My stomach was still tight from the fear that had just been sittin’ on me, but the way he was kissin’ me, the way he kept his hands on us like he wasn’t lettin’ go, it was steadyin’ me in a way nothin’ else could.
He kissed across my stomach again, lettin’ his lips linger while his hand smoothed over my belly. When she kicked one more time under his palm, he gave a small nod, like that was all the confirmation he needed.
“A’ight,” he muttered, satisfied, but he ain’t move away.
He stayed right here, one hand holdin’ me and the other still rubbin’ over My’Love.
But then that pain came back, and it was stronger.
It rolled through me again and had me grabbin’ my husband tighter, my body leanin’ forward while I tried to breathe through it. This time, he felt it for real. He felt the way I tensed under his hands, how my stomach tightened and how my grip on himchanged. His whole focus shifted off the baby and straight onto me.
“Aye…” he said low, his hands slidin’ from my stomach to my sides to steady me, bringin’ me back to him. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
I shook my head, tryna catch my breath while my fingers stayed locked on him. “I don’t know,” I muttered, my voice tight. “It’s like… cramps or somethin’… but it ain’t regular. It keep comin’ back.”
His eyes stayed on me, sharp now, watchin’ everything I was doin’, from the way I was breathin’ to the way my body kept reactin’ even after it passed.
“You been feelin’ that all night?” he asked, calmer than I expected, but I could hear that change in him. It was that part of him that ain’t play.
“I don’t really know… it started about an hour ago I guess,” I replied, swallowin’ while I rested my hand on my stomach again. “I tried to ignore it, but it kept hittin’ me.”
He looked down at my stomach for a second, then back at me, his hand comin’ back up slowly to press against my belly like he was thinkin’ through it.
“You think you in labor?” he asked, low and direct.
I let out a breath that ain’t even feel steady. “I don’t know, ’Lo… this my first time. I don’t know what this supposed to feel like.”
That landed different on him, and I could see it in his face, even in the dark, how he was already shiftin’ into somethin’ else mentally. He seemed more focused and locked in now.
“A’ight,” he said after a second as his hand slid over my stomach again. “Call my mama.”
“I’m about to,” I said, already dialin’.
Kay’Lo stayed right on the side of me with his hand movin’ over my belly, keepin’ contact while I talked to his mama.
Treasure answered quickly, her voice alert. and when I told her what was goin’ on, she ain’t hesitate. She told me she was on her way up.
When I hung up, I just sat there for a second, breathin’, waitin’ on the next one, and Kay’Lo ain’t move from beside me. His hand stayed on my stomach, rubbin’ slow and consistent. But he wasn’t just feelin’ for the baby no more. He was payin’ attention to me, too, and to how my body was reactin’. He was clockin’ how often the pains was comin’, and how strong they felt.
Another one came, and I gripped his hand tighter, leanin’ into it while I breathed through it. He moved closer, his other hand comin’ up to brace me without sayin’ nothin’.
About twenty minutes later, Treasure knocked, and Kay’Lo got up to open the door, movin’ quick but calm. When she walked in, she already had what she needed in her hands.
He turned the light on low, keepin’ it dim, and came right back to my side while she stepped in closer, her voice soft when she asked me what I was feelin’. I told her about the cramps, about how they kept comin’, and about the moment I couldn’t feel the baby. She nodded, calm, already movin’ into what she needed to do.
“Lay back for me, baby,” she said real gentle, and I did it while feelin’ Kay’Lo settle right beside me. His presence was solid as his hand found mine again while she used the doppler.
The sound of My’Love’s heartbeat came through clear a second later. It was strong and fast, and I felt my whole body loosen just from hearin’ it. Kay’Lo’s fingers tightened around mine, and I knew he heard it the same way I did.
“She sounds good,” Treasure said, her tone even, and then she put her gloves on, lettin’ me know she was about to check my cervix.
I breathed through another cramp while she did what she needed to do, my grip on Kay’Lo tightenin’ again, and when she finished and looked up at us, there was a look on her face that made my stomach flip again.
“You’re three centimeters,” she said with a proud smile on her face. “Our sweet ‘Lo’Lo’ is on the way.”
For a second, I just stared at her, then I looked at Kay’Lo, and I ain’t even have to ask nothin’ ’cause the look in his eyes told me everything. He ain’t say a word, but he was already ready and locked in on what was comin’ next.
And right here in this moment, with his hand still holdin’ mine and the feel of our baby’s energy sittin’ in the room, it hit me real clear…
