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“Not for me.” With a smile, he added, “Besides you’ve been carrying him for the last eight years. It’s my turn.”
For some reason, tears jumped to her eyes and a lump grew in her throat. Somehow, she managed to gruffly whisper, “Thank you.”
Noting her change in demeanor, Tazeem frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” She looked down to keep him from seeing the tears that were about to fall.
“Tell me.” He scooted closer to her. “What’s the matter?”
“Noth-” Her voice cracked, and one tear slid down her cheek. “Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.” He put his arm around her shoulder. His tone was concerned yet gentle as he noted, “You’re crying.”
“It’s just-” She sniffed and brushed her palms over her cheeks and eyes to wipe away the tears. “This – you supporting me – it means a lot to me.”
Though Chess had never been poor enough to require government assistance, the last eight years could never be defined as easy. Despite finding a decent job just three months after giving birth, she’d been counting pennies since Jay was a baby.
Diapers, food, medical bills, student loans, Senia’s upkeep, rent, utilities, clothes, credit card debt, car note… sometimes Chess would just lie awake wondering if she’d have to rob a bank just to pay all their bills. Things had gotten much, much better since Senia had started working, but even now, there were times when Jay went without what other kids had simply because Chess didn’t have money to spare.
And now, it seemed like that life was over. If Tazeem provided the support he promised, then Jay would have everything Chess wished for him and more. He would never have to feel lesser than just because his mom couldn’t afford what other parents could.
“It’s just good not to have to do this alone anymore,” Chess said while wiping away more tears. “Thank you.”
Tazeem could’ve reminded her that she was the one who’d chosen to do it alone. He could’ve rubbed it in her face that he was financially better off than her. He could’ve pointed out that if he’d been allowed to be a dad, their son would’ve grown up with a better standard of life.
But he just squeezed her shoulder and smiled. “You’re welcome.”
18
B
EEP. BEEP. BEEP.
CHESS CAME awake with a groan as soon as her phone’s alarm went off. God, she hated Mondays. She hated them with a passion that was only reserved for the villains in her favorite soap operas.
Keeping her face still buried in her pillow, she grasped around the nightstand until she found her phone. She swiped the screen and finally, the stupid gadget went silent. Her brain told her that she should wake up if she wanted to avoid her usual panicked morning rush. But the rest of her body coaxed, ‘Five minutes won’t hurt. We can sleep for five minutes. Just five minutes.’
She shifted around and settled more comfortably in bed.Just five minutes. Soon, she drifted back into Chelsea Land; a beach resort with the perfect temperature and three cute male strippers in their underwear massaging her feet, fanning her, and feeding her succulent grapes.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
I thought I just turned off that stupid thing. Irritated, she turned to grab her phone. However, swiping didn’t stop the ringing, and when she cracked one eye open to see what the hell was going on she realized two things. One; that she’d slept for a lot longer than five minutes and would probably end up being late for work. Two; that her alarm wasn’t ringing.
Her brain emerged from its sleepy cocoon to inform her, ‘It’s the doorbell’.
Why in the world would her doorbell be ringing this early in the morning? Who was rude enough to pop into someone’s place at this ungodly hour? Experience told her that it was probably security asking her to move her car.
Chess stayed still in her bed, hoping that Senia wasn’t asleep yet and would open the door. But when the doorbell buzzed for the fifth time, she finally accepted that it was her fate to wake up. Cussing out the visitor beneath her breath, she got out of bed, shrugged a robe over her nightie, and trudged to the front door.
The face she saw on the intercom’s screen drew a gasp from her. Tazeem was standing at her doorstep, dressed in one of his GQ suits, and looking at his watch like he was going to be late for something.
“Tazeem?” She immediately unlocked the door and threw it open. “What are you doing here?”
“Good morning, Che-” He paused, and his gaze lowered from hers to wander down her body.
Confused by his reaction, she followed his gaze only to realize that she hadn’t belted her robe, which wouldn’t have been so bad if her white, satin nightie didn’t stop high above her thighs. Worse, its v-neck was so deep that if she jumped, her definitely-not-small boobs would spill out of the garment.
“Sorry.” Her face was hot as she hurriedly belted the robe.
