@riahhamption1: RIP Baby. Your son will always know you. I love you forever, Donnie.
I sighed, suddenly feeling guilty. Regardless of how I felt about her, her son didn’t deserve to grow up without his father. A part of me wanted to reach out to her, but I knew better. At the end of the day, we both lost somebody who meant something to us. After scrolling for a while, I decided to post a memorial postfor Dru. I needed everyone to understand how much he meant to me.
The next morning, I felt better than I had yesterday. Refusing to sulk in grief, I got my ass out of bed and took care of my hygiene. The heavy bags under my eyes were terrible. I shuffled through Blessing’s side of the sink until I found her under-eye patches. I knew I was about to look ridiculous as hell with these pink patches on my face, but I had a meeting with the rec center contractors.
Blessing walked into the bathroom and immediately fell into a fit of giggles when she saw my face. “Babe, what the hell?”
“Ain’t this what you use for your bags?”
“Yes, but you look so silly.” Her laugh caused a smile to form on my lips.
“You think you can line me up real quick? I have a meeting with the contractors in a few and don’t have time to pull up on Ryan.”
She nodded and hopped onto the counter. I opened my drawer and pulled the clippers from it. “Me and Chanel are taking the girls shopping for school stuff after I stop by my building. I’m doing a final walk-through to make sure everything is perfect.”
“I’m proud of you, gorgeous. You excited to go back to work?” I caressed her exposed stomach as she started lining my hair up.
“Hell yeah. I enjoyed my break, but I miss it. I already have a partnership with our high school and the Jags. The custom scrubs came the other day, and I am obsessed!”
“Just make sure you’re taking it easy. Don’t forget you’re carrying precious cargo.”
“How could I forget? Do you see how big I’m getting every day?” She groaned.
She was nearing the four-month mark, and her bump was visible now. Carrying twins had her looking like she was furtherthan she actually is. It seems like she started showing a few days after we found out about the twins. We received the email with the gender, but because of everything going on, we cancelled the reveal and planned to just have a personal reveal between the two of us.
I had to thank God every day for bringing Blessing into my life. Although a part of my heart was gone, having her in my corner made me whole. She was worth everything. I’d do this shit all over again if I had to.
MONTHS LATER…
“Relax your shoulders…there you go.”I guided my patient, Maurice Brass, a baseball player from the Oasis Cove Wolverines. He was injured a few days ago and was referred to me by a former patient. I stepped away from him and watched him repeat the steps. I couldn’t help but admire my space—Blessed Hands Sports Medicine. Everything I went through was worth it. My business was thriving, and I was happy—genuinely happy. This shit was mine.
A small smile tugged at my lips. “Good job, Maurice. You should be good to return after a few more sessions.”
“I appreciate you, Ms. Carter.” He smirked, licking his full lips.
I shook my head and placed a hand on my protruding belly. “That’s Mrs. Simmons to you.” I joked. Even though Saint andI weren’t married yet, I told most people we were. “I’ll see you in a few days. Ice that shoulder and use some cream before bed tonight.”
Once he left, the room fell quiet for a moment. A sense of peace covered me—the peace I used to pray for. If anybody told me I’d be where I am now a year ago, I wouldn’t believe them.
“Well damn, look at you.” Chanel’s voice said from behind me.
I turned to see her leaning against the doorway, arms folded, a proud smile on her face. Her energy wasn’t what it used to be, but it wasn’t broken either. Just different. Healed. Softer. Better than she was months ago. Her salon was across the street from here, and business was blooming.
“Owner, CEO, boss lady,” She teased and walked over to me. “You’re getting bigger every time I see you. Hey, twins!” She leaned down and rubbed my stomach, causing the girls to kick.
Twin girls. Finding out that two more girls were joining the family was crazy. I assumed they were boys, but God had better plans. Angel and Sincere. I was a few days away from my eighth month, and I was ready for it to be over. Today started my last week of work until the twins are at least six months old. I’d still be running things behind the scenes, but I was handing all my other clients off to Jaslyn, my senior physical therapist.
“Girl, stopppp. You have the same titles as me.”
She did. And I was so proud of her. She was still grieving—we all were, but Dru’s death wasn’t in vain. His music had been released, and Saint gave all the royalties to Chanel. The money didn’t replace Dru, but she was taken care of in his absence.
“We still on for later?” She asked.
I nodded, “Yeah. The girls only have a few days left before they go off to college. I need every moment with them.”
Her smile softened. “You ready for that?”
“No,” I answered honestly, my voice cracking. “Not even a little bit.”