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“But it’s something.”
I shrugged. “Probably just tension or something.”
“You’re worried about tonight?”
I shook my head. “No…maybe it’s work tension.”
“Maybe? I’m paying for the third midwife like I said, and you’re gonna take some time off. You deserve it.”
“Zo, don’t start that again. I’ll be fine. Maybe I haven’t been getting enough sleep.”
“Shiiiiit, I don’t know how you were sleeping while you were gone, but since you came home, your ass has been sleeping like a baby and snoring like a freight train.”
“So you think you don’t snore, Zo?”
“I can’t be snoring like you do, and I haven’t been snoring at all in the last two weeks since you’ve been back. Hell, you’ve been keeping me up!”
I rolled my eyes. “Shut up.”
“But for real, baby, you just gave me two unrelated reasons for your headache, and you’ve been getting them like every day. It might not be your blood pressure, but something is causing them. I’ma need you to go to the doctor.”
I sighed. “I will.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Zo, I don’t know if I can get an appointment for tomorrow.”
“Then go to one of those walk-in clinics.”
“Zo—”
“Please, baby.”
I saw the pleading in his eyes, heard the urgency in his voice, and I acquiesced. Truth be told, my headaches concerned me, too, but I think I was afraid to find out what was going on. I knew it wasn’t my blood pressure, and the thought of it being something more serious scared me to death. But I could see that it scared him even more.
“Hey,” I said softly as Rell pulled into my mother’s driveway, “I love you.”
He leaned in and kissed me, then backed away with this smile on his face. “I got dressed up, left home, and am going to spend the evening in an intimate setting with your family. You know I love your ass.”
I grinned as he climbed out of the car and reached for my hand.
Renee’s mom’s house was nice, neat, screamed money, and made me even more nervous. Just knowing Renee and how articulate and intelligent she was, told me my ass was going to be a serious fish out of water here with these people. Renee had tried to ease my mind by saying her father was just a car salesman and her mother had never worked, but shit, she didn’t come from the world of drugs and crime like I did, from my daddy down to me. But nevertheless, when her mother greeted us at the door, I kissed her hand and thanked her for having me.
“You’re so welcome. I’m just glad to finally meet you, and I am not disappointed.” She turned to Renee and added, “Wow, you outdid yourself, Renee. Vast improvement.”
That made me smile. That plus the fact that Renee and her mom looked a lot alike. I saw where Renee got those curves from, too. Her mama was fine as hell.
She led us into the living room, where Renee’s sister, Angie, and her husband were already waiting, and left to go check on something. Ryan, who I’d met a couple of times before and liked being around because he was funny as hell, got up and met me halfway into the room, dapped me up, and with a grin on his face said, “You done got roped in by a Strickland sister, too, huh?”
I laughed. “Hell, yeah! Renee got my ass!”
“Man, if you’re not careful, you gon’ be midwifing and shit like Angie got me YouTubing.”
“I ain’t got you doing nothing you don’t wanna do, Ryan Boyé!”
“I’m just doing it for the sex, Angie-baby. Only for the sex.”
Angie shot him a look, and he said, “What?”
