Unique I

Chapter 6 - Let the Cards Fall Where They May

Unique eyes snapped open all of a sudden. She looked over to see that Kennard was still sound asleep. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was four in the morning. It had been a week since Fat Tee had broken into their house and raped, threatened, and tried to extort her, and she had not been able to get a wink of restful sleep whatsoever. Her thoughts were constantly being invaded by how she was going to handle the situation and where she would actually get the money to pay him—or at least enough to get him off her back.
     She stole another peek at Kennard, and then she eased out of the bed, trying not to disturb him as she headed for the bathroom. Sitting on the toilet, preparing to pee, she opened the box to take a pregnancy test. She had been a week late and her period was due to come on the same day Fat Tee had violated her but she hadn’t seen a drop of blood anywhere. She was assuming it was the stress she had been going through from the Fat Tee situation. Since he left there a week ago, she had not been able to think of anything else until yesterday when it dawned on her that she had not seen Aunt Flow. The thought of being pregnant was the furthest thing from her mind, but the fact remained that she and Kennard screwed like rabbits, every chance they got, and having unprotected sex most of time resulted in pregnancy.
     Unique peed on the stick, thinking, Let the cards fall where they may. So there she sat on the closed toilet lid, waiting for an answer, and almost immediately two pink lines appeared. Positive! What the fuc-?               
     The deck had been stacked against her; the two lines indicated that she was indeed pregnant.
    She couldn’t move; she just sat there looking spaced-out and dumbfounded, not knowing what she was going to do. It was too soon in her relationship to have a baby, and though she wanted to have kids with Kennard, now wasn’t the time. She was only twenty-nine years old, and there were still so many things she wanted to do: finish culinary school, travel the world, and live life to the fullest, and maybe ultimately marry Kennard. Tears trickled down her face. For someone who wasn’t a big crier, she seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. How would Kennard feel about all this? She had just started to live this amazing life with him, and she didn’t want a baby to be a monkey wrench in it. And most important, she didn’t want him to feel like she was trying to trap him with a baby.
     Unique was so caught up with deep thoughts that she didn’t hear Kennard walk into the bathroom.               
     “Good morning, gorgeous.” He walked over, leaned down, and gave her a kiss; morning breath and all. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught glimpse of the white stick. “What’s this?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
     When he picked it up and read the results, his face went completely blank for a second. Unique’s fears had come true. She knew it. He wasn’t ready for a baby, either. Unique tried to conceal her tears but they disappeared when she saw his expression.               
      On his face was the biggest, brightest smile she’d ever seen. He gushed, “Baby. This is the best news I’ve had in a while.”               
       “Really?” Unique said, surprised at his reaction.               
      “No doubt.” He hugged her right there on the toilet. “The greatest news from the greatest girl in the world.”               
     “Awww, baby, I didn’t think you wanted kids with all that you have going on. Are you sure the timing of this is right for you?”               
     Without a moment’s hesitation he said, “Couldn’t be better.” Then his eyes clouded over, dark and heavy. The pall blew away just as suddenly as it surfaced. He motioned for her to get up so he could urinate. She washed her hands while he handled his business and then brushed his teeth. Once he was done he cut off the water, and she gazed deep into his eyes.               
      “What is it, baby?” She took his hand into hers. “Something’s wrong?” He tried to pull it together, but it was too late, she’d seen the brooding in his eyes. He walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed and once she was positioned beside him, she put her arm around him and gave him a warm look.               
     “Nine years ago,” he said, “I had a girlfriend. Her name was Kyra.” Kennard looked at her for a reaction. When he got none, he continued. “I thought I would never be able to love anyone like I loved her, but I was wrong. . . . ” His voice was soft. “Because I found you.”               
     “What happened?”               
     Kennard blew out a jaw full of pent-up air. “I had always dipped and dabbled in the dope game,” he said. “When Kyra was seven months pregnant and asked me to give it all up for the sake of the baby, I promised her and myself that I would give up the game the day our baby was born. I’d step into the family business: boxing. My grandfather had been on me to get back in the ring anyway.”               
     “I didn’t know you used to box.”               
     Kennard nodded his head. “I’d always been good with my hands, but preferred the business side of the sport more. That’s why I became a promoter. Anyway,” he said, “Kyra agreed to my terms. And in preparation for my retirement I stepped up my game to another level and got deep in the streets. Got my weight up to an all-time high. Then everything changed. . . . ” He bit down on his bottom lip so hard he almost drew blood. This was the first time in the nine-month romance that Unique had ever seen Kennard so vulnerable.               
     “Babe, are you sure you want to talk about this?”               
     Again he nodded. “They kidnapped her. They took her and my unborn baby.” As if he was looking back into time, he continued, “I know she went kicking and screaming. Kyra was a fighter. . . . ” He paused, looked up at Unique, touched her cheek, and said, “Just like you.”               
     Unique listened with a compassionate heart. She rubbed his back to try to ease the pain but clearly it was impossible to do.               
      “I got a call later that night. Half a million dollars.” He looked at her. “That’s the value they put on my family.”               
     The question vaulted from her mouth at its own volition. “Did you pay the money?” Unique asked, then regretted it immediately. Was she thinking about Kennard right now or herself?               
     “I would have given them anything to get my family back,” he said. “Even if I had to take the money myself. Of course I paid them.”               
       The room became monastery quiet. The next question loomed in the air.               
      “Then they killed her,” he said.               
       Those words pierced through Unique like an arrow.               
     “Shot her in the stomach and left her in an abandoned building to bleed out. That shit damn near killed me, too.”               
      Unique couldn’t imagine the pain he must’ve felt when he learned that the woman he loved, and the unborn child he had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of, had been murdered. It was incomprehensible.               
     A wry smile appeared on his face. “But I kept my word to her: gave up the dope game and got knee-deep in this boxing game, and ended up with all this.” He spread out his arms. “Now I have you and another baby on the way. Life really couldn’t be better.”               
      Right, she thought as he kissed on her on the lips. Couldn’t be better.