Married Men (14 page)
Authors: Carl Weber
“Jay Crawford, where the hell is Kyle? Lisa and those kids are going crazy over there,” she said sternly.
“This is none of your business, Diane,” Jay stated flatly. “Let me and Wil handle this, aw’ight?”
“Nigga, please! I’m the one who’s been goin’ over there watchin’ them kids and dryin’ up Lisa’s tears. I ain’t seen your ass over there once since Kyle left. You’re probably the one who talked him into leaving. So don’t you tell me what’s not my business.”
“You better check your wife, Wil, ’fore I hurt her feelings.” I could feel the anger in Jay’s words.
“Check me for what? Ain’t nothin’ your sorry ass can do to hurt me. Only one you know how to hurt is Kenya. Fuckin’ around with all those nasty-ass women. One day somebody’s gonna call Kenya and open her eyes,” Diane threatened.
“And who’s gonna do that, Diane? You?” Jay was trying to stay calm, but I could tell Diane’s threats had him worried.
“Maybe I will, Jay. Maybe I’ll tell her about your friend Jackie, or about what you did with her cousin Wendy. Or maybe I’ll—”
“Diane, will you please hang up,” I interrupted her attack. I really didn’t want her to go on. When she was mad, Di had a habit of repeating things I’d told her in confidence. And I really didn’t want all the things I’d told her about Jay to come back and haunt me.
“No, Wil!” She was heated.
“Diane! Hang up the fucking phone!” Now I’d had it.
“Don’t you talk to me that way, Wil Duncan! I’m not one of your friends.” I could hear Jay laughing in the background.
“Then hang up the phone!”
“Nah, Wil. I’ll hang up,” Jay offered. “I don’t need to be discussin’ anything on your phone no more. Obviously there’s no secrets in your house, with you bein’ married to the town busybody and all.”
“No, Jay, hold up. What about Kyle?”
“What about him? Isn’t it obvious he needs our help? He’d never leave his kids if he didn’t have real problems. That’s why he wants to see his best friends before seeing Lisa. But best friends know how to keep confidences, unlike you.” He hung up.
I tried to call him back on both his cell phones, but he didn’t answer. I even called his house, but Kenya said she thought he was with me. About five minutes later, Diane walked into the bedroom with her head down. I don’t think I’d ever been as upset with her as I was at that moment.
“Wil?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
I didn’t say anything, I just looked at her. She knew she had fucked up.
“Wil, honey, say something.” Tears ran down her face.
“I think you said enough for the both of us, Diane. Now Jay’s gonna tell Kyle and Allen that I can’t be trusted. How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of our business?”
“It was Jay’s fault. He just makes me so mad.” She took a few steps closer.
“Don’t blame this on Jay. You’re the one who picked up the damn phone.” I exhaled loudly. “Why can’t you ever leave well enough alone? You knew I was gonna tell you whatever he told me.”
She didn’t say anything. She just kept staring at me, holding her stomach.
“Why are you holding your damn stomach? You’re not gonna have the baby now.”
“I’m sorry, Wil. Please don’t be mad.”
I got out of bed and put on my robe, ignoring her. “I’m gonna go check on Teddy.” I could hear her call after me as I walked out of the room, but I never turned around, and she didn’t follow.
I’d been half-asleep in a rocking chair in Teddy’s room for almost an hour when I heard her call my name again. I didn’t answer, but when I opened my eyes, she was standing in the doorway holding her stomach again.
“Wil,” she whimpered.
“What?” I snapped.
“It’s time.”
“Time for you to leave me alone,” I mumbled.
“Wil, really, it’s time. I’m gonna have the baby.” I could tell from the way her voice shook that she was serious. I jumped out of the chair and ran to her.
“Okay, try to breathe like we practiced,” I coached as I guided her down the stairs. All my anger had subsided as I gazed at her. How could I be mad at a woman getting ready to give birth to my child?
“You okay, honey?” I helped her into a chair.
“Yes, I’m ... Ahhhh!” she screamed.
“Was that a contraction?” When Diane nodded, I checked my watch to see how far apart they were coming. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to call Mom and get Teddy. I handed her my watch. ”I want you to keep track of the contractions, okay?”
It didn’t take long at all for me to get Teddy dressed and help him and Diane into the car. Before I stepped into the driver’s seat, I looked into the night sky. It was cloudy, but I could see one star, bright and clear. Three months before we’d seen an ultrasound, and knew we were having a girl. “Just make her healthy, God.” I prayed out loud. I swear that star twinkled.
The drive to my mother’s took less than ten minutes. We left Teddy with her, and within twenty minutes we were in Jamaica Hospital’s labor and evaluation room, which was the biggest pain in the ass in the world. All I can remember thinking was,
We should have taken Rose’s advice and had our child at a Long Island Hospital.
Would you believe they separated Diane and me until she was ready to go into delivery? They had me waiting in the damn emergency room lobby for almost two hours while the nurses in labor and evaluation probed Diane. I ranted and raved to every person who looked like a hospital employee, right on down to the janitor. Finally a nurse came out and told me I could join my wife for the delivery.
We should have taken Rose’s advice and had our child at a Long Island Hospital.
Would you believe they separated Diane and me until she was ready to go into delivery? They had me waiting in the damn emergency room lobby for almost two hours while the nurses in labor and evaluation probed Diane. I ranted and raved to every person who looked like a hospital employee, right on down to the janitor. Finally a nurse came out and told me I could join my wife for the delivery.
Thank God, when we did finally get into the delivery room things went a lot smoother than I had expected. Diane’s doctor, Jill Lowenstein, was great. She knew just what to say to make Diane comfortable during the delivery process. I held on to Diane’s hand, trying to help her with her breathing the best I could. We’d skipped the Lamaze classes when Teddy was born and Diane had a real painful delivery. The second time around she made me promise to take the classes with her. From what Kyle had told us, Lamaze really helps if the couple works on it together.
“Come on, honey. Breathe,” I told her as the pain of another contraction hit her.
“How the hell can I breathe when this baby is trying to rip me open?” she screamed, staring at me with bugged eyes.
“Just calm down. Try to
breatttthhhhee,”
I murmured, exhaling like I wanted her to.
breatttthhhhee,”
I murmured, exhaling like I wanted her to.
“I can’t calm down. It hurts! You did this to me, Wil. And when this is over, I ain’t ever lettin’ you near me again.” The look Diane gave me as she tried to push our second child out was deadly serious. I was pretty sure she would change her mind after she had the baby, but at that moment I knew she meant every word. So much for Lamaze.
I looked down at the doctor, who was in between the stirrups like a baseball catcher. “Dr. Lowenstein, can’t you give her something for the pain?” The doctor ignored me and told my wife to push again, which she did with one huge scream.
“Wil, please make them give me something for the pain,” she pleaded.
“Doctor, can’t you give her another epidural?”
“Come on, Diane, push,” the doctor told her, still ignoring me.
“Doctor, can’t you please give her another epidural?” I shouted this time.
The doctor popped her head up from between my wife’s legs and turned her attention to me for a split second. “Mr. Duncan, why don’t you step down here so I can show you something.” She was asking, but it sure felt like an order.
I took my place beside the doctor and looked between my wife’s legs. Let me tell you, as soon as I saw my daughter’s thick black hair, I yelled right along with the doctor, “Come on, Diane, I can see her hair.
Puusssshhhh! Puusssshhhh! Puusssshhhh!”
The nurses in the delivery room were all laughing at my sudden personality change.
Puusssshhhh! Puusssshhhh! Puusssshhhh!”
The nurses in the delivery room were all laughing at my sudden personality change.
My excitement gave Diane renewed energy, and she strained through a long push. I watched the doctor grab hold of my child’s head, helping the birth process. Thirty seconds later my daughter was born. I cried like a child as I watched the nurses clean up my daughter and wrap her in a blanket. They placed our beautiful baby on Diane’s chest and I watched in awe as mother and daughter laid eyes on each other for the first time.
“We did it, Wil. We did it.” Diane was crying as she handed me our daughter.
“No, baby. You did it.” I kissed my wife, then our child. “Well, what’s her name?”
“Katherine, after your mother.” Diane looked at me and smiled.
“Katherine, I’ve got a feeling you’re gonna be your grandmother’s favorite grandchild.” I bent over and kissed Diane again. It’s unbelievable how things turn out. Six hours ago I was as mad as hell at her, but as I held my infant daughter, Diane could do no wrong in my eyes.
10
Allen
It was quarter to nine, and I’d been sitting in my car outside the Parsons Boulevard stop of the E train for forty-five minutes. Jay was supposed to meet me at eight so we could pick up Kyle at the airport, but he was his usual late self. I was just about to call to find out what was taking him so long when my cell phone rang.
“This you, Jay?” I answered.
“No, it’s Wil.”
“Wil, what’s up, man?” I hadn’t spoken to him in about a week, and it was good to hear from the big man. Although I did think it was strange that he wasn’t going with us to meet Kyle.
“Diane had the baby last night. A six-pound, three-ounce baby girl.” His voice was full of fatherly pride. God, I couldn’t wait until Rose and I had kids.
“Congratulations, Wil,” I said happily. “What’s her name?”
“Katherine Nicole, after my mom.”
“After Aunt Kathy, huh? Man, that’s beautiful. I’m real happy for you, Wil.”
“Well, I hope you’re gonna be happy for yourself too, ’cause we’d like you to be the godfather.”
“Really, Wil, you serious?” I liked that idea.
“Yeah, I’m serious.”
I have to admit I was more than a little choked up. I’d never been a godfather before. Jay, Wil, and Kyle had all passed me by with their other kids, probably because I didn’t have my shit together. But now that I had a good job and was getting married, Wil and Diane must have thought it was time to bless me with the honor of being a godparent.
Tap, tap, tap.
“Hold on Wil,” I said when I heard tapping at my passenger window. There was Jay, standing outside the car. I hit the button to unlock the door and watched him get in the car. He actually gave me this funky look, as if he couldn’t imagine what the hell I would be doing on the phone.
“Come on, Allen. Let’s get goin’. We’re runnin’ late,” he ordered.
“Aw‘ight, hold on a sec, I’m talkin’ to Wil.” Jay rolled his eyes. “Wil—look, man, Jay and I are about to head on over to Kennedy to pick up Kyle. I’ll stop by the hospital after we drop him off, okay?”
“Damn, y’all going to get Kyle now?”
“Yeah, can you believe it? I can’t wait ta see that brotha.”
“Me, either.” Wil sounded as if he wanted to go.
“Want me to swing by and pick you up?” Jay started gesturing and shaking his head in disapproval. I don’t know how, but I think Wil sensed that something was wrong because he immediately turned me down.
“Nah. I gotta go over to my mom’s and get Teddy,” he answered. I wasn’t sure if I believed him.
“You sure?” I asked, ignoring Jay.
He hesitated before speaking, “Yeah, I’m sure.”
Jay was starting to look impatient so I figured I better go. “Look, I gotta go. We shoulda been there a half an hour ago.”
“Before you go, lemme ask you a question. Did Jay tell you why Kyle left?” Something was strange about the way Wil was questioning me, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.
“Nope, I don’t think he knows.”
“That’s what I thought. Look, Allen, tell Kyle to call me.”
“Aw’ight, later.”
“Later, Al.”
I clicked off my phone and pulled the car onto Archer Avenue, headed toward the Van Wyck Expressway and Kennedy Airport.
“He wasn’t talkin’ about me, was he?” Jay sounded a little paranoid.
“No.” I shook my head. “He was tellin’ me that Diane had the baby.”
“You sure he wasn’t talkin’ ’bout me?”
“I said he was tellin’ me about his baby.” I turned and looked at Jay seriously. “Yo, what’s up with you two lately, why y’all always arguin’?”
“ ’Cause Wil’s got a big mouth! He’s always tellin’ Diane my business. You know she threatened to tell Kenya I was fucking around?”
“Get the fuck outta here.”
“Hell yeah. She told me that shit to my face. So watch your back, ’cause you could be next.”
“I’m not worried about Diane, ’cause I don’t fuck around,” I told him confidently.
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