“Well, let’s play a quick round of charades,”Innvy suggested, locking eyes with me briefly as I walked toward her in the center of the room. It seemed like fate for us to meet and fall in love with best friends. Life had been perfect and full ever since. Though I initially wanted to avoid Merc, and Innvy had her rough patch with Bully, I knew neither of us would trade our men for anything in the world.
“I’ll go first!” I offered, rubbing my palms together.
“Hol’ up. We ain’t picking partners?” Merc confirmed, looking around the room.
A scowl covered my face, but it was only temporary. I couldn’t help but laugh. We were great partners at a lot of things, but charades wasn’t one of them. My dingy ass could never figure out what he was trying to say, and he said I made my stuff too simple and gave him too many options to choose from.
He also wasn’t the most patient man when it came to teaching me things, though he was soft with me in literally every other way, which was weird because he was a whole instructor now that he’d opened his training academy for security and bodyguards. A part of me wondered if I was the problem, but that couldn’t have been the case.
“Couples against couples,” Bully said through his chuckle.
“I’m going to ignore you disrespecting me,” I told Merc, getting a quiet laugh out of him before he took a sip from his red plastic cup.
“I’m just saying, bae. You’re great at a lot of things but?—”
“Moving on!” I yelled cheerfully.
I lifted two fingers and Merc said, “Two words.” After nodding my agreement, I pointed at myself as everyone started to record us. “I’m . . .” Smiling, I shook my head. “Oh, you.” Chuckling, I nodded. “You what, Neo?” Myfingers trembled as I put my hand at the top of my stomach. I made a half circle in front of my stomach before sticking it out and putting my hand on my waist. His head tilted and eyes tightened in concentration as he stared at my still flat belly. When I rubbed it, a clipped chuckle escaped him. “Pregnant. You’re pregnant?”
“Mhm.” I nodded adamantly as he stood. “Yes! I’m pregnant, babe.”
“Bae,” he called, gently yet forcefully pulling me into him by my arm and picking me up. “You’re having my baby again?”
With a giggle, I cupped his cheek and gave him a sweet, quick kiss. “Yes.”
“Thank you,” he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut as they watered. “I promise I will be there for every single moment just like the first time. Thank you, Neo. My baby is having my baby again!”
He grew more and more excited as the weight of the announcement settled within him, and the anxiousness I was feeling to tell him dissolved and was replaced with excitement of my own. As our friends congratulated us, Mercury held me close. So close it was like he never wanted to let me go. I was okay with that, because I didn’t want him to let me go . . . ever.
Merc
When we planned our wedding, we didn’t plan for Neo to be pregnant. The timing was somehow perfect, because she wasn’t showing yet, and a lot of our excursions and activities could be adjusted to accommodate her.
The last time we were in Bali, all I cared about was my baby coming back to me. Coming back to herself. To see her thriving now and pregnant again was a blessing, but I couldn’t lie and say a part of me wasn’t nervous. I didn’t know if she’d have another bout with postpartum depression again. If she did, I’d be with her every step of the way, but I couldn’t lie and say watching her suffer didn’t make me feel helpless.
I hated not being able to instantly carry that load for her. I took pride in being a problem solver, a protector, and watching the woman I loved battle her own body, mind, and emotions was hard as fuck. So hard I would have been okay with us not having any more children, but I knew she wanted more, and I did too. I just wished there was a way for me to know she’d be okay after she gave birth.
Her doctor assured us that though the chance of her having it again was increased, it also was a possibility she wouldn’t have it, because her symptoms weren’t overly severe the first time. Either way, she, our doula, and midwife were already locked in and preparing and doing all they could to make Neo’s pregnancy and delivery as peaceful and healthy as possible.
Crazy as it might be, the moment she told me she was pregnant again, that announcement immediately put me into prayer mode. I’d been praying and talking to God more every day now than I ever had in my life. If nothing else, this second pregnancy was likely going to bring me closer to Him, because I was relying on Him to keep me steady while I remained the strength my family needed.
“You ready, brotha?”Asylum asked, gripping my shoulder.
As long as Neo and I had been together, and as much of a life as we’d already built, I didn’t think I’d be nervous on our wedding day. I was. Being in a committed relationship was one thing, but marriage was altogether different. Regardless of how people tried to downplay the significance of signing that license, things changed immediately when a couple did. Not only that, but they took those vowsto God. He’d given me the perfect woman for me, the most perfect daughter and son, and now we had another little bundle on the way.
I was confident in my abilities as a man, father, and husband, but a little pressure was sitting on a nigga’s chest as I waited to head to the bamboo nest. Leave it to Asylum to be the one to notice.
Nodding, I avoided his eyes. “Yeah.”
“Lie again.”
Chuckling, I shook my head as he sat next to me. “I’m ready. Just . . . taking in the magnitude of the moment, feel me? I’m about to be somebody’s husband. Not just somebody, but the woman of my dreams. You know I don’t play about Neo.”
“I know that, and that’s also how I know you’re going to be a damn good husband. Maybe not perfect, because none of us are, but perfect for her and good, nonetheless.”
I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear that until the words were actually said. I thanked him, then we stood and took shots with the rest of the crew. After that, the rest of them took the time to encourage and congratulate me before we headed out of our suite to the bamboo nest.
The open concept of the cocoon provided the river valley for its backdrop, and the water and trees were so beautiful. I instantly felt myself relax as I stared out into the serene view.
