Page 26 of Sunday

Sunday sighed afterward. “Please don’t fight me on this,” she continued.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Just be here, Cedar. That’s it.”

I could do that, but it felt like she didn’t want that. I wasn’t letting her raise my kid alone, and definitely not in a different household. We would raise this baby together, and we would be a family, even if it killed me.

Cedar

“Ms. Monroe, when you finish with your urine sample, take it to the end of this hall and walk into the room on your left.”

“The one with the jar of lollipops outside of the door?”

“Yes, ma’am. As a matter of fact, Mr. Jackson, I’ll walk you down there now so that you can have a seat in the waiting area. You’ll see him sitting there, Ms. Monroe. The lab tech is already waiting for you, so you can just walk inside.”

Sunday scrunched her nose and nodded but didn’t say anything.

“What’s wrong, Sunny? You scared of needles?”

“Li’l bit.” She pinched her fingers together and looked nervous.

“Can I go inside with her to get her blood drawn?” I asked the nurse.

“Sure, that’s not a problem at all.”

“A’ight. Go ahead and piss in that cup, and I’ll be waiting for you outside of that room.”

Sunday nodded and glanced nervously at the cup and then at the bathroom. I gripped her shoulders and squeezed them. “Hey, chill. You’ve already done the hard part, which was taking thosefirst round of tests. The second hard part was making it here, and you did that.”

“You’re right.”

Sunday blew out a breath and nodded. I remained in place until she stepped inside the bathroom and closed the door.

“You’re a great support system.”

“I’m trying to be,” I muttered and followed the nurse down the hallway.

The truth was, Sunday had pushed me away lately. She had spent a lot of time holed up in her bedroom and didn’t want to be bothered. Although she had returned to work, I didn’t see her that much there because I was out in the field on projects. At home, she was distant and asked me to give her space and time.

I could only hope that the remainder of this pregnancy wouldn’t be this way. I had to force her to give me the details about this appointment so that I could be here today.

When Sunday finished with her urine sample, she met me in the lab room, where they took some blood and kept her urine sample. The nurse met us at the nurse’s station and led us to a room from there.

After she had taken all of Sunday’s vitals, she informed us that the doctor would be with us shortly. Sunday swung her legs back and forth as she sat on the edge of the exam table. I stood from my chair and walked to her.

Once again, I rubbed my hands over her shoulders and down her arms. Gripping her chin with my fingers, I lifted her head until she looked into my eyes.

“Pretty girl, tell me what’s been on your mind lately. I mean, I know there’s a lot of shit that’s got to be circulating there, but you’ve been distant.”

“I’m okay.”

“That’s not what I asked. I know that you’re okay, but I want to know what’s going on with you. Why are you pushing me out?Why haven’t you been chilling with your boy in the evenings? Hell, you didn’t even eat brunch at the table with me on Sunday. You disappeared in your room with a book.”

Sunday’s shoulders dropped, and those tilted, luminous eyes bored into mine. They held so many questions that I wasn’t sure ifsheknew where to start.

“Did I do something wrong?” I persisted when she remained quiet.

“No, Cedar.”

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