“Wow. Thank you. You didn’t have to disrupt your day to come sit here with me.”
Brazil waved her comment off. “You’re talking crazy. I came to show you the video of Ms. Unique getting her ears pierced this morning.”
Giavanna’s eyes widened, and she didn’t speak on the fact that he could have simply texted the video to her rather than showing up in person. “You got her ears pierced?” Her voice rose an octave. “I missed it.” She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout.
Brazil pulled the video up and leaned forward, so she could see it. Giavanna had no clue who was recording the video because Brazil was holding Unique. When the needle went through her ear, she jumped in shock before sticking her bottom lip out and crying. Giavanna wasn’t sure who she felt the sorriest for, Unique or Brazil. The moment the first ear was pierced, he closed his eyes and frowned as if he was the one in pain. It was one of the cutest things she’d ever seen.
“How long did she cry?”
“Only for about two minutes, but I swear when we were done, she wouldn’t look at me. Shorty was hot with me. It hurt my feelings real bad. We had only been in the car for about two minutes before she was knocked out. By the time she woke up, she forgot she hated me. I didn’t know ear piercing was so violent. I wanted to slap the shit out of that lady for making my baby cry.”
Giavanna’s simper was genuine and much needed. She had spent the last few days crying and being a nervous wreck. She hadn’t realized how much company meant to her until Brazil walked through the door. He was handsome, kind, and a good father. Maybe if Kera had chosen him instead of the man she did, she’d still be alive. Brazil accepted Unique with no hesitation. Giavanna refused to believe he would have acted differently had it been Kera to tell him about the child. Giavanna was so happy that he was the child’s father and not the bastard who caused the accident that killed Kera.
“How long you gotta be here today?” he inquired, making Giavanna sigh.
“Four hours. I have books and my phone. I was just going to read and scroll social media. Maybe take a nap. I’ve been super tired, lately.”
“Feel free to do those things while I’m here. We don’t have to talk nonstop.”
Once again, Giavanna was speechless. Brazil really was one of a kind, and if he wasn’t her cousin’s baby daddy, she might’ve found herself fawning over him. A blind woman could see that he was handsome, but his personality was what really made him attractive. Whatever woman he ended up with was going to be a lucky woman indeed.
“Okay, and I won’t be offended if you don’t stay the whole time. Really. I know you have things to do.”
Brazil didn’t have to utter a word. The look he tossed her way made her press her pointer finger and thumb together and make a motion like she was zipping her lips. She wasn’t going to say another word, at least not about him being there. It only took Giavanna a few minutes to realize that talking to Brazil was far more interesting than scrolling social media.
“What made you start playing soccer?” she inquired as he looked down at his phone screen.
“I played as a kid. My parents were big on keeping me and my brothers busy. I tried everything from soccer to baseball, but soccer just came naturally to me. I didn’t even have to try hard, and I was always the best player on the team. Even when I started feeling like I didn’t want to play anymore, I was never bad at it.”
“That’s dope. I find myself wondering what Unique will like. Like, if she’ll like ballet, or if she’ll be a tomboy, if she’ll be prissy. Then, I think about the fact that I might not be around to see it.” Giavanna’s voice cracked as she blinked back tears.
“Listen, I could walk out of this hospital today and get hit by a car. Death is inevitable for all of us. It could be me before it’s you. We’re all going to die one day. We just have to live each day like it’s the last one for real. Don’t think about what if. Just make every day count. You think Kera would have ever thought that she wouldn’t be around to raise her child?”
“No.” Giavanna had to admit that Brazil had a great point. Time wasn’t promised to anyone. Kera was most certainly proof of that. “I really want to see her. Even if I only keep her for a couple of hours. I miss her.”
Brazil gave a curt nod. “I don’t want to invade your space or cross any kind of lines, but I can bring her by any time, and I don’t have to leave her. I can chill while you visit with her. I’ll never stop telling you how I appreciate the way you took care of her with no agendas and no hidden motives. When I said you were family, I meant that. Unique will always know how you stepped up for her after her mother died.”
“Charming, athletic, handsome, kind. I’m sure the ladies are beating each other over the heads with sticks to get to you.” She chuckled.
“Everybody doesn’t get this side of me. For the most part, I keep my head down, mind my business, and stay out the way. When I first met Kera, I couldn’t stand her. I wasn’t talking to anybody, and she asked me if I was mute.” He laughed at the memory.
“Oh my God, that is definitely something she would say.” The mood slightly shifted. Every time Giavanna thought about the fact that her cousin wasn’t alive, she felt a pain in her chest. She was so young, still trying to figure things out. Kera didn’t do everything right, but nobody did. She would have loved Unique more than anything, and that was a sentiment Giavanna would die behind. “How was your relationship with her?” Giavanna cleared her throat and shifted in her seat.
“Once we got past her smart-ass mouth, it was just sex. I didn’t want more and neither did she. At least if she did, I couldn’t tell. She never went out of her way to reach out to me and after a while, I just stopped reaching out to her.” He passively shrugged. “We only had sex a handful of times.”
Giavanna gave a curt nod. “I wish she was here to see the beautiful baby she created. Life just isn’t fair.” Giavanna once again found herself becoming emotional, and she pushed out a small sigh. She was tired of feeling. Exhausted, actually. Giavanna didn’t want to stress, worry, be afraid, upset, or sad. She just simply wanted to be. That was a task easier said than done.
She was also tired of everyone telling her to have faith. There was a chance she would die, and that was just life. Giavanna could speak remission every single day, but if that wasn’t God’s plan for her, then it wouldn’t be. Fuck being optimistic. Giavanna was dealing in reality.
“I feel you on that,” Brazil mumbled. He placed his phone in his lap, sat back, and gazed out of the window.
Conversations around them floated in the air. The sounds of people walking by filled the gaps. The space was far from quiet but still, in an odd way, their silence was comforting to Giavanna. She appreciated Brazil’s kindness, and she didn’t want to make it out to be more than it actually was. He referred to her as family, and she felt she’d be dead wrong to be lusting after him just because he was nice to her. It kind of sucked that one of the good fish in the sea was off limits to her but such was life. Giavanna wasn’t going to dwell on it. More than anything, she wanted to be cured and to go back to living her regular life. Giavanna couldn’t afford to freeze her eggs, so she had to pray that if she did beat cancer, her fertility wouldn’t be impacted.
It was all too much, but Giavanna reasoned with herself that if she beat cancer and didn’t have kids, at least she had Unique. She’d never prayed to become a millionaire. In her opinion, she’d never asked God for anything too big. Just simple things like good health, a good career, a great man, and one day, kids. If she couldn’t have all those things, she’d have to learn to be okaywith it. Both Giavanna and Brazil seemed to be deep in their own thoughts when a smiling nurse came in to check on her.
“You doing okay, Hun?”
“My mouth is a little dry.” Giavanna offered a small smile in return. “Do you happen to have a bottle of water or maybe some ice I can suck on?”
