He chuckles. “Mi want you get a daughter.” I raise a brow. “Not that a son wouldn’t change yuh, but a daughter?” He smiles. “That soften yuh in a different way.”
I shake my head. “Zara want a daughter too. But mi still hope fi a son.”
He finishes his drink. “Let’s make a bet.”
I squint at him. “Wah dis now?”
“If it’s a boy, I buy you a Bentley. But if it’s a girl… you get me a Rolls Royce.”
I burst out laughing. “Yuh serious?”
“Dead serious. Been a while since mi bet.”
I sit forward, still chuckling. “So wait… Bentley if it’s a boy. Ghost if it’s a girl?”
“Bet?”
“Bet.”
ZARA
I roll over and glance at the clock on my nightstand, it’s 6:00 a.m. sharp. “Good morning, Zara,” Mama says gently, standing at the door with a steaming cup of tea in her hand. She’s already dressed, eyes warm and knowing. I stretch beneath the covers, her voice pulling me straight back to childhood. She used towake me even earlier back then 5 a.m and the memory still wraps itself around mornings like this.
I slide off the bed with a sleepy smile. “Morning, Mama.”
She sips her tea. “How you feeling?”
“A little hit of nostalgia, but I’m good,” I say, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
After cleaning my room, FaceTiming Nickoi, and catching up on a little chit-chat with Mama, we end up eating breakfast together in the living room. She made fried dumplings and ackee with fresh orange juice. While we eat, she shares story times about her pregnancy with my mother and Uncle Rohan. Some funny, some heartwarming. I laugh so much, my cheeks hurt.
Later in the afternoon, I’m curled up on the couch watching a rom-com when Zanne calls. Her friend is throwing a party and she wants me to come through. It doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but lately I’ve been exhausted, the kind of exhaustion that no nap can fix. Still, she insists. I dodge a few times with excuses until I finally cave in and say yes.
Now it’s five o’clock, and Mama is still trying to talk me out of going. It’s honestly adorable how protective she is. That same fierce love is why she went off on Nickoi when she found out I was pregnant. I know it came from a good place. She just didn’t want anyone hurting me.
Mama love yuh.
She appears in the doorway again, this time with a small plate of sliced fruits. “Eat dis,” she says, handing it over.
I smile. “Thanks, Mama.” She never stops feeding me. Every hour on the hour.
But I’m not complaining.
“Remember seh yuh pregnant, and you alone a drive. So nuh wait too late fi come home, yuh hear?” she warns, her voice soft but firm.
I nod. “Mi nah stay long. We heading out now and mi a come back by seven,” I reassure her.
She sighs, sitting on the edge of the bed as I pop a piece of pineapple in my mouth. “Mi nuh know what Suzanne call you out your yard for enuh,” she mutters under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear.
I chuckle and start spritzing my favorite perfume,Yara.Sweet, fruity, warm and not doing too much. I’m giving Chanel a break tonight. “I’ll be fine, Mama. Zanne’s not reckless. My only problem is that this baby keeps me so sleepy, she probably won’t enjoy herself when her plus-one nod off mid-party.”
Mama eyes me. “You better not sleep while you a drive.”
That makes me laugh. “No man, mi definitely staying awake when mi a drive.”
I pick up my purse and kiss her cheek. “Love you, Mama.”
She nods, eyes soft. “Love you more. Tek care mi gyal.”
