Chapter 20 #3
“Bet. The motherfuckers are late enough. Y’all all gone have a fucking circus running around soon. Watch. Just trifling. Had me sitting here looking stupid while I wait on y’all do God knows what.”
“Is he upset or is he jealous?” I asked Ever.
“He sounds jealous to me,” she answered, “But you don’t have to be, big brother. I can always call Baisleigh up so she can keep you company, tonight.”
“Baisleigh ain’t fucking with a nigga, so I wish y’all would let that go. We’re both living our happily ever afters.”
“Well, you don’t look so happy to me,” I confessed.
“Me either.” Ever shrugged.
“Really, fuck both of y’all,” Laike gritted, kissing his teeth and tossing a middle finger up at us as he walked off.
We both chuckled on our way around the corner, knowing that we were getting under his skin. Thankfully, the stall was clear and we proceeded inside. It was still early and the crowd was still expanding. When we finally made it inside and locked the door, we breathed sighs of relief.
Then, simultaneously, we blurted, “I think I’m pregnant.”
My eyes bulged and so did Ever’s. Our revelations were followed by hideous laughter that ended with tears running down our faces. As exciting as the thought was for us both, it was as horrifying.
“Wait, really?” Ever wiped her face, clearing the tears and revealing her natural beauty again.
“I didn’t get my period last month.”
“I haven’t had mine at all, but that’s because I’m breastfeeding. I just have been feeling off lately. And, my sexual drive is out of this world. That usually means that something is baking.”
“I was scared to tell Keanu, so I bought this,” I told Ever as I reached into my purse and pulled out the thin box that held the pregnancy tests.
“I wanted to wait until tonight when I saw you to take it,” I explained.
“Is there two?” She asked.
“Yeah. It comes with two inside. I be wanting to make sure, sure!”
“You mind if I have one?”
“Of course not, but only if you go first.”
“Why me?” She whined.
“Because, I’m scared, honestly,” I admitted.
“I guess I have done this countless times, huh? I should continue to lead by example,” she tittered as she said.
I tore the box open as she lowered her shorts. I uncapped the stick and handed it to her as she squatted over the toilet. When she was done and had cleaned herself up, I did the same.
I angled the stick as best as I could while trying to stay upright and keep my skin from touching the toilet seat. Once my river stopped flowing, I capped the stick and sat it on the back of the toilet where I’d laid a napkin. Ever’s test was on the sink.
I scrubbed my hands clean as we stared at one another with silly grins on our faces. The fear we both were experiencing was vivid in our eyes. Each one of us had a reason to be afraid of the outcome of our tests, but we were going to live with the results either way.
“Can you look for me?” Ever asked as I dried my hands.
“You sure you don’t want to?”
She shook her head, closing her eyes as she smiled. “No. See what it says. I’m nervous.”
I leaned over slightly and read the results in the small window. I wasn’t sure how to feel about the results, so I read them out loud without much emotion in my words.
“Not pregnant.”
A heavy sigh left Ever’s lips as she said, “This is literally the first test I’ve ever taken that wasn’t positive. I think.”
“Read mine!” I suggested, turning toward the toilet where it was still resting.
Ever happily walked across the restroom floor to retrieve it. She picked it up and looked over at me with sad eyes. Her silence was alarming, causing my heartbeat to ring loud in my ears. A low, forced smile appeared on her pretty face.
“Not pregnant.” She revealed.
Her words were like knives to my gut. It wasn’t as if Keanu and I were trying for another baby, but we weren’t preventing a pregnancy either. Missing my period had made me somewhat hopeful, but to hear that it was only a scare had my feelings up in the air.
“I’m sorry, love,” Ever apologized.
“It’s fine. Maybe right now isn’t the time.”
I tried shrugging the feeling off, but the void my miscarriage had left was just too wide to fill myself. It wouldn’t be until I had a successful birth that I felt better about the situation altogether. I knew that and so did Ever. She’d lost her first child, too.
“Your bundle of joy is coming, Lyric. I feel it in my spirit. Maybe it’s too soon. Try another test in a week or two.”
“I’m not. I know I’m not. I can feel it.”
“Well, like I said, it’s going to happen soon.”
We headed out of the restroom and to our men after ditching the tests. When we arrived at our favorite table they’d already ordered our drinks and the food was on the way.
Our eyes met the moment I made it to the table. Like a book, Keanu read me. The emotions I’d tried to conceal were displayed for him to read. He scooted his chair back slightly and patted his leg. Instead of taking my seat beside Keanu, I sat on his lap.
“What’s the matter?” he whispered in my ear.
“I want a baby,” I admitted, lowly so that only he could hear me.
“Say less,” he told me as he patted my thigh, “I plan on putting one in you tonight.”