Running Her Mouth

Chapter 73

 Kandii looked up at Devin, “I don’t know who to call.”

One of the Nurses had given Kandii Pauline’s purse a few hours ago.

“Call her parent’s baby.”  Devin suggested.

“Do you know how happy she was when Marko gave her this phone?”  Kandii started to cry softly.  “Now she’s gone and I feel like I’m all alone Devin.”

Devin squeezed her shoulders.  “You aren’t alone.  I’m here.”

He did not want to seem insensitive but his son was hungry and needed to stretch.  The poor baby had spent most of the day and night in a car seat.  At one point Devin had totally forgotten about him.

“Kandii you have to call her people.  You have to decide what to do.  I don’t know how all of this is going to play out but we need to start figuring things out.”

“I know, she whispered.”

“I’ll make the call.”

“Good.  I’m going to take Dj into the bathroom and change him.”

Kandii nodded and watched him unhook the baby from the car seat.  She waited until he was out of her eyesight before scrolling down Pauline’s short contact list.  Pressing “home” Kandii waited for someone to answer.

“Um hi...,” she said when a man answered.

“Who’s this?”  The man wasted no time to ask.

“My name is Kandii Williams and I’m calling with some bad news Sir.”

“Candy?  We don’t know no candys ‘cept the kind you eat.”  He said in a hoarse voice.

“I am, was... is… your daughter’s friend and…”

“I ain’t got no daughter.”

“Your daughter Pauline.”

“Listen girl, don’t be calling me up and stirring the pot.  Some wounds can’t be healed.  If you aiming at me talking to her it ain’t gon happen.”

Kandii bit her tongue.  “Sir, Pauline passed away today, after she gave birth.”

“She went and died?”

“Yes…Sir.”

“I reckon you said she gave birth.  What she had?”

“A sweet baby girl.  She’s beautiful.”

“What she look like?”

Kandii was confused.  She had just told him that his daughter had died and all he was concerned about was how the baby looked.  She started to soften up when it occurred to her, that this might be how he is dealing with the news.  By asking about his grandchild.

“She has sandy brown hair and her eyes look like a taupe color.  I’m not sure because newborns’ eye color have been known to change.  She’s very pretty and looks just like Pauline.”

Kandii swiped at her eyes.  It was so hard for her to even say her name.

“What’s her skin look like.”

“Excuse me?”

“Her skin.  Does she look white or does she favor one of them.” 

“I don’t know!”  She raised her voice.

“Does it matter? I just told you that your daughter is dead!  You have a beautiful healthy baby granddaughter.  I… she requested that I take the baby but I think that by law I have to contact her family.  You and your wife are entitled to her.”

“Well, I can tell you this missy.  If she don’t look white then we don’t want her.  Told Pauly we ain’t approve of her being with no black man anyway.”

“I can’t believe you right now!”

“Why not?  We stick to our own kind.  Are you one of them colored’s?  You sound like one.  Now tell me what this baby’s skin looks like or git off my phone.”

Kandii got quiet.  The rage that was building up in her was massive.  She wished that she could reach through the phone and choke the hell out of this man.  Maybe calling them was not such a good idea.  She had always wondered if Pauline was exaggerating when she spoke of him.  She was sad that she did not take her all the way seriously.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes,” she said in a clipped voice.

“Is your Wife around?  Maybe I can speak to her instead?”

“She busy.  I make all the decisions anyway.  Look, if she can’t pass for white then we don’t want her.  Can she pass?”

“No.”

“Shes very brown skinned.”

“Just like I thought!”  He yelled.

“Yin trying to play a trick on me.  We ain’t takin in no negro child.”

“I’ll have someone get in contact with you.”  Kandii decided to lie to him about the baby’s skin tone.  There was no way in hell that she would send an innocent child there.

“Now don’t go doing that.”

“I don’t know all of the ins and outs yet.  I’m sure some legal work will have to be done.  I’ve never been put in this situation before.”  Kandii explained to him.

“Well okay. Girl.”

“What about a funeral?”

“What about one?” he said bitterly.

“I told her when she ran off that I was through with her and I am a Christian man.  I keep my word.  Do whatever it is your gonna do.”

Kandii sighed.  “Ok great.”

“Thanks for your time.”

The line went dead.  Kandii took a deep breath.  “Only out of respect for you,” She whispered.  “That I did not cuss out that fucking asshole.”

When Devin walked back into the waiting room, he saw Kandii staring at her hands.

“How did it go?”  He asked lightly.

“It went.  Your right Devin.  I guess I have a daughter.”

Copyright©2013-2014

-Eve-