Chapter 13
“What you experienced was probably implantation bleeding, which about fifteen to thirty percent of women experience,” Dr. Jordan informed us.
After our conversation on Saturday night, I was able to schedule an appointment with my doctor for Tuesday. I didn’t think I would get in that soon, but I was grateful. The bleeding I experienced concerned me more than I let on, and I was anxious to see my doctor to make sure everything was okay.
“Will this happen again?” Kilo asked.
“It shouldn’t, but it’s possible. Some women experience spotting, or very light bleeding, for the entire pregnancy.”
“Should we be concerned?” I asked.
“Because of your age, you are considered high risk, but you’re very healthy.
As of now, everything looks good. Based on the first day of your last period, you're about eleven weeks, and your due date is approximately January sixth. We’ll do a blood test to confirm.
My nurse will be in shortly to draw your blood.
Do you have any other questions for now? ”
I looked at Kilo, and he shook his head.
“We’re good for now. Thank you,” I said.
As soon as we were alone, Kilo said, “I don’t know how I feel about another man all in your shit.”
I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“You didn’t tell me your doctor was a nigga.”
“Umm, I didn’t know it mattered, but I’m not about to change doctors because you’re crazy.”
“I’m not crazy because I don’t want that nigga’s face all in my woman’s—”
A knock, followed by the door opening, interrupted him. A gorgeous light-skinned woman wearing her hair in a bob entered the room.
“Hello. I’m Nurse Jordan, and I’m here to draw your blood.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Are you and Dr. Jordan related?” Kilo inquired.
“He’s my husband.”
“Word? And you cool with him looking at women’s—”
“Kilo!” I interjected before he said way too much.
Nurse Jordan must have known what Kilo was about to say because she laughed.
“It’s okay. He’s not the first person with that question. I assure you, you have nothing to worry about. My husband is very professional and always on his best behavior.”
“He’d better be because I don’t play that shit,” Kilo warned.
Nurse Jordan proceeded to draw my blood. When she finished, she promised that Dr. Jordan would return soon to do an ultrasound.
“I didn’t know you’d have an ultrasound today. Will they give us pictures?” Kilo asked.
“I’m sure they will. Are you excited?”
“I can’t even put my excitement into words. I’m forty years old, and I’ve never connected with a woman so deeply. From the moment our eyes met, I felt something deep in my soul. You’re the first woman I’ve encountered who I see a future with. I was starting to lose hope, and so was my mama.”
“You hijacked my dreams that night, and I woke up in a puddle.”
“Word?” he questioned with a smirk.
“When I saw you at the mixer, you’d already made me cum several times in my dreams.”
“You gon’ make me fuck you in this examination room. Does this door lock?”
He went to check the door, and it opened before he grabbed the handle. Dr. Jordan entered with Nurse Jordan behind him, pushing the ultrasound machine.
“It will be a few hours before we get the results from your blood test, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at the baby.”
Kilo could barely take his eyes off the ultrasound pictures to drive, and I had to confiscate them until we made it to campus. He picked me up this morning for my doctor’s appointment, and we decided we’d ride to work together.
He was teary-eyed when the tiny circle appeared on the screen and the baby’s heartbeat filled the room. It was the sweetest reaction, but most fathers who planned to be involved in their child’s life probably had the same reaction.
“Can I trust that you’ll keep your eyes on the road if I give these back to you?” I asked, referring to his copies of the ultrasound.
“You cannot, but I’m not going that far. I’ll get there safely.”
He took them from my hand before I could snatch my hand away. As he got out of his car and walked around to the passenger side to open my door, his eyes were glued to the pictures. I took the hand he offered to help me out, but he hadn’t looked up.
“Kilo, it won’t change if you stop looking at it.”
“I know, baby. I just can’t believe we created this.”
“I can’t believe you trapped me. What if we’d never seen each other again?”
He finally gave me his eyes as we walked from the parking lot toward the library.
“God wouldn’t have done that to us, and I believe it was you who trapped me. You’re the one who rubbed your ass on me when we were both supposed to be asleep.”
“Wrapping up was your responsibility, and you failed; therefore, you trapped me.”
“It’s cool. I’ll take the blame if that’s the story you want to go with.”
“It’s not a story, it’s the truth.”
We entered the building, and on my way to my office, I greeted the staff we encountered.
“What time do you take lunch?” he asked.
“It varies, but some time between eleven and one.”
“I’ll have something delivered to you at noon. What do you have a taste for?”
I shrugged. The past few days, I’d had a hard time keeping anything down, and the thought of eating made me nervous.
“Maybe a salad.”
“Bet. I’ll see you later.”
He wrapped his arms around me, and I let my head rest on his chest. It truly felt like home being in his arms, and I liked—no, I loved how it felt. We’d only spent a few days and nights with each other, but I’d enjoyed every minute of our time together.
He left a soft, lingering kiss on my lips as his hands caressed my flat stomach, then disappeared, leaving me on a high I was sure would last the remainder of the day.
I smiled as I hugged myself and floated to my desk to start my day.
Before I sat down, LaDonna was in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear.
“Sooo,” she began.
“Sooo, what?”
“That’s the same guy who came to see you last week.”
“It is.”
“Have there been some changes in your love life that you forgot to tell me about?”
“Girl, close the door and have a seat.”
For the next ten minutes, I gave LaDonna the condensed version of events because there were some things she didn’t need to know. You would’ve thought I was talking about a reality show with the way she was tuned in.
“Why didn’t you tell me you took my advice and gave up the cookie on the first night?” she teased.
“That isn’t something I would broadcast, but I can’t hide it now because this nigga got me pregnant.”
“Wait! What? Are you serious?”
“I’m very serious. I was late because I had a doctor’s appointment. I’m eleven weeks.”
She gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth.
“Oh my God. Love at first sight, to a one-night stand, to a baby in a baby carriage. Girl, when is the wedding? This story right here is good enough for the books. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.”
“We’re moving fast, but marriage has not been discussed, and surprisingly, I’m okay with that.”
As much as I had the desire to get married one day, I wouldn’t marry a man just because I was carrying his child. Kilo and I had a lot to learn about each other before I’d consider becoming his wife.
LaDonna eventually went back to her office, and I began my workday. Before long, I was being called to the front to pick up my lunch. When I returned to my office, I sent Kilo a text, thanking him for having my lunch delivered. Seconds later, he was FaceTiming me.
“Hey,” I said with a smile.
“Why are you thanking me? I told you I’d have your lunch delivered.”
“I’m thanking you because my parents raised me with manners, and to make sure you know I appreciate you going through the trouble.”
“It wasn’t any trouble, but you’re welcome, baby. How do you feel?”
“Fine right now, but I haven’t eaten yet. I’m praying I can keep it down.”
“Me too. How was your morning?”
“Fine. Yours?”
“Meetings. I got three more before the day ends, and the next one is about to start, so I have to go.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later. Thank you again.”
“Call me if you need anything.”
The call ended, and I removed the salad from the bag and took the lid off.
It smelled delicious, which was a good sign because it didn’t make my stomach turn.
When the first few bites didn’t cause the urge to vomit, I thought I was safe.
It wasn’t until I was halfway done that my stomach decided to do cartwheels.
“Oh God!”
I reached for the garbage can next to my desk and emptied the contents of my stomach for the next few minutes. This baby had to be a girl because my son did not do me like this.
When I felt stable enough, I removed the plastic bag that lined the small garbage bin and went to the nearest bathroom to dispose of it. After relieving myself, I washed my hands, rinsed my mouth, and splashed cool water onto my face.
Once I was back in my office, I flopped into my chair, let my head fall back, and closed my eyes. Like most people, I hated vomiting. It took so much out of me, and now, all I wanted to do was take a nap.
“Is this what the university is paying you for?”
The sound of Skye’s voice made me open my eyes.
“Sis, I feel like shit.”
“Aww. I knew my sissy senses were going off. Baby boo putting you through it already?”
I nodded. “This has to be a girl because Nyeem was so good to me. I’ve thrown up more times already than I did my whole pregnancy with him.”
“It could be that, or . . . that was over eighteen years ago, and your body and hormones are just different now.”
“True. I just need to close my eyes and take deep breaths for a minute.”
I let my head fall back onto the back of my chair again.
“Do you have anything pressing that needs to be done?” she asked.
“There’s always something I need to do, but I guess there’s nothing too pressing.”
“Get your shit. I’m taking you home.”
I lifted my head and looked at her, confused.
“Skye, I’m fine. I just need a minute to gather myself.”
“No, you need to gather your things and follow me outside. Whatever you need to do can be done tomorrow.”
Skye wouldn’t go away, so I agreed to go home. My staff could handle the rest of the day without me. I told LaDonna I was leaving for the day, and she promised to handle everything. I hoped I’d be able to keep food down soon so I wouldn’t miss too much work.
We arrived at my place, and Nyeem was just leaving. He was confused because I didn’t usually get home for a few more hours.
“Hey, Ma. You good?”
“No, she’s not good. Your sister or brother is putting her through it.”
“Oh, damn—I mean, dang. That’s messed up. Do you need me to get something for you?” he asked.
“I’m good, Son. Thank you.”
He kissed my cheek and continued to his car. Given the time, he was probably headed to class before training. Once I was in my bedroom, I stripped down to my underwear, brushed my teeth, and got into bed, while Skye made sure I had what I needed within reach.
“You have two bottles of water, a can of ginger ale, crackers, and a banana. Do you need anything else?”
“No, sis. This is perfect. Thank you. Lock up when you leave.”
“Will do. Call me if you need anything. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Skye was the director of admissions and had a very flexible schedule. Shortly after Skye left, my phone rang as I began to doze off. I answered it without looking to see who it was.
“Hello.”
“Hello. May I speak to Nyomi Kurrie?”
“This is she.”
“Hi. This is Nurse Jordan calling with the results of your blood test.”
“Oh yes. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine, but is it possible you could be further along?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is it possible that you could’ve gotten pregnant sooner than you think?”
“No. It’s not possible at all. Why do you ask?”
“Well, your HCG levels are higher than what they would normally be at your stage in pregnancy. Usually, that means the date of conception was miscalculated, or . . . you could be having multiples.”
“Excuse me. What?”
“When HCG levels are high, it usually means the date of conception was miscalculated, or you could be having multiples,” she repeated, this time a little slower.
“Multiples as in twins?”
“Most often it’s twins, but it could be triplets or more.”
“Ma’am, do you realize I’m thirty-six years old with a soon-to-be nineteen-year-old? I mean, I wanted another child, but having more than one at the same time wasn’t on my bingo card.”
“I understand, Miss Kurrie. Dr. Jordan only saw one baby and only heard one heartbeat during the ultrasound, but sometimes, especially if it’s identical twins, one could be hiding behind the other, and their heartbeats could be in sync.”
I was speechless and had no response for her. The idea of having twins had never crossed my mind. As far as I was concerned, it wasn’t in the realm of possibilities.
“Miss Kurrie, are you still there?” she asked when my silence lasted a little too long.
“Yes. I’m sorry. This is a lot to process. Can I come in and have another ultrasound to confirm?”
“Of course, but Dr. Jordan advises we wait until your next appointment.”
“That’s a month from now.”
“I’m aware of that, but if you’re having twins, one of them is already showing signs of being stubborn. A month from now, you’ll be a little over fifteen weeks, and he or she will be out of hiding by then.”
“Oh my God. This will be the longest month of my life.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. If you have any questions, problems, or concerns before your next appointment, please don’t hesitate to call.”
“I will. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
I ended the call and tossed my phone to the other side of the bed. I didn’t know what to think or how to feel, so I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.