Who are you calling?” she asked as I pressed some numbers on the car’s system.
“Arranging to have your house packed up, prepped for being shut down for a while, and transporting everything that you will need to my home. We’re going by your house to pick up just enough items for you to be comfortable for a while.”
“I pray that I don’t regret this,” she whined.
“You won’t. I’m gonna make sure of that,” I replied, squeezing her knee.
Once I got her to my house, I planned to make her stay as welcoming and comfortable as it could be. When I finished with Myraj, she wouldn’t want to return home.