Savory Deceits (38 page)

“Ow! This hurts!” I screamed.

“I know hon. Breathe.” Starr said, holding my hand, and rubbing my shoulder.

“Nena,” I said, through breaths. “Did you call her?” I asked with acute desperation. I needed my sister.

“I couldn’t reach her, so I called Tony instead.” She replied, and my eyes widened. “Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him anything; just that you were in the hospital, and to let Nena know if he sees her.” She reassured me.

“Thanks Starr.” I replied, with beads of sweat running down my forehead. Just then, Doctor Albeit came into the room with a couple nurses.

“How’re you feeling?” He asked me.

“This hurts!” I cried, feeling another contraction. The Doctor sat between my legs, and examined me.

“You’re just about fully dilated now, so pretty soon we’re going to have to start pushing. It is too late to give you anything for the pain, so try to relax, it’ll be over soon.” He said, and patted my knee, before exiting the room.

“Starr,” I started to say.

“Yes, hon?” She replied, still holding my hand.

“Ow! Oh God! Ow!” I screamed again feeling the cramps.

“Breathe sweetie, breathe.” Starr coached with her own eyes watery.

“I can’t!” I screamed.

“Yes you can. Remember the way we learned to in class.” She reminded me.

“Oh, fuck that class!” I screeched crying. “This shit hurts!” I screamed at her.

“Oh chica, you’re going to have my little God Baby cursing already.” Starr joked, and I gave her a half smile. Then, the next wave of contractions hit, coming closer together now. Moments later, my doctor reentered the room, along with a few nurses. He checked me again and then said, “All right Naima, you’re fully dilated now. On the count of three, I’m gonna need you to push for me, okay?” He said, meeting my eyes. My chest heaved up and down, and more sweat trickled down my forehead. A nurse stood on the other side of me, and grasped my hand.

“You can do this.” Starr said, squeezing my other hand. I looked at her, and then turned to the doctor. When I nodded my head, he began.

“Okay, on the count of three, during this next contraction, push as hard as you can, okay?” I nodded again with tears flowing down my face. Starr had the same tears.

“Ow!” I screamed.

“Okay push! Push!” The doctor shouted.

“Oh my God! This hurts!” I screamed.

“It’s okay sweetie, you got it hon. Push!” Starr encouraged.

“You’re doing great!” The doctor shouted over my cries. “Push!” He said again.

“Ah!” I screamed again, pushing with all my might.

“I can see the head!” My doctor yelled. “Push!” I heard him say again.

“Ah!” I cried out again in agony. The pain was unbearable. I felt like I was dying.

“You got it chica. Push!” Starr said crying.

“Okay, one last time. I need you to make this a good one,” he said. “Push!” He shouted again.

“Ah! Oh God! Ah!” I screamed, and pushed with such force, that I thought my body was going to explode. It felt like I was pushing a bowling ball out of my vagina. And just then, “Waa, Waa!” Her little cries filled the room.

“Oh my God!” Starr said, looking at the slimy little baby in my doctor’s arms. Starr started crying even more, and then looked at me. “She’s beautiful.” She said through tears, squeezing my hand once more.

“Is she okay? Let me see her.” I said shaking. Then, I lifted my head for a glimpse. My doctor wiped my baby off a little, and then tilted her, so I could see. My eyes instantly filled with tears of joy, as I stared at my beautiful baby girl.

“Would you like to cut the umbilical cord?” My doctor asked Starr. “You were a great coach.” He said to her. She then turned to me, and said, “Can I?” I smiled, and nodded. Then, Starr took the scissors, and snipped.

“Waa, Waa, Waa!” My baby screamed again.

“Oops, I’m sorry little one.” Starr said, watching as they placed her on the small table. Then, she turned back to me, and smiled. “You did great, chica.” She said, squeezing my shoulder.

“No, we did great.” I replied, placing my hand on top of hers. The nurse came over, and gently placed my baby in my arms.

“She’s perfectly healthy.” She said, as I stared at my little bundle of joy.

“Hi, baby. It’s your mommy.” My eyes watered again. I wished Nena could be here to share this moment with me. After a few minutes, the nurse said, “Okay, I’m going to have to take the baby now, but I’ll bring her back as soon as she’s ready to feed.” She had her arms out, and I held onto my baby a little bit longer, before giving her up. The nurse took her, secured her blanket, and exited the room.

“Starr can you,” I started to ask.

“I’m already on it.” She said, pulling out her phone. “I’ll be right back.” She said, and then walked out of the room, already dialing.

~STARR~

Outside Naima’s room, I started to dial Nena’s number when I heard a man’s voice say, “Excuse me; can you point me to where room 303 is?” Then I looked up, to see Eric at the nurses’ station. I stood there staring at him, not knowing what to do, when he finally looked in my direction. “Excuse me.” I heard him say to the nurse again, and then he started towards me. I was a little apprehensive, unsure what his reaction to me would be. After that confrontation with his wife, I was not sure he would take too kindly to me. Yet, to my surprise, as soon as he approached, he put his arms around me, and held me tight. Then I closed my eyes, forcing back tears, and hugged him back. “Are you okay?” He asked, releasing me.

“Yes, I am. How’s she doing?” I asked, genuinely concerned about his wife.

“I don’t know yet. I just got here. What happened?” He asked, lowering his voice.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I got to the penthouse, and she was there and…” I tried to explain.

“Eric!” We heard a woman shout from a distance. I looked up, and saw the same girl I berated earlier, at the nurses’ station, waving at him. I then looked at Eric confused. “You know her?” I asked him. “That’s my wife’s daughter.” He replied, taking a step away from me. “I’ll call you later, okay?” He said, before making his way to his stepdaughter. I let out a deep breath, and started going through my phone again, when I heard another voice. “Starr!” I looked up in time to see Nena hurrying towards me from the elevators.

42

~CHRIS~

I dialed Nena’s number again, and it went straight to voicemail. “Fuck! I can’t lose you Nena. Please!” As much as I wanted to cry, I was infuriated. I banged on Alana’s door once more with no answer. Then, I pulled out a set of keys to her apartment, and let myself in. “I knew these would come in handy sooner or later.” I said to myself. I entered her apartment, and closed the door behind me, locking it. Soon after, I quickly searched the apartment, and saw no signs of her. When I turned to leave, I noticed a piece of paper, with writing on it, near the cordless phone in the kitchen. I picked up the paper, and read what I knew as her handwriting. On it was her flight arrangements, and confirmation number, dated back two weeks ago. “So, that’s where you’ve been hiding.” I placed the paper back down exactly how I found it. Then I pulled out my phone, dialed some numbers, and waited.

“Yes,” I said when someone finally came on the line. “I would like to book a flight out to Milwaukee, Wisconsin please.” I took out a pen, tore a piece of paper off the note pad, ready to jot down my flight information. “The next available,” I said to the woman on the other end, and then wrote down what she told me. “Tomorrow morning? That is perfect. Thanks again.” I said, and hung up. “I got something for your ass, bitch!”

~ERIC~

I entered my wife’s hospital room behind my stepdaughter. Alana sat in the chair next to the bed, and stared at her. Despite the breathing tube in her mouth, and an I.V. in her arm, Cynthia appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Then, I got closer to the bed, and said, “What happened?”

“She had a massive stroke. She’s in a coma.” Alana replied, holding her mother’s hand.

“Do they know what caused it?” I asked. Alana shook her head no. I pulled up a chair near Cynthia’s bed opposite Alana, and could not shake the guilty feeling that crept up on me. What happened to you Cynthia? I thought to myself. What were you doing at the penthouse? What happened between you and Starr? Several questions kept running through my head, but no plausible answer came to mind. I touched my wife’s hand, and silently apologized. We both sat there in silence, staring at Cynthia, when a nurse walked in with a clipboard.

“Good evening. I’m just here to check her vitals. Excuse me.” She said reaching over Alana, to check the clear bag filled with liquid, that hung over Cynthia’s bed.

“Do you need me to get up?” Alana asked, sliding her chair back.

“Oh no honey, you’re fine.” The nurse replied with a smile. She then turned towards the machine that beeped every second, and frowned. Next, she glanced at Cynthia and wrote down a few things on the chart.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, noticing her expression.

“Oh, no, I’m just double checking.” The nurse replied with a smile. “I’m going to have the Doctor come in, and speak with you shortly. Have a good evening.” The nurse said, quietly exiting the room. Alana and I, looked at each other, and then back at Cynthia.

“Please mom, open your eyes.” She whispered, holding Cynthia’s hand up to her face. Alana then closed her eyes, appearing to say a short prayer.

~NAIMA~

There was a light knock at my hospital room door.

“Come in.” I whispered, trying not to wake my baby. I had just lost the battle, of trying to breast feed her, and my nipples were sore and tender. Then I looked up, to see Starr walking into my room, and then I looked back down at my sleeping baby.

“Look who’s here.” Starr whispered. When I looked up again, Nena came into the room behind her. Tears quickly filled my eyes, as well as Nena’s, and she paused at the door, staring. Then, the tears started streaming down her face, as she watched in disbelief.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Come meet your niece.” I finally said with a smile. Nena slowly made her way to my bed, gaping at my daughter.

“My niece?” She questioned, still staring at my baby.

“Yes, your niece.” I repeated, wiping my eyes.

“You had a baby?” She asked, crying softly. I nodded. “She’s so beautiful.” Nena whispered, sitting on the edge of my bed. I smiled, letting my tears flow.

“You want to hold her?” I asked her. Nena hesitated, and then nodded. She could not stop crying, and neither could I. Then she reached out, took my baby, and cradled her in her arms.

“Nai,” Nena began still crying, looking down at her little niece. “Oh God, she’s so beautiful.” She said again. I knew it was a lot for her to take in. I could see that this little surprise overwhelmed her. I glanced at Starr, who was also crying silently, at the other end of the room. “When did this happen? I didn’t even know you were pregnant.” Nena said when she finally looked at me.

“It’s a long story.” I replied, looking at my daughter. Silence filled the room, and then we heard another knock at the door.

“Aren’t you the popular one,” Starr said wiping her tears, and then walking over to the door. “Hey, come on in.” We heard her say. I looked up, and Nena turned around, to see Tony enter the room.

“Hey there sis,” he said, walking over to kiss me on the forehead.

“Hi.” I said, surprised to see him.

“And who’s this little guy?” He asked, looking down at my baby in Nena’s arms.

“We don’t know yet. Until Nai figures out a name, we’ll be calling her ‘little one.’” Starr joked. We all laughed, even Nena. As Tony stared at his wife holding my baby, for a moment, I thought I saw something there. Then, he quickly masked his expression, when he noticed Starr and me staring.

“So, Nai, a baby huh? You couldn’t just get a dog?” He said, making everyone laugh again. My baby stirred, and Nena handed her back to me. “She’s gorgeous.” Tony said, watching my little bundle of joy.

“Thank you.” I said with a smile.

“I’m sorry I can’t stay,” he started.

“Oh yeah, how’s your mom holding up?” Nena asked him.

“She’s all right for now, thanks. I’m going to go be with her now. Nai,” he said turning to me. “Congratulations.” He said, before turning to leave.

“Thanks.” I replied. I took notice to the way he, and Nena, looked at each other, before he left the room. I then looked over at Starr, who seemed to notice it too.

“All right, chica,” Starr said, making her way to my bed, and sitting in the chair next to it. “You’re killing me here. Give my little God Baby a name already.” She said excitingly. I chuckled at her lack of patience.