“My fault?” I gasped, hurt spilling from my pores.
“Yeah, your fault. And then you come to my job, onset of a $400 million movie, and drop this shit on me like it’s Uber Eats or some shit.”
Unable to take the energy in the room, I stood up and grabbed my purse from the chair. I tried to make it across the room and out the door, but between the tears flooding my eyes, clouding my vision, and my body becoming weak with hurt, Gage was able to catch me by my arm.
“Mahasin…” he said, apologetically.
“No, let me go. I get it. You’ve got your life, and I shouldn’t have barged in here, ruining your day. But get this straight—I came to tell you because I thought it was the right thing to do. Not because I need or want anything from you. My baby will be well taken care of, without a struggle, from its mama—with or without you, Gage Blaque. Niggas will line up to be my baby’s stepdaddy, so he or she won’t miss out in the father area either.”
I snatched away from him. “Oh—and if you keep that uneducated ass birthing scene in that movie, you gonna owethose investors $399 million dollars. And they might sue your ass for the other million.”
I turned, prepared to storm off and slam the door.
“Damn, the scene that bad?” he laughed.
“Nigga—all I said, andthat’swhat stood out to you?”
“Nah, that’s just the only part that might happen. Because you’re not doing this pregnancy alone. You’re not taking care of my kid alone. You have no role in either of y’all’s financial well-being—because I got it. And you don’t want to be responsible for a nigga getting bodied because you had him around my kid, do you?”
Okay now, Gage—let me find out you're one of those thug types that ain’t about to play about me.Mahasin,there you go thinking of some off-the-wall shit. He just said this was your fault—stay grounded and mad, bitch.
“Gage, please—” was all I could muster before his arms were around me, both resting on my lower back.
He shook his head as he looked down at my little belly doing its best to poke through my silk blouse. “I just need a second to process all this. Once again, you managed to change my world in less than twenty-four hours.”
He stepped back slightly, giving himself enough room to comfortably rub my belly.
I laughed—a soft, relieved sound. “Yeah, I seem to have a habit of doing that to you.”
He smiled, never letting me go, never stopping the gentle caress over the baby growing inside me. “You really thought I was going to let you do this alone?”
“Sometimes—a lot of times—Black women unfortunately don’t have a choice,” I said, as the tears finally broke loose, quiet and relentless.
“Well, as long as I’m alive, that’ll never be your story. And I’m going to make sure that even if I do check out of this worldsooner than planned, itstillwon’t be your story. I told you that night—I gave myself to you because I’d never regret you. That I always wanted to be connected to you. So, I’m going to honor and cherish our connection. You and my baby will be loved, protected, and provided for, never wanting for anything.”
He let those words flow from his lips so confidently, so reassuringly. I wanted to believe him. God knows I wanted to.
But the sight—and terrible interaction—with that woman…Paris… solidified that he couldn’t possibly keep that promise.
“What about her?” I asked softly. “Your girlfriend.”
“I’ll speak to Paris. Will she like this? No. And it may cause a temporary rift in our relationship—but no one will stop me from taking care of my kid. And taking care of my kid means taking care of their mama. I didn’t step out on Paris, and I don’t regret you, Mahasin. I’ll figure this shit out—letmeworry about it. You focus on taking care of my baby while he or she is growing in there.”
Slightly lowering himself, he pressed his lips to my belly and whispered:
“Daddy got everything covered out here.”
The words—simple as they were, but so powerful and… safe—broke something open inside me. I covered my face with my hands and cried the kind of cry that steals your breath away and brings you to your knees. As gravity did its job and pulled me downward, I felt Gage catch me and draw me into his chest. I could smell the sweet pineapple on his breath from the soda he drank and feel his heartbeat thudding steadily against my cheek. Both were soothing.
“Hey,” he whispered into my hair. “I got you, okay?”
I had so many questions for him. Like,for how long?And the fact that I didn’t want my kid around carrot-head ass Paris. But the words wouldn’t come—and honestly, I didn’t need them to.Not in this moment. Instead, I let myself rest there, in his arms, where I felt… safe.
After a while, I pulled back some and Gage guided me to the bathroom to wash my face.
“So, what do we do next? When’s your doctor’s appointment? I mean—you are the doctor—but I know you can’t treat yourself. Are you taking your prenatal vitamins?” Gage asked, a rush of questions tumbling out, making me smile and dizzy all at the same time.
“Gage, please—one question at a time. You’re going to make me throw up,” I confessed, chuckling softly. I was honestly delighted to hear how involved he wanted to be, and I did my best to answer what I could in the moment.
