Chapter 14 #2
Hey Sissy! I can’t talk right now. Can I call you when I get off work?
Rae: Hey Missy Pooh! Yes, call me when you get off. You were on my heart heavy today. I just wanted to hear your voice. Love you.
I love you more, sis. Thanks for thinking of me. I won’t forget.
Promise hit send, then rested the phone in her lap.
She hated lying to her sister, but the truth at the moment had her emotions reeling out of control, and the very person she wanted to talk to was unreachable.
It was all just too much for her, and all she wanted to do was get the official results, then go home and block the entire world out.
“Promise Montgomery,” the nurse called, standing behind the receptionist desk.
“Yes,” Promise answered, rising from her seat and walking in her direction.
The nurse smiled warmly. "Come on back. It’s good to see you, Promise. I love your hair,” the nurse complimented with a warm smile.
A faint smile tugged at Promise's lips. “It’s good to see you too. Thank you,” she returned as they walked through the third door on the right.
“Of course. My name is Jai, and I’ll be the doctor’s assistant today,” she explained. “What brings you here to see us today?”
“I think I may be pregnant. I don’t remember the last time I had a period, and I took four pregnancy tests,” Promise said.
“Were they positive or negative?” Jai asked.
“All positive,” Promise stated, fumbling with her hands.
The nurse nodded, giggling a bit. “You need confirmation to make it real?”
“Yes,” Promise admitted.
“I understand,” Jai told her without a hint of judgement in her voice.
“No matter what the results say, you’re going to be just fine.
“Come with me. Let me show you where the bathroom is. There's a specimen cup and a black permanent marker in the silver cabinet beside the sink. Write your initials on there before or after you urine in the cup,” she instructed. “I’ll be waiting when you’re done. ”
“Ok, thank you,” Promise said, walking into the bathroom.
Minutes later, Promise had handled her business, and Jai was standing right there to walk her back to the same room they were in.
“Thank you,” Promise said, feeling sick.
“Dr. Williams will be in to see you once your results are evident,” the nurse stated, closing the door.
Suddenly, the knot in her stomach tightened, and the room spun.
Promise ran to the sink, gripped the porcelain, and brought up everything she’d eaten the night before and that morning for breakfast until she heaved.
Dr. Williams walked in and immediately went to Promise’s side and held her hair back out of her face.
“Aww,” Dr. Williams crossed the room without hesitation, gathering Promise's hair into one hand, while rubbing slow circles across her back with the other. “Morning sickness can be a beast, but it’s normal.” Dr. Williams waited until her breathing settled before handing her a handful of paper towels.
"It happens more often than you'd think. "
Promise wiped her mouth. “Normal?” Promise said, her chest heaving.
Dr. Williams laughed. “Yes. It’s very normal for expecting mothers.”
A tear slipped freely before Promise even realized she'd started crying. It wasn’t because she was happy or unhappy… it was because life as she knew it had just shifted beneath her feet. Nothing about tomorrow looked the same.
Promise’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you sure?” She asked before fully registering what was said. “Wait, does that mean I’m pregnant?”
“I’m as positive as your test results,” Dr. Williams said, tucking Promise’s hair behind her ear.
“I’m so sorry,” Promise apologized, immediately running water in the sink.
“Oh no…don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of that.
Right now, all I want you to do is calm down and breathe,” Dr. Williams warmly stated.
“Come on, let’s switch rooms so we can get an ultrasound and hear your baby’s heartbeat.
How does that sound? You can even call your significant other on FaceTime if you want,” she stated, leading the way to the room across the hall.
Promise grabbed her purse and followed close behind her, but was nervous as she could be.
She looked down at her phone, and thought about Monroe.
Going against her own stubbornness, she called him again, and was sent straight to voicemail.
She wanted to share this moment with him, but she couldn’t wait for him to call her back any longer.
“Whenever you’re ready, you can lay back, and unbutton the top of your pants,” Dr. Williams instructed. “Then I’ll use this warmed ultrasound gel on your stomach, and you’ll be able to see your baby on the screen. We will also be able to determine how far along you are.”
“Ok,” Promise replied, sitting her purse on the counter before laying back on the examination table.
Dr. Williams folded the top of Promise’s pants down, and covered her bottom half with a white sheet. “Can you lift your shirt up a little more, please?”
Shortly after Promise lifted her shirt, the sound of her baby’s heartbeat filled the room.
“There’s your baby,” Dr. Williams said.
“Is that his heartbeat?” Promise asked, moved to tears.
“Yes it is, and from what I see, it looks like you’re sixteen weeks pregnant,” Dr. Williams revealed, capturing pictures of the baby to send home with Promise.
Promise was moved to silence. She wasn’t sure how to feel, she didn’t know what to say, and the tears that slid from her eyes as she gazed at her baby settled something deep inside of her.
In seven months she was going to be a mother, and the reality of that fact had shifted her in a way she couldn’t explain.
“Would you like for me to call in some prenatal vitamins for you, or would you prefer to purchase some over the counter?” Dr. Williams asked, wiping the ultrasound gel from her stomach.
“Um, I think I’ll purchase some over the counter,” Promise said, quickly remembering how sick they made her sister.
Dr. Williams nodded, adding notes on her laptop. “Do you have any questions for me?” She looked up from her laptop and asked.
“Not that I can think of right now,” Promise said, gazing out of the window.
“Ok, well don’t hesitate to call me if you think of anything,” Dr. Williams said with a smile. “I’d like to see you again in a month, so please don’t forget to set up an appointment before you leave,” she said, stepping out of the room.
“Yes, ma’am, I will,” Promise said, standing to button her pants.
Meanwhile, Monroe sat on the balcony of a secluded, high-rise condo in Malibu overlooking the city while smoking a kush-filled blunt.
Jeezy’s F**k The World streamed through the speakers as water waves crashed into the shoreline.
He had viewed his phone when it rang, and quickly switched it to DND.
It wasn’t because he didn’t want to talk to Promise, he just wanted to have something real to tell her when he did.
Monroe read her messages without opening their text thread, and took a long pull from his blunt.
Just give me a little time, Doll. I promise I’ma get right back to you, he murmured as if somehow she could hear him.
He smiled as his mind traveled back to Thanksgiving three years ago when he and Promise met for the first time.
Syncere sat back, soaking in the scene around him.
Everyone looked good dressed in designer threads, and everyone was happy.
Laughter filled the room, and for a moment, he thanked God for all the blessings in his life.
The ones who had been through it all, were finally all together again in Houston, the place where it all started.
His eyes drifted to the spread of food laid out before them—mac ‘n cheese, baked chicken, roast, and more. Everything Amor and her mom had prepared looked and smelled amazing. He was just about to dive in when Rae’s voice cut through the noise, announcing that her mom and sister had finally arrived.
Syncere leaned back in his chair, listening as Roe and Truth debated who was the best between LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
The moment Rae walked in with her family, Roe’s voice fell silent.
Syncere followed his gaze and caught sight of Promise in his view.
She still looked as stunning as she had years ago.
Back then, she hadn’t been around much, always off doing her own thing since she was older than Rae.
Now, she was turning heads, and Roe was no exception.
They had missed their first flight and had to catch a later one, causing them to be late.
Desirae excused herself to go meet them outside, so everyone held off eating until they came in.
“Damn...” Roe uttered lowly.
“Bro, I ain’t never seen you sweat no woman. You good over there? Pick ya lip up, my nigga,” Truth whispered, cutting through Monroe’s thoughts.
Syncere chuckled, but there was a lot of truth in what his boy had said. Roe’s eyes never left Promise, he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Truth’s jokes aside, it was clear Roe hadn’t been this caught up in a woman since Sienna. It was evident, Roe was hypnotized.
“You like what you see, Mr. Black?” Rae asked sarcastically with a smirk and raised brow.
She was met with silence, and no other choice but to watch Roe make his way across the room as he introduced himself to Promise.
Syncere wasn’t surprised. Roe never wasted time when it came to something, or someone he wanted.
Amor tapped her glass, the soft sound calling the room to attention. “I just want to thank each of you for being here,” she began. “This year has been nothing short of amazing, and if y’all don’t mind, I’d like to start a tradition where we all share a few things we're thankful for.”
Syncere glanced around the table, taking in the faces of those who meant the most to him. His parents sat next to Amor, Truth, Roe, and Rae to his right. Havoc, Ms. Moore, and Promise sat across from him. Each person took their turn, expressing their gratitude, until it was Syncere’s turn.