“Yeah, of course. What time?”
I told him around 9 a.m. would be fine.
“Okay, little bro. I got you.”
I paused for a beat and asked, “Have you spoken to AB?”
It was his turn to breathe out.
“Yeah, man. He’s in pieces. He told me Kat was pregnant.”
“Shit, are you kidding me?”
I closed my eyes. I knew how much AB wanted a family. Hell, when we were kids, we all talked about how many kids we would have and who would have the hottest wife.
“Yeah, man. She was four weeks pregnant, he said. They were going to the doctor in a couple of weeks. She just told him the other day.”
“Damn…okay. Well, I’ll be sure to call him tomorrow, too and go and see him.”
“No, you stay where you are and look after Max. Man, you didn’t see her at the hospital. It scared the shit out of me, Mason. Hell, even AB was concerned. Just call him, okay. I know he’ll understand where you are.”
I nodded at no one and held the phone to my ear.
I said, choking on the emotion that was about to consume me, “Okay, well let me know what’s going on when you see him. I told Cory whatever he needs from us, he has it. But I don’t know if he’s going to ask. We need to make our presence known, so he’s assured of that.”
“I agree. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”
We said our goodbyes, and I put my phone on the island. I then walked back into the bedroom and crawled next to a still Max. I moved her arm and placed it back along my chest. Then I moved her back against me. She let me move her without a fuss, and I drifted back to sleep.
****
I walked back inside the apartment to find Marie cooking. She got here at exactly 9 a.m., and I slipped out for a few hours. I went grocery shopping and even picked myself up a couple pair of shorts, underwear, socks, sneakers, and t-shirts just in case I don’t get a chance to get home. I also bought a shaver, shaving cream, and soap for myself.
“Has she left the bed?” I asked Marie.
“No, I checked on her, and she’s still sleep.”
I nodded and went to grab the rest of the bags from my car.
Marie had made her famous lasagna, and she told me to take it out of the oven in about an hour. When she left, I made a few phone calls and worked a little on my laptop. It was close to noon when I saw Max walk quickly out of her room wrapped in her blanket. I looked up at her wide-eyed, and I stood.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her, wondering if she was hurt or something.
Her eyes fell on mine and finally she said, “I thought you left.”
I walked to her and touched her face lightly. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? Are you hungry? Let me make you a sandwich or something.”
She shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”
I took off my t-shirt and put it on her, removing the blanket. I then moved her to the island and told her to sit down. “I’m going to make you a sandwich.”
“Mason.” She groaned.
I smiled and looked at her. “Baby, if you don’t want to get violated over the kitchen island you’ll not moan like that again.”
She shook her head and sat at the island. I made her a turkey and ham sandwich, and cut it in half. She tried to keep a smile from creeping up as I set the plate in front of her. I made myself one as well and sat next to her while she ate slowly.
“What time did you get here?” she asked me.
“Somewhere around 10 p.m.,” I told her.
She nodded and said, “I called you.”
I looked at her and brushed her hair back behind her ear. “I know.”
She looked at me with pain in her eyes.
“I needed you, and you weren’t there.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. You know if I had known I’d been there in a heartbeat. The moment I saw that you called, I came to you.” She shook her head, and I felt like I needed to add, “You do know that, don’t you?”
She started to say something, but she stopped.
She said softly, “I’m full,” and turned from me to leave.
I got up and turned her chair around to face me. I moved her legs apart and walked into her, placing my hands on the sides of her face.
“Allura, if I had known that you needed me, I would have been there. My phone was off, and I didn’t realize it until late that night. I turned on the phone and saw a bunch of messages and missed calls from my brother. There were only two from you, but yours was the first message I listened to.”
I looked in her eyes and kept her head tilted up at me. I then leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips.
Max continued to look at me then she said, “You never have your phone off.”
“Yeah, exactly. Come on, why don’t I run you a bath?”