8. Old Enemies, New Friends #4
Lotus stepped out nervously. Dr. Burton came in and did her normal exam, reminding her it wasn’t a guarantee they would see the baby’s sex since they played around the last time.
When she moved the dongle around on Lotus’s belly after applying the cold gel, Eazy stood.
Standing on the other side of the table, his hand automatically found hers as their baby appeared on the monitor.
“Baby is measuring right on target for your due date,” the doctor observed. “And oh… I think… they are trying to give us a sneak peek. So… do you want to know what you’re having?” Dr. Burton’s soft hazel eyes landed on the couple behind her.
“Yes.” Lotus sat up on her elbows with excitement as she zoomed on the screen and snapped a shot.
“Meet your baby boy,” Dr. Burton announced.
“Shit!” Lotus hissed.
“I told you.” Eazy grinned, heart thudding anxiously in his chest as the doctor labeled his genitals on the screen and printed pictures for them.
Without even thinking about it, he kneeled, and his lips brushed across hers in a soft kiss. Missing him something bad, Lotus hung on as long as she could, savoring his tongue against hers before he pulled back, stroking her cheek with his hand.
“Congratulations you two.” Dr. Burton stood. “You are caught up on all your tests and your bloodwork and urine samples look normal as well. Stay hydrated. I do have one concern, it’s not alarming now, but it could be. Your insulin levels. You keep an eye on your sugar intake.”
“I will,” Eazy spoke up.
“She was talking to me,” Lotus quipped, sucking her teeth.
“I been telling her, Doc. She on that BS. She eats enough natural sugar but still wants all the cookies, cakes, and pies anybody has to offer—”
“Rat.” Lotus grabbed Kleenex out of the box to wipe the gel off her stomach as she sat up.
Dr. Burton snickered. “Listen to him, Lotus. You do not want to end up on a diet because of gestational diabetes. It’s best to nip it in the bud now. It’s not good for you or your baby.” Dr. Burton folded the sonogram pictures and held them up to her.
“You hear that?” Eazy checked with her.
“Make sure to book your next appointment when you go. I’ll give you the room to get dressed.”
“Thank you.” Lotus smiled, taking the images from her as she exited.
She cut her eyes at Eazy when she was gone.
“You’re such a hater.”
Lotus hopped off the table and went to get dressed.
She checked out with the front desk, and Eazy walked her out to the parking lot to her car.
He’d upgraded her whip when he got his, so she was whipping a silver Aston Martin SUV with all the fixings.
Eazy pulled her door open for her, and Lotus faced him.
A thousand-watt grin claimed her lips as she studied the latest pictures of their son.
“You want to hold on to these?” she asked, offering him the black and white prints.
Eazy studied the images with a rare smile and pride swelling in his chest and eyes. His son. Baby boy.
“Fa sho.” Lifting his eyes, they raked over Lotus. “You eat?”
“Not yet,” she answered, eyes falling from his guiltily.
Eazy’s face immediately tightened.
“Lo.”
Eyes rolling, she sighed. “I wasn’t hungry.”
“You gotta eat, shorty.”
“You said that already.” She turned her nose up and turned to her car. “Besides, nothing sounds good.”
“I just filled your refrigerator.”
“It’s not the same,” she pouted. “And you’re not there to eat it with either.”
“What you want to eat?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Lotus huffed. “I’ll just go home and figure something out.”
“I gotta run by the gallery and handle some things. I’ll hit you in a few.” Eazy got an alert on his phone and frowned at the unknown number.
“Whatever.”
“Don’t start popping yo’ shit now, Lo. Speak your mind, baby,” he encouraged, still showing signs of slight anger toward her.
“You don’t want to hear what I have to say, Eazy.” She hopped into the driver’s seat. “You’d rather waste time being mad at me. It’s just an excuse so you can do what you want to do.”
“And what the fuck you think I’m out here doing, Lo? Working. Trying to make sure our future is straight, cause anything else you just making up in yo’ head ’cause you feel fucking guilty.”
“Bye, Eazy.” She slammed the door shut, started her car, and pulled off.
“And buckle yo’ fucking seat belt!” he yelled at her car as she sped away.
His man, Chopper, whipped his black Suburban out behind Lotus. With his window partially down, he nodded to Eazy out the window and trailed her to her next destination. When Eazy’s phone went off again, it was the same number, so he swiped to answer.
“Who is this?”
“Well, hello to you too.” Eazy never thought she’d be calling him again.
Even knowing she was alive was still an adjustment, so hearing Niva’s voice threw him off.
“How you get this number?”
“I’m at your grandparent’s house visiting. Taci invited me. I was with Essence the other day, and she said she wanted to see me. Don’t worry, Midas is nowhere in sight.”
“Why you calling me?” Eazy asked, pausing at his driver’s door and pulling it open.
“Eazy, we’ve known each other since high school. We really can’t even be friends anymore?”
“I’ll let you know, Niva.” Ending the call, Eazy set his phone in the cupholder and prepared to drive across town.