4. Clover
4
Clover
“ Y our little one is looking really good,” my OB, Dr. Payne, smiled at me after cleaning my belly and pulling my shirt back down. “Measuring at 14 weeks, so you are officially out of your first trimester, Momma!”
“That’s so exciting!” Charm squealed with so much excitement. “My little niece or nephew is so cute!”
Glancing up at her nutty ass, I shook my head and laughed a little. “Can I expect the vomiting to die down now?”
“It’s up to your baby,” she gently grasped my hands and helped me sit up. “Everyone’s pregnancy is different. Ideally, yes, you would be experiencing less nausea and vomiting in your second trimester. However, some women experience it throughout their whole pregnancy.”
“Is there anything we can do to ease that?” DaVinci asked from the FaceTime call on Charm’s phone.
“Ginger pops do help, but there’s not a lot that can be done for the vomiting. If you find certain foods or flavors induce the nausea, try to avoid them at all costs.”
“Okay, I can do that,” I agreed with the nod of my head.
“And did Trent get you scheduled already for your next appointment?”
“Yep,” I nodded again.
“Okay great. Well, if you don’t have any other questions for me, you’re all set for today,” she warmly smiled as she stood up.
I slid off the bed and put my coat on while Charm and Vinny chatted like best friends. Since he had woken up nearly two weeks ago, my sister had been my damn shadow pretty much. That included a lot of the time that I spent with DaVinci in his rehab facility, so they were bonded like glue. With him being in a coma for so long, he had to learn how to do a lot of things over again. It took him almost a week to regain any feeling in his limbs. Once he did get the feeling back, we quickly discovered that he couldn’t even do something as basic as holding my hand. Dr. Ofei told me that Vinny would need intense physical therapy, so he was in a facility where he worked on his muscle strength daily. On top of that, he was wheelchair bound for the time being, and his house wasn’t outfitted for someone in a wheelchair.
“Bro, call ya wife’s phone, I got a business call coming in,” Charm rushed him off her phone as we walked out of Dr. Payne’s office.
Seconds after she hung up, my phone vibrated in my pocket after we got in my car. Knowing DaVinci’s mouth could be reckless, I popped in an AirPod rather than letting the Bluetooth pick it up. Since Charm was handling business, the last thing I wanted was for my freaky ass husband to say some crazy shit.
“How you feeling, baby?” I questioned, backing out of the parking space and then pulling off.
“I’m aight. Happy that our baby is doing good. I’ll be better when I see you.”
My heart was hurting for him and River, too. DaVinci was trying to be strong for me, but I knew that his new reality was crushing him on the inside. I could see it in his eyes every single day. He hated being in a wheelchair, he hated not being able to do things for himself, and he most definitely hated being away from home. There wasn’t much he could do about it except for get stronger so that he could leave the rehab facility.
Even though River had woken up, her cognitive functions were severely impaired. She didn’t even seem to understand what we were saying. When we asked her questions, she would just stare at us like we were crazy. It’s like the lights were on but no one was home. It amazed me that both she and DaVinci were in comas, and he came out of it mostly okay, but she didn’t. Especially since the bullet didn’t do any real damage to her brain. Dr. O said that River’s symptoms were normal for being in a prolonged coma. The issue was that he wasn’t 100% if her memory or functions would ever come back. That’s the part that worried me.
“As soon as I drop off Charm, I’m on my way to you,” I declared in a soft tone.
“Drop who off? I thought I was going with you?!” Charm turned all the way in her seat to look at me.
“Didn’t you tell me that you and Josh got something to do?” I looked at her like she was just as crazy.
“Huh?” She paused and her eyes rolled around before she snapped her fingers. “Oh yeah! I forgot. Damn. Well, fuck. Never mind then.”
“Yeah, sit back and relax Dory,” I giggled at her short-term memory having ass.
“Go ahead and do that, bae. I’ll see you when you get here. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I let him know before ending the call.
Charm and I talked about this lavish gender reveal she wanted to throw for me all the way to her house. Having something to talk about other than my reality was nice, even if it was for just a moment. I was trying to not let everything going on around me take a toll on my mental, but it was an uphill battle. And if Vin’s and Riv’s medical progress weren’t enough, Tonya had been showing her natural black ass at every turn.
Legally, she still had POA over Vin and River. Since Vin was no longer incapacitated, he could advocate for himself. River, on the other hand, still hadn’t been able to speak and Tonya was ready to ship her off to some facility in the middle of nowhere. She was clearly detached from DaVinci and River, which further fueled my theory that she was the one that had them shot. If she didn’t do it herself then she paid someone to do it for her. Lake was too much of a momma’s boy for me to present my idea to him. DaVinci was healing, and I didn’t want to upset him by bringing it up again. He hadn’t said a word about it since he had left the hospital, so I just had to keep it cute for the time being.
After I dropped Charm off at home, it took me a little over twenty minutes to get to the rehab facility where Vin was staying. My mood instantly picked up and a smile spread across my face when I walked into the room where he was attempting lateral raises with one-pound dumbbells. The look on his face told me that he was irritated as fuck just that fast. Before this, he could easily pick my heavy ass up and now he could barely lift his arms, let alone a one-pound dumbbell.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Pierre,” one of his physical therapists, Olga, smiled at me.
Olga was a big, burly woman who didn’t fuck around with DaVinci whatsoever. She didn’t let him give up, no matter how much he complained or cussed at her. If she said he was doing 3 sets of 5 reps, then best believe that’s what he was doing. His other physical therapist, Elizabeth, gave up way too easy with him.
“Hiiii, Olga,” I sung, hanging my coat on the coat rack and stopping short of DaVinci. “Baby. What’s wrong?”
I knew better than to kiss him and mess up his set while Olga was standing there. If I interrupted, she would make him start all over and based on the look on his face, that would only piss him off even more.
“Nothing,” he grimaced with a strained expression on his face while trying to lift his arms.
I squatted down in front of him and tilted my head slightly. “Doesn’t look like nothing. Olga, what set is he on?”
“Last one, three more reps to go,” she responded from behind me.
“Three more reps, daddy, so let’s get through them so you can hug me,” I encouraged, staring at him intensely.
“Clover,” he hissed through clenched teeth.
I smirked and tilted my head a little more. “Yes?”
He was nearly shaking as he pushed his arms in the air but said nothing else. I knew it was a struggle for him, but I refused to let him give up on himself.
“Good jobbbb, baby, two more,” I eased back up to my full height with his eyes staying locked on mine.
“Fuck!” He shouted after a few moments of trying to raise his arms again.
“C’mon, baby, you got this,” I gently pushed, hoping my words motivated him. “You can do it.”
“Fuckkkkkk!” DaVinci bellowed, throwing the weights down as tears formed in his eyes. “I can’t fuckin’ do this shit!”
Turning my head, I looked back at Olga. “Can you please give us a minute?”
She hesitated but nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Turning to face him, I moved closer to him and wiped the lone tear that escaped his eye. As we stared at each other, I could tell he was fighting any other tears that wanted to be free.
“Let it out, baby,” I whispered, running my fingertips against his cheek. “I know you’re frustrated, DaVinci, but you don’t get to quit. You don’t get to quit on me but most importantly, yourself .”
“I can’t even fuckin’ hug you,” he broke down, allowing his emotions to spring free from his eyes. “I…I can’t hold you. I can’t walk. I don’t even know if my dick still works, Clo. Like, what the fuck?”
Swathing my arms around his neck, I pulled his head against my swollen boobs and closed my eyes. “All I hear is a bunch of cants. But guess what you can do?” I kept my voice soft but even as he wet my shirt with his tears. “You can fight, love. You can get stronger every single day. And you can 100% count on me to be here for you while you’re healing. I know you’re used to being superman, and that’s why this is so frustrating, but it’s okay. You will be back to being superman in no time as long as you stop focusing on what you can’t do and put your energy into what you can do.”
“I hit the gahdamn jackpot with you,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around me.
My eyes immediately popped open when I felt his arms. “Daddy?”
“Yes,” he continued speaking against my chest.
“You’re holding me,” I blinked back tears as I realized that he didn’t realize what his arms were doing.
Pulling his head away a little, his eyebrows jumped in surprise. “See? I told you that you’re lucky.”
“Boy,” I giggled and pecked his lips repeatedly. “You did it! I’m so proud of you! Try to put your arms down and then grab me again,” I coached, giving him a reassuring look that he could do it.
I watched him as he struggled a little bit, but he was able to eventually repeat the motion. It took him a while, but I knew if he kept doing it then he would be able to do it with ease again.
“Well would you look at that?” Olga came back into the room with her arms folded across her wide chest and a smirk on her face. “If you can hug your wife, you can finish your reps,” she marched over, picked up the weights, and shoved them in his hands. “Let’s go pansy ass.”
Bursting into a fit of laughter, I moved out of the way and nodded at him. “You heard the lady, let’s go pansy,” I stuck my tongue out and winked.
“As soon as I’m up on my feet, I’m beating both y’all asses,” he threatened, pushing his arms up in the air with a lot less of a struggle that time.