26. Téa
TWENTY-SIX
téa
Palming my stomach as I lay on the examination table, all kinds of thoughts flew through my mind like a whirlwind. My stomach was a little larger now, making everything so surreal.
In the past, whenever I thought of becoming a mother, I told myself I wouldn’t let it come to fruition.
I figured if I ever fell pregnant—something I worked hard to prevent—I would abort it at the first sign.
And when I found out I was pregnant by Zaire, that was exactly what I’d planned to do, but something wouldn’t allow me to make that appointment.
I knew Zaire was special from the first time I met him, and the thought of bringing someone into the world that was kin to him made me feel special too. Not to mention I had no family nor friends and often got lonely in the little free time I did have.
“Sorry about that, Ms. Gates.” Dr. Farmer entered after I announced that I was decent.
“No worries.” I cleared my throat, watching her as she moved around the office effortlessly.
She washed her hands vigorously and then gloved up before taking a seat beside the bed. After covering the bulge in my belly in a jelly substance, she put a small device to it that caused a grainy image to populate on the miniature monitor beside us.
“Okay! Everything looks just perfect, Ms. Gates.” She beamed, making me do the same as I looked on. “Would you like to know the gender?”
“Umm.” I pondered for a moment then decided I would like to know so I could start collecting things for him or her. I could also tell Zaire’s brothers wanted to know. “Sure.”
“It’s a girl!” Dr. Farmer exclaimed as if she were the father.
“I have three girls and two boys, and you’re going to love having a daughter.
I can promise you. They are quite interesting and very early on.
I love my sons, but they took a while to have some personality,” she jested, making me giggle.
“Well women are the superior species, right?”
“Very true.” She cleaned my stomach off, then trashed the rough paper towels before rising to her feet. “So do you have any questions at the moment about the delivery process or anything?”
“No, I think I’m good. But thank you, Dr. Farmer.” I nodded with a smile.
“Alright, well they will check you out and schedule your next appointment up front, but if anything happens, don’t hesitate to call or reach out to me via the chat or message center,” she announced just like she always did at the conclusion of the appointment.
“Great.” I smiled and waited for her to exit, leaving a trail of her floral perfume in the room, before I sat up and started to reach for my clothes.
Just as I’d gotten my leggings up, my phone began buzzing, so I fished through my purse to see it was Mylo. I stared at the phone in contemplation as if it would jump up and bite me, before grabbing it and tapping the green phone button.
“Hello?” Mylo queried since I had answered but not greeted him.
“Sorry. I’m in the middle of dressing. What’s up?” I put the phone on speaker while I yanked my big T-shirt over my head.
“Seems like I caught yo’ ass at the perfect timing then. You got plans today?”
“Not anymore, no. Why?” I gripped the phone now that I had my T-shirt on, pushing the call back into the phone.
“I wanted to see if you were hungry or just wanted to get out the house for a little bit.”
I looked off as if the rounded stool the doctor had been sitting on could give me advice.
“Mylo, I don’t think—”
“Téa, come on.”
I pondered for a moment, thinking on my talk with Daylin, then asked, “Where to?”
“You ever been to Third Street Promenade? It’s a bunch of shit to do.”
“Nigga, I’m from here. Of course . . .” I stopped my rant when Mylo began laughing, because I realized he was messing with me by insinuating that I was an LA transplant which was a huge insult to an LA native. “You think you’re so funny.” I rolled my eyes with a smirk.
“So is that cool, or did you have something else in mind?”
“That’s fine. I’m leaving the doctor, so I should be home in about half an hour. I will meet you outside.”
“Aight.”
I hung up and left the examination room to check out with the nurse at the front before setting up my next appointment. The sun was shining brightly today, and it affected my mood positively.
Today, I didn’t feel glum or skittish about the future. Between learning I was having a healthy baby—a princess—to feeling more welcomed within the Godfrey circle, I didn’t have anything to complain about. And I was still daydreaming about that fabulous chicken parmesan Daylin cooked for me.
I hurried home, arriving there in thirty-five minutes to see Mylo’s truck already outside. I wasn’t sure why, but the fact that he was prompt and didn’t have me waiting was attractive.
Getting out of his truck and rushing over once he saw me, Mylo assisted me from my vehicle carefully, before walking me back to his own and helping me up inside.
“Wow, what a gentleman,” I joked, and chuckled when he gave me a sidelong glance.
“I won’t even dignify that shit with a response.” He pulled off from the curb once the coast was clear.
I knew the drive would be slightly lengthy, especially because there always seemed to be a lot of traffic on the 405 heading toward Santa Monica.
The entire way, Mylo and I vibed to some music, and the silence between us wasn’t awkward at all, which was unexpected.
I thought it would be weird considering we hadn’t talked much unless Rakim sent him to do something for me or give me a ride. I felt like Rakim was doing that shit on purpose because he knew what happened between Mylo and me. Or, Mylo was doing the shit on purpose and Rakim was allowing it.
Finally, we made it to the promenade, and Mylo parked as close to an elevator within the structure as he could before we made our way out and to the actual area where pedestrians would walk freely.
We decided we’d go see a movie since it was so bright and early, then we’d grab some food at the cantina, because I had a hankering for something greasy, cheesy, and filling.
“How you like the movie?” Mylo questioned as soon as we were seated at Cabo Cantina.
We’d chosen the Night Walker film, and it was so good despite the fact that I wasn’t into the action or superhero genre.
I enjoyed the storyline of it, and it didn’t hurt to watch the lead actor Unique Compton’s fine, chocolate ass strut around with no shirt on in several scenes.
I would keep that last part to myself though.
“It was actually interesting.” I ate a chip covered in the chunky salsa. “I thought I would be bored out of my mind.”
“Then why you choose it?” Mylo frowned, confused as he drank some of his strawberry lemonade.
“You don’t wanna know,” I said, smirking as the waitress set down our nachos that we’d ordered for an appetizer. We’d both gotten the surf and turf tacos for our entrée.
Mylo shook his head as I laughed, focusing heavily on moving some of the nachos to my small plate.
“So that’s yo’ type, huh?” he questioned, referencing Unique.
“I mean, I think he’s every woman’s type, so don’t be offended.” I laughed, shielding my mouth after pushing some food into it. “You’re fine too, though, so don’t even worry about it.”
“Good to know then that if I made you my girl, he couldn’t snatch you.” He ate some of the nachos. When I made a face, his brows heightened, causing me to laugh. “That’s fucked up.”
“I didn’t even say anything!” I couldn’t stop grinning as he shook his head, feigning disappointment. “I would pick you. I promise. He’s married anyway with like fifty kids.”
“So that’s the only reason?”
I giggled, but before I could say anything, some man approached the railing next to our outside table, making both Mylo and me look over.
“I—”
“Can I help you?” Mylo inquired, immediately on the defense.
The man kept his attention pinned on me long enough for recognition to set in, making me immediately swallow the lump that formed in my throat.
“Mylo—”
“Nah, you can’t,” the man responded, never taking his eyes off me. “I’m just sad to see my favorite ho is out of commission.” He gestured toward my bulging stomach.
Before I could say anything, Mylo was up out of his seat and over the short railing, breaking his foot off in the man’s ass.
“Mylo!” I screamed, shooting to my feet and knowing I was too big to climb over the gate, so I rushed around.
“Call the police!” I heard someone yell.
I tried to think of how to stop this brawl that was drawing a crowd, but the two big men were fighting so hard that even other grown men refrained from breaking it up.
Seconds flew by before I heard sirens, reminding me where we were and that police literally drove around the area, waiting to be called.
“Move!” One white officer barked at the surrounding crowd as he and his partner barged through, snatching apart Mylo and the man whose name I couldn’t remember.
“Bitch ass nigga! Fighting over a ho!” the nameless man hollered, making the officer chide him as he shoved him against a tree to cuff him.
Mylo was less talkative, trying his best to break free from the officer and get at the man.
“Mylo, stop!” I yelled, catching his eyes when I heard the policemen attempting to cuff him while saying he was going to charge him with resisting if he didn’t chill.
Mylo relaxed physically once his eyes landed on me, dropping his head and allowing the officer to lock the cuffs around his wrists.
The two men led Mylo and his opponent to separate trucks, thankfully, and I stood there, feeling people stare at me, and unable to look back. Returning to the table, I grabbed my purse and retrieved my iPhone, dialing Rakim.
“Yeah? You good?” He picked up in the same way he always did.
“Mylo got arrested!” I screamed, and Rakim was silent for a moment.
“What? Where you at?”
“I’m at Third Street Promenade at Cabo Cantina. He drove me, so I have no way home, but they just took him and—”