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kumkaniudaku · 5 years

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Any Other Way

A/N: This was supposed to be for Father’s Day but I’m lazy. Enjoy.

Pots clanging in the comfy Southern kitchen on Sunday afternoon welcomed the excitement of familiar visitors and the time set aside to eat, drink and be merry. Taking a break from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles to enjoy the holidays elsewhere, Tasha and Chadwick were on stop number two of their Christmas tour to visit his parents.

“Tasha, honey, pass me that salt and pepper next to you,” Mrs. Boseman requested from across the kitchen.

CoCo gladly complied as she wiped the sweat from her brow. After exchanging pleasantries, she went back to gathering ingredients for her assigned side dish.

For late December the weather in South Carolina was unusually warm, but not warm enough to stir up the heat surrounding Tasha. Her stomach churned with the uneasy shake of her breakfast and she could feel her mouth prepare for a reaction.

“You okay over there,” Mrs. Boseman asked, taking note of the slight tremor in Tasha’s hands.

“Honestly, I don’t know. One minute I’m fine and the next I feel like I might have a stomach virus. It’s been on and off for days.”

“I have some medicine in one of these cabinets if you need it. Let me grab it for you.”

Lifting the hand that wasn’t bracing her body against the counter, Tasha waved her mother-in-law off, “No, no. I’m fine. I just...can I get a glass of water?”

She received a slow, concerned nod in response before the woman of the house set off to fulfill the request.

The sound of footsteps coming in their direction forced her to shake the feeling and put on her best face.

Chadwick and his father rounded the corner engrossed in conversation before greeting their spouses. Without missing a beat, he went straight to Tasha to pull her into a hug and a short kiss.

“You look good, girl. Is this makeup?”

“Nope, still my sweaty face from the run earlier,” she laughed. “The one I beat you in might I add.”

“Maybe I just like runnin’ behind you.”

“Yeah right.” Their brief moment of laughter quickly became a one-sided affair when CoCo looked over her husband’s shoulder to find her in-laws conversing about something clearly related to her.

There was little time to read their lips as Chadwick ended his kissing display to resume the conversation.

“I’m going with my daddy to grab some stuff at the hardware store. Need anything while we’re out? We shouldn’t be gone long.”

“Don’t rush, babe. I’ll be here when you get back.”

“Promise?” Tasha answered with a nod as she extended her pinky for Chadwick to grab. Following tradition, he kissed her wedding ring before kissing her forehead. “See you later, baby. Can’t wait to taste that mac and cheese.”

Chadwick’s dirty joke wasn’t lost on Tasha, leading to an exaggerated eye roll while he kissed his mother’s cheek. The longer that the group prolonged their goodbyes, the harder the battle to keep her breakfast down became.

She hardly noticed the door close or Mrs. Boseman’s question in the fog of her thoughts. All she could focus on was the nauseating odor of cheddar cheese mixing with milk to form one horrible combination.

“Tasha, are you-”

“Oh my God. I need to go!”

In a flurry of actions, CoCo found herself face to face with the bottom of the downstairs toilet emptying the two egg breakfast she consumed earlier in the day. Tears stung the brim her eyes from the force of regurgitation and frustration. A knock at the door frightened her out of a series of dark thoughts and back into the present moment.

“I-I’m fine. It must’ve been the run that upset my stomach. I’ll be right out.”

“Take your time, honey. You want that medicine now?”

Tasha sniffled and rubbed at her tears with the sleeve of her warmup jacket, “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

Mrs. Boseman smiled at the formality and turned to walk away until a thought popped into her head.

“Tasha, have you had your cycle?”

“You mean like...my menstrual? I don’t…” Her voice trailed off as she pulled her cell phone from her jacket pocket to open her tracker app. She wasn’t a stranger to irregular cycles, but she’d never spent more than two weeks wondering when she would begin her monthly process.

Tasha’s eyes grew wide and then blurry as realization began to set in. Swinging the door open, she came face to face with Mrs. Boseman who stood with sympathetic eyes.

“Am I...?”

“You won’t know until you take a test, sweetie. Do you want me to go with you?”

Words became locked in Tasha’s throat behind a short gasp for air to stop a sob from escaping. She assumed she would have more time to plan for this moment, time to feel some other emotion besides the fear running rampant in her body. Now, with the time separating her from Chadwick’s return dwindling, she was forced to confront an unexpected turn of events.

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With the earlier breakdown behind her, Tasha felt prepared to face Sunday’s dinner. Conversation ebbed and flowed between serious topics and lighthearted banter as relatives from the neighborhood gathered around the table to share their weekly meal and greet the newlyweds for the first time since their wedding.

“Whoo, Tasha, this is the second best macaroni and cheese I’ve had in my life,” an aunt praised from across the table.

“And whose is the first,” Chadwick questioned.

“Mine of course. But don’t get me to braggin’.” The table erupted in a chorus of laughs louder than all the rest. “Don’t mind me. I’m glad to see a young woman that still cooks. Somebody’s gotta feed my great nieces and nephews.”

“Slow down there, auntie. Ain’t no babies in the house yet. We haven’t even been married for a year!”

Tasha shifted in her seat at the mention of children, preferring to keep her head down to avoid detection. Mrs. Boseman could sense her daughter-in-law’s change in behavior and flashed her a smile across the room.

“Boy, you’ve been married since the day you brought Miss CoCo over here. Now, when can we expect some kids runnin’ around here?”

“Two years at least. We have a lot we need to get done first, right baby? T, you heard me?”

Lost in her thoughts, Tasha missed the mention of her name until her husband gripped her knee underneath the table. “Huh? Oh, yeah, sure! No babies yet,” she stammered. “You finished with this plate? Great!”

She didn’t wait on a response before she scrambled to gather plates and utensils and scramble into the kitchen.

“Calm down, T, shit,” Tasha whispered to herself during her failed attempts to rinse the plate in her hand. Her trembling sent the dish crashing into the sink, drawing the attention of someone nearby. “Fuuuuck. I’m losing my damn mind.”

“I’ll let that slide since I know you’re stressed.”

Tasha yelped at the introduction of the familiar voice before settling back into her skin. “I’m sorry, Mama. I’m just-I don’t know.”

“Tell him when you’re ready, child. Go to a doctor, get the definite answer and then tell him. But tonight, enjoy yourself and stop that crying,” she laughed as she wiped away the small tears on Tasha’s face.

“You’re right. I would ask for a glass of wine but I can’t even have that anymore. This sucks already!”

“Not for the next few months at least,” Mrs. Boseman smiled. “I’m willing to bet you my last dollar that that boy will be over the moon when he finds out.”

“Yeah? You think so?”

“I know so. Come here.” The two women came together in a mother-daughter hug that rocked their bodies from side to side. Tasha’s worries temporarily dissipated in the warm embrace, making her feel ready to take on the remainder of the night.

“Baby! Can I bet money on Spades tonight?”

“Boy, you really are whipped. Never thought I’d see the day.”

“I guess that’s my cue. Thank you, Ma. For the advice and keeping the secret. I love you.”

“I love you, my feisty girl. Now go on in there. He misses you.”

With a last nod of assurance, CoCo turned to rejoin the group. “Go ahead, babe! Let’s rack up a mortgage payment tonight.”

————

Two hours.

In two hours a maybe transformed into a definite as apprehension over future vacations became worries about appropriate bedroom colors and furniture. In less than eight months there would be another person in the house that neither Chadwick or Tasha had planned for until now.

Sitting in the driveway of their home, CoCo traced the ultrasound image in her hand with her thumb and smiled.

“Hey, little one. It’s nice to meet you. If you’re gonna be this spontaneous when you get here, I think we’ll get along just fine.”

In two hours Tasha found herself falling in love with this being barely the size of a raspberry. She could imagine its little face, a perfect mix of hers and Chadwick’s, staring back at her while she sang a lullaby in the moonlight.

“Can you do me a favor, little one? Be with me while I tell Dad about you. I’m a little nervous.”

Before she could continue, Tasha saw Chadwick’s silhouette moving in the window. His graceful trek through the living room made her heart thump against her chest. It was now or never.

“Wish me luck, baby.”

Inside Chadwick focused on organizing wedding photos on the sitting room mantle. He absentmindedly hummed to the playlist Tasha made for a random date night as he moved around the room and observed his work. A quick look at an action shot from the ceremony made him stop and linger to remember the moment. Chadwick could still feel the magic of that day producing a broad smile and tingle all over his body. Even in the natural ups and downs of their relationship, being married to the woman he called his best friend felt like a dream.

“Babe, I’m home!” The chime of the alarm and Tasha’s sweet voice made Chadwick whip his body around in excitement. Pausing in the threshold of the room, she stopped and returned his smile.

“Nice setup, huh? You think the portraits should go up in here too?”

“I was thinking in the dining room. Our dinner guests should see how nice my titties were in that dress.”

“On second thought I’ll put them in the office,” he laughed. “How was the doctor visit? What’s in the envelope?”

Shifting her weight uneasily, Tasha motioned to the main living room. “Let’s uh...let’s talk in here.”

Chadwick followed his wife into the next room, noting how she avoided eye contact and remained standing even after he took a seat on the couch. Silence hung in the air for an uncomfortable amount of time as he watched Tasha seemingly gather her thoughts.

“So I have some good news and kinda...maybe good news.” When she didn’t continue immediately, Chadwick raised his eyebrows in expectation.

“Oh-kay...I’d love to hear it. Today if that’s okay with you.”

“Right! Right. So...I found out that I don’t have any STDs!”

“Were you worried that you did,” he asked in confusion.

“No, of course not! I’m faithful, you’re faithful, everyone’s faithful and STD free. Great, right?”

“Tasha, what’s in the envelope?”

Chadwick’s deadpanned response let Tasha know that the charade had to end to make way for the real revelation.

After passing the large white envelope across the coffee table, Tasha tried her best to distract herself as he read the contents.

“Please, don’t be mad at me. I told your mom before I told you, but it’s only because she heard me throwing up. I swear I wasn’t hiding anything. I needed to be sure before I-” Silence. Dead silence met her on the other end of her spiel. Chadwick continued to stare at the information in his hands, occasionally switching between test results and the sonogram.

“I thought I had it under control with that temperature rhythm bullshit Devin was teaching me. I guess after we made up I kind of lost track of when we were doing it and how frequently.”

“Is this true, CoCo,” he asked, staring wide-eyed at the results in his hand.

Tasha offered a small nod in response. She fully expected him to be wary of the possibility of having children after his admission days prior. As a couple, they had only recently finished couples therapy and were actively attempting to repair the damage caused by 20 years of broken communication.

With tears threatening to spill, Tasha took a seat on the ottoman opposite Chadwick and put her head in her hands.

“Aaron if...if this isn’t what you want, we can find another solution.” Her hurried words fell from her lips like lava as she tried to make her point before he made an angry exit. “I’m sorry. I know what you said the other day and I’m sorry. We should’ve discussed contraception or something.”

Finally snapping out of his trance, Chadwick quickly dropped to his knees and cupped his wife’s face to focus her attention. “What? You’re sorry? Baby, this is amazing! I-I’m gonna be a daddy!”

His lips crashed into CoCo’s in a rushed kiss that almost pushed her onto the floor. She quickly recovered, swiveling on her behind to watch her husband pace the room.

“I’m sorry, what? You’re excited?”

“Hell yeah, I’m excited! We’re, well, you are having a baby. My baby!”

As his dancing continued around the space, Tasha’s face became a mix of bewilderment and wonder. “But you just said we need to wait for two years. What changed?”

“I said that because I thought it sounded responsible! They already think we’re insane for getting engaged in three months. I don’t need people in our business. Get up and dance with me!”

Chadwick’s childlike excitement became contagious until they were enthralled in the magic of each other.

“You are my lady! You’re everything I neeeed and more! You are my baby, you’re all I’m livin’ fooooor.”

Letting out a genuine giggle, Tasha hid her mouth behind her hand. “Did you just remix the lyrics?”

“You damn right. Because you are my lady and this is my baby. It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t include everyone.” Tasha tried to hide her smile by dropping her head only to have her chin lifted by Chadwick. His lips took charge in a sweet, lingering kiss that lasted until the end of the song and into the next. When they finally pulled apart, they took time to drink in the full scope of each other.

“I’ve never seen you look more beautiful than this moment right now. Thank you for starting this crazy journey with me.”

“You fell into my trap! We’re stuck together for life now.”

Chadwick laughed at Tasha’s teary-eyed joke as he took a second to wipe the stray droplets from her face with the pad of his thumb. She found comfort in holding her ear to his chest while he chose to rest his chin on the top of her head.

Their bodies swayed to the soft crooning of Anita Baker, holding each other close and losing all concept of space and time with Just Because providing a soundtrack. When Chadwick decided to open his eyes and look around, visions of his future family danced across the open space.

He smiled at the image before adding one last kiss to Tasha’s forehead.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, baby. Not any other way.”

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