An Unconventional Love: A Novella (12 page)

rich.

Twenty-seven.

It sounded good and it felt even better.

I was in a good place mentally. My son was gonna arrive at any minute. Rae had graduated high school with honors. I was making moves at work. And to top it all off, I had my fine ass, looking even better with child, woman by my side. I kept telling her I would have her barefoot and pregnant forever, popping out baby after baby, but I could only take so many,
“I’m gonna cut off your dick in your sleep”
threats before I gave up on that dream. I guess in a way, my dreams were coming true either way.

After the little party my co-workers threw for me at the office, I was excited to see how my birthday celebration would continue on. Jamison and I planned on going out for drinks with his buddy Dawson but I had to stop by the crib first to change clothes.

When I walked into the house, the lights were low and there was some smooth R&B playing. A few candles were scattered amongst the entryway and there was a faint smell of melted cheese coming from the kitchen. I rounded the corner into the kitchen and found Jasmine, in all of her pregnant and mostly-naked glory, bent over in front of the oven. I took a minute to appreciate all of her womanhood before I announced myself.

“Jasmine?”

She bent down a smidge further and bumped her bare belly right on the oven’s glass.

“Shit!”

I immediately grabbed a towel, running it under the coldest water I could get, before I placed it on her belly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Well mission failed.” She took over holding the cold towel to her belly before she continued on, “I didn’t think you would be home for at least another half hour.”

“They threw me a little party so we all left the office once it was over. But umm...let’s talk about what you have going on here.” I grabbed her free hand and gave her a little spin, taking a good look at just how much justice Rich Jr. had already done for her body.

“I guess I called myself giving you a little birthday surprise.”

“And burning yourself in the process?”

“Still getting use to this thing,” she replied, as she gave her belly a rub before taking a peek at her burn.

“Well you still look beautiful, burn and all.” She peeked up at me to flash a little smile before she went back to tending to her burn. I lent her a helping hand by taking what I found out were enchiladas from the oven and setting them on the stove. “And since when do you cook?” For the short time that Jasmine had lived with us, I had done all the cooking to ensure that she was getting the nutrients she needed to take care of our baby. It was evident that she was use to eating to maintain her petite frame instead of eating to feed an extra person so I would often have to remind her to eat more food and more often even though she thought she was already eating and looking like an elephant.

“Special occasion I suppose.”

I walked over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist, letting my hands rest right on top of hers. She probably didn’t even realize how much she sunk right into me.

“Awww baby mama was trying to take care of her man for his birthday, huh?”

“Don’t start, Rich. I promised myself that I would be nice to you today so don’t make me renege.” I couldn’t help laughing at her little threat.

“I just love your crazy ass.” She froze and I didn’t know why until I thought about what I said.

I loved her?

I mean, that’s what I said so it must have some truth to it right?

I felt her release a heavy breath before she worked her way out of my hold. I could see the tension in her face before she said, “Can we not...do that?”

“Do what?”

“The whole...love thing.”

“What’s wrong with love?”

“There’s nothing...wrong with it. I just...it’s not something I do. And I don’t want you to be disappointed by the fact that I’ll probably never say it back.” It really didn’t surprise me that Jasmine wasn’t a fan of love considering she wasn’t really a fan of relationships or marriage or any type of commitment to someone else. But I couldn’t help wondering why she wouldn’t allow herself to just try it.

“Because you don’t love me? Or because you’re afraid of love?”

“Maybe both? I don’t know, Rich. I’m happy here. I enjoy spending time with you. But I don’t…”

I really didn’t need to hear her excuses to get the point so I decided to save her the trouble of giving them by cutting her off, “It’s cool. I get it. But my statement remains the same.”

jasmine.

I was being ridiculous.

That was the conclusion I came to after talking to Ariel, and Bailey, and the random old lady in the coffee shop that I visited when I needed my dose of peppermint tea.

Rich wanted to love me.

He
did
love me.

And I didn’t say it back not because I didn’t feel it but because of my own personal reservations on the topic. It was like I knew the difference between the right kind of love and the wrong kind of love, I could surely point it out in a line-up, but I didn’t wanna set myself up by having expectations for how it would affect my world. I saw firsthand how it had affected my mom to the point of no return and there was no way I was gonna put myself in the same position.

But according to everyone I spoke to, the risk was well worth the reward.

So when I decided to be risky and show up to Rich’s office unannounced, I just assumed I would receive good karma for stepping out of my comfort zone.

Wrong.

Leave it to me to make it to his office after walking around on swollen ankles for close to a half an hour looking a sweaty mess all ready to profess my love for him. I attempted to at least readjust my clothes once I made it to his office door but found it to be no use. He’d just have to take me for who I was. I gave a little knock and he practically opened it immediately, surprised to see it was me. I had saw Rich leave home in his business suit plenty of times, but seeing him with it on in context was a whole new orgasm waiting to happen. He gave me a kiss before taking my hand and leading me into his office, shutting the door behind him.

“What brings you by, babe? Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. I was just umm...I was coming because I wanted to tell you that I’ve been...thinking. And I...
oh my God
.” Baby Rich was always super active, kicking the shit outta me every chance he could. But this pain...this pain felt a little different.

“Are you alright?”

I held myself up using the side of Rich’s desk as I piped out, “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.  I guess Baby Rich wanted to talk to his...
what the fuck!
” Rich jumped into action, coming from behind his desk to help me get into one of his office chairs. He then grabbed me a glass of water, damn near forcing me to drink it. I took two gulps, feeling a little more relaxed but only for a few minutes until another sharp-shooting pain went through me.

Rich snatched up his phone, keys, and wallet before helping me stand up, “We gotta go, Jasmine. I think you might be going into labor.”

“Labor? This is what labor feels...
mothafucka!
” I closed my eyes, using Rich’s hand to release all the torture his son was causing inside of me. He continued to guide me out of his office, past all of his nosey ass colleagues to the parking garage. I practically fell into the passenger’s seat of his car, fighting him off when he tried to put the seatbelt over me. “If you don’t get your ass in that driver’s seat and get me to the hospital!” He only smiled before shutting my door and jogging over to his side of the car, hopping in and skirting out of the parking lot.

rich.

I tried to appear all cool, calm, and collected as I ducked and dodged through traffic trying to get Jasmine to the hospital. Little did she know, I was probably more nervous, more anxious, more overwhelmed than her.

Okay, maybe not more overwhelmed.

I stopped at a red light and peeked over to Jasmine who was giving me a death stare.

“If you don’t run this mothafuckin’ light! There aren’t even any cars coming!” Though traffic was pretty non-existent at this particular stop, I still didn’t wanna put us in danger.

“Jasmine, you don’t even have your seatbelt on. I’m not taking any chances.”

In between deep breaths she yelled, “Fuck that! Let’s go!”

“Jasmine, I’ll run this light if you agree to marry me.” Marriage was still on the radar as far as I was concerned so I couldn’t help taking advantage of the moment by asking.

“Rich, you can put a ring on all ten of my fingers and toes if you run this damn light!”

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes! Now drive!” I looked both ways before going straight through the light as if it had never been red in the first place.

By the time we made it to the hospital, Jasmine’s contractions were less than two minutes apart so I made a mad dash into the hospital to grab a wheelchair and a nurse. Jasmine was able to crawl out of the car before the nurse and I positioned her in the wheelchair then pushed her into the hospital. I followed the nurse to the birthing center, helped Jasmine change out of her clothes and into a gown then got her situated on the bed while we waited for the doctor to show up.

I did what I knew how to do; stroked her head, gave her ice chips, and held her hand as her contractions got closer and closer together.

“Rich, I love you.” For a moment, I froze causing her to continue on.
“That’s what I came to your job to tell you. That I love you.”

The words came out muffled thanks to the ice chips she had filled her mouth with but I caught enough of it to knowingly reply, “I love you too, Jasmine.” She blushed before her face turned pained with the passing of another contraction.

The doctor walked in looking a little too disheveled for my liking but I guess that should’ve been expected since she was coming in on her day off after a few days worth of sixteen hour shifts.

“Mr. Robinson. Ms. Monroe. I hear the baby boy is ready to rock and roll.” Jasmine rolled her eyes, trying to relax through another contraction so I answered for the both of us.

“Yep. He’s ready. Her contractions are about a minute apart.”

“Great. Let me take a look-see.” The doctor pulled over her stool, positioning herself right between Jasmine’s legs. “Uh-huh, you’re dilated about six and a half centimeters. We’re almost ready to push, dear.”

“Almost ready? Almost ready like you’re gonna run to the bathroom real quick and come back then we’ll get going?”

“Umm...not quite. Maybe a couple hours.”

“What! Oh hell no! He’s ready. Let’s fuckin’ do this.”

“Doesn’t work like that, Jasmine. And you gotta relax. Save all that energy for when it’s time to push.”

“Shut the hell up, Rich.”

“Ms. Monroe, if you need anything, just press that button. Otherwise I’ll be back to check on you in ten minutes.” Of course, Jasmine started jamming on the button immediately.

“I need something! I need you to get this damn baby outta me!”

)~o~(

“Fuck my life! It’s time! Get that damn doctor in here now! Nurse too! Rich, wake up!”

I didn’t even know I was sleep, but Jasmine was definitely the scariest alarm I had ever woken up to. I did a quick scrub of my eyes as I rushed to her bedside.

“Breathe, babe. Breathe. This is a piece of cake. You were made for this shit.”

“You’ve seen my damn vagina, Rich. That little hole is
not
made for...
oh my God
!” I held her hand as she worked through another dose of pain.

“I hear you’re ready, Ms. Monroe.” The doctor looked a little more refreshed by now as she put on a pair of gloves. She positioned herself in between Jasmine’s legs before she took a look and said, “Oh yes. You’re more than ready. Baby boy is crowning already!”

I peeked down below and immediately regretted it.

The gush...

The deformed head…

I swallowed hard to push down the throw-up that had rushed to my throat.

“Alright, Jasmine. I want you to give me a good push on three. One...two...” Jasmine pushed with all her might as she grunted and growled and squeezed the life out of my hand.

It has got to be broken by now.

“You’re doing great, babe. A few more and we’ll be done.”

“
We’ll?
I’m doing all the damn work,” she said in between breaths.

“Alright, Ms. Monroe. Here we go. One...two…” I felt my hand crack as Jasmine pushed with such a full breath I was just sure she was gonna pass out.

But she didn’t.

I actually heard a little cry.

And when I looked down to where the cries were coming from, my whole world changed.

jasmine.

Never again.

There was no way in hell I was having anymore children after dealing with stubborn ass Baby Rich. In fact, I had already signed the papers to have my tubes tied the second he made his grand exit cause no….
hell no
. 

Twelve hours of active labor?

Not two...but twelve?!

He’s lucky he’s adorable.

“You okay, babe? Need anything?” Rich was asking me but his eyes were glued to his pride and joy. My heart fluttered just thinking about how I had done something to make someone else
that
kind of happy.

“Do I
look
okay? Do I
look
like I need anything?” I was only teasing but not enough to warrant a response from him. Instead, the response came from the doorway.

“No, you look terrible...want a mirror?”

I knew without looking that it was my big sister Bailey.

“You are such a bitch! Get over here!” She laughed me off as she headed to my bed, holding a bouquet of flowers and an it’s-a-boy balloon. She sat the gifts against the windowsill before giving me a hug.

“Oh my God...look at him! I didn’t think you’d be done by the time I got here.” She was hovering over the incubator as she watched Baby Rich do absolutely nothing but be the cutesy little button-nose baby he was.

“He was a stubborn one for sure.”

“Wonder where he got that from….”

“Shut up, Rich. Anyway! Where’s Chad?” Even though I was still indifferent about Bailey’s decision to stay in her loveless marriage, it was strange not to see them together for something like this. I mean, he was technically both of their nephew.

“He’s umm...actually, Rich can you excuse us for a minute?”

“Sure. I’m gonna run down to the cafeteria. Call me if he does anything cool.” He walked over to the bed to give me a little kiss on my forehead. It was the simplest gesture but it managed to calm my nerves about him leaving my side even for a few seconds. The feeling of needing someone was so foreign that for a while I didn’t even recognize it. But now, it was clear as day. If he wasn’t leaving me in my sister’s hands, I would’ve definitely fought him over it.

Bailey waited for the door to shut before diving right in, “Now about Chad…”

“Spit it out, sis. You didn’t kill him, did you?”

“No, no, nothing like that, crazy. I umm...I told him. About the affair. And he… he forgave me. Like way too easily. So naturally I became suspicious. Come to find out he’s been sleepin’ with the preacher’s kid.” Though the preacher’s kid wasn’t exactly a kid -
thank goodness
- I was still pissed.

“Ewww, not Ebony’s ugly ass.”

“No...the other one.”

The other one?

Preacher Wiley only has one daugh...

“Wait a minute...the other one is a…” Bailey’s face remained still as I put two and two together, “Nooooo way.
Chad?
Chad’s like a…”

“He’s a top. That’s what he is. Good thing we stopped having sex long ago, otherwise I’d be concerned about much bigger things.”

“Wow that’s…” I couldn’t even put into words how I felt about it so instead I asked, “So what now?”

“Easy split. I get what I came in with. He’ll get what he came in with. Everything we acquired together, we’ll split evenly. And I’ll be a free woman.” She sounded so unbothered but I knew it couldn’t have possibly gone over
that
easy.

“Are you okay?”

She shrugged as she replied, “Honestly...it’s weird. But God works in mysterious ways.”

“Don’t I know it,” I added, as I looked over to the incubator holding my little human who sound asleep without a care in the world.

Our little human.

“But now that I’ve dropped my news, time for you to drop yours. You tell him, yet?”

“Tell who what?”

“Rich. Did you tell him you love him?”

“I told him.”

“And…”

“And he said he loved me back and we moved on from it.” I don’t know why I expected fireworks or a parade in response to my little announcement but his regular response, in his regular tone, certainly wasn’t it. I couldn’t overreact though cause I hadn’t exactly given the best response when he first said it either.

“I’m proud of you, sis. Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Hell, me neither. But here I am; a mommy who’s in love with her baby daddy.”

“Better predicament than me.”

“Trust me Bailey’ finding out about Chad’s infidelity was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to you.”

“Kind of like Rich taking a chance with your crazy ass.”

I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but I could definitely see the similarities. Even if Rich and I were thrown together in the most unconventional way, him and baby Rich were easily the best things that ever happened to me.

)~o~
(
             

“Baby girl? Baby girl, wake up.”

I was pretty sure I was dreaming until I felt a warm hand holding mine. There was a familiarity to it; not that I had felt it in ages but could certainly never forget what it felt like.

“
Daddy.
”

He gave me a warm smile, as he stroked my hand. “There’s my princess. How you feelin’?”

“Feeling like a new mommy that’s for sure. Sore. Tired.
Empty.
” It was weird as hell watching my stomach deflate little by little. Hopefully that was a sign that I’d be joining #TeamSnapback sooner than later.

Or at least #TeamMILF.

“Reminds me of your mother when she had you two. Where’s my grandson?” I tried to ignore the little tinge of irritation from just hearing about my mother and instead focus on the positive in my son.

“Hanging out with the other babies while I get some rest. He’s right down the hall if you wanna see him.”

“No, I really came here to see about the knucklehead that knocked my baby girl up in the first place.”

“Daddyyy…”

“What? I’m not gonna hurt the young man. Just give him a good...talkin’ to.” My dad was a pretty boy by nature so I was sure he didn’t mean any real harm. It was actually kind of funny to see him go into protective mode, something I hadn’t seen since I was a teenager.

“Right. Well I’m sure he’s down there glued to the window.”

“Just like I was. I remember it like it was yesterday; the days you two were born. The happiest days of my life.” There was a little twinkle in his eye as he spoke. And strangely enough, his sentiments sounded exactly like Rich.

“I just bet you do, Dad. How’d you know where to find me anyway? Bailey?”

“No, actually your mom. She’s here ya know.” Shocked was an understatement. I was just sure I’d be able to feel her negative vibes toward me whenever she was within a 5 mile radius. I didn’t know how to respond so Dad filled in the blank. “She’s actually waiting for me to tell her it’s okay to come in. She didn’t want to disturb you.”

I rolled my eyes as I replied, “I can’t imagine her being so considerate.”

“Baby girl, just give her a chance alright?”

“Give her a chance to do what exactly?”

“You know...talk to you, be a mom to you, at least give her well wishes.” Though everything he was saying sounded like they’d be coming a few years too late, I agreed to let her at least show her face.

There was a soft knock at the door that I knew belonged to Patty. The door cracked open and she tipped her head in asking, “Can I come in?”

“It’s a free country.”

“I…deserved that one.” She slowly climbed through the little crack she had created, softly shutting the door behind her. In fact, everything about her seemed softer.

The way she was walking.

The way she was talking.

It was...weird.

“Congratulations on becoming a Mommy, Jasmine. I’m so proud of you.”

“Of all the things I’ve done, you wait until I have an illegitimate baby to be proud of me? You are something else, Patty.”

“Jasmine, please. I’m not here to argue, or fight. I just...I know I’ve said some really cruel things to you over the last few years and I...I guess I’m here to apologize. Even if you reciprocated the attitude, none of it was appropriate from my end. I’m your mother. I should support you no matter what. And I...I dropped the ball, Jasmine. I’m so sorry.” I really thought the whole emotional pregnancy bullshit went away the second the baby was out, but apparently there was still more in the tank as the tears flew down my face before I even had the chance to stop them. It was like she had said everything I ever wanted to hear at the absolute least likely moment I expected to hear them. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if my mom knew I had given birth. I surely didn’t have any plans on calling her to let her know. But now that she was here, actually supporting me, apologizing to me, expressing her fault, I felt guilty as hell for ever letting things get so bad.

“I’m umm...I’m sorry too. You know for like...being mean and stuff.” She walked over to my bedside and took my hand, stroking it the same way my father had.

“I read a scripture on my way here and I…”
              “Mom…”

“I know, I know; me and my church stuff. But just hear me out for a second. God said that love covers over a multitude of sins. I may not agree with every choice you make, but if I at least do my job in giving you a mother’s love, then there is nothing for me to be concerned about.” In a weird way, I knew exactly what she meant. Instead of being critical of everything I did, she was deciding to do the only thing she had control of.

That was definitely something I planned to keep in mind with my own child.

“Thank you, Mom. That was...
perfect.
”

“You’re welcome, dear,” she replied, as she put a hand to my head and began stroking my hair in only a way a mother knew how to do.

Since we seemed to be in a good space, I couldn’t help prying her for information about what had her all soft and girly. “Now tell me something… what’s going on with you and Dad?”

She immediately brushed me off though there was no hiding the hint of blush on her cheeks. “Oh girl. Nothing’s going on with me and that old fool. He calls himself trying to be my friend, but he does everything he can to test the title.”

“Are you two getting back together?”

“I don’t think so, Jaz. But you know how God works. If you wanna make him laugh, tell him your plans.”

Finally, the whole God thing was making sense.

And I was just sure he had a stomach cramp from laughing so hard at me.