New Beginnings

Family Problems.

I called over a few people.

“Do you know their names? How old are they? Anything about them?”

“Why should I? They are a lower rank than I am.”

“That is the main difference between the two of us. I don’t care about rank or status, I care about people. This is Corbin, Leslie, and Alica. All three are from Kankakee and all three are being put through school so they can each get their high school diploma. Corbin here wants to be a psych major. Wants to help people.”

They left and I looked back at him.

“You don’t know the first thing about them or anyone else. You treat people like they mean nothing so their lives mean nothing. So you don’t care if they live or die but I do. I make sure that everyone is taken care of and protected. If someone needs something they know they can come to me and count on me to help them, no one knows you. No one trusts you.”

I got closer so only he heard me.

“You come for me again, I will not hesitate to shoot you.”

I turned to Cam then we left.

“You good?”

“Yup.”

We got to the house and walked inside. I took my shoes off and curled up on Tariq’s lap.

“How was the meeting?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“That bad?”

“Yep. Rodney keeps coming for my throat.”

“And if he gets too close I’ll kill him.”

I chuckled. We laid there for a little while watching TV then Cam came over and sat on the other side of the couch.

“You know, I can handle Rodney now, give me the word.”

“We need reasoning. We can’t just kill everyone although that does sound nice.”

“Damn you are scary when you’re pregnant.”

“It could be worse.”

“True, very true.”

Tariq kissed my forehead then got up. He walked over to the kitchen and started looking for something.

“Do either one of you know where the chocolate syrup went?”

We looked at each other then at Tariq.

“What chocolate syrup?”

“I just bought some yesterday.”

“I didn’t know we had any.”

“Damn, that sucks.”

I got up and walked into my office and went back to dealing with paperwork. There was a knock and Cam answered it.

“Camilia’s here.”

She walked into my office and smiled.

“There’s my bestie.”

“And baby.”

She walked around and put her hand on my stomach.

“I’m excited. I can't wait.”

“Same here. I’m happy you agreed to be his godmother.”

“I’m happy you asked me.”

“Of course. You’ve done a lot for me and I trust no one better to help my baby.”

She smiled.

“So, baby shower plans.”

“Ugh, go talk to Tariq. You two are the only ones who wanna do it.”

She laughed.

“Why aren’t you?”

“I’m not a party person. I’ll go to one occasionally but other than that, I’m good.”

“Mmm. Well I’m going to go talk to Tariq then because I wanna throw a baby shower.”

“I’ll be here.”

She got up and walked back to the kitchen to talk to Tariq. I went back to working then I got a call.

“Hello?”

“Hey Sophia.”

It was Kyle.

“What’s up?”

“I was wondering what you were up to. I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

“Yeah, I decided to finish school online and i’ve been working a lot more. I’m about to have a baby and I need all of the money I can get.”

“Yeah. How is the baby doing?”

“We know the gender and came up with a name. His name is De’Andre Brown.”

“That’s cool. Can I come over? I bought a few gifts.”

“That’s sweet of you. You didn’t have too but yeah you can come over.”

“Cool, I’ll be there later.”

“Alright, I’ll see you later.”

I hung up then went to the baby room. I looked at the wall and it was perfect. Camilia and Tariq walked in.

“Wow Sophia. That looks amazing.”

“Thank you. That was my favorite movie growing up.”

“Well we have a few ideas.”

“Okay?”

“Football player.”

I chuckled.

“Really? I’m sorry but that’s like, pressuring him to be a football player from birth. I wanted to do something like, batman themed.”

“Batman?”

“All little boys love batman!”

Tariq nodded his head.

“True.”

“So you want a batman themed baby shower.”

“The baby shower for you yall. I don’t even want one.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes seriously. If you want to throw a baby shower, fine. But I do not care for it. It’s for everyone else.”

“Deal.”

They started planning it out further but I laid down on the couch. I curled up and fell asleep then a few hours later a woke up to knocking. I got up and opened the door and it was Kyle.

“Kyle!”

I hugged him then he chuckled.

“How are you?”

“I’m good. He’s kicking my ass.”

“Well that’s mean.”

He held up the bags then smiled.

“Got some stuff for you two.”

“Thank you but you didn’t have to.”

“Please, you’re like a sister to me.”

We walked to the couch and he handed me a bag. I opened it and it was a blanket and it said ‘Mama's boy’ so I looked at him and smiled.

“Thank you.”

“Oh you’re not done yet.”

He handed me another bag and it was filled to the brim with diapers and I started laughing.

“Lord knows I could never have enough of these.”

“Honestly.”

The last bag had baby clothes and some more diapers. I gave him a hug then started laughing.

“So how is everyone?”

“We miss you.”

“I know. But I really have been super busy and I’ve been loaded with meetings because my boss is retiring after my baby is born and I am taking over so I need to start easing myself into the position so it’s easier for everyone.”

“It’s okay. We just want you back.”

“Well I don’t know about that. I’m finishing school online and raising De’Andre with Tariq.”

“Did you come up with his name?”

“Yeah. It just spoke to me. De’Andre Barakah Brown.”

“Where did you get that?”

“I’ve liked that name for a while, the middle name is Arabic for ‘bless you’ which is another form of ‘blessed be’ which is a Wiccan saying. And Brown is Tariq’s last name.”

He nodded his head then Tariq and Camila walked out of the office.

“There you are.”

Tariq made eye contact with Kyle then got defensive.

“What’s up?”

“He was dropping off some baby gifts. A blanket, a lot of diapers, and some baby clothes.”

“Well that’s nice of you.”

He smiled at Camilia.

“Yeah, I just wanted to do something nice for her. She’s like a sister to me.”

After a little while he left and went home and so did Camilia. 

“What do you want for dinner?”

“Whatever you want baby.”

He walked into the kitchen and pulled out some chicken.

“Can you get me rosemary and parsley from the garden?”

“Yep.”

I got up and walked outside to the greenhouse. I grabbed my clippers and cut off some rosemary and some parsley then brought it inside. He washed it off then started chopping it up. I sat back down on the couch and started rubbing Apollo’s fur. Tariq came over after putting the chicken in the over and tried to boot him off of my lap. 

“Down.”

“No.”

“You don’t wanna cuddle with me?”

“I can lay on you and he can lay on me.”

“You’re mine.”

“And he’s mine.”

He rolled his eyes and sat on the other side of the couch. I pulled Apollo off of my lap then crawled over to him and laid on him.

“Nope, you wanted to cuddle with the dog.”

“And you. He wants love and attention.”

“So do I.”

“I have enough love and attention for the three of you.”

“I want all of it.”

I sat up and kissed him. I went to pull away but he pulled me back and deepened the kiss. He slapped my butt then Apollo barked at him. I laid back down on his lap then Apollo got on mine. I was petting him while we watched TV and Apollo was watching Tariq the whole time making sure he didn’t mess with me.

After an hour he got up and let Apollo outside and checked on the chicken. It needed some more time so we let it cook. As soon as he took it out of the oven Cam came out of his room.

“What smells good?”

“Chicken.”

“Ooh, yum.”

Tariq sat back down so I put my head back on his lap. He started giving me a head rub and it felt amazing. I started drifting asleep then Cam poked me.

“No sleeping.”

“Shut up.”

They laughed at me then I sat up and fixed my hair. We all got up and went to the kitchen while Tariq finished making dinner. He made some green beans and microwave baked potatoes which are way better than they sound. We started eating then Tariq’s phone started going off.

“I have to take this.”

He got up and walked away. Cam looked at me.

“You’re not going to ask who called him?”

“No. Why should I?”

He chuckled then went back to eating. A few minutes later he came back.

“Who was that?”

“One of my old friends. He wants to catch up sometime.’’

“Well that’s cool. You know you don’t have to stay with me all day everyday. I’m not due for another few months.”

“I know. I just don’t want something bad to happen while I’m gone.”

“I’ll have Camilia come over. If I need something, she can help.”

“Alright.”

Cam looked at me.

“What happened between you and Mirza? I would’ve thought that you two would be geeking out because you’re both pregnant.”

“Well that was the problem. She’s stuck in who we were freshman year, party girls who rarely never had a vape on us and was in a new relationship every week. Her more than me. But I’m ready to get on with my life and have a family. We got into it because I said that she wasn’t ready then she stopped talking to me. Hell, she still lives with her mom.”

“True. I mean, you’re also a very straightforward person. She probably took it differently from how you were trying to say it.”

“Who knows. But we haven’t talked in months.”

I kept eating then Apollo started begging.

“No. Go lay down.”

He trotted off to the couch but kept staring at us. We finished eating then Cam said he would clean up. Tariq and I went over to the couch and sat down for a while. He leaned over then kissed my stomach then started whispering. All I caught was him talking about his day, how much he missed us, how he doesn’t want him to put me in any pain, how much he loves him, and how he can’t wait to meet him. 

He does this sometimes and every time it makes me smile. He noticed that I was smiling at him then said, “Your mommy is stunning. I hope you get her smarts and her looks.”

I blushed really hard then looked away.

“Your daddy is also smart and attractive. No matter who you take after, you are going to be very handsome.”

Tariq chuckled then kissed my stomach. Cam came over to the couch then fake puked.

“Shut up. You wish you could stay in a stable relationship long enough to get this far.”

“I’m going to pass.”

“Bro, this life is way better than the hoe life.”

“Knocking up your best friend's little sister then getting engaged to her? Sure, let me call Rose.”

Tariq stood up fast.

“That’s not even funny.”

“You think I like this? My best friend and my sister who may I remind you is a minor!”

“You approved of this! I wouldn’t have gone this far if you didn’t give us your approval!”

Cam shook his head.

“I said I preferred you over Jordan. Not giving you two permission.”

“You didn’t stop us once. We moved in together, started dating, found out we were having a baby, got engaged, and after all of this time, when she is about to give birth, you finally say something!”

I stood up.

“Cam, what is this about?”

“I am just so sick and tired of the two of you being all googly eyes. It’s sickening.”

“We are at our home. If you don’t like it, leave. But I will not apologize to you for being happy.”

I walked away then went to the babies room. I stood there and took a breath. I unloaded the gifts from Kyle and put them in the baskets that I had set up. I picked up the picture that was on the shelf and stared at it for a minute. It was me, Cam, Jayden, Michael, Tariq, Ronnie, and Michael’s daughter Lizzie.

We were at dinner together so I asked the waitress to take a picture of us. I brought it with me to my room then got on the floor. I grabbed the photo album from under my bed and started going through the pictures. I found one that was all of us when we were younger. I started crying and pressed the picture against my heart.

Tariq came upstairs then got on the floor next to me.

“He didn’t mean it.”

“It hurts.”

“I know baby.” He pulled me closer. “I’m hurting too.”

He rubbed my back.

“He’s my brother. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“He’s my best friend Sophia. I don’t want to hurt him either but we are all grown. He will get over this.”

“What if he doesn’t Tariq? What if he starts hating us and doesn't want anything to deal with either one of us? I can’t lose him.”

“Are you saying you want to end us?”

“No, I just don’t want to hurt my brother. I can’t lose my brother Tariq.”

“I know.”

We sat there and I cried for what felt like hours. He walked me into the bathroom so I could wash my face and brush my teeth. He brushed his teeth then we went back into our room and changed. He put the stretch mark cream on my stomach and hips for me then we laid down to go to bed. He kissed my forehead then rested his hand on the baby bump.

A few hours went by then Tariq’s alarm went off waking us both up.

“Go back to sleep mamas.”

“It’s okay.”

We got up and I went to the bathroom. He went downstairs then a few minutes later I went down there too. He was making breakfast so I let Apollo outside and refilled his bowl of food. I sat at the island and opened my computer then got to work. I started doing my school stuff then I saw that I had an email asking about prom. 

It was asking if I was signing up to be one of the nominations for prom queen so I sent an email back saying that I wasn’t going to do that. I finished my first hour then Tariq handed me a plate that had french toast and bacon on it.

“Thank you.”

“No problem. What’re you working on?”

“Civics in American Government.”

“Alright.”

He kissed my cheek then went back to the room. He got dressed then came back down and ate some french toast and bacon before heading to work. A few hours went by then Cam came out of his room.

“I didn’t know you were down here.”

“It’s cool. I’ll head to my office.”

I got up and went to go to my office.

“I’m sorry.”

I took a breath then turned around and looked at him.

“Cam I cannot fight with you like that. I wish you would have said something before I got pregnant and after all of these months. We love each other and we love you. We don’t want to hurt you but we want to be happy.”

“And I am wrong for trying to get in the way of that. It just hurt when I had to find out through social media that my baby sister is pregnant with my best friend's kid.”

“I was planning on making dinner again. Making plates with the ultrasound on it so when you finished eating, you saw it.”

He chuckled.

“You do know that would have made me throw the plate at the two of you, right?”

We laughed.

“Are we okay now?”

“Yeah, I’ll get over it.”

I gave him a hug then went to my office. I sat down then got back to working. I finished my schoolwork then I checked my schedule to see what all I had to do today. Cam walked in.

“Angel and Cade are here.”

“Well what’re you waiting for? Let them in.”

I got up and we walked to the living room then I started smiling.

“Lord look at that bump!”

I chuckled then gave Cade a hug.

“Even while you are pregnant you are absolutely stunning.”

“Thank you Angel.”

I gave him a hug.

“What’re you two doing here?”

“Well we wanted to start making baby clothes.”

“Well he will love them.”

“It’s a boy?”

“De’Andre Barakah Brown.”

“I love that name!”

I smiled.

“Thank you.”

“Well not we have a gender to start making clothes for, now we are going to make you an outfit for your baby shower.”

“Does everyone really want a baby shower besides me?”

“You don’t want one?”

“Not really.”

“Why?”

I looked at Cam, he looked down.

“I just don’t wanna make a big deal out of everything because there are people that are going to want to be there that I don’t feel like talking to.”

“This is a day for your baby. I know they aren’t going to remember it or even really be there but it’s a day for you to just have fun and to get a s**t ton of stuff for free from people that you aren’t going to talk to again.”

I chuckled.

“You sound like Tariq and Camilia.”

“Well we are all smart. Listen to us.”

“Fine.”

They started cheering then laughing.

“Now, let’s take these measurements and start designing.”

“Sounds good to me.”