A Rich Man's Baby (19 page)

“Y
o, Rock, how the television downstairs get smashed? Why you keep disrespecting my house, partying and shit?” DeCarious yelled at Rock. Rock was trying to give an explanation as to why he had all these people in the house and our television was broken.

“Rock, that television cost two thousand dollars. You can't be breaking shit and expect him not to be mad,” I said.

“Excuse me, I'm talking to my cousin, not you,” Rock said as he put his hand up to my face as if to say, pause, bitch.

“Yo, man, don't talk to her like that,” DeCarious yelled.

I left because I wasn't trying to be in the middle of anything. We had just returned from the Seahawks' Fan Cruise to Mexico. And we had to come home to this.

Rock was hating the fact that DeCarious had me around; he only got to spend a limited amount of time with him, and he wasn't going on shopping sprees. I was about to have DeCarious's baby, and I told him we needed to plan for our child's future. I had him set up a trust fund and start putting money on the side to invest. I also had to cut the DeCarious can-you-buy-me budget off. DeCarious made too much money to be broke, but that's what he was going to be if he didn't stop spending money on his lazy cousin or family. His agent had just got him an endorsement with Focus Fuel energy drink and was negotiating with a few cell phone companies. But I told him he still couldn't be spending his money on everybody. His mother and father were cool; they both still worked but Rock felt like it was mandatory for him to live a lifestyle that he didn't work for. Now, I did do a little planning with DeCarious's money, I paid off all my credit cards and established my rainy day fund. DeCarious was already good to me, but I had to do it anyway just in case. He'd been saying that his parents said we should hurry up and get married. He bought me a little ring to make them shut up, if you want to call a three-carat marquise-cut diamond ring little. I was glowing. I couldn't believe I was about to be, as DeCarious would say, “somebody mama.” I had never seen a man so happy about becoming a father. He had been buying the baby sneakers and stuffed animals. Then he had his cousin buy me a maternity wardrobe out of Mimi Maternity and Pea in the Pod. I was only four months and he'd been rubbing my stomach and talking to the baby. Then one night he pulled out his Bible, got on the floor, and started reading passages from it. He had been going to every doctor appointment with me. The only downside was I had been plagued with morning sickness and fatigue.

A
s long as Kevin had away games, I was fine. I finally introduced him to Kierra because he was getting suspicious. She was loving him; he bought her gifts and candy, and she was easily bought. I told her not to talk about Jamil and Alexis and she was like, okay. I didn't know how much more I could take myself, though. At the last home game there were women everywhere, and they were in the stands calling his name. There were packs of women at every game; the skinniest girls you've ever seen, stomachs flatter than a piece of paper. I know we went to games and parties, but these girls were the better, newer, improved groupie 2.0 version. They were beautiful and just so young looking. I don't know why, but I felt so insecure. Why wouldn't Kevin want to be with one of these pretty girls without all this baggage that I was carrying? He showed me so much attention, but it wasn't enough to keep me from worrying. Kevin liked the quiet life at home, and hopefully it would remain that way. But I didn't know, because all these party promoters and people always wanted to pay him money just to show up at parties. I didn't know why I thought he would see the real me and maybe realize he didn't like or even love me. There were no more e-mails and pictures; it was real life. He actually saw me, and not only me, the twenty-somethings he could have besides me. I think I liked it better when he was in Italy. He was far away, but he had time for me; now he was always on the road and he couldn't always call. And we did go out to dinner or to the movies. People were coming up to our table asking for autographs and to take pictures. And it was not like he could hide, as he was so tall, but that came with the territory.

I tried to stop worrying, but it was hard. I was walking with an imaginary S on my chest. I was holding down two houses and a job. I made big pots of everything, and fed and talked to Jamil and Alexis. I waited till about eight and drove to Kevin's house. Jamil and Alexis knew I had a boyfriend, but they didn't know what he did or who he was. They didn't ask me, even though the other night Jamil said, “Mom, you might want to go on a diet; you are getting fat.”

I was going to break the news to everybody soon.

I
didn't quit my job like Kevin requested. I was too scared. We were living in a fabulous house and I was driving a new car. But he still didn't even know the whole truth about me. He might want to leave me; then I wouldn't have anything, and I couldn't let that happen. I hated hiding my pregnancy from the world. But I didn't want anyone in my business. I didn't know how much longer I could pull this off, but I was going to have to continue. I bought nurses' uniforms and wore them out the door in the morning just for show for Kevin. Then once I got to work, I changed in the parking lot into my regular clothes. And I didn't even park in the same parking lot anymore. I parked a few blocks away so nobody saw me pulling up in a Range Rover. I bet if anyone knew what I was doing, they would think I was crazy. Kevin wasn't home; he was on a five-game West Coast trip. It was hard juggling lies and keeping up with them, but dealing with the truth was going to be even harder. I was thinking about telling him the truth when he returned. I didn't want him to find out on his own, and I didn't want to lose the baby due to stress. I just hoped he would still want to be with me afterward. I dialed Adrienne; she was the only person who knew what I was going through.

“I think I'm going to tell him.” Without me saying she knew what I was talking about.

“Tanisha, I think he is going to understand.”

“I don't think he will, but I can't keep doing all this lying and pretending. I just hope he is not too mad.”

“No, he won't be mad. He is probably going to be so impressed and think you are so strong.”

“Adrienne, men don't look at shit like that. Women look at other women like that. He might admire that from his sister or a cousin, but I don't think he is going to understand.”

Why did I lie? I was so stupid. I was going to have to deal with consequences as soon as he came home. I just couldn't do it anymore. I made a big dinner as if the dinner would save me. He came in and hugged me and rubbed my belly.

“Where's Kierra?” he asked.

“She is at the other house with my brother. Kevin, we need to talk. You are going to want to sit down.” He took a seat. I didn't know how to say it. I practiced in my head,
Kevin, I lied. Kevin, I'm sorry.
Nothing I thought of sounded good, so I just took out my license and handed it to him.

“Why are you handing me your license?” he said as he gave it back to me. I handed it to him again.

“Kevin, look at the date of birth.”

He stared; then he said, “You are thirty-three?”

“Yes,” I said as a pound of guilt rolled off me.
One down, three more to go,
I thought.

“So you lied about your age? Why? That's not the end of the world,” he said as he attempted to get up from the table.

“Don't get up; there is more, Kevin, a whole lot more,” I said as tears filled my eyes.

“What's wrong, baby? Tanisha, tell me.” I felt like I was a guest on the
Maury Povich Show
. He kept leaning into me and waving his hands in front of my body like, come on and say it.

“Kevin, I have two other children.”

“Two other children. What?” His eyebrows rose and his eyes widened.

“I have a daughter that's seventeen and a son, sixteen, and they live with me. I work at the hospital, but I'm not a nurse, and I didn't tell you because I didn't think you would understand,” I blurted out in one fast breath.

He closed his eyes and tried to make sense of what I had just said. “Tanisha, when were you going to tell me all this?”

“I didn't know how to tell you. Please, don't be upset with me.”

“Please don't be upset? Is your name even Tanisha?”

“Yeah, my name is Tanisha.” I walked toward him. I wanted to console him. I grabbed his arm and tried to hold him.

“Get off me, don't touch me. Yo, you lied about everything. Damn, everything has been a lie, huh? This whole relationship. And you know what the fucked-up thing is, I'm not even mad about the fact that you had children. I'm mad that you didn't even tell me.”

“Kevin, how do I come out and say, yes, I lied about everything? Yes, I love you. I'm pregnant with your baby, but I lied to you about my age and how many children I had. I didn't know what to say. You were this young athletic guy; I'm thirty-three years old. I've been married. I had children. I didn't think me and you would actually work out. I've been married since I was eighteen. What was the likelihood of you really wanting to be with me? I didn't think it was possible. If I did, maybe I wouldn't have started it off like this. But I'm coming clean now.”

“Yo, I can't believe you. Like why care about a few more years? And you have kids, so what? You know my mom raised me by herself. I would have respected you, Tanisha, if you had told me the truth. But now I don't know what to say to you. But this explains why you didn't want to be in front of the camera, because everything you ever said out of your mouth is a fucking lie.”

“Everything is not a lie. The way I feel about you is real. I just made a mistake.”

“Please, this explains everything. All that mess you were talking, ‘Baby, you be in the spotlight, I want to be in the background.' You're full of shit. God damn, ain't this something? I'm going to need time to think about this.”

I knew he was mad, and us going back and forth was not going to help. He needed time and I was going to give him that. I began to walk over to him and he put his long arm out and held me back from coming any closer.

“Kevin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of this,” I said as I wiped away my tears and left. I didn't think he would let me go out the door, but he did. I walked slowly to the car. As I started the car up, I waited for him to come to the door racing after me; he didn't. He let me leave. Kevin didn't care and he was done with me. The fantasy was over.

“D
ee, I need you,” Kevin's voice said from the other end of the telephone.

“Kevin, what's wrong?” I whispered.

“I need you to meet me right now.”

“When?”

“Now, meet me in Friday's parking lot on City Line Avenue.”

“I can't.”

“Dee, it is real important. It is an emergency.” I knew I couldn't meet him. Terrance was on the computer in the other room. There would be no way I could get out of the house without Terrance asking where I was going. I put on my coat and found my keys.

“I'll be right back,” I said as I opened the door.

“Where you going?”

“I just have to make a run.”

“Where?”

“Damn, Terrance, why do you have to know my every move? I will be back, okay?” I yelled.

“I wanted you to stop and get some toothpaste. What's with the damn attitude, Dionne?”

“I don't have an attitude. Okay, I'll pick some up,” I said, filled with guilt.

 

I raced to go and meet Kevin. I entered the parking lot and spotted Kevin's truck. He was slouched back with his window all foggy. I parked my car and got inside.

“What's the emergency?” I asked.

“I just needed someone to talk to. I need your opinion on something.” He took a long breath and said, “My girlfriend I was telling you about. I told you she was pregnant, right, and I was real happy. Well, I just found out she lied to me about her whole life. She just told me she has two teenagers, and she lied to me about her age. She said she was twenty-nine and she is thirty-three. Our whole relationship was a lie. I'm thinking I have this great woman. And now I don't know what to think.”

I didn't know what to say; that was a whole lot he dropped on me at once. “How did you find out?” I asked.

“She sat me down and told me. But I've known her for six months and she just getting around to telling me this shit, come on.”

“How good do you know somebody in six months? I say get custody of your child and just move on. She sounds like a manipulative woman. Who would do something like that?”

“You don't think I should try to work it out with her.”

“No, I wouldn't. If she lied about important things, like about her age and children, what else would she lie about? She can't be trusted.”

He shook his head as he agreed with me. “I'm just fucked up over this. I thought she was the one and this was it. It felt like my entire life was coming together finally after all these years. I had my lady, a baby on the way, and I was in the NBA, and now this,” he said as he hit the window.

“Kevin, listen, you deserve way better. What do you need with a woman with three children? She probably only wants you for your money.”

“No, she isn't like that.”

“How do you know? Are you ready to be a stepfather to her children and raise them like your own?”

He said he didn't think he was ready. I knew he wasn't. Kevin didn't say anything else. Every few minutes he just let out a deep breath. I grabbed his hand and caressed it and told him it was going to be okay. I looked down at my watch. We had been talking for over an hour. I had to go.

“Kevin, I have to get home and get some rest. Tomorrow is a new day.”

“You right. Thanks for coming out, Dee. It means a lot. I can't talk to anyone else about this.”

I jumped out of the truck and Kevin put his head down. As I walked past the front of his truck, I hit his hood twice. He looked up at me and I mouthed, “Forget her.” After leaving Kevin, I sped out of the parking lot and drove to Rite-Aid to pick up Terrance's toothpaste. I came back into the house. Terrance was still on the computer. I came up behind and kissed his neck.

“I'm tired; I'll meet you in the bed. Good night. Terrance, I love you.”

I went and took my clothes off and took a shower. I was so glad Kevin's girlfriend Tanisha messed up.
Thank you,
I thought. I missed my Kevin, and now that she was gone, everything could go back to the way it was.

 

The next day, I went to Kevin's house after work. He had a beautiful house in Gladwyne, a suburb of the city. It had eight windows—four on each side of his grand cherry door. I saw his Black Tahoe and his Range Rover parked next to that. I was proud of him. He came to the door still upset. All of his girlfriend's belongings were scattered around the house. I cleaned up and ordered him and me Chinese food. I knew I had to be Kevin's friend, but still not forget I was about to get married. I stayed for a little and watched a movie with him and helped pack his stuff for his next two games. He was really messed up over this woman. I was angry at her for upsetting Kevin, but thankful that she did. Because if she hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to spend quality time with him. I wanted to stay and comfort him. But I couldn't, I had to get home.