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A sob escaped me. He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed my fingers.

“But you ain’t in here by yourself. I’m right here, and I ain’t going nowhere.”

When the doctors told me they were starting, panic shot through me again. Malik moved as close as they allowed him to, and I kept my eyes on his face while the people on the other side of the curtain worked. I could feel pressure, and I hated every second of it.

“I can feel them,” I said out loud.

“Are you hurting?” Malik asked.

“No. It just feels weird.”

“Then look at me.”

So, I did. Malik started talking about anything and everything. At first, I barely understood what he was saying because I was too focused on everything happening around me. Then I realized he was talking about our night before all this shit had happened.

“I know damn well Sha left with a couple of plates after eating half of them ribs.”

Despite everything, a tiny laugh came out of me.

“He did,” I confirmed.

“Greedy ass,” he said as he shook his head in disbelief.

I knew exactly what he was doing. He was giving me somewhere else to put my mind.

So, I let him. We talked about nothing while our son was being delivered. About Sha. About the tree. About the way Maliah had been bossing everybody around all night. About how MJ was probably outside pretending he wasn’t scared.

“Watch, this little nigga gonna come out mad as hell,” he randomly said.

“Don’t say that about my baby.”

“That’s my baby too.”

“He’s gonna be sweet,” I said with a smile.

“He’s a Browne. He ain’t got a chance.”

Another laugh escaped me, but this one turned into a cry. Malik squeezed my hand.

“I’m right here.”

I nodded and tried to breathe. Then something changed. I didn’t know what. Nobody said anything directly to me, but the room felt different. The voices on the other side of the curtain got quicker. I heard someone ask for something. Another person answered, and then feet moved across the floor. I listened to the people around me. They seemed to be diligently working, but no one was saying anything anymore, and that worried me.

“What’s happening?”

Nobody answered me immediately.

So, my heart started racing.

“What’s happening with my baby?”

Someone near my head told me they were working and that I was doing well. I didn’t care how well I was doing.

“What about my son?”

Malik squeezed my hand harder.

“Baby’s out,” somebody finally said.