Page 30 of Certified Pressure 3
Her eyes narrowed a lil’. “And the women?”
I gave a small nod. “I made my choice.”
That made her sit up straighter. “You have?”
“Yeah. I chose Kashmere.”
Her face lit up with pride. “Oh, Pressure, that’s wonderful news. Finally.” She reached over and touched Pops’ arm. “You hear that? Our son has made his decision.”
Pops looked up from his tablet and gave me a surprised, but proud expression. “That’s great! Congratulations, son.”
I nodded, but I could already feel the next part burnin’ in my chest. I couldn’t leave here without sayin’ it. “There’s somethin’ else y’all need to know.”
Ma’s smile faded just a lil’. “What is it?”
I rubbed my palm against my leg, then looked both of them in the eyes. “Pluto’s pregnant.”
Her eyebrows rose high. Pops looked at me like he needed to make sure he heard me right. My mama blinked slow like she needed to make sure she heard me right.
“I’m sorry?” she said.
I swallowed hard. “Pluto’s pregnant.”
She tilted her head slightly. “So let me make sure I understand. You got one woman pregnant, but you’re engaged to another?”
It sounded worse when she repeated it. I hated the way it came out her mouth, like I was some careless ass boy. “Yeah,” I said finally. “That’s what happened.”
She leaned back, lookin’ at me with disappointment that stung more than if she had yelled at a nigga. “That’s a lot to manage, Pressure. Why not be with the woman carrying your child?”
I sighed and looked away. “Because she don’t want me, Ma.”
Her brows pulled together. “What do you mean she doesn’t want you?”
“She act like she don’t wanna be with me. I done got on my jet more than twice, went to her city, told her I wanted to take care of her, told her to come home, but she keeps refusin’. She say she wanna handle this on her own, which I ain’t tryna hear all that.”
Ma’s lips parted, but no words came out at first. I could see the shift happenin’ in her. That calm queen energy she always had was startin’ to crack. She glanced over at Pops, then back at me. “This is my grandchild we’re talking about,” she said, her voice softer now but carryin’ weight. Then her tone hardened. “That girl doesn’t have a choice. She’s carrying our heir. She will come to Trill-Land.”
“Ma—”
“No,” she said, cuttin’ me off before I could finish. “You listen to me. Marriage can wait at this moment. That child cannot. You make sure the mother of your child is where she’s supposed to be. I don’t care what promises you made to anyone else, that baby, our baby comes first.”
Before I could answer, Pops finally spoke. His voice was calm, but it carried that weight that always made people listen. “Your mother’s right about the baby,” he said, “but if that woman is carrying your child, that’s the woman you should be planning to marry.”
I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees. “It ain’t that easy, Ma. Pluto ain’t like that. She don’t care about the title or the money. She think I only want her ‘cause of the baby.”
Ma stood up and started pacin’ slow in front of me, her arms crossed. Her perfume followed every move. She turned toward me and said, “Give me her number.”
I frowned. “What?”
“I said give me her number. If she won’t listen to you, she’ll listen to me.”
“Ma, you not callin’ her.”
“I most certainly am if you don’t handle it.”
Her tone was sharp, and I could see how serious she was. Her voice ain’t rise, but it didn’t need to. “Pressure, you are my son, and I love you, but if that girl thinks she can carry our bloodlineoutside this family’s protection, she’s mistaken. That baby will be raised in Trill-Land.”
“Ma, I’m tellin’ you, I got this. Let me handle it.”
