thirteen
A’ja scrolledthrough her phone and tried to keep her nerves at bay. She planned to take her ultrasound photo from the appointment and show it to her friends and family as a way to finally announce her pregnancy. Since none of them knew, she was at her appointment alone. Although she wasn’t the only female there that was alone, it still made her sad to see the fathers that were in attendance. She knew Naasson would be there if he could be. A’ja felt a presence standing a little too close to her and when she looked up and saw Naasson, she almost had a heart attack. A’ja almost thought she was tripping, but he was there in the flesh looking good as hell.
“Oh my God what are you doing here?”
“A’ja Benson,” the nurse called her to the back.
“I wasn’t trying to miss this. God came through for your boy.”
With a smile on her face, A’ja stood up and walked to the back with Naasson following behind her. After she was weighed and got her vital signs taken, she provided a urine sample, got her finger pricked, and waited in the room for the doctor.
“When is your first court date?”
“In five weeks. My lawyer already said he’s going to ask for a continuance. Hopefully you’ll have the baby before I go to trial. I want to be there.”
A’ja nodded. She hoped he could be there too. She was tired of worrying about what her parents or the media would say about Naasson possibly facing prison time. She was an adult, and if that’s who she chose to have a child with, it was her business. She didn’t care what anyone had to say about it. Kenyatta had called her a few more times questioning her about the issue, and she hung up on him each time. If he called her again, she was going to block him. She was no longer his concern, and she wasn’t answering any of his questions.
As the doctor moved the probe around, A’ja waited anxiously to see her baby, and when the small figure came on the screen, she had to blink back tears. The baby looked so much more developed than her first ultrasound.
“Do you want to know the sex or is it a secret?” the doctor looked from A’ja to Naasson.
“I’m too anxious for a gender reveal. I don’t want anything over the top. Just tell me. What about you?” she looked over at Naasson.
“I’m with whatever you’re with.”
A’ja nodded at the doctor.
“It’s a girl.”
“Oh my gosh,” A’ja gushed. Even though she’d been tired and had gained a little weight the fact that she was pregnant was still surreal to her. It indeed made her feel like a person could plan all they wanted, but life was going to play out the way it was supposed to every single time.
When she looked over and saw that Naasson was smiling, it made her heart swell. Her entire day had been made. At the end of her appointment, Naasson walked her out to her car. “Whatare your plans for the rest of the day? If you’re going to be busy, I can hit the highway back home.”
A’ja’s brows lifted. “You don’t want to spend time with me?”
Naasson kissed his teeth and pulled her into him. “You know I want to spend time with you. I just popped up on you though, and I don’t want you to feel like I’m trying to take over your time.”
“During the off season, I rest for at least the first month. I do absolutely nothing and since I’m not playing next season, there won’t be any need for me to practice. I just spend my days eating, watching TV, reading, and doing social media content for brands that I have endorsements with. So, I said all that to say, I don’t have anything planned for the day.”
“I’m following you then. You hungry?”
A’ja giggled. “You know I am, but my chef came through this morning. She cooked me breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I have oxtails and rice at the crib, roasted red potatoes, Cajun salmon pasta, chef salad, and garlic bread on deck.”
“Damn,” Naasson marveled. “Let’s go then.”
A’ja lived about twenty-two minutes from the doctor’s office, and when they pulled up to the wrought iron gate of her home, Naasson knew her place was lit even before they pulled up in the driveway. He let out a low whistle when the brown brick three story home came into view. As soon as he stepped out of his car, he expressed his feelings.
“This is nice as hell,” he looked around at the huge manicured lawn.
“Thank you. I was going to purchase a condo but when I found out I was pregnant, I called my realtor and axed that idea. I want my child to have a yard and plenty of space to run around and play. This house has a movie room, a playroom, an office, an indoor basketball court, five bedrooms and six bathrooms.”
“Got damn,” Naasson mumbled.
Inside the house, A’ja gave Naasson a tour, and by the time they were done, he could only shake his head. “I know good and damn well you’d never be with a nigga that makes significantly less than you. I can’t compete with this shit, and the only way I could ever have you living like this would be off dope money, and I’m retired from that shit.”
“You sound real crazy, Naa. I don’t care about money, and I’ve already told you to stop downplaying yourself. One day your paintings will be making you so much money, it will be insane. In the meantime, please trust me when I say I care more about how you treat me and how you’ll treat our child than how much money you have.”
He didn’t look too convinced, so A’ja grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen, so she could fix their plates. She could talk all day but the only way to really make him see that she was serious was to show him. All the money in the world wasn’t better than a loyal, respectful partner that was willing to communicate and show up. She was sure of that.
