Page 7 of How is This My Life?
Poor Denise, being super hormonal thanks to the early stages of the pregnancy, was an absolute, inconsolablewreckfor about three days. She didn’t get out of bed; she cried and texted for comfort foods, only to barely pick at them. We were starting to get concerned, and then on the fourth day, the anger set in.
Denise and Aaron were getting married in two weeks, so this had been the sprint, instead of a marathon, wedding planning usually was. There was less than four months from the day they decided until the day they said ‘I do’, to throw a wedding together.
So. Much. Fun. For. Me. It was a race to get it all done and to keep Denise’s stress level to a minimum. She couldn’t handle the stress of planning everything, so it became my job to schedule everything around her schedule.
They found out last week, with the genetic testing, they’re having a boy. My little lady, Tennley, was already three months old and the definition of perfect. She had this creamy soft skin, and bright blue eyes, with beautiful dark chocolate hair like mine. The only parts of her that resembled Trevor were her nose and chin; they were all his. The day she was born, Aaron called Trevor. He showed up, didn’t look at me, the bassinet, or anyone but Miss Cunningham.
Tawnya wasn’t with him this time.
Trevor signed over his rights without even asking how the baby or I were or if the baby was a boy or a girl. He lookeda little better than the last time he’d been at the lawyers, a little stronger, a tad bit more color to his face. I simply couldn’t bring myself to care about him anymore. Not after he signed his name and walked out the door for the last time without even a glance backwards. This was the man whom I had once hoped to share these moments with, but we’d be happy in my hopes. We would have planned it all together; I wouldn’t have needed to plan any of this with my best friends, because he would have lovingly been there. Watching him walk out, I realized something.
That wasn’t the man I’d fallen in love with. But he wasn’t the man who had agreed to sign away his daughter all those months ago, either. Not entirely, at least. I didn’t cry. I didn’t feel anything as he walked away from us, except for relief that it just needed a judge to sign off on it, and it was all official. I was finally over him and, frankly, exhausted from just giving birth, and didn’t have the energy to waste on him. Birth was enough of a process. A long thirty-six-hour process, where I had to be cut open because she had a big head.
Thankfully, we were in the final stages of planning the wedding, and living next to each other meant that we had easy access to each other and all planning information. Each side of the townhouses had three bedrooms, one on the first floor and two on the second floor, with full baths on both floors, and a half bath on the first floor for guests. We set up wedding headquarters in the bedroom on the first floor of their townhouse because we had to keep her dress in mine, so Aaron wasn’t tempted to peek. He was a very involved groom.
Aaron gave me the heads-up last week that his best friend Adrian was coming into town for the wedding. He had been away serving in the military since he was seventeen years old and had recently been medically discharged. He was supposed to be arriving today, and I had offered to let him stayin my townhouse for the next couple of weeks until the wedding. He and I had talked a few times since Aaron mentioned he’d be coming into town, trying to coordinate with the wedding plans. He seemed like a very nice guy.
After the wedding, I think he planned on living around here since, according to Aaron,‘he’s my brotha from anotha motha!’And they weren’t being separated again. Aaron said he’d missed too much of his best friend’s life already.
They were so cute in their little bromance.
F I V E: The Brother and The Girl
Adrian’s POV
Turning down the radio in my truck as my phone rang, I saw it was Aaron, my best friend since we were in diapers. I had just driven fifteen, maybe more, hours from base where I got my discharge papers, to make it here in time to help with any last-minute shit that needed done for this wedding. Also, this way I could spend time with my brother before he got hitched to his college sweetheart and love of his life. I was happy for him. As fucked up as I was in the head, knowing I’d never have that, that I wasn’t capable of such love, I wanted that for him at the very least. I answered the phone, and hearing the smile in his voice had me smiling.
“Yeah, man. Pulling up to the townhouse now.”
The door to the left side of the townhouse swung open, and out barreled this giant bear that was mybrotha from anotha motha, Aaron. After the doctors told me I was most likely going to be medically discharged six months ago, thanks to the injury I got overseas nine months ago. At this point, I was ready to just be a civilian and get started on my new life. Aaron was pretty much the only one I stayed in touch with from our hometown when I left for the military. Never had family worth staying in touch with, not after all the shit I went through growing up. My mama loved the needle and the shit she could shoot into her veins, more than she loved her kids. My older sister and older brother both left the house when they turned eighteen and never looked back.
Not even for me.
When they both left me at ten years old, Aaron became my brother. His house became my second home, where I knewthey would feed me and I’d even get a few things for Christmas or my birthday. It was all I ever got. They took me in like it was no problem. So, when he called me two years after finishing high school, saying that he’d met the love of his life at college freshman year and that he was going to marry her, I was happy for him. When he called the next time to say that their families didn’t approve because he was black and she was white, it baffled me because they’d taken me in for years. I was just a scrawny white kid whose mother was an addict, but that never stopped them from caring for me.
I called his mom, his dad, even his memaw, and they all told me exactly what he’d told me. That I was different than someone marrying into the family. That was the last time I spoke to his family. I called Aaron back and asked him about my future sister-in-law. He told me all about his girl, and we talked damn near every day, except for deployments. He called me on a video call last year while I was deployed, and he said he needed to talk. He told me about Denise’s best friend, the girl he claimed he looked after like a little sister. He told me a little bit about what happened with her ex. I hated that this was happening. It sounded like a lot of drama and headaches. When he called me two months ago, he asked if I remembered the girl. He then informed me, she was who I’d be staying with for the wedding, and I was cool with it. She sounded nice. I knew she had a kid, but kids had never bothered me. Never been around small babies, but I’d be on a different floor from them, which I thought would be alright. I didn’t want my pacing to keep them up.
Getting out of my truck, I rushed up to him, wrapping him in a hug. It felt good to be reunited with my friend again.
“Missed you, man. Happy you’re here,” he mumbled to me.
“Missed you, too. Might be sticking around here. Ain’t got anywhere to go home to anyway,” He just nodded when we pulled back from the hug. I went to grab my seabag out of the truck when I noticed a woman behind him. Aaron noticed my staring and glanced over his shoulder.
“Oh! This is my girl, Denise, and our boy.” He said, rubbing her stomach lovingly, “We haven’t picked out a name yet.” He beamed, his chest puffed out like the proud papa I always knew he would be when the day came. Sticking my hand out to shake hers, she grabbed it and pulled me into a hug.
“You’re family, Adrian. Welcome. It’s nice to finally meet you.” She was cute, friendly, and just perfect for him. I could see it in the way he fussed over her, making sure she wasn’t stressing herself out or doing too much. He wouldn’t let her stand up for too long. He set the table and did a lot of the cooking. At dinner that night, I saw how she fussed over him, too. Making sure to serve Aaron dinner, then me, and as she served me, he was putting food on her plate. They were both so wrapped up in each other that I couldn’t help but smile.
This is what love looked like. This was what love was supposed to be, and what a loving home was supposed to feel like. Not like hunger and drug needles. As we were about to finally dig in and eat, I heard a cry that sounded like it came from somewhere upstairs.
“I’ll grab her. You guys eat,” Aaron said, wiping his face with his napkin and kissing Denise on the head. He came down a few minutes later with a little pink bundle. I looked at him, confused as hell. Did he have more than one kid? I thought he and Denise were pregnant with their first. Just as I was about to ask, he answered my unspoken question. “This is our god-daughter, Tennley. Isn’t she just a cutie?”
He was pulling over a highchair while Denise got up to get a bowl and some baby food for the girl. Tennley.
“Sorry, I’m late!” I froze, spoon halfway to my mouth, as the most angelic voice I’d ever heard shouted from the front of the townhouse, followed by a sigh. The voice began talking again, and it was like electricity was surging through my veins, making every hair on my body stand on end. Even my hearing had improved, and it was like I could hear all of the different sound waves that made up her voice.
“Today was insane, an absolute freaking mad house, and they floated me to the ER! I swear to god I will never do that again. I need a heads-up so I can mentally prepare for that. People try to fit things they shouldn’t in places they shouldn’t, just to see if they can be taken out.” Her voice was getting closer, while I just sat there, still frozen. The voice was so beautiful, I felt like I was in a dream.
“Who would have thought a freaking light bulb would fit in someone’s—Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you guys had a guest.” She paused in her talking before she came into view.
