KWAMÉ STONE
“I’monlygoingtobe here for a few months.”
“A few months? Girl, it might as well be a year!”
My best friend, Ari, was always so dramatic. She was five years older than me and thought she was my mother. In another lifetime, I wished she would’ve been my mother. Ari was both sweet and spicy. Her attitude could switch at the drop of a hat depending on the situation. She didn’t play about me and always uplifted me. I chalked it up to the fact that she’d been raised by a healthy mother and father and several siblings. She came from alarge family, and the love bestowed upon her, she poured out to those around her. Well, me.
Laughing, I said, “Never. Jessie wouldn’t want to be away from you that long.”
Ari whined. “See, now I’m about to tell you to call Antonias back and tell him you changed your mind. My lil’ boo is gon’ miss me too much.”
Snickering, I reminded her, “You’re supposed to be taking things easy. Bed rest also means doing your best to stay stress free.”
She scoffed. “You’re right! Lord, I’m having a baby!”
“Exactly. Be easy and just…stay out of trouble.”
Ari cackled. “You know me well. Talk to you later, sis!”
Ari hung up, and I took a deep breath, then squinted my eyes at the farm coming into view. Of course, they had it all decked out in holiday decorations. Christmas was my favorite time of the year. However, my stomach churned. As beautiful as the decorations were, my heart pounded knowing there was no more time to stall this meeting between Antonias and Jessie.
Jessie was my gift, a baby that wasn’t expected, yet changed my life in ways I would never forget. Because of her, I learned to truly slow down. Before finding out I was pregnant with Jessie, I wasn’t focused on anything except work. I was traveling from city to city at the drop of a hat, trying to appease the next client. My job had been demanding and oftentimes grueling. A break was needed.
As the rolling, thick green grass of S. S. Estates stretched down the long road, I thought about my adoptive parents. They’d owned this land for decades until passing it down to Antonias. As soon as the last of Gion and Margarite’s adopted children were grown, Gion and Margarite hopped the first flight to Europe and left the farm life. Having successfully raised thirteen children, the two were on a much-needed extended vacation.They hadn’t been back to this part of Alabama in over two years except to visit.
Sighing, I shook my head and maneuvered my luxury SUV into Antonias’s driveway. He was already standing on the porch watching me pull in. He stepped off the porch looking as menacing as my brother always had. He reminded me of some sculpted, light bronzed superhero, with curly dark hair and a permanent scowl. To everyone else, Antonias wasn’t the man to play with. To me, he was my big brother from another mother and father.
“You ready, Jessie?” I asked my baby girl. Her favorite rattler kept her occupied, so when I heard it shake uncontrollably, I knew her chubby, dimpled cheeks were stretched in a smile.
My heart pounded as I put the SUV in park. Antonias didn’t waste a moment opening my door.
“How was the drive…” His words trailed off as he glanced into the back seat. He moved from my door to go around to the right back seat passenger side.
“Who is this?”
Antonias’s voice was soft as he undid Jessie’s car seat. She was beaming hard at him, causing his face to transform into a smile. My baby liked to cling to me and normally met strangers with a quick pout on her lips. So, I was surprised when she didn’t cry when Antonias picked her up out of the seat.
“Jessie, my baby girl,” I said as I got out of the SUV, closed the door, and met him on the other side.
Antonias looked between me and Jessie. I could see the wheels turning in his head as Jessie stared at him. Her big eyes assessed him just as hard as he assessed her.
“Who’s her dad?” he asked.
There in lie the biggest of issues. “He’s someone I care not to talk about.”
Immediately, Antonias was suspicious. “Why not?”
“Because, alright.”
“Kwamé—”
“I’m not ready to talk about him, okay. Plus, I know you.” Chuckling, I tried to add some humor into the situation so that Antonias would hopefully drop it. “I know I’m asking a lot of you, but I’m just not ready to talk about it yet. Okay?”
Begrudgingly, Antonias said, “I’on like it, but I respect ya business. Just don’t let it come to me finding out some crazy shit.”
“You won’t.” I prayed he didn’t. I went to too many lengths to conceal Jessie’s father.
I reached for Jessie who looked at my hands like they weren’t the same ones that held her crybaby ass. Antonias cracked up while I smacked my teeth.
