Sweet Baby

Four

"Happy Birthday, Shevonne! Cannot believe my baby girl is 28." My father cooed over the phone. I giggled. "Thanks, daddy. You know I'm not a baby anymore." "You'll always be a baby in my eyes. How's the new job?" I was tempted to ask him how his new wife was doing, but I didn't want to argue on my birthday. I did love my father, I just didn't love his choices. Like divorcing my mother.

"I love my new job. My boss is great. Mama might meet him today since I'm working." "He's got you working on your birthday?" My father asked sternly. I was digging through my dresser drawers for a shirt. "Only for a little while. He has a meeting today so I need to watch his daughter, and I volunteered. It's extra pay." If I didn't say the extra pay part, daddy would be furious. "Oh, I see. Well, I hope your birthday goes well. Love you bunches." "Love you, too, daddy." Our phone call ended and I placed the phone back on the hook. My favorite part of the day was going to be looking after Lettie Bug and spending time with mama.

I arrived at Prince's home because the meeting was going to be at Paisley and he standing outside in all black and shades. Where was Lettie? I got out of my car and walked across the thin layer of snow towards him as he was standing outside the front door. "Am I late?" I asked him. He shook his head with a smile. "No. Happy birthday." He said and gave me a hug. His hugs were so enjoyable. "Thank you. Lettie is down for her nap?" Prince nodded. "She just went down. Is there anything you need before I go?" He asked. I shook my head. "I just wanted to ask if it was okay for my mother to stop by? She's going to be going to work tonight and this is the only time we have together is after 2." "No, no that's completely fine." He seemed nervous as he turned around to pick up a stack of papers from the chair on his front step. "I'll be back by one. It shouldn't take that long." I glanced at the papers and noticed it was his social security card and his birth certificate. "No rush, Prince. Take your time." Prince smiled. "Have fun with Lettie. She's extra playful today, but she should sleep the whole time I'm out. In case she doesn't, she'll be-" "Ready for a bottle. I know." I said with a smile. He smiled back. "Perfect. See you soon." He said before walking to his car.

I opened the door with my own key that Prince gave to me and Lettie was napping on the floor with Duck Tales playing on the TV. How perfect. Perhaps I would catch a nap as well. I laid on the floor next to her and noticed how her hair was growing. She would have a beautiful head of hair and long eyelashes like her father. I noticed a member of the Paisley staff stopped by to clean up and the house was near spotless. "Lettie, I'm going to cuddle with you." I said as I stroked her hair while she slept and laid next to her. I had noticed for the first time that she had the same mark on her cheek that her father had. What was even cuter was the fact that when Prince napped he curled his hand by his face and she was doing the same.

My thoughts were broken when I heard the phone ring in the kitchen and Lettie jerked awake and began to cry. Oh no. No, no, no. Nap time was disrupted. I stood and picked Lettie up before going into the kitchen to answer the phone. "Hello-I mean...Nelson Residence." I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder as I was gently bouncing Lettie on my hip. "Is this Shevonne?" A woman asked. She sounded older. "Yes? Who am I speaking with?" "Bernadette Anderson. I'm Andre's mother...and somewhat of Prince's too. I just wanted to call and tell him happy birthday." I cocked an eyebrow. "Today's his birthday?" I asked her. "It is." We had the same birthday. "Well...I will deliver that message to him." "Okay thank you. And...thank you for helping him. He's...he's trying so hard." Her words confused me. "Okay...I will. Goodbye." I hung up the phone and I noticed Lettie had calmed down. She was probably not going to go back to sleep, so now it was play time.

Lettie and I played for about an hour and she was not sitting up on her own but needed a pillow behind her back. As I was boiling bottles for Lettie, there was a knock on the door. It was most likely mama. Lettie was crawling to the door because she probably thought it was her daddy. "No, no Lettie." I picked her up and held her as I opened the door. To my shock, it was Prince. "Oh...you're home extremely early." I said with surprise. He walked in and slipped his shades off. "I had to meet with the president of my record company. Shockingly he wasn't there." I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Typical bosses, huh?" I asked as I shut the door. "Um, a woman named Bernadette called and woke-" Prince took Lettie from my arms and held her. His eyes closed and he was swaying with her gently. Lettie was giggling. "It's okay." He said.