Raising Ema-Lyn

Chapter 2 - "Anything to see my favorite girl longer,"

Ema-Lyn Janice Wilson

6 lbs. 12 oz. 20 in.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 12:09 A.M.

I stared at the birth announcement. Almost all of them had been put in envelopes, addressed, and stamped. I just could not decide whether or not to send him one. He is her father, anyone can see that just by looking at her, but he still refuses to believe it. I sighed and put one in an envelope for him anyway. Maybe after he sees her picture he’ll realize it. I could only hope. Even his mom says she can see that she is his and she has only seen pictures on Facebook.

I thought about the day I told him. I had been so happy, but he hadn’t. All he did was scream and yell at me, said I was nothing but a cheating whore. I called Anita, his mom, bawling my eyes out. She said he would realize it and come around, but she sounded like she was trying to convince herself rather than me. And, much to her disappointment, he never did.

Every Sunday I went over to see Anita and Doug. Sometimes Brad was there, if he was, he left when I walked in. Anita would get more upset every time. And I always tried to comfort her and told her everything would be fine. Doug always looked at me with pity, he knew it hurt me, but he also knew I was strong. He and I connected when my parents died about seven months back. When I was told they died, I didn’t cry. I couldn’t. I had to stay strong, for my sister, Kimi, Ema (even though she wasn’t born yet) and myself.

Kimi moved in with me because my aunt didn’t want to pull her out of school and I was more financially stable than Staci. She was so lost after they died. She became so depressed I had to put her counseling. I felt so sorry for her; I didn’t know what to do or how to help her. No 15 year-old should have to lose her parents to a drunken driving accident. Then again, neither should a 21 year-old.

I guess I was more prepared for it; I had been living on my own since I was 17. Then again, I grew up without having them around very often. Kimi was closer to them then Staci and I ever were. They were always there and did everything for her; they did nothing for us. Still, there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think of them.

A soft knock brought me out of my thoughts. I got up from the couch and made my way to the door. It surprised me to find Travis and Alijah there.

“Travis?” I asked, surprised.

“Do you have time to talk?” He asked.

“Umm, yeah. Come inside.” I told him.

“Actually, let’s go for a walk or something,” He countered.

“Yeah, okay. Let me get Ema, and then we can walk over to the park.”

Closing the door, I went to Kimi’s room to get Ema from her. I knocked on her door then walked in.

“Hey, Travis is here and wants to talk to me. So, we’re taking Ema and Alijah over to the park. Why don’t you go over to David’s?” I told to her as I picked up Ema and gathered a couple toys.

“Okay. I’ll text you if I do,” she replied.

“Kay,” I answered, walking out of the room.

I gathered all the stuff we needed for Ema. Then I made a lunch to take with us since it was lunchtime and Travis hadn’t fed Alijah yet. While we were walking, I started getting nervous. If he was here to bitch me out for Brad I was going to be so pissed. He could at least come and talk to me himself. We got to the park and Alijah went to play while Travis and I sat on the bench eating our lunch. Travis still hadn’t said anything.

“Are you going to talk, or did you really just want someone to come with you to the park?” I asked him.

He looked over at me with a serious face and asked, “Why did you do it?”

“Do what?” I asked confused.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Why did you cheat?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why did you cheat? Obviously if Brad says she’s not his, she can’t be his. She has to be some other guys.”

I stood up and started packing everything up. “I’ve heard enough, Travis. You of all people know I’m not the type of person to get pregnant and try to fake who the dad is. And I sure as hell wouldn’t cheat. If he wants to deny her, that’s his problem. Tell him that when he decides he wants to see her, he can think back to this when I say no. Oh, and he can stop sending people to do his dirty work. And another thing, you said the same thing about Alijah. Yet look whose he is.”

“But Brad’s not me. If he says she’s not his obviously you guys didn’t sleep together at the right time.” He explained.

I looked him dead in the eyes and told him, “Brad is the only person I’ve slept with.”           

The look on my face must have been a bad one, because he looked like he was afraid I was going to kill him.

“I’m not doing this to piss you off. Nor am I doing it because Brad asked me to. I’m doing this because I want to know,” He reasoned.

“And I’m telling you the truth. He is her father. Whether he believes it or not, but when she wants to know why her father is not around I will call him up and have him explain to her why he’s not there. Brad is the only person I ever slept with. He is the only person I ever loved. He is the only person I ever let in and trusted enough. And he let me down. He promised to be there forever and through everything, but as soon as something he didn’t want came around he dipped. He just reminded me why I never trusted anyone.”

I stared straight in his eyes the entire time I talked. I knew by his face that he knew I was telling the truth. He didn’t say anything else; he just looked away. I just shook my head and walked away.

I walked around for a while, but eventually decided on going back home. I found a bench and sat down to feed and change Ema before I did. I sat there feeding her just spacing out and thinking.

“Hey you,” I heard.

I looked up and almost screamed in happiness.

“DREW!” I squealed. I stood up and put Ema in her stroller, then I gave Drew a hug.

Laughing slightly, he hugged me back and asked, “How are you?”

“I’m okay. What about you?” I asked pulling back.

“Pretty good. I see Ema’s birth went well.” He said as he looked down at Ema, with almost a sad look on his face. “Brad’s a very lucky guy.”

I looked away from him when I answered, “Brad isn’t around. He doesn’t believe she’s his.”

He looked up at me confused, “She looks just like a mix between the two of you. There’s no way she’s not. And if she’s not, what have you been hiding from me, misses? As far as I know he’s the only guy you’ve been intimate with.” He said, winking at the end.

I laughed. “She is his and he is the only guy I’ve slept with. I’m not hiding anything from you.”

“Well I hope not. I’m supposed to be your best friend.”

“You are,” I smiled, “Hey, what are you doing right now? I was just about the head back to my place.”

“Nothing, right now, I have to meet up with my mom and step-dad for dinner later.”

“Okay, you wanna come over for a little while?”

“Of course, anything to see my favorite girl longer,” he smiled.

I laughed and put Ema in her stroller. We started walking towards my apartment and talking. Just for a second, I thought about what it would be like if he ever realized how I actually feel about him and we got together. Then I squashed the thought before it got too far, knowing it would never happen.