“Ohhhh sista. I’d beat his ass.”
“Tell me about it,” Averi sighed. She only liked telling her business to people that had sense. She didn’t need anyone trying to convince her to keep the baby just because Blak had money. The older she got, Averi was starting to see that money truly wasn’t everything. “I’m so pissed at him. And on top of that, I took a plan B pill, and it didn’t work. It made me sick as shit. Made my stomach cramp bad. But I’m still pregnant,” Averi grumbled.
“I can look at my schedule and tell you what days I can take you to the chop shop.”
The fact that Vesha was dead serious made Averi’s face scrunch. “Like why would you call it that?”
Her friend’s shoulders hiked. “I’m just saying. You know I love my kids more than anything in this world, but having kids is not easy. I can’t understand the chicks that have a house full of kids and not a man in sight. It can absolutely be done alone,but why would you choose that? Not wanting everything to fall on my shoulders is why I stayed with dumb dumb for as long as I did. If you really don’t want the baby, don’t give up your carefree life to become a baby mama to a nigga that’s about to get married. I’d crash the wedding and tell his wife what he did. That was selfish as hell.”
“I have to tell you something else, and I swear you better not tell a soul.”
“Oh this is about to be good. Who am I going to tell? You’re really the only person that I talk to.”
“Supposedly, the marriage isn’t real. Like it’s some arranged marriage type shit. Naomi’s father is a kingpin and in some way, that’s going to be beneficial for Blak. I told him regardless of whether or not the marriage is real, I’m not being a side chick. That’s why he got me pregnant. He dead ass tried to trap me. Now, he’s telling me he loves me.”
“Oh sista,” Vesha’s eyes widened. “I mean, he’s wrong for getting you pregnant without your consent, and that’s a hill I’ll die on. But if the marriage isn’t real, I wouldn’t stop dealing with him,” Vesha shrugged unapologetically. “But I can see why you wouldn’t want to, and I’ll support you in whatever you do.”
“And it’s the fact that I don’t know what to do that’s pissing me off. I could have let him go. I like him a lot, but I wasn’t going to cry, beg, or be heartbroken about him marrying another woman. But getting me pregnant and all of a sudden wanting to confess his love for me is some sick shit. Real marriage or not, I don’t want to be home at night with his child, in bed alone, while he’s on the other side of town sleeping with a chick that has his last name. That’s not the life I want for myself. If I keep dealing with him my feelings will grow. How the hell do you watch a man you love walk out the door to go be with another woman? That shit is like dying a thousand deaths.”
“It really is. That’s not exactly my situation but for the past year or so, every time Rodrigo leaves the house, I wonder if he’s going to cheat and that is indeed a shitty way to live. The pain is bad enough but then the anger and resentment begin to fester until you hate the nigga. Don’t do it to yourself friend. If you know you can’t handle it, then don’t put yourself in that situation.”
Averi gave a curt nod. She was very early in the pregnancy and didn’t feel like she had a connection with the embryo. It should be easy to get an abortion, but she was having doubts. Maybe some women could get abortions like it was nothing, but the embryo growing inside of her body was a part of her. Could she really lay on a table and get it sucked out without a care in the world? But then she thought about life as a single mother with a married baby daddy, and she eyed her friend with tears in her eyes.
“Look at your schedule and tell me what days are good for you.”
Brazil walked into the conference room that his lawyer was going to be using and observed the gorgeous woman already seated at the table with her lawyer. Brazil had seen some beautiful women, but this one took the cake. Her hair was piled on top of her head into a ponytail, and her natural afro was huge. Her plump lips were lined with a dark color, while a baby pink shade painted her lips. Her face was littered with freckles, and her light brown skin looked as if it was glowing. When she noticed Brazil staring, she gave him an awkward smile. The lawyer stood.
“Hello, Mr. Thornton. I’m Ms. Vincent, and this is my client, Giavanna.”
Brazil gave a nod as he shook her hand. His lawyer entered the room, and they all sat. Ms. Vincent was the first to speak.
“My client was baby-sitting when Ms. Johnson passed away. The baby was only four days old at the time. Ms. Johnson was going out to get diapers because Unique was born weighing four pounds, and the diapers she had at home were all too big. Kera’s mother lives in Chicago, and her only brother is incarcerated. Giavanna is the only family member at the time that was able or willing to keep Unique until we found you.”
“Um,” Giavanna spoke up. “I can’t tell you what to do with your child, obviously, and she’s still very young, but I’ve had her since she came home from the hospital really. I’m not rich, but I can afford to take care of her. If you want to take full custody of her, there’s nothing I can do about it. But if we can work something out where I can still have her at least sometimes, I’d like that. You wouldn’t have to give me child support or anything. I don’t want anything from you.”
Her words caused Brazil’s tense body to relax with relief. He had a support system, and he had still been sweating bullets trying to figure out how to fit a newborn into his world. “Honestly, that would work because I’m in the thick of the season. My mom and siblings will all help me, but I don’t want to just put a newborn on my mother and leave to travel multiple times a month for games. We can definitely work something out, so you can still be in her life, and I can get her when I’m home.”
The genuine smile that lifted Giavanna’s cheeks made him aware that she really cared for the child. He didn’t know about her living conditions or anything of the sort, but he prayed she was a good fit for helping him with Unique until the season was over.
“Very well,” Brazil’s lawyer spoke. “We can have legal documents drawn up. No child support will be expected from thefather.” He looked over at Brazil. “What’s a feasible schedule for you?”
“I have games on Saturdays. When I travel for games, I usually leave on Friday and return Saturday night. Rarely do I have two games a week, but I do have practice. I’d say, I can get her on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.” He wasn’t sure if that was enough, but he hoped it was.
“Does that work for you and your schedule?” the lawyer asked Giavanna.
“Yes, it does. I actually work from home, and I can work at my own pace, so it doesn’t bother me having Unique there while I work.”
The meeting had gone better than Brazil expected, and he was finally able to breathe a little easier. Since he got the request for the paternity test he’d been stressed. He and Giavanna exchanged information, and they agreed that he could come meet his daughter in a few hours. Him suddenly having a child was wild. In fact, he was still in disbelief. Brazil had a lot of questions, and he hoped Giavanna could answer them. He was grateful that she didn’t give gold digger trying to come up off the situation vibes. Of course, he didn’t mind taking care of his child’s needs, but he would take full custody of her and figure shit out along the way before he paid a stranger thousands of dollars a month to keep his child. He’d rather pay his mother to be his nanny.
Though he appreciated the help, and he wanted his child to know her other family, at some point, he would get his daughter full-time. He still had some time before he went to Giavanna’s house, so he was going to stop and get the things he needed for Unique when she came to his home. Every two minutes or so, Brazil was shaking his head. He wasn’t sure if Giavanna knew why Kera kept her pregnancy from him, but he wanted answers.
None of his siblings had kids. Brazil was clueless as fuck when it came to what a child needed. Of course, she would need a crib. He also knew she’d need a swing. Bottles, diapers, wipes. Was she too young for toys? “Yeah, she’s probably too young for toys,” he muttered to himself.
He didn’t know the first thing about shopping for a newborn, but the lawyer did say she’d been born weighing only four pounds. He was sure getting her the smallest size would do, but he didn’t know how long she’d be in that size or how many outfits he should buy in the smallest size. He needed a book titledBuying Baby Shit for Dummies. As Brazil walked into the store, he dialed his mother. He tried doing it on his own, but it would probably be cheaper if she walked him through it versus him guessing and wasting money on things she couldn’t use or didn’t need.
“I’m really somebody’s daddy out here,” he listened to the line trill. “Fuck.”
Impressed was an understatement when Symphony stepped outside and saw a driver waiting at the rear passenger door of a Rolls Royce Phantom. She looked over at Block with raised brows. He was wearing a pair of black jeans, a black Polo sweater, and wheat colored Timberland boots. His outfit wasn’t exactly classy, but he looked really good. He told her they were going to dinner at a nice restaurant, and she was wearing a crème and tan skirt that flared out at the bottom like a tennis skirt with a matching cropped sweater. She dressed the look up with black stockings and heels. Her hair hung in loose curls, and the makeup she wore was so subtle it barely looked like she hadany on. Her perfume smelled expensive, and it mingled nicely with his cologne.
