Page 73 of Smoke

“Here she is,” my doctor said. “I know this looks scary, but she’s not in any pain. Given time, the wires and tubes will be gone.”

“Can-can I hold her.”

“Of course. We encourage skin to skin with preemies as it helps them thrive. We can get you sanitized, and you can hold her.”

It took a few minutes to fully prepare Juri and I. I sanitized my hands, and the nurse helped me partially undress while the other nurse gathered Juri. She was so tiny as they brought her to me and placed her on my chest. Tears immediately began to pool in my eyes, but I held them back.

“Hey, pretty girl,” I said softly. “Mommy is so happy to meet you. I’m so sorry you had to come early but so happy you’re here and you’re okay.”

I stared down at her. Though she was a preemie, she had some of Korri’s features. I peeked under her oversized beanie and smiled.

“You’re gonna have a head full of hair, just like your sister.”

My mother giggled. “Can you imagine having two bushy heads to do?”

“Right.” I kissed Juri’s temple. “You’re gonna be a good girl for mommy, aren’t you? Even if you aren’t, I’ll love you the same.”

All I could do was stare at her. She was early, but she was perfect. No matter who her father was, she was here, and she was mine. Nobody was going to take that away from me.

I was finally leavingthe compound after my father wanted to talk for two hours once we touched down. I wasn’t the only person annoyed because he could have given us the cliff notes version and let us be on our way. I wasn’t sure what was up with him being so long winded these days, but he needed to get it together.

Turning out of the compound, I kept onto the main road to head into town. It would take about twenty minutes to get there from here with an additional ten minutes to get to Romi’s shop. I turned up the music and put the windows down, rapping along to the sounds of Future’s “Like That.” The song had just come to Kendrick Lamar’s part when my phone rang with a call from Romi.

Turning down the music, I answered the call on Bluetooth.

“I know I’m late, but I’m on my?—”

“Smoke.”

My brows furrowed as I looked at the screen. I had to be tripping because this was Romi’s phone, but it wasn’t her voice.

“Who is this?”

“Renay, Romi’s sister.”

At that moment, I knew something was wrong. Her sister had no reason to call me.

“What happened?” I asked, pressing the gas harder.

“She fell?—”

“Is she okay? Is the baby okay?”

“She’s fine, but they couldn’t stop the contractions, so they had to take the baby. She’s in the NICU at Baptist. Romi’s with her right now.”

“How did she fall, Renay?”

“I don’t know. Her memory is a little fuzzy.”

She didn’t have to say it, but I knew that fuck nigga had something to do with this.

“I’m on my way. Thank you for calling me, Renay.”

“No problem. My sister has smiled more since meeting you, so I think you’re good for her. She could use all the support she can get. I want to talk to you when you get here about something. Text her phone, and I’ll meet you out front.”

“I got you.”

I hung up and floored the gas all the way into town. The drive was cut down to fifteen minutes before I swung my car into a parking space right out front. I shot Renay a text, letting her know I was here before I got out. While I was anxious to get to Romi, I would hear her sister out first.

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