Page 98 of Certified to Handle You 3

Toni looked at me through the mirror for a second before shakin’ her head. “No. I used all of ’em.”

I looked at her and ain’t say shit else. My wife hardly ever got sick, and we had been tryna get pregnant. She had been tired as hell lately, and now she couldn’t even keep breakfast down.

I kissed her forehead and rubbed my hand over her back before helpin’ her toward the shower.

Soon as Toni got herself together, I was goin’ to get another test to see if we was about to have another baby.

After watchin’ Toni throw up, I knew I needed to get a pregnancy test. She had been in the shower for maybe ten minutes when I ordered a shit load of boxes of the same ones she always used and had ’em brought straight to the house. I ain’t even bother tellin’ her I ordered ’em ‘cause I wanted her to get herself together first. She had just threw up damn near everything she ate, and between that and how much she had been sleepin’ lately, I was ready to see what the fuck was goin’ on.

We had been tryna have another baby for a long ass time now, and after enough negative tests, that shit had started fuckin’ with both of us. Toni ain’t always say much when another one came back negative, but I knew my wife.

I could see the disappointment on her face before she threw the test away and went on about her day. After a while, I stopped bringin’ it up as much ‘cause I ain’t want her sittin’ around thinkin’ somethin’ was wrong with her every time her period came.

Years ago, both of us thought Toni couldn’t have kids at all. We had been together thinkin’ that shit was just what it was, then she got pregnant with My’Love and proved both our asses wrong.

Once we decided we wanted another one, I figured we would keep fuckin’ until it happened again, but month after month kept passin’ without shit happenin’. I ain’t know if we had just got lucky when we made My’Love or if our next baby was takin’ its sweet time gettin’ here, but I damn sure wasn’t ready to believe we couldn’t make another one.

When Toni finally finished her shower, I went in the bathroom and helped her out before she could do too much herself.

I wrapped a towel around her and dried the water off her skin while she stood there lookin’ tired as hell. When I finished, I went in her closet and grabbed one of her favorite gowns. I brought it back, helped her into it and smoothed her hair away from her face before kissin’ her forehead.

“You still feel sick?” I asked.

“A lil’ bit,” Toni said as she leaned into me. “I’m mostly tired now.”

“A’ight. Get back in bed for a minute.”

When she was comfortable, I grabbed my phone and called my mama ‘cause she always had some natural shit around her house for damn near everything.

When she answered, I told her Toni had been throwin’ up and feelin’ tired, then asked if she had somethin’ natural that might help with the nausea. I left the pregnancy shit out of it ‘cause we ain’t even know yet, and if that test came back positive, Toni deserved to enjoy it before everybody else got in our business.

My mama told me she had some stuff she could bring over and started namin’ shit she thought might help, so I told her to bring whatever she thought Toni could use.

By the time I got off the phone, Toni had her eyes closed again. I stood beside the bed lookin’ at her for a second before pullin’ the cover higher over her. She opened her eyes when I leaned down to kiss her, and I rubbed the side of her face with my thumb before tellin’ her my mama was bringin’ some stuff over for her.

“You called her?” she asked.

“Yeah. She know what to bring for this kinda shit.”

Toni smiled a lil’ and reached up to touch my face. “You doin’ a lot, and I already know why.”

“You threw up an hour ago. Let me do what I’m doin’, baby.”

She laughed soft and closed her eyes again while I kissed her palm before puttin’ her hand back down. I left her alone after that and went to check on My’Love, who I left with one of our staff then handled some shit around the house while Toni rested. The tests got delivered durin’ that time, and I took the bag upstairs and put one of the boxes in the bathroom where I could see it.

Some more time passed before Toni finally got up and told me she had to pee. I was sittin’ on the edge of the bed when she said it, and my eyes went straight toward the bathroom ‘cause I already knew what time it was.

“Come on then,” I said as I got up.

Toni followed me in the bathroom, and I grabbed the box off the counter. I opened it, pulled the test out and took the cap off before handin’ it to her. After all the damn tests we had bought over these past few months, I knew how the shit worked just as well as she did.

Toni pulled her gown up and crouched over the toilet while I stood right here beside her. She peed on the stick, then put the cap back on and sat it on the counter before wipin’ herself and flushin’ the toilet. I moved out her way while she washed her hands, and after she dried ’em, she looked at the test before turnin’ back toward me.

We still had a few minutes to wait, so I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her. Toni laid her head on my chest while I rubbed my hand over her back, and I could feel her relaxin’ more the longer I held her.

I kissed her forehead and kept my lips there for a second before movin’ down to her cheek. When she tilted her head up toward me, I kissed under her chin and then found her lips.

Toni wrapped her arms around my waist and kissed me back while I kept one hand movin’ over her back. I could feel how much she wanted this without her sayin’ nothin’, and I knew she could feel the same shit from me. We had done this too many times already, and I ain’t want another mornin’ endin’ with my wife throwin’ a negative test in the trash and actin’ like she was cool with it.