Drama Queen (18 page)

Kayla's transition into motherhood came naturally. Her mother stayed with her for two weeks to make sure she and Day got settled. By the time she left, they had exchanged all of Day's blue clothes for pink ones and the nursery was still blue, but it now had pink accents.

“Mama, I can't thank you enough for being here for me and Day. You know you didn't have to do all of this,” Kayla told her as she watched her pack her suitcase. Day was asleep in the porta-crib that Kayla had in her room.

“Please, Kayla. Wait until Day has a baby and then you'll know why I did it,” her mother stopped packing long enough to say.

“Whew, that is over thirty years from now, Mama.” Kayla raised her eyebrows. “Yeah, that's what I thought when I had you. But somehow it didn't work out that way, did it?”

“I guess not.” Kayla put her head down.

“Sometimes things work out better. Kayla, no matter what the circumstances that got Day here, she is still our grandbaby and you are still our daughter. And we love you both very much.”

“I know, Mama. I still feel that I somehow disappointed you and Daddy, though. I know you wanted me to be married first.”

“Kayla, your father and I are very proud of you. You could be doing a lot worse, you know. We raised you and Anjelica to be productive, successful young women, and you are.”

At the sound of her sister's name, Kayla felt her pressure rise. She had not spoken to her since the baby shower and she wanted to keep it that way. “At least
I
am,” she said before she could stop herself.

“Kayla. Your sister is successful too, in her own right. Your guidelines for success are different from hers because you are two different people. But I am going to say this one last and final time. You are sisters and that fact will never change.”

“Okay, Mama,” Kayla said. She didn't want to argue with her mother so she just let it go. She knew that her mother would never believe what Anjelica had done if she told her the truth. The doorbell rang and Kayla went to open the door. Her father had arrived to pick up her mother.

“Hey, Daddy.” She greeted her father with a kiss.

“Hey, honey. You doing okay?”

“Yes, I'm fine, Daddy.”

“Where's my sweetie?” He walked into the nursery.

“Are you referring to me or the baby, John?” Kayla's mother asked her husband. He walked over and took her into his arms.

“Of course I was referring to you, Sweetie.” As he kissed her, he peered into the crib looking for Day.

“She's not even in there, you big, fat liar.” Kayla's mother pushed him away.

“Where is she?” he asked.

“In my room. She's asleep.” Kayla led him into her bedroom. He went to pick her up but Kayla's mother protested.

“Leave her alone, John. We finally got her on a schedule. You can't wake her up. It'll throw her off.”

“But I'm her grandpa. I get special, unscheduled visitation rights.” He winked at Kayla and gently picked the baby up. He kissed her cheek and laid her back down, never waking her.

“Well, I guess we'd better head on home, Jen. Kayla, you take care of my baby luv and call us if you need anything.” He put his arm around Kayla and they walked into the hallway.

“My bag is in the nursery, John. Grab it for me.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he answered.

“Thank you again, Mama.” Kayla fought back the tears. She loved her parents so much and was grateful for them.

“I will call you when we get home. And don't you have a bunch of people running in and out of here fawning over that baby,” she warned Kayla. Her daughter was all grown up with a baby of her own, but that would never stop Jennifer from being her mother.

“Okay, Mama.” Kayla smiled.

“Let's go, Sweetheart. Love you, Kay. We'll talk to you later on tonight,” her father called as they departed. As soon as Kayla locked the door, the bell rang again. Kayla laughed at her father standing outside her doorway.

“What'd you forget?”

“This is for you, Kay. Don't open it now, but put it to good use for you and Day.” He put an envelope in her palm and rubbed the tops of her hands as he left for the second time. After she saw them pull out of the driveway, Kayla sat on the sofa and opened the card. It was simple, with a pink flower on the cover and a handwritten message on the inside.

This time, the tears did not surprise Kayla as she removed ten hundred-dollar bills out of the card.

“What are you doing?” Geno asked Kayla.

“Watching cartoons.” Kayla balanced the cordless phone on her shoulder as she bounced Day on her lap. She was sitting in the middle of her bed and was deciding what they should do on this fine December Saturday.

“Well, get dressed. I'm on my way to pick you and Day up,” he said.

“What do you mean you're on your way? What are you doing home anyway, and where's your girlfriend?” she said in one breath.

“Just get ready. I'll be there in fifteen minutes.” He chose not to answer any of her questions.

“I can't get myself and an infant ready in fifteen minutes. Are you crazy?”

“Jeez, Kay. Look, can you be ready in an hour?”

“Where are we going and what is the rush?” Kayla looked over at the clock and saw that it was only ten-thirty in the morning.

“Just be ready.” He hung up before she had a chance to ask anymore questions.

“Well, Day. I guess we're going out for the afternoon.” She looked into her eyes and kissed her chubby cheeks. At almost a month old, people said she looked just like Kayla, but Kayla didn't see it. “What shall we wear?”

Kayla put Day into her bouncer and went rummaging through her closet. She was almost back down to her pre-pregnancy weight, but because of her new, well-rounded hips and thick butt, her jeans still didn't fit right.

“I need to go shopping, Day,” Kayla called out. The phone rang and she picked it up.

“Hey, girl. Theo and I are going to the mall. You want to go?” Tia asked.

“I can't. I'm going somewhere with Geno,” Kayla mumbled.

“Geno? Where is his girlfriend?”

“I asked him the exact same thing.” Kayla pulled out a pair of black stretch jeans and a red sweater.
Well, it is Christmas. May as well look festive.

“Where are you going?”

“He wouldn't say. Just told me to be ready,” she said as she went into Day's room and began to scavenge her closet for the perfect ensemble for her as well. She found what she was looking for and laid it on the bed next to her own outfit.

“Well, go and have fun. He must have had it out with his girl again. Every time she pisses him off he calls you. I don't see why he's with her crazy ass anyway.”

“I don't know, girl.” Kayla ran a tub of water and grabbed a towel for her and Day, and then got all of their toiletries, making sure she would have everything in arm's reach. She flicked the small radio she had on the shelf to the jazz station and it began to play softly.

“So, have you talked about getting back together?”

“Uh, hello. I just had another man's baby and he is living with another woman.” Kayla could not believe Tia asked her that. She got undressed and then undressed Day.

“What? It's no secret that you and Geno still love each other. Hell, that's the reason Craig nearly flipped out at the hospital. I'll be the first to admit that neither of you are in the best circumstances, but you can't help who you love.”

“That's not what Roni says,” Kayla laughed.

“Humph, she's so in love these days that even her mama is shocked. I never thought I'd see the day. But ain't it funny how the two biggest players in the entire town hooked up?”

“I think it's cute. I am glad she finally found someone. You have Theo, she has Toby.” Kayla took a moment to look at her naked body in the mirror.
I gotta work out harder,
she thought as she pinched her sides. “Yvonne and I are the only members left in the Lonely Hearts Club. Maybe we need to recruit new members?”

“Girl, please. Ain't nobody got a ring on their finger. Heck, I don't even think any of us are really ready for marriage.”

“I am. And you are, too. Don't even try it. If Theo were to ask you to go and get married today, you'd be calling me to borrow my white wool suit,” Kayla joked.

“Girl, please. Although you should let me have it anyway, because you can't get into it anymore.” Tia laughed.

“You know what? On that note, I am hanging up.”

“Bye, girl. Tell Geno I said hello.”

Kayla picked Day up and went into the bathroom. She stuck her foot into the tub and made sure the temperature was okay. She carefully got in and lay Day on her chest as she cascaded warm water over her tiny body. Although she flinched at first, Kayla knew Day loved the tub. They were both treasuring the moment, when Kayla swore she heard someone calling her name. She sat up and before she could reach for the towel, the bathroom door opened.

“Kay!”

“What are you doing?” Kayla covered herself and Day as best she could, using her hands and Day's tiny body.

“My bad! I thought you had left the radio on in here.” Geno smiled as he looked at her and the baby in the tub. “I was about to be mad because I thought you had left with someone else, and you knew I was on my way. Hey, Day, come here.”

“Get out, Geno!” Kayla screamed.

“Why are you screaming? Give me the baby.”

“No, get out.” She was beyond embarrassed.

“Kayla. It's not as if I've never seen you naked before. Hell, I saw all that long before you gave birth. I saw all up
in
there while you were giving birth. Now pass me the baby. She's shivering.” He laughed and grabbed the small pink towel off the rack near the tub.

“Get out of here. How did you get in here, anyway?” She reluctantly passed Day to him and he wrapped her warmly in the towel. He stood looking at Kayla as he rocked the baby.

“The door was unlocked. Need help getting out?” He grinned. Damn, he missed her.

“No, can you just get out?” She tried in vain to cover herself.

“Come on, Day. Let's give Mommy some privacy.” He giggled as he turned and left the steamy bathroom. “Are these her clothes?”

“Naw, they belong to the other baby in there. What you think?” Kayla answered as she wrapped a fluffy towel around herself and stepped out of the tub. She let the water out and cut the radio off. Geno was sprinkling powder on Day's bottom when she entered the room.

“I thought I told you to be ready in an hour,” he said without even looking up. Kayla grabbed her clothes off the bed and returned to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

“You're early,” she said.

“It's twelve fifteen,” he informed her.

“Well, you know I have to get me
and
Day ready. I can't do that in an hour. You
did
call at the last minute. I still have to pack her diaper bag.”

“Well, I already got her dressed. You just hurry up.”

“I am. Did you brush her hair? And did you put lotion on her face?”

“Get dressed, Kayla. We're going to pack the bag,” she heard him call out.

Kayla made sure he was out of the room and completed getting dressed. She was finishing up her makeup when she heard him talking to someone. She looked at the ‘In Use' indicator on her phone and it wasn't lit.
Must be his cell phone,
she thought.

“I don't want to discuss it right now. Forget it. Look, Janice, I have to go,” he said as Day began to whimper. “None of your business. I will call you later tonight. No, because I got stuff to do. Bye. You ready, Kayla? Day, your Mama is s-l-ow, you know that?”

“I heard you, Geno. I'm dressed, if that's what you mean. I still have to pack the diaper bag,” Kayla told him. She went into Day's room and grabbed the big diaper bag. Looking at the smaller, more compact one she asked, “Where are we going, anyway?”

“Just pack the bag and come on. You got a stroller?”

“We need a stroller? It's in the hall closet.” She heard him fumbling and then the closet door closed.

“This is more like a baby limo. Day, you're gonna be riding in style, huh, boo? I bet you picked this big thing out, huh, Kayla?” He unfolded the monstrosity and then realized he didn't know how to fold it back up. Kayla came in carrying a huge, pink diaper bag. “We are just gonna be gone until tonight, Kayla, not the entire weekend.”

“Shut up. I don't know what I'm gonna need and I want to be prepared.” She went into the kitchen and grabbed bottles of prepared formula and extra cans, just in case. She picked up Day's extra pacifier off the table and then remembered to get the ice pack out of the freezer and put it in the bag. She looked at her watch and saw that it was now after one o'clock.

“How do you fold this thing back down?” Geno asked, still struggling with the stroller.

Kayla flicked a button with her foot and it collapsed instantly. “Ooh, that was so hard.”

“Bring your smart mouth on before Day and I leave you here,” he said as he grabbed the handle of the stroller with one hand and the diaper bag with the other one.

Kayla, Day and Geno spent the entire afternoon shopping. They walked the mall, buying Christmas gifts and enjoying the hustle and bustle of the season. Kayla and Geno had always loved Christmas shopping together. Actually, they loved all shopping together—Christmas, birthday, grocery, whatever the occasion. The mall was where they had their best times. It felt like old times, only now Geno was pushing Day in the stroller in front of them. A few people stopped and told them they had a beautiful baby and how precious their family was. Geno didn't correct anyone; he just smiled and thanked them.

“I am starving. What do you feel like eating?”

“I don't know. How about Chinese?”

“Red Dragon?”

“You really are trying to make this a tradition aren't you?” Kayla laughed as they arrived at their favorite post-shopping restaurant.

“No doubt,” he said. He picked the baby up out of the stroller and put her on his shoulder as they waited to be seated. The doors opened and both Geno and Kayla were shocked when Avis, Craig and a small boy stepped out, arms full of bags. Craig was so busy talking on his cell phone that he didn't notice them.

“Oh, Craig, look at that pretty baby,” Avis squealed as she paused in front of Geno. “How old is she?”

When Craig looked up and realized whom she was talking to, the look on his face became sheer panic. He quickly closed his phone as Kayla stared at him, not saying a word.

“Three weeks,” Geno answered, shaking his head at Craig.

“Oh, she is so cute. What's her name?” the woman directed at Kayla.

“Ask her father,” Kayla smirked. Craig's eyes widened in shock and he could not believe what Kayla was doing. She turned and looked at Geno, wrapping her arm in his and rubbing Day's head.

“Jenesis, but we call her Day,” Geno replied.

“Day, that is nice, ain't it, Craig?” She smiled at her dazed husband. He stood, not moving, too shocked to do anything.

“Are you gonna have me a baby sister, Mommy?”

“One day, Nigel. He been asking for a little sister for years,” she informed them.

The waiter called Geno's last name and he placed Day back into the stroller.

“That's us,” he said.

“Bye, Day,” Avis gushed as they maneuvered past her. Kayla's eyes never left Craig's. It took all of her mental restraint to keep from saying what she was feeling. He was still with her. All this time he was telling Kayla that they were no longer together and they were. She was beyond furious.

“Man, that was weird,” Geno said as they sat down.

“I can't believe his lying ass.” Kayla shook her head. She looked at her sleeping daughter and took a deep breath. “I am gonna kick his ass.”

“For what, Kay? I don't understand why you're so mad. You knew he was married.” Geno shrugged. “I mean, I can understand you being uncomfortable, but mad?”

“He told me he was leaving her. He said they were no longer together,” she responded. She couldn't believe Geno's nonchalance at the situation.

“So what if they're still together? As long as he takes care of Day, it shouldn't matter,” he said.

“It does matter. He lied to me.” She sat back and frowned. She was no longer hungry.

“Are you feeling this nigga, Kayla? Is that why you mad?” He looked over at her and lay the menu down.

“No.”

His cell phone began buzzing and he looked at the caller ID. Ignoring the call, he put it back in his pocket. Kayla could tell he was getting frustrated. “Then you shouldn't care who he's wit' then. You don't need that nigga and neither does Day.”

“Why not, G? Because we got you?”

“Yep.”

“Really, did you forget you have a girlfriend? What? You think every time you get mad at her you can run to me? I don't think so. Neither my house nor my heart has a revolving door. I'm ready to leave,” she told him.

“Fine. Let's go.” They left the restaurant without eating.

The ride home was quiet, neither one saying anything. He carried the stroller and bags into the house, kissed Day goodnight and left, locking the door behind him.

It was after eleven when Kayla heard a knock at the door.

“Can I come in?”

“Hell, no! I know you have got to be out of your mind!” Kayla yelled back.

“It wasn't what it looked like, Kayla. We were just taking Nigel out Christmas shopping, that's all. I still have to be a part of my son's life,” he told her.

“I didn't say you didn't, Craig. I can't believe you lied to me!”

“Lied about what? I am not with her anymore.”

“I can't tell the way she was hugging up on you. And you trying to have another baby? I don't think she'd be feeling that way if she knew the baby she was cooing all over was
yours
, would she?”