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He looked up just as she got to him.
“Give me your phone,” Chess ordered while wiggling her fingers at him.
The man looked confused. “Excuse me.”
“Give me your phone, Sir,” Chess gritted between clenched teeth. Even though she knew she sounded rude as hell, she ranted, “My man is God knows where doing God knows what. He’s not answering the phone. I think he’s screening my calls, and that pisses me off. I’m pissed off and I’m in pain. A lot of pain. If you don’t want to be collateral damage when I explode, give me your phone. Now.”
He was a smart man. He handed the phone over.
As it turned out, Chess was right that her baby’s father was screening her calls. As soon as she dialed Tazeem’s number with the new phone, he picked up.
“Yo, Tazeem’s here!” The bastard greeted cheerfully and loudly. His voice was accompanied by party sounds; loud music, people laughing and shouting.
In a split second, Chess went from irritated to indescribably furious. Was this man out there partying while she was in the hospital about to give birth to his child?
“Where are you? Why aren’t you here?” she snapped, not even bothering to veil the anger and attitude in her voice. “I’m in the hospital and in labor.”
“Already? Damn, baby, that’s wild.” His words came out slow and slurred, making it obvious that he’d been drinking. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I told you I was having labor pains this morning,” she yelled into the phone. “I’ve sent you one hundred texts. I’ve tried to call you a million times. But you’re not picking up my calls because you’re a piece of trash who can’t stop partying for even one day to take care of your responsibilities.”
“Hey, hey, hey. Chill! You don’t have to insult-” His words were interrupted by a guy in the background shouting his name and telling him to cut the call. Tazeem answered that person with, “Give me a sec. Let me handle my lady.”
“Who are you calling your lady?” Chess exploded. “It better not be me, because you’re not my man. If you were my man, you would be here not-”
“Chess, Chess, Chess,” Tazeem cut her off soothingly. “I’ll be there in a little while, baby. I’m handling a little business here but I’m almost done. Give me just twenty minutes and I’ll be there, okay?”
“Twenty minutes for what? Twenty minutes my ass. Screw you, Tazeem. Stay where you are. Don’t even come here because I will chop your freaking dick off if I see you. Talking about twenty minutes-” With a kiss of her teeth, she hung up on him.
Almost immediately, she was hit by another wave of pain that left her doubled over. Vaguely, she heard the phone ringing again as if he was trying to call back, but she was in too much pain to care. She tossed the phone back to its owner then slowly lowered herself until she was seated on the cold floor.
“Ah! Ah! Ah!” she whimpered even as Senia crouched down to pat her back and soothe her.
The pain. Oh, the pain!
This was karma’s way of punishing her for getting involved with a no-good player like Tazeem. She should’ve listened to her mother when she told her that men like Tazeem never change. They’ll woo you with sweet words, sweep you off your feet on their magic carpet, screw you like there’s no tomorrow, then dump you once they’ve had their fun.
But Tazeem is different, Chess had convinced herself.
She was wrong. He wasn’t different.
He was irresponsible, wishy-washy, and incapable of being the kind of man she needed. This wasn’t the first time he’d let her down. He’d left her out to dry so many times in the course of their relationship that she’d renamed him ‘Mr. Broken Promises’. But every time he’d pleaded his case, she’d been seduced into giving him another chance. Well, he’d run out of chances. If he made her give birth alone, then there would be no coming back from it.
Two hours later, Chess was wheeled into the labor room. And still, Tazeem was nowhere to be seen. As she faded off because of the anesthesia, she decided that it was over. She and Tazeem Khan were done, done, DONE! He’d disappointed her for the last time.
Good riddance to bad rubbish!
1
~ 8 YEARS LATER ~
T
AZEEM KHAN LOVED TO FLY.
He found the whole experience magical. Planes were not time machines but they were certainly the next best thing. In the span of a few hours, he could cross time zones, move from one culture to another, and be exposed to new people and new experiences. Even just the changes in weather were enough to leave him giddy with thrill.
Being trapped in a metal cage during the journey to a new place could be stifling, but he didn’t mind it. There was plenty to distract him while he moved; movies he couldn’t watch because he was too busy working while on the ground, other passengers who often came with interesting drama, and of course… the flight attendants; the beautiful,beautifulflight attendants.
