“Skye, Nyeem still has a month before he graduates from high school. I said I’d start living my best life and doing me when he graduates, but damn, girl, give me a minute to wrap my head around all this shit. My baby boy, my one and only son, the only child I’ll probably ever have, is basically an adult.”
“I get it, Nyomi. I swear I do. When Stokley left for college, I didn’t know what to do with myself. It’s been him and me from the time I was sixteen. He’s away at school, living his life, and I can barely get him to come home to visit, so Mama decided to have a life too.”
Skye grew up in a town about thirty minutes from Black Elm, and we were rivals on the track while in high school. Once wefound out we were both attending Black Elm Universityand would be roommates, all that rivalry shit went out the window.
She was the first person I told I was pregnant because I knew she would understand, since she had a two-year-old son at home with her parents. Once my life became more complicated, friends I thought would be around forever disappeared, and naturally, Skye and I grew closer.
“He’s not gone yet, though, and when he leaves, he’ll be twenty minutes away.”
Nyeem was a gifted young man, academically and athletically. He was in honors and advanced placement classes throughout his high school career and began taking college courses during his sophomore year, earning twenty-one college credits.
Athletically, he excelled on the football field, basketball court, and track and was recruited by schools all over the country for all three sports. Ultimately, he chose to follow in my footsteps and continue his career in track and field at my alma mater. I couldn’t have been happier with his decision, but I prayed it was what he truly wanted to do, and he wasn’t doing it to make me happy.
“In a few months, he’ll be moving on to campus. If you start now, you’ll have a life before he leaves,” Skye said.
I rolled my eyes, although she couldn’t see me because we weren’t on a FaceTime call. I had no idea what she had planned, but I knew she wouldn’t leave me alone until I agreed to it.
“Fine, Skye. Where are you trying to drag me?”
“Yes! There’s a singles mixer at Pitch Black.”
“Absolutely not!”
“Nyomi, don’t do that. Put on something sexy and let’s go out. It’s been years since the last time we went clubbing.”
She was right. It had been years since we last went to a club, and I had no desire to go any time soon. Although I preferredgoing to day parties, concerts, or other ticketed gatherings where people dressed up and acted like they had some sense, I didn’t go out very often at all.Pitch Blackwas a small club that felt like a lounge, and if I recalled, the age to enter was thirty-five.
“What day is it?” I asked.
“Tomorrow, and it’s from six to nine, so you can still be in bed by nine thirty.”
She knew me too well because one thing I didn’t play about was my sleep.
“Ugh,” I groaned because I had no reason to turn her down other than the simple fact that I didn’t want to go.
“Nyomi,” she whined, dragging my name.
“Okay. I’ll go, but you’re driving.”
“Umm, that’s a negative. We’re using a rideshare. I might have a few drinks.”
“Fine. I gotta go. My lunch is almost over.”
“I’ll call you later. Bye.”
The call ended, and I leaned back in my chair, stretching and yawning simultaneously. My thoughts wandered to a different time in my life, and I was grateful for how far I’d come.
I was a track star in high school, and, like my son, I received offers from schools across the country. When I chose to stay in my hometown and attend BEU, many people thought I’d sold myself short. I wanted to be near my family because they meant everything to me.
Choosing to stay close to home turned out to be the right choice. When I found out I was pregnant, I just knew my track career, and possibly my academic career, was over. Thankfully, my family, my coaches, and the athletic department at BEU had my back in ways I wouldn’t have imagined.
My son had been the blessing I didn’t know I needed, but I would never lie and say raising him as a single, college student-athlete was easy. Even with my amazing support system, at theend of the day, I was his mother, and I had no help from his father.
I took a year off from track, missing my first outdoor season and second indoor season, and came back with a vengeance. Only my parents, my older brother, and Skye knew who Nyeem’s father was, and I didn’t tell Nyeem his identity until he was ten years old.
I met Ambrose during my first semester of college. He was a star defensive back on the BEU football team, so of course, he was popular. I should’ve gone with my gut and steered clear of him when I found out he was a senior, but being young and naive, I loved the attention he gave me. Another red flag I should’ve taken heed to was when he wanted to keep our “relationship” a secret.
When I told him I was pregnant, you would’ve thought I told him I’d given him an incurable sexually transmitted disease. After he calmed down, he said the baby couldn’t be his and told me to get rid of it. By this time, I’d already talked to my parents and had decided I would keep the baby.
