Chapter 46 Nyree
I was getting my things packed up at the hotel, preparing for my flight back home when my phone buzzed with a text. I glanced at it, expecting it to be the airline with an update about my flight. Instead, I saw Asia's name on the screen.
We need to talk when you get back. I'll pick you up from the airport.
And then: I love you.
I stopped in my tracks, staring at the screen. Where was this coming from? For days, she'd been giving me the cold shoulder, refusing to talk, refusing to listen. I'd been prepared to have to fight to get her to even speak to me when I got home, and now she suddenly had a change of heart?
My heart leapt with joy. Things seemed to be turning around. Maybe she calmed down enough to listen to reason, to understand that I had no idea about this child until Isis dropped her bombshell. Maybe she was ready to believe me.
My thumbs tapped the screen to call her—I wanted to hear her voice, to make sure this wasn't some cruel joke—but before I could complete the call, my phone lit up with an incoming call from my mother. My face scrunched in confusion. Ma didn’t call me when she knew I was traveling for work.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Hey baby," my mother said, but something in her tone was off.
"What's up, Ma?" I asked, wedging the phone between my ear and shoulder as I continued packing.
"Listen, Isis just told me she told you about the baby. Nyree, I told that girl..."
I cut in, confused. "Wait, Isis told you what? Ma, how do you know Isis? What's going on?"
My mother fell silent for a few moments, and I could practically hear her calculating her response.
"Isis reached out to me about a couple weeks ago on social media," she said. "She introduced herself to me and told me that she had a four-year-old child and that she believed you were the father."
My hand froze in the middle of folding a shirt.
"At first I was ready to cuss her ass out for playing on my phone," Ma continued, "but then she showed me pictures, and Nyree, he looked just like your baby pictures."
Ma's voice was filled with awe and excitement, but my ears were steaming. I didn't even know where to start.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I said, my tone full of frustration and anger. "That bitch went to your inbox about a baby she supposedly had with me?"
Ma's tone changed. "Watch your mouth, boy. Don't forget who you're talking to."
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. "Ma, why would she come to you before she came to me? And why didn't you tell me?"
Ma sighed. "When Isis explained that she never told you about the baby, she said she was scared and didn't know how to go about it. I suggested we set up a dinner where she could share the news. We were planning to do that, but then you popped up engaged to Asia."
My mind was reeling. I couldn't believe this shit. My own mother had been talking to Isis for weeks and never said a word to me about possibly having a child. I paced around the hotel room, trying to process what I was hearing.
"Nyree, I think you should go ahead and marry Isis, since y'all have a child together," Ma continued, as if this was a perfectly reasonable suggestion. "Asia is a nice girl, but if you already have a child…"
"Ma, I'm not marrying Isis," I cut in, furious that my mother knew about Isis for weeks and never said a word.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm already married to Asia!"
"What?" Ma's voice rose an octave.
I sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "We eloped. We had just been planning the wedding for everyone else."
"You got married without telling me?" The hurt in her voice was obvious, but I was too pissed to care at the moment.
"Ma, that's not the point right now. The point is, you knew about this situation for weeks and didn't tell me. You were planning a dinner with a woman who’s been hiding a child from me for four years, without even checking with me first?"
I didn’t know why I expected an apology. "Well now you done got yourself in some deep shit, Nyree," Ma said, ignoring my question, "because that baby is yours."
I rubbed my hand over my face in frustration. "You don't know that, Ma. And neither does Isis. That's why I'm getting a DNA test as soon as possible."
"You don't need a DNA test," Ma insisted. "I'm telling you, that boy is the spitting image of you when you were his age. I could show you pictures—"
"I don't care what the pictures show!" I snapped, then caught myself. "Look, I'm sorry, but this is a mess. I just got married to the woman I love, and now I'm dealing with a woman claiming I have a child with her, a child she never bothered to tell me about for four years."
"But why did you rush to marry Asia? You just met her!"
I sighed. This whole situation was a big ass mess.
"That's not important right now, Ma. What's important is that I'm married to Asia, and I love her. If this child is mine—and that's a big if until I see DNA results—then I'll step up and be a father to him. But that doesn't mean I'm leaving my wife for Isis."
Ma was silent for a moment. "I just don't understand why you would rush into marriage like this."
"I love her, Ma. It's as simple as that."
"Love don't pay the bills, son. And it sure doesn't raise a child. You need to think about what's best for your son."
"IF he's my son," I emphasized. "And what's best for him isn't for me to marry his mother just because we might share DNA. What's best is for me to be a good father to him, regardless of my relationship with Isis."
Ma sighed heavily. "I just don't want to see you make a mistake."
"The mistake would be leaving Asia because of a situation from my past that I had no control over. I'm not doing that."
"So what are you going to do?"
I thought about it for a moment. "I'm going to go home to my wife. I'm going to talk to her, and we're going to figure this out together. And I'm going to get that DNA test."
"And if the child is yours?"
"Then I'll be the best father I can be. But I'm still staying with my wife."
Ma was quiet for so long I thought she might have hung up. "I hope you know what you're doing, Nyree."
"I do," I said, though, I was far from certain. "Look, Ma, I've got to finish packing. My flight leaves in a couple of hours. We can talk more when I get back home."
"Alright, baby. Safe travels."
After we hung up, I sat on the bed for a long moment, trying to process everything. My mother knew about Isis and the child for weeks and never told me. Isis had gone behind my back to approach my mother before she even spoke to me. And now Ma was suggesting I should leave Asia to be with Isis.
The whole thing felt like a setup, like Isis was trying to manipulate me into a relationship with her. Going to my mother first, showing her pictures, playing on her desire for grandchildren—it was calculated. And it made me question even more whether this child was mine.
I glanced back at Asia's text. I love you. Those three words gave me hope that maybe we could get through this mess together. Whatever was waiting for me back home—DNA tests, difficult conversations, potential fatherhood—at least Asia seemed willing to talk now.
I picked up my phone and typed a response: I love you too. We'll figure this out together. See you soon.
Then I resumed packing, my mind racing with all the questions I needed to ask Isis. None of it made sense, unless her goal was to cause chaos. And if that was the case, she was succeeding.
But I was determined not to let her destroy what Asia and I had built.
As I zipped up my suitcase, I made a decision. I would call Isis as soon as I landed, set up the DNA test, and make it clear that regardless of the results, I was staying with Asia. If the child was mine, I would be a father to him, but I would never be with Isis.
I checked out of the hotel and headed to the airport, my mind still reeling from the conversation with my mother.
I needed to think about how to approach Asia when I got home.
She said she wanted to talk, but I had no idea what had prompted this change of heart.
Maybe she calmed down enough to listen to reason, or maybe something else had happened.
Either way, I was grateful for the chance to make things right. I just hoped it wasn't too late to save our marriage.