Prepped For Love: BWWM Pregnancy Romance Novel (12 page)

Tammy woke up with a sick feeling in her stomach. It had been five days since she’d heard from Victor. Fall was slipping away into winter. New England no longer felt so beautiful; everything around her was dying. Tammy was forced to face the harsh reality that everything was temporary.

In the winter, she always felt like a shadow of herself and Tammy felt like this winter would be no different. At least it was the weekend and she was getting plenty of time with her son. Jabari was really excelling at Willowcrest but his excellence came at the expense of some of their time together. Tammy knew it was important for her son to make new friends and all of that but a part of her missed having her little boy around all the time.

Tammy’s day was about to get worse. As she was sitting down to a gourmet oatmeal breakfast with her son, Randall called her.

“I’m sitting down to breakfast Randall, what do you want?” Tammy snapped.

Randall replied smugly, “You might want to watch your tone Tammy. I’m filing for custody of Jabari. I’ve received word that you’re floundering and I know I could raise my son right.”

“You ain’t shit Randall!” Tammy screamed into the phone. Even Tammy was surprised by her outburst.This time she didn’t care if Jabari heard. She was tired of Randall’s bullshit. Tammy was tired of taking everyone’s shit lying down. This was a start of a necessary change. Jabari looked up from his bowl of oatmeal terrified. He’d never seen his mother this angry before.

Tammy wasn’t through with Randall.

“I know you think that you’re hot shit Randall but if you take me to court I swear to God I will take you for every penny you’re worth! I can’t raise my son right? Nigga! At least I raised him! You haven’t done shit except hang out with him like he’s your little buddy and not your flesh and blood. You don’t give a SHIT about your son if you think you can use him like a pawn. Just try me Randall Combs. I swear to fucking God you have another thing coming!” Tammy screeched.

She hung up her phone immediately after. If Randall thought she would stand there and listen to his bullshit, he was crazy.

The stress of the phone call washed over Tammy all at once. She felt faint at first and then nauseous. Tammy slammed her phone on the table and ran to the bathroom to throw up.

“Mom are you okay?” Jabari yelled as he followed her.

This was shaping up to be a very unusual day for Jabari. He’d never seen his mother angry like that and he’d never seen her terribly ill like this either.

As she emptied her guts into the toilet, a horrible thought came over Tammy. It wasn’t possible; it couldn’t be… But Tammy had only felt nausea like this at one other point in her life. It was the type of nausea you couldn’t control and the type of nausea that you didn’t forget.

“Mom are you okay?” Jabari asked as he peered into their downstairs bathroom.

Tammy raised her head and lied, “Yes, everything’s fine Jabari. I’m just a little stressed. Let me get cleaned up so we can finish breakfast.”

Tammy brushed her teeth and cleaned her bathroom before resuming her meal with her son. With an empty stomach, her oatmeal seemed to taste just a little bit better. That warmed Tammy up just a little bit. If what she thought was true, she was in big trouble. Tammy spent the rest of the morning helping Jabari with a math project and chatting with her son about school and his soccer team.

Although it was a weekend, Victor was in his office. He hadn’t been in touch with Tammy since he received that phone call from Stephanie. He didn’t want to believe that it was true, but what if it was? Was Victor putting everything on the line for a woman he hardly knew? Most of his ideas about Tammy came from when he knew her as a student.

Did he have everything wrong? If Tammy really was an unfaithful woman, why had he only detected honesty during their nights together. Victor needed to think of his next move. Whether or not what Stephanie said was true, one thing was certain: she was ready to fight. Victor decided to put it out of his mind. This was clearly a bitter woman trying to cause trouble.
I trust Tammy.

Victor was lost in thought when Stan Duffy entered his office without knocking.

Stan Duffy smiled -- his smile was wide and fake.

“Victor! Hello young man. I just came to let you know… I’m no longer having an affair with a certain head of the PTA. Your strong words made me realize… I don’t want anyone in this town knowing a damn thing that can be used against me,” Stan began.

He let out a hacking cough before he continued, “And I don’t like the idea of you trying to blackmail me much either. I’ll figure out what to do about that soon enough. I just wanted to let you know…
You’ve got nothing
.”

Victor didn’t say a word. He kept his eyes fixated on Stan Duffy as he spoke. His mind was racing. If Stan had dumped Stephanie, a number of things could happen. Stephanie could go public with her knowledge about his relationship.

This could cost Jabari his position at Willowcrest and it could cost Victor his job. Victor knew he had a lot more to worry about than he realized. He should call Tammy. He knew that he should. But he couldn’t bring himself to hear her voice considering what she had possibly done. Plus, if it was all a lie, how could he accuse her of this.

Victor’s mother had always told him he was too proud a man…
Orgulloso.

Perhaps it was time to set that pride aside and pursue the truth.

Now that Randall was planning to file for custody, Tammy needed to do something she hadn’t done in years. The idea made her more nauseous than her phone call with Randall. Tammy took something for her anxiety a full hour before making the call.

She needed
something
to calm her down and prepare her for what she was about to do. Tammy hadn’t needed to do something like this in a long time; she’d made her way on her own for years. But if the law was brought into things… Tammy needed to put her pride aside.

Jabari was outside practicing his shooting for soccer when Tammy made her terrifying phone call. Beep. Beep. Beep. The phone rang and for a moment Tammy thought no one would pick up.

When she heard the familiar raspy alto on the other end, Tammy felt like she was going to faint.

“Hello? Hello? Who is this?”

“Hello mom, it’s Tammy,” Tammy said. She could feel hot tears filling her eyes. She hadn’t spoken to her mother since her family disowned her. Around the time of her father’s death, Tammy had promised herself she would
never
forgive her mother for what she’d done.

She had ignored her mother’s calls for years. Now, Tammy knew she needed to put the past behind her. There was so much at stake now and her pride wouldn’t help things get better.

“Tammy? Is this some kind of sick joke?” Tammy’s mother replied.

“No mom, it’s me. I know it’s been a while. I’ve changed a lot since we last spoke. Let me just come out and say what I want to say…  I’m starting to realize that whatever went on with you and me is in the past. Ever since losing dad I’ve been trying to find a way to get in touch but I haven’t been able to do it. I just miss what we used to have as a family. I hate thinking that I ruined our family. I hate thinking that if it weren’t for my stupid choices none of this would have happened. These nightmares keep me up sometimes. But finally, there’s been a glimmer of hope. Something terrible has happened and I know this is the universe’s way of trying to push me back to you. Mom… I’m sorry for disappointing you. I’m sorry for everything. But I don’t care about all that stuff from the past anymore. I just want you back in my life before it’s too late. I already missed my chance with one parent,” Tammy finished.

Tammy could hear her mother sniffling on the other end. They stayed on the phone together in silence for a long time. Tammy heard her mother’s familiar breathing pattern and listened to the comforting sound until her mother spoke.

“Tammy… My precious daughter... I love you so much. I’m so so sorry for what your father and I did. Please Tammy… I want to see you. Tell me what you need and then once your problem is sorted through I want to meet you in person,” Her mother replied. Tammy could tell that her mother was choking back her tears. Nicole Powers never cried.

Tammy responded eagerly and told her mom everything that had happened with Randall since she’d been excommunicated from the family. After spending more than an hour and a half telling her story, Tammy finally got around to the important part: Randall was filing for custody and Tammy needed the Powers’ lawyer. Once Nicole Powers was done listening to her daughter explain her life situation, she was more than happy to get the family lawyer involved.

Nicole Powers apologized profusely and wept at the pain she’d caused her daughter by abandoning her.

“I know it might be too late Tammy, but I want to make it up to you. I want to get to know my daughter again,” She begged.

Tammy wanted the same thing.

“Of course mom… On one condition. I want you to have a real relationship with Jabari too. I know you didn’t approve of Randall and I understand why you didn’t, but Jabari is nothing like his father. He’s a sweet little boy,” Tammy implored.

Her mother agreed to the terms. The Powers’ were reuniting to fight for Tammy’s rights as a mother. Randall might have been serious about his threats, but Tammy was definitely serious about her rebuttal. Nothing could stand between her and her son.

When Jabari came back inside he was confused. When he’d left the house his mother looked wrecked. Now she was beaming like someone had just bought her a new car.

“Uh… Is everything okay mom?” Jabari asked.

Tammy gestured for Jabari to give her a hug. He was still befuddled by her behavior, but he wasn’t one to deny his mother a hug. Tammy held her son close. Everything would be okay, she just knew it. Years of bad blood was just starting to get resolved. How could this be a premonition for anything but good fortune?

“Everything’s okay Jay. I spoke to your grandmother and she wants to meet you,” Tammy announced to her son. She was beaming from ear to ear. Jabari didn’t know how to interpret this news. Should he be excited to meet this woman who had abandoned him and his mother in their time of need? Jabari couldn’t understand why his mother was quite so happy with this arrangement.

“She wants to meet me now? Why hasn’t she wanted to meet me the thirteen years I’ve been alive!” Jabari exclaimed as he pulled away from his mother’s embrace.

Tammy struggled with how exactly she would explain this to her son. How exactly could she explain to her son why reuniting with her mother was so important? Jabari didn’t understand the full story of his past and Tammy wasn’t sure he would be ready. As far as Jabari was concerned, his grandparents absence in his life was random and unjust. Tammy needed to finally come clean and tell her son that there was more to the story.

If Tammy was going to come clean to Jabari about her past, she would have to come clean about her present too. Tammy led Jabari to the living room and sat him down; she was about to be truly open and honest with her son in a way she had never been before. Jabari wasn’t a little boy anymore. Before she knew it, he would be a grown man. Jabari deserved to know the truth about his father, Tammy, Tammy’s grandparents and eventually, the truth about Victor.

Tammy began to explain her teenage love affair with Randall, sparing Jabari the details of her sexual encounters. She described her love of Randall with uncharacteristic honesty. Tammy had never before expressed how
good
Randall made her feel; that made his cruelty that much more painful when he finally began to reveal who he really was. Tammy told Jabari about the moment she found out she was pregnant with him. She confessed to her son how scared she was about becoming a mother…

“But you’re a great mom!” Jabari exclaimed.

Tammy felt heat rising to her cheeks. Every mother wants to hear that from their son.

“Thanks Jay,” She said smiling.

“But if things were going so great, what happened with you and dad?” Jabari asked.