Page 14 of That Fire

“Liyah!”

I opened my eyes to see my mama waving. I waved back, and my dad ran over to me. When he got to the gate, he hurriedly made his way through it and came and loosely hugged me.

“Hey, baby. How you feeling?”

“I’m okay, Daddy. How are you? I heard you had a doctor’s appointment today too.”

“I’m good! Healthy and strong as an ox. Your old man still got it. I’ll wrestle a steer to the ground right now.”

I giggled. “That’s good, Daddy. I’m glad all is well.”

He nodded, then glanced down at my stomach. “So umm . . . your mama said Royal isn’t the father.”

I lowered my head, then shook it. “No, he isn’t. I’m sorry if I’m an embarrassment to you.”

“Embarrassment? Girl, please. I have the prettiest daughter in Nome. You smart as hell too. I wouldn’t trade you for the world. I’m still a proud father and will brag on my only daughter to anybody who will listen. There’s nothing you can do to change that. Okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

“If I wasn’t so sweaty, I would hug you tight after that. Hold your head high, baby.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

When Mama joined us, she frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Liyah was putting herself down. I had to fix her crown right quick. Nobody gets everything right. We’ve all done shit we regret, whether we can admit that shit or not.”

“That’s right, suga. Thank you for straightening her shit for her.”

She kissed his lips as I smiled at them.

“I just wanted to stop by and say hey before I headed home. My appointment went well, and when I go back in two weeks, they’ll do an ultrasound.”

“Oh! You’re gonna be going every two weeks now?”

“Yes. I’m getting further along. It’s getting close. I’m twenty-six weeks. Can you believe that?”

“Time is flying by. We are going to have five grandbabies by this time next year. Asad has two, you will have two, and Red gon’ have one. It’s only up from there.”

I giggled and rubbed my belly. “Well, we’re gonna head home. I’m hungry. That roast I cooked yesterday is calling my name. Y’all ought to come eat some later, so I don’t end up throwing it away. There’s no way I’m gonna eat it all before I get tired of it.”

“You ain’t said nothing but a thang. We’ll be by to clean it up for you. You know your mama like to eat.”

She pushed him playfully as he laughed.

“Yeah, y’all both like to eat. So do your children.” They laughed as I walked off heading to my car. “See y’all soon.”

They waved and headed inside to probably take showers. With my brothers being married to Hendersons, I was pretty sure they ate well, whether it was at home or at the diner. Red and Noni were on their honeymoon and would be back Sunday. I assumed she and Bali didn’t want to both be away from the clinic at the same time.

When I got home, my phone buzzed. I never had my ringer on during the weekday, since I was a teacher. I didn’t want to forget to turn the ringer off and it ended up ringing while I was at work. A lot of times, it ended up staying on silent mode on the weekends also. This pregnancy brain was eating me alive. I forgot stuff easily and often had to make notes for the really important stuff.

After parking in the garage, I checked my phone to see a message from Ashanni.

Hey, boo. Just checking on you.

I closed my eyes briefly. It was like I was distancing myself from her. Whenever I talked to her, I thought about Royal. He no longer wanted to be around me or even talk to me it seemed. I hadn’t heard from him since he left my house. We normally texted each other every day, even if we were just saying hello. I missed him so damn much, and talking to her only made the shit worse.

Me:I’m good. How are you?