His words landed in a place that distance or time refused to close to him — my heart. I wanted to respond, but my emotions got the best of me, and before I knew it, I was crying again.
“We got a lot to figure out, Dai,” he continued honestly. “Everything in me wants to be your comfort again. Hold you again. Go back to life as normal.” There was a pause, then he dragged his hand over his face. “But the reality is you fucked a nigga head up with this. And I need to process so that I know my next move. I’m here though. That you’ll never have to worry about, aight?”
I wiped my face and nodded. “Okay,” I said softly.
“I’ma go.” He leaned over and pressed his lips against my forehead then turned the chair so that he could kiss my belly. “Eat the sandwich for me. I’ma call you to check on you. You call me if you need something. Lock the door behind me. I love you.”
“Okay. I love you too.”
I listened to the door close and didn’t move immediately to lock it. I stayed put, processing that this wasn’t Pryce stepping back, but this was him taking space to think without breaking us in the process… again.
After sittingwith my thoughts for about twenty minutes after Pryce had left, I texted Kyiris that I was getting ready. The silence he left behind lingered throughout my condo. Maybe because I felt that things were left open ended. Or maybe I was stuck on the way he’d handled things better than I expected. Either way, I needed to do something to reset the morning while convincing myself that everything would be back to normal… eventually.
Heading upstairs to my bedroom, I showered and brushed my teeth again before going through my closet to find something to wear. My mother had taken the liberty of unpacking my suitcase when I got home, making it easy for me to find something comfortable and fitting for the bump. I didn’t know what Key had in store for us today, so I wanted to keep it simple but very cute. Grabbing a pair of sage colored cargo pants, I paired it with a cream racerback tee that had the words BIG MAMA written across it. I reached for my sandals and quickly remembered that being out with Key, I could expect a walk, so I opted for my Saucony’s instead.
I hoped that once she saw my condition, she’d want to do more driving than anything else. Finishing off my outfit with my favorite Lorvae shades, I sprayed an Arabian scent combo I’d saved on Tik Tok and gave myself a quick look in the mirror. I didn’t look like my ex/baby daddy had shown up at my house in the wee hours of the night, held me hostage, and told me that my life was no longer my own so long as I was carrying his child. I looked like somebody’s fine mama, so fine that I blew myself a kiss and slapped my own ass. I went to grab a light jacket, in case the weather changed, and my wristlet when I heard the doorbell ring.
Putting some extra pep in my step, I headed downstairs. I felt the baby kick on my way to the door, and I giggled.
“I know, baby. Mommy need to stop moving so fast. I got you.” The doorbell rang again. “I’m coming,” I called out. “Who is it?” I sang.
“Who you invited,” Key sang back.
I made it to the door and pulled it open to Kyiris standing on the other side with her arms outstretched.
“My muthafuckin’ gir…” She froze mid-sentence with her mouth open.
Her eyes dropped to the bump, then back up to my face, then to the bump again. There was an awkward silence as I stood there trying to figure out what to say. Before I could wrap my thoughts around words, she turned and started walking back to the street.
“Key,” I yelled out to her back, but she kept walking. “Kyiris!” I yelled out again, sounding crazy as hell.
She whipped her head around dramatically. “Girl, gimme a minute. I gotta find something.”
I watched as she continued to her car, opened the passenger door, and looked around. I just knew whatever she was doing was for dramatic effect. When she walked back over to me emptyhanded, my brow raised in confusion.
“Well, did you find it?” I asked sarcastically.
“Girl, no. I just noticed I wasn’t the one who lost it.”
“Lost what?”
“My damn mind! Why would you not tell me you was pregnant, Dai?”
“Oh, my God.” I threw my hand up. “You did all those theatrics just to say that? You get on my nerves.”
I pulled her in for a hug that she acted like she didn’t want.
“Hug me back, ho.” I laughed.
When she did, she squeezed me lightly then stepped back to look at me. “I can’t believe you’re pregnant. Lemme come inside so I can cuss yo’ ass out without any witnesses.”
“I’m extra sensitive now, so watch what you say.”
“Oh, no, bitch. Not you tryna pull a pregnancy draw two already and I just got here. Why didn’t you tell me about the baby?” She bent down and hugged my belly.
“I was going to,” I said.
“When?” she asked, standing up straight and pointing to the bump. “After the moving up ceremony for pre-k?”
