me & tomfoolery

Contained FINALE | Mikal Bridges Short Story

"Where is your baby daddy?" Jana asked while getting comfortable on the couch.

"Shouldn't he be with your man?" Flo distinctively remembered Mikal saying he had to go into work today.
"I don't keep tabs on Cameron Johnson."

Taking a seat on the couch, Florence grabbed her friend's hands. "J, what's going on?" This wasn't the first time she was dismissive of Cam in recent weeks.

"Nothing girl, don't worry about me." Jana waved off. She was at a point where she didn't know what she wanted. Things were merging into a sense of normality again and soon she would have to get back in the workforce because Broadway wasn't back yet.

"No, something is wrong. Are you and Cam okay?"

"No." Jana admitted. "They're trying to bring the league back and that means I'll be in the house alone."

"They're serious? That's why Mikal is at the training center right now?"

"He didn't tell you?"

Yes and no.

Mikal told her that things would be changing and the league wanted to make strides to get people back on the court. She just didn't know how. She wasn't sure if he knew how and forgot to mention it or what, but she was going to find out.

"So we really coming back?" Cam Thomas asks looking around at his teammates. "Yeah, it's a thing for sure."

"But we gotta go to Florida for it to work." Seth added.

NBA bubble, a strange concept that would put 14 teams in a quarantined space for two months to battle it out and consider that, 'the season'. It sounded good on paper and for most people it would work. But a lot of them were used to being away from their families for long periods of time. Their schedules made sense already.

For Mikal... he was on the road to fatherhood. How could he be there for Flo's moment leading to birth, if he traveled hundreds of miles down south for the remainder of the pregnancy?

He could miss the birth.

He had a choice to make, a crazed one and he had no idea how she would respond.

"Bro, your phone is ringing." Ben tapped Mikal's shoulder. He hadn't noticed he zoned out completely during the conversation.

Walking to a secluded area, he answered the phone.

"Hey Renzie." A nickname he started calling her not too long ago.
"Mikal, is there something you need to tell me?"

Straight to it.

"How you figure?" He asked looking at the Brooklyn view from the floor to ceiling window.

"Oh I don't know, maybe cause Bleacher Report is saying the league is coming back. That's not what you told me."

Shit, news broke already.

"Can we talk when I get home? I don't wanna do this over the phone."

"Mhm." Florence hung up, not wanting to hear anything else he had to say. She didn't like that he withheld information from her.

••••

"Flo, baby! Where you at?" Mikal dropped his keys on the counter and walked into the home. Sonny didn't come to greet him which was odd.

Making it to their shared bedroom, Mikal could see Sonny laying on his bed while watching Florence in the closet.

"What's going on?" Mikal asked watching Florence pack a suitcase. "What does it look like?"

"Looks like you're packing."
"I am."