I did as Dr. Coco said, irrationally worried because I felt my baby busting a hole in my side. My stomach growled, wringing a chuckle from Dr. Coco.
“Came here on an empty stomach?” she quizzed.
Nodding, I explained, “I get queasy when I’m nervous.”
“I know you lyin’!” Sin fussed. “How you gon’ leave the house without eating?”
“Babe…” I shook my head as Dr. Coco laughed. After applying a little gel on my stomach, she maneuvered the fetal monitor over my abdomen. Almost immediately, our baby’s heartbeat echoed off the walls. The smile on my face couldn’t be dimmed if the building had started burning down.
“Listen to Baby!” Dr. Coco cooed.
Tears spilled from my eyes as if this was my first time hearing my baby’s heartbeat. I’d never get used to it until I was holding the precious gift Sin and I created.
“I’ll never miss another appointment.” Glancing at the phone screen, I caught Sin wiping his eyes. “Being away is harder than I thought,” he admitted.
“Aww, Dad.” Dr. Coco typed some things in my chart before saying, “Everything looks perfect! You’re thirteen weeks from delivery! As you approach your six-month mark, be prepared to grow, Mommy.”
Thirteen weeks!More tears came. I’d never reached this point in a pregnancy. Things were really setting in that our baby was fighting to be here. Whatever kept me from carrying my last two still scared me. However, this go round, I had Sin in my corner. His presence, reassurance, encouragement, and most of all his love, kept me from losing my mind.
“So, there’s a lot we need to do within that time,” Sin commented.
“The time will definitely fly by,” Dr. Coco said. “I’m going to give you an order for your last round of labs. I’ll request that you please go eat before you have them drawn.”
Simpering, I agreed.
Dr. Coco gave me my lab sheet and ushered me out of the room, requesting that I make my next appointment before leaving. I did so quickly, then hustled to my car where I put Sin on Bluetooth.
“We have to get married before the baby comes,” he said.
Mouth gaped, I gasped. “Really?”
“Really. Once I get back, we need to go straight to a bridal shop. I’m sure you want a custom dress, so that needs to be dealt with quickly. Everything else will be simple to handle.”
My man was really sitting here talking to me about our wedding. His proposal night was seemingly ruined by Teddy’s fool ass. However, with each day that passed, Sin kissed my engagement ring and reminded me that I would soon be Mrs. Smith.
Ahhh!I wanted to scream but settled for cheesing instead.
“You sure, Baby? We can wait until after we have the baby.”
“I’m more than sure. We should’ve been married yesterday, sweetheart. Naomi Smith, I said that shit sounds nice. You gon’ be Naomi Smith forever, too. Once the ink is on that paper, and we say, ‘I do’, we locked in forever. I’ma give you four more babies—”
“What? Sin!” I cackled. “We gotta have this one, first.”
“And we are. Our baby is gon’ be healthy and beautiful as hell. Every night I pray, Lord, just get my baby here. I promise I’ma take good care of her, just like I promise to take good care of this gorgeous, smart, athletically-the-goat, woman you gave me.”
Sin’s admission brought tears to my eyes. The love of a man didn’t have to be rough, scary, or forced. When it naturally flowed, everything around him flourished.
“Are you ready to be Mrs. Naomi Smith?”
“I am,” I answered. “As a matter of fact, I want to go to the bridal boutique today. I’ll call PJ and Bri to see if they’re available to go with me.”
“That’s more like it, lil’ baby. Whatever you want, get it. No budget whatsoever, aight?”
“Sin—”
“Aight?” he spoke over me.
Rolling my eyes, I said, “Aight.”
