Nookie's Secret (Nookie 2) (Nookie Series) (4 page)

Joy looked across the street at the many stores. She had no idea in what direction was talking about.

“Where?” Joy replied after a minute.

“Right over there. Do you see where the Wendy’s? It’s on that side. You have to walk to the stores in the back of the parking lot.”

Joy looked in that direction. From where she was standing she couldn’t see it but at least she knew which way to go now.

“Thank you.” Joy said walking away from the girl who was still standing there.

“Do you want me to walk with you?” the girl asked.

Joy stopped, “No. It’s okay.”

“You sure it’s not a problem. I mean I know that you don’t know me but you don’t have to be alone.”

Joy thought about it for a minute. She didn’t want to go through this alone. She had no one else but this stranger.

“Okay.”

Chapter Eight

In silence, they walked side by side for a minute. Joy was nervous and lost in her own thoughts. She couldn’t believe that she might be pregnant. She prayed that the stress of the past few months was the reason for her period’s a no show.

“What’s your name?” the girl asked breaking Joy from her thoughts.

“Joy.”

“I liked that name. I’m Simone.”

Finally, they reached the Rite Aid. Simone went in first holding the door for Joy. Joy followed her to the back. She watched as Simone took charge. She led Joy to the aisle that housed the locked container that held the pregnancy test. She looked up and down the rows until she found the one she was looking for.

“Stay here.” was all she said and walked away.

She returned a minute later with the girl from the pharmacy. She showed the girl which one she wanted and both Joy and her followed her to the pharmacy counter.

Joy reached in her bag and slipped out a twenty. She held it out to Simone who looked down at it but didn’t take it. Instead, she reached in her own pocket and pulled out the money to pay. She grabbed the bag and started walking back to the front of the store.

Joy stood there, confused at the exchange. She held her money in her hand and composed herself, stuffing the money in her jeans pocket; she followed Simone to the front of the store. She caught up to her before Simone noticed she wasn’t there.

Simone continued to lead with Joy following behind her. She continued to walk until she reached DEB’s clothing store, where she worked. She went behind the counter, spoke to the girls behind there and motioned for Joy. They continued through a door and into a break room with a table, chairs and a refrigerator. A door was in the back of the room.

“That’s the bathroom right there.”

Joy opened the door without saying a word. The bathroom was tiny but clean. Joy checked the seat before sitting down. She took the test out the bag. She sat there a moment. Tears welled up in her eyes and she wished things to go back to the weekend with her and Kevin and stay in that time.

She took a deep breath and took the test out the box. She looked at the diagram to see what to look for. It would say pregnant if she was and not pregnant if she wasn’t.

βββ

Simone sat at the table waiting for Joy to come out of the bathroom. When she saw her outside of the clinic, she remembered when she was in the same position. Three years ago when she was just 16, she found out she was pregnant. She felt alone and didn’t know her options. Once she told her mother that her stepbrother was the father of the baby, her mother threw both of them out the house. Her stepbrother who was two years younger moved to California with his mother and wanted nothing to do with her or “it”, he told her while packing his bags. She wanted an abortion but needed parental consent. At the clinic, after talking to one of the counselors she decided to put the baby up for adoption. Now her daughter was somewhere out there hopefully in a better home than she was raised in.

Lost in thought, she barely heard Joy come out the bathroom. She looked up and could tell by the look on Joy’s face that it wasn’t good news.

Joy’s chest heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath. Tears streamed down her face and she stumbled to a chair and she put her head in her hands and broke down. Simone watched her for a moment before she moved her chair closer.

“Joy, It’s going to be okay. Is there anyone you want me to call for you?”

“No. I have nobody.”

“Okay. I know we don’t know each other that well but I’m here for you. It wasn’t too long ago I was in your shoes.”

Joy looked into Simone’s eyes and saw how sincere she seemed but something in her reminded her to be cautious.

“I can’t believe this happened to me.”

“What about the father?”

Joy thought about it. “I guess it depends on how far along I am.”

Chapter 9

Joy thanked Simone and was on her way in a direction unknown, when she heard someone running behind her, calling her name. She turned to see Simone and stopped.

“Here’s my number, in case you need something,” Simone said and pressed a piece of paper in Joy’s hand.

Joy took the number and continued to walk towards Roosevelt Blvd. She tried to think anything that would help her. She thought about who could be the father of her baby. Shawn had a vasectomy. She wasn’t sure about Dre because they just started having sex and she didn’t have her period in months. “So it has to be Kevin.” Joy yelled in excitement.

She saw a cab in at a Dunkin Donuts drive thru window and she ran to catch it. The driver waiting noticed her running towards him and rolled down the window.

“Where you headed?”

She gave him the directions to Kevin’s apartment as she got in. The back of the cab smelled like feet and cabbage. Joy rolled the window down and stuck her face outside the cab. She rolled with her face out the whole way there. When the driver pulled up to Kevin’s, she paid him, and got out.

Ten minutes later, the cab had pulled off and she was still standing at the bottom of the stairs that led to Kevin’s apartment door. Her hand shook in midair as she reached for the banister. She was afraid of being rejected.

Tired of standing, she sat down on the bottom two steps. She thought about what she would say and nothing seemed right. She didn’t know how long she had sat before she forced herself to chalk up her fear and walked up the stairs. When she reached out to knock on the door, it flew open.

Kevin stood there with his keys in his hand, a shocked expression on his face. Joy could see the anger and the pain in his eyes.

“Joy.” he said, staring at her.

She stood speechless and her heart grew tight in her chest. It wasn’t because it hurt her to see the man she loved almost from sight after months away from him. It was because directly behind him was his new bitch.

“You okay daddy?” the bitch asked, looking directly at Joy.

Kevin remained silent and stared at Joy.

“Tanya?”

“What are you doing here?” Tanya asked stepping around Kevin.

Joy looked from Tanya to Kevin, who looked down at his feet still not saying a word.

“What do you want with my man?” Tanya asked, getting in Joy’s face.

“Oh so now he’s your man now?” Joy thought to beat Tanya’s face in but Tanya’s belly stuck out through her t-shirt.

“Yeah ho.”

Joy smirked at Tanya. “Who you calling a ho. You’re the one with multiple baby fathers. None of your kids even stay with you. The baby you’re carrying now makes what; 7 kids, 7 fathers?

“And another thing, can you say that you’re having his baby?” Joy said and rubbed her still flat stomach. Tanya’s scrunched up her face, like she tasted something sour.

“You’re pregnant?” Kevin asked.

“You sure it’s not some other nigga’s baby you carrying bitch?”

“I’m sure. I haven’t had sex with anyone else, so I know who my baby daddy is unlike you, bitch.” Joy lied, hoping that it was Kevin’s baby.

Kevin’s face showed his disbelief. He stepped closer to Joy. “Really?”

Tanya sucked her teeth and pushed Kevin aside as she got back in Joy’s face. Joy smiled. Tanya punched her in the face, catching her on the side of her right eye. Something in Joy snapped. You couldn’t tell that she never been in a fight before. She grabbed Tanya by her hair, bringing her head low, as she kneed her in the face. She heard a crunch and knew she broke something. Tanya fell to the ground and Joy let her go.

Kevin reached down and helped Tanya to her feet. Her face was covered with blood and her nose was crooked. It looked like it was broken. Kevin winced when he looked at her. He leaned her against the wall. She wept, holding her nose and staring at Joy like she wanted to kill her while she kept her distance.

Tears rolled down Joy’s face. It wasn’t because of pain; the punch Tanya threw stung her face and swelled the right side of her face. It was because she was angry at Tanya for being with Kevin and then having the nerve to put her hands on her.

“I should take you two to the hospital to make sure everything was alright with yall and the babies are okay.” Kevin shook his head and grabbed Tanya’s arm. He led her down the steps and to the car. Joy followed behind them. At the car he opened the back door for Tanya to get in. She looked at him like he was crazy but got in. Joy opened the door and slid in the passenger seat with a smile on her face.

Chapter 10

“Can I help you?” the guard at the desk at Einstein Hospital asked.

“Yes. These two need to be looked at. They were in a fight and umm they both pregnant.” Kevin said really fast.

The guard looked at him as if he wanted to say something but didn’t.

“Both babies aren’t mine, so you can stop looking at me like that.” he clarified

“Okay.” the guard said holding both hands out in front of him. “Jeff, can you bring another wheelchair,” he said into his walkie-talkie.

Another guard came form the double doors on the side with a wheelchair, placing it beside the one already there. He motioned for Tanya and Joy to have a seat. Kevin pushed Joy and Jeff pushed Tanya. The first room they came to Joy was rolled in. The one next to it was Tanya’s. A nurse came in and told them both to get undress and put on the gowns that were on top of the bed.

“Do you want me to step out?” Kevin asked Joy.

“You done seen it all before. But you might as well go in there with your girlfriend.” she said, dryly.

“She’s not my girlfriend. She….”

“Yeah? She was at you’re apartment, calling you daddy n shit.” Joy said cutting him off.

“It’s not what you think.”

“What is it then? You know what I don’t care. Where is the damn doctor?”

Tears rolled down her face. She heard the doctor next door talking to Tanya. Thinking about Tanya and Kevin together made Joy angrier. She wiped her face with but her face became soaked again half a second later. The nurse came in, handed her a cup. “I need a urine sample. The bathroom’s on the corner.” she said and left back out.

Joy swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She grabbed the sheet off the bed and wrapped it around herself. She walked pass Kevin without saying anything.

When she finished in the bathroom, she went back into the room. Kevin was gone. Joy stuck her head back outside of the curtain and looked left then right, nothing. She went back to the bed to lay down. She placed her hand on her stomach. A funny feeling spread across her stomach and she felt something move. She had denied the feeling in the past but now she knew that it was a baby.

The nurse came in and drew three tubes of blood. She then placed an IV in Joy’s arm. “These are fluids so you don’t get dehydrated,” she stated before she left.

She couldn’t believe how different everything was. As the months went by she lost more and more of herself and she didn’t even know who she was anymore. The tears started again, just as Kevin came back in. He held a bottle of Pepsi and a cup of ice.

He held the cup out to her, “It’s only ice. The nurse said that was all you could have.”

Joy took the cup and sat it down on the table. She rolled on her side, turning her back on him.

“Look, Tanya just showed up at my door, right before you came. She was crying begging me to take her to the train station. She said that she was staying with her man at his apartment. She said she had no place to go but back to New York because her man left one day and never came back. She stayed in his apartment until the manager threw her out.”

Joy knew that Tanya was talking about Rob. “You expect me to believe that?” She said still trying to play hard; she knew Kevin was telling the truth.

“She told me what happened with Shawn. I almost believed you for a second about the baby and not being with no one else but from the way you acting I know that shit’s true.” he stared at her with his face twisted up in disgust.

“Kevin, it’s not what you think.” she heard herself say and winced. She sounded like he did a minute ago.

“I don’t know what she told you but what I said is true.”

“Joy if this is my baby I want to be with you. I’m tired of the games. I want a family and I hope that’s what you want. I can’t keep dealing with this shit from you. I must be a crazy nigga for wanting to have anything to do with your ass. You ruined my life but I still have love in my heart for you.”

Before Joy could respond, the doctor came in.

“Hi Miss Williams. I’m the Resident OBGYN here tonight. My name is Dr. Cook. We tested your blood and urine and they both showed that you are pregnant. Can you tell me how far along you are?”

“I’m not sure.’ Joy said nervously and looked at Kevin.

“When was the date of the first day of your last menstrual cycle?”

“I can’t remember. I had a lot going on.” Joy said embarrassed.

“Okay. So I take it you have not had prenatal care.”

“No.”

“We will perform a vaginal exam on you and then I’ll do an ultrasound to make sure the baby is okay.”