King of Queens (a Nas Story)

TWENTY THREE

Gia | November 1993

"This is from your Aunt Sherry in Jersey." My mom unloaded the trunk of her Pathfinder SUV. She hauled to Jersey the night before Nasir and I's baby shower to gather gifts that my extended family had bought for our son.

Nasir took the bags out of the trunk as I stood there in awe at the amount of bags and boxes my mother had fit in there.

"I got it, Ma." Nasir said to my mom as he sat the boxes down by the wheel of her car. "Yo, Mega! Come help." Nasir waved at his friend who was standing outside of the venue.

"Ayo Jung, come help me with these gifts." Mega yelled for Jungle inside of the venue. Soon, a line of men came out to help Nasir and my mother.

"Baby, go inside. Get you something to eat." Nasir looked up at me with two boxes in his hand. "We got it." He said with a smile.

I adjusted my fur coat over my shoulder and shrugged my shoulders. "Okay then." I said with a smile directly shot at Nasir. I walked by Mega, AZ and Jungle. Jungle rested his arm on my shoulder as I walked by.

"Big sis! You're glowing, baby!" He said with enthusiasm as I waddled into the building. "Thank you!" I yelled back at him with a faint laugh.

I stepped inside of the open venue and looked around at the decorations that were put up and placed precisely around the space. Blue, white and silver balloons were intertwined as vine arches over each entry and exit point of the venue.

A woven wooden chair was placed in front of an airbrushed backdrop of a sprayed painted landscape view of Queensbridge with the street name that Nasir grew up on, where I once lived before we moved in together.

A blue rug was placed underneath the chair and in front of the cloth painted backdrop that read 'QUEENSBRIDGE' in huge graffiti font letting at the top of the cloth.

There was another chair next to it, meant for Nasir to sit in. As my chair was decorated with gold paint and flecks of glitter. A few feet away from the chairs and backdrop were three white tables covered in powder blue cloth that held the catered food.

Fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, green beans, meatballs and gravy, steamed white rice, candied yams, and cornbread were placed atop of the powder blue cloth with utensils to get them. Paper plates were blue with a brown bear holding a blue heart printed on it.

Pitchers of ice water, freshly squeezed lemonade (provided by Ms. Ann) and cans of carbonated drinks were placed on the last table. The cans floating in a plastic tub of ice that was starting to melt.

Across from the food table was another table that held the cake for the shower. It was a three tier layered cake, white and airbrushed different hues of blue. A sonogram photo of our son was on the side of the cake with our son's initials written in icing on the platter of it.

The tables were open to seat all of our guests and weren't assigned. Nasir and I wanted to have our families and friends intermingle with one another, because they're going to be family regardless.

It took me pulling nails and teeth to get Nasir to show up in proper attire to his own baby shower. He wanted to wear jeans and a baggy shirt and I wasn't going for it.

My mother took me to her personal seamstress to have my dress custom made for this day. A balconette neck line in powder blue and an elongated train behind me. The material of the dress was stretchy but clings to my hips and my stomach well.

Nasir was able to find a blue plaid shirt and a white shirt to wear underneath. I was able to let him slide with dark denim jeans and his construction Timberlands, seeing as the temperature was dropping drastically in New York around this time of year.