"Well, technically, when CJ poops out that ring, you'll be family, and according to your employment contract, you would need to provide six weeks’ notice for vacation time, barring emergencies, so if CJ goes to Barbados, you go to Barbados…according to the contractyouhad drawn up.” I grinned at her.
“I thought you didn’t read it.” She narrowed her eyes at me.
"Lisa, I would never sign anything without knowing what it said, and I read pretty quickly.” I winked at her.
"This sounds like you're trying to force me to go to Barbados. They have a word for that." She narrowed her eyes at me. I worried that I'd pushed her too far. It had only been three hours since the last time she looked at me like she wanted to kill me, and we were also sitting in the pediatric ward of a hospital waiting for a nineteen-month-old baby to pass a potentially lethal foreign object.
“You didn’t mind being kidnapped the last time.” I raised an eyebrow.
She narrowed her eyes agin and shook her head at me. “I’ve never been to Barbados,” she mused. “Is it nice?”
"I've never been, but my aunt and sister love it. Does that mean you want to come?"
"I've never met anyone in your family beside Kimberly. Won't it be awkward?"
"No, but you have a few weeks to meet everybody, and my family is gonna love you. Oh shit, I forgot to ask you, with everything going on."
“You wanted to ask me something else. Do you want one of my kidneys?”
“No, but if you’re offering body parts, I could think of—”
“Don’t finish that sentence.” She smirked. “What did you want to ask me?”
“My mom and my aunt have some books that they want your mom to sign. It’s okay to say no.”
“Really?” She laughed again. “My mom would love that.”
“Seriously? I’ve never seen my mom so excited about anything. We should definitely bring them when you meet her.”
“Are you worried about your family not liking me?”
"Not at all." My fingers twitched to scratch my scalp, and I stopped myself. "You're impossible not to like."
I should know,I thought to myself,I’ve tried.
Our eyes met, and we gazed at each other for a moment before she wrinkled her nose.
“Do you smell that?”
We looked at CJ. He let out a soft grunt followed by a sigh, without waking from his nap. Lisa leaned forward and quickly backed away with her face scrunched up, and nodded.
A nurse came, checked CJ's diaper, and gave us a thumbs-up. My shoulders dropped, my stomach unknotted, and contagious laughter of relief flooded CJ's hospital room.
Thirty minutes later, Dr. Choudry reappeared.
"As you know, he passed the ring. We didn't detect any blood in his stool. We'll monitor him for another hour or so, and then you can take him home. You would just need to be aware of any blood in the diaper, fever, vomiting, nausea, excessive lethargy. You should also take him for a follow-up exam at his pediatrician in a few days, but overall, I think CJ's gonna be just fine. Okay?"
"Thank you, Doctor."
Two hours later,Lisa, CJ, and I were in a cab headed uptown with Lisa's unique fake engagement ring in a specimen cup. It was a far cry from the pale blue Tiffany box, but nothing about any situation I found myself in for the last three months could be considered conventional, so why would this be any different?
When we got home, I tucked the ring into the drawer in the foyer table and promised Lisa that I’d send it out to be cleaned.
Something shifted between us. I wasn't sure exactly where I stood with Lisa, but I was convinced that she hated me a little less than she did this morning, so I'd take it.
lisa
twenty-one
