“Keep the money, Glee. I work for myself. I make my own schedule. She can stay here with me while you go to school. It will give me something to do besides eating all day.”
“You don’t eat all day, Glow. You eat on camera for your job. Stop being dramatic.” Glee rolled her eyes before smiling. “And how will Baby Leader fit into you and yourrich friends’lifestyles?”
“Girl, boo! They have children, and they haverich menwho pay for nannies. The nannies watch the children while we ladies have our time.”
“Rich men. Fine men. Like yourhusband.”
I gasped.
“What? I’m not stupid. I heard him at the hospital. I was in pain; I wasn’t suffering from hearing loss. I wasn’t blind either. Everybody got a ten in your clique! Whew!”
“Girl, worrying about tens is what got you being a teen mom!”
Glee tossed her head back, laughing a little too hard.
“I’m not married, Glee,” I said, not meeting her eyes.
“Glow, no more lies. We are not lying to each other anymore. I get that you have to have your secrets about your assassin friends, but between us, no more lies. I told you about Baby Leader’s dad… And your marriage isn’t my business to share, so if you’re scared about Mommy finding out, I haven’t told her.”
I sighed. “Tunan and I aren’t together, but we are married. But it’s only on paper. It was something he had to do. So, I agreed.”
“But y’all were just in here working on Baby Leader a cousin?”
I tossed my pillow at Glee. I couldn’t believe my once-virgin sister was trying to talk about sex with me.
“That won’t happen again. Tunan is just…”
“Fine… Paid… Thugged out.”
“Yeah, and no, and yeah. I-I don’t know… I was stressed, and he relieved it. That’s it.”
“Well, I’m here for it. He has to be decent, at least. He dealt with Baby Leader that night.”
My head snapped, surprise evident on my face.
“Yeap. I fell asleep after all that arguing, and you passed out after all thatstress relieving.”
I lifted the pillow at her again, but she blocked it.
“I saw him on the baby cam Pearla got me. He fed her, burped her, and went back to sleep with her on his chest. He left maybe two hours later, after I woke him up because I had to change her. He was so good with her.” Glee sing-sang with a huge grin on her face as if she was saying something I’d wanted her to say.
“He got the magic touch, too, because she was knocked out. She didn’t wake up at all. All I had to do was change her diaper and feed her. Three hours later, I had to feed her again, and she stayed asleep then too. She slept through the whole night that night, and it hasn’t happened since. We need to call him back over here.”
Tunan, the baby whisperer?
His being good with children was fitting, though. Not only did he come from a big family, but he had nieces and nephews that he adored. Clearing my throat, I shook him from my thoughts. Tunan was not my man, no matter how legal our arrangement was. Glee would have to find her own tips and tricks because I was not calling that man and asking him to come over here.
“Anyways, you need to eat.” She grabbed the bag. “I got our favorite. Italian!”
As she pulled the containers from a plastic grocery bag, the food smell filled the air, but my mouth didn’t water. My body knew it needed the food, but I could easily go a few more days oncrackers and water. I knew I had to get myself together, though, so not eating and gluing myself to the bed wouldn’t work any longer. Grabbing a fork, I wrapped noodles around it as Glee did the same. We stuffed our faces, and my taste buds burst with each contact of the garlicky, creamy noodles.
“Good, right? And you’ll still be beautiful after eating all of this up.”
“So, when do you have to go to school to talk to financial aid?” I asked, ignoring her comment.
“I know I’m still healing, but the sooner the better. I asked Mama if she could come watch her on Thursday so I can leave on Friday, and she said she would.”
I nearly choked on the fettuccine. I loved my mama, but that was only three days away. I wouldn’t be able to pull myself together by then. My mama would see right through me. I knew I couldn’t deny her grandchild, but I needed some time before she showed up in Jagoda Bay.
