Page 73 of 4 Corinthians

“Okay,” I said, nodding.

***

“I don’t know who he looks like,” Isaac said, standing over Judah’s bassinet. He looked at his brother Paul, then squinted. “I mean, I can see you, I guess.”

“I see Tyrell,” Paul chuckled. “And Mims, and Buckee.”

“Nah, I see Robert,” Tyrell said, shaking his head.

All three men stood over Judah’s bassinet, hands on their hips, faces twisted as they stared at him. Like the paternity of my child was a joke to them, and to a degree it was. It was obvious they found joy in this. Joy in seeing my pain, which is why they were here.

“What about you, Corinthians?” Issac asked. He glanced over at me and smirked. “Who do you see when you look at your baby? Which of us is his daddy?”

I didn’t say anything; I didn’t have a response to a question I couldn’t answer. I hadn’t looked at my baby.

“Oh, cat got your tongue?” Isaac asked with a laugh. “Damn, I expected more from you. You’re a mama now. Speak up. Who the fuck do you think this little nigga looks like?” he pointed to Judah. “Huh?”

“You already know it doesn’t matter,” Tyrell chuckled, then patted him on the shoulder. He turned to me and smiled. “Robert sends his best. He can't be here due to some family business. He did ask us to make sure you were okay, though. Do you need anything?”

Again, I had nothing to say. It didn’t matter if I needed anything; I would never ask any of them.

“Look, I know this is hard,” Paul sighed. “It's going to be a big adjustment in your life. A new baby is a big damn deal.” He put his hands in his pockets and walked around the room. “We are here to help, be your extra support.” He looked at me and smirked. “Robert told us to tell you that whatever you need, he will provide. That he’s happy for you.” His smile dropped. “And that nothing has changed. You will always be his pet. Your relationship with Isaac will stay as it is. He will come around from time to time, and when he does, you and Judah will do what you are told because if you don’t….” his brow lifted and he tsked. “Don’t be dumb, Corinthians, not now. Not after all this time, okay? Play your part, know your role. Don’t piss him off.” Paul patted my foot.

“Right,” Isaac agreed. “Because you have more to lose now.” He winked, then all three of them left my hospital room.

I looked over at Judah’s bassinet, then at the door. I slowly got up out of the bed, picked up my blanket, and sat on the couch under the window. Even though I could hear people outside of my room, I didn’t move, didn’t care.

I didn’t have any more fight left in me.

Four

Corinthians had her baby. From outside her room, I watched her through the glass door as she sat asleep on the couch, facing the window. I was on my way back to Arizona when Trey texted and said she was on her way to the hospital to have her baby. I hit a U-turn in the middle of the street and floored it. I sat in the waiting area by the front entrance, waiting. For what, I wasn’t sure. But I knew I couldn’t leave. Not until I knew that she and the baby were okay. A little while ago, I watched her grandmother leave; she was on the phone telling someone that she was going to go home, shower, and come back. Corinthians had her baby and they were good. I just needed to see them with my own eyes before I left.

“Anytime something major happens in her life, you show up,” Psalms said from behind me. I looked over my shoulder at her and nodded. “I meant what I said last time about killing you.”

“I know,” I said, turning back to look at Corinthians. “I’m good with my own death as long as I know she’s happy.”

“She’s good.”

“Then, kill me.”

“I have a feeling eventually I will have to,” she said, coming to stand next to me. She touched the glass and smiled. “Do you want to see him?”

“She had a boy?” I asked. It was something about Cori being a boy mom that made me smile. She would’ve been a great girl mom, but having a boy would heal something in her.

“Yeah, Madea named him Judah,” Psalms answered, then nodded. “He’s perfect.”

I glanced over at Psalms to see her smiling. “How do you go from threatening to kill me to offering to see her baby?” I chuckled.

“I’m a complicated creature.” Psalms shrugged. “But I also know that you are stubborn and won't leave until you see him.”

“I didn’t plan on seeing him, just wanted to make sure they were okay.”

She looked at me, her head tilted to the side like her sisters did when she was trying to figure something out. “Give me a second,” she finally said. I stepped back, and she pointed to a spot next to the door that would allow me to see into the room, but Corinthians wouldn’t be able to see me. When I moved, she nodded, then opened the door. “Sissy, the nurses need to see Judah for a weight check. I’ll be right back.”

Corinthians didn’t move or respond. She took a deep breath, and Psalms quickly took the baby from the room. She pushed his bassinet outside the door, then closed it.

He was small, smaller than I expected, but I’d never been around babies before to compare. He was wrapped in a blanket and wearing a little hat. He looked like what I imagined Corinthians to look like as a baby.