Chapter 8
Glow
“Come on, my pretty girl. You’re doing so good,” I cooed as I poured warm water on my niece’s hair, watching its silkiness turn slick.
Her eyes were open, looking at me with much more trust than I deserved.
Her pink baby tub was inside mine, and my back was on fire as I kneeled beside it.
Making sure the water didn’t go inside her ears, I looked her over one last time before sitting back on my heels, drying my hands, and pressing play on the phone screen.
“Next, place a dime-sized amount of shampoo in your palm, lather it, and apply directly to the baby’s head.”
Nodding, I repeated the directions from the video.
When my hand was lathered with Baby Dove’s Head To Toe wash, I applied it directly to her scalp.
Baby Leader still had a soft spot, so I avoided it as best as I could.
When she began sucking on her fists, I knew it was time to speed up the process.
Her bottle was already prepared—I had done that before bathing her.
A few hours earlier, she had vomited, and it had run under her neck and into her hair.
She needed a bath, but she had fallen asleep before I could give her one.
I used that time to edit content and open PR packages.
It had been over a week since my last upload, and my followers were growing tired.
I’d received hundreds of messages asking if I was okay, while others simply joked, asking for the fine Memphis nigga with the fine brothers to “unhand me.” Ironically, his unhanding me would mean a divorce attorney since I’d accepted his hand in marriage.
Just as I was about to upload a pre-recorded video of me trying a new Pho restaurant not too far from my townhome, Leader was waking up.
I nearly panicked because I’d made plans to wash her and didn’t know how.
As a big sister, I didn’t have a big enough age gap to have had that kind of responsibility with Glee.
When she was born, I was nearing five, and while I remember begging my mom to hold and feed her, those maternal tasks never occurred in my adult life.
I could have easily called my best friend, who had a baby only a few months old at home, but I hadn’t responded to any of their messages for days.
I couldn’t call my mom, either, because she’d be quick to get in her car to come and check on me.
I’d lost weight since she last saw me in person and didn’t feel like answering a lot of questions.
Plus, my mom was already stressed enough about being a grandma at a moment’s notice, and I didn’t want to add to that.
She had a cancer scare once, and we were trying to keep her healthy and stress-free so nothing else would trigger a recurrence.
Lee-Lee was bathed, and I smiled at the new nickname for her.
After ten minutes of rummaging through the packages delivered that morning, I chose the perfect outfit.
The pink sleeper with bears all over it was open at the bottom, resembling a long nightgown, which made changing her diaper easy.
Her mom was supposed to visit BU to handle transferring business and stay overnight, but she had texted saying she was coming back home.
I wanted to protest, but Leader was so adorable that I didn’t blame my sister for wanting to be with her sweet baby.
I ran my hand down the side of her face as she drank from the bottle, her eyes fixed on mine.
I started rocking back and forth as if I were in a nursing chair instead of my living room sofa.
Glee had done a great job with packaging and labeling her breast milk.
In three weeks, she already had a small stash in my freezer.
I’d read somewhere that breastfed babies tend to be more cry-prone, so I was thrilled that my niece took the bottle instead of a nipple.
Glee still had school, and although we could afford childcare, I knew I would be the one to babysit when my sister went to class.
She was too small, too precious, for me to trust a stranger with the first baby in our family.
Leader was tiny but greedy; she’d nearly sucked the entire bottle down, and before I could burp her, her eyes that had little spiked lashes were closing.
Placing the glass bottle on the table, I tossed the burp cloth that matched her outfit over my shoulder and began patting her back once I had her in place.
I didn’t know how to bathe a baby, but I did know how to burp and feed one.
I’d gotten plenty of practice on Baby Ezio with that.
Nuzzling my nose against hers, the sweet, powdery smell almost reminded me of warm laundry. I could sniff her all day. That newborn baby scent had magic in it. If Dasani could bottle this up and sell it for one of her perfumes, she’d strike gold. And I’d buy it by caseloads.
Ding Dong
Groaning, my eyes shot open. I’d just dozed off, figuring I would get a nap in while the baby was sleeping.
I stretched my neck toward the bassinet I’d pulled into the living room and relaxed, seeing that the baby was still sleeping peacefully.
That bottle had put her in a food coma, and even though I’d burped her, she still puked.
I had caught it with a birthing cloth, avoiding another bath being needed tonight.
I was going to have to talk to Glee about how much milk she was giving her.
We were probably overfeeding her, according to my Googling.
She had an appointment next week, and I didn’t want the doctors to tell us she’d picked up too much weight for her age.
Sticking my feet into the tan fuzzy house shoes had sent months ago, I switched past the broken-down boxes, half from PR and the other half from the stuff I’d been ordering for Leader.
It would be easier for me to haul them out the front door and place them on the curb for the recycling crew that came every Sunday.
Instead, I’d been putting them in the garage or against my living room wall, and for now, that is where they would be.
“Coming!” I announced with a yawn.
I’d had enough sleep during the days I was locked in my room, but caring for a newborn was hard work.
Still, I’d been enjoying Lee-Lee. She was beyond beautiful and a pretty chill baby.
By the time my hand reached the knob, I hesitated.
I could have easily checked my Ring camera from my phone before getting off the couch, or I could have looked through the peephole.
Unless Glee was back, which I doubted since it would take her hours to get here, it had to be either Jisei or Tunan.
Jisei, I could handle. She would curse me out, accuse me of hogging the baby, and all would be well. But Tunan, I was indifferent about.
I still hadn’t heard from him, and while a part of me felt slighted, I was also relieved.
Things were getting too heated between us.
I’d gone from being celibate to becoming a leaky faucet every time he was nearby.
A few weeks ago, I hoped Shio would choose me so I could be fully accepted into the circle of mob women, and now, I was married to his brother.
I felt embarrassed by the whole ordeal. It was clear Shio wasn’t checking for me, and seeing that chocolate beauty on his arms was a sign that I wasn’t his type from the start.
It wasn’t my business since I had married his brother, but if this was Jisei on the other side of the door, she’d better be ready to spill the tea—after cursing my ass out, of course.
Pulling the door open, I was taken aback by the person, or people, on the other side.
Tugging at the Victoria’s Secret lounge set I was wearing, I adjusted my shorts and ran a hand through my hair.
I had gotten my hair done yesterday—a silk press cut into a blunt, chin-length bob—but suddenly, I felt like I’d made the wrong choice.
“So, you are alive?”
Placing her hand on her round hip, she smelled of her perfume, which wrapped around my head like a boa constrictor.
The halter top with the sweetheart bodice was perfect for her small breasts, making them sit just right.
Her neck and shoulders were exposed, leaving her light caramel skin bare.
Her hair was long and in bedhead curls, flowing down her back.
There was no part in dividing the hair; instead, it was tossed backward, showcasing her perfectly placed makeup.
Denim jeans covered her lower body, and strappy heels adorned her feet.
Her bracelet stack probably cost more than my townhouse, and her ring likely cost more than the neighborhood.
Dasani Rinaldi was the definition of a bad bitch with a rich nigga who ran shit.
Every time I saw her, she looked and smelled better than the last time.
“Da-Dasani?” I stuttered.
“Yeap. It’s me… and my boo, Nelsa.”
Dasani didn’t wait to be invited in. She stepped up, prompting me to move out of her way. “Hello, Glow. Thank you for answering my text message about coming over.”
I cringed at her sarcasm but threw my second unexpected guest a small smile. “Hi, Nelsa.”
I locked the door behind Dasani and her housekeeper and followed them into the living room. Nelsa was in her work uniform, as usual, and considering how much they paid her, I’d eat, sleep, and breathe in that baby blue and white dress too.
“Ohhhh! The babyyyy!” Dasani switched to the bassinet, tucked her hair behind her ear, and bent down to get a better look at Leader.
“I’m not going to hold her because I’m too doused in my perfumes and oils.
You know they are still in the testing stages, and she’s too new and sensitive, but Glow! My goodness, she is so damn gorgeous.”