"For Life"
Kyle was startled awake by the wailing of his newborn baby girl. He cautiously clutched her to his bare chest as he sat up on the couch. Her distraught blue eyes squinted closed as she signaled her to need to eat.
When she quieted down to suck in a breath, Kyle could hear the shower running and then turn off.
"Mommy's on her way," he stood and paced around the living room, patting her back softly. It helped her stop crying, but she continued to fuss as she flailed her small limbs.
Since her arrival a week ago, Kyle had been staying at Ayanna's. He couldn't do much since she was the baby's food supply, but he still wanted to be there. He burped her, changed her diaper, and even stayed up in the middle of the night with Ayanna.
Despite her birth being a surprise, Kyle didn't want a miss a second of being with the baby. He wasn't sure what being a father entailed, but he already found himself attached to his daughter.
Considering she was unplanned, they also didn't have a name for her - yet.
"I bring the milk," Ayanna announced, emerging from her bedroom in a robe.
"I bring the baby," Kyle joked, giving her the newborn.
Ayanna sat down on the couch, and the week-old infant latched and was in a quiet in a matter of seconds.
After putting on his shirt, Kyle sits beside them. He found himself in awe as he watched the two with a massive grin on his face.
Since having the baby, somehow Ayanna was more beautiful; she was glowing.
Lately, Kyle found himself staring at her, especially when she was taking care of the baby. Their new reality is how he always dreamed their future would end up, aside from the not being married part, of course.
Now that it had happened, there was so much they needed to discuss. Like Kyle's girlfriend, Sydney, and the guy Ayanna had been seeing, David. Neither of them had been answering the many calls of their beaus; they didn't know what to say.
Then there was the living situation, providing for the baby - the list of what to figure out was long, and they didn't even have a name for their child.
"So, you ready for dinner tonight?" Ayanna pulls him out of his racing thoughts.
"I guess," he shrugged, tiredly.
"In other words, no," Ayanna sighs. "Don't worry, me either."
Tonight they would be having dinner with their parents. Their fathers were going to meet the baby for the first time too.
One of the many things that they had in common was their no-nonsense strict fathers. Being responsible wasn't a suggestion. It was an obligation, the key to a good life.
Their fathers weren't just coming to meet the baby. They were coming to make sure they did right by the child.
Safe to say, the night would be intense, and neither was ready for it.
Kyle checks the time on his phone, "I'm gonna go to my place, take a shower and get some clothes," he stands.
"Wait," Ayanna stops him. "Maybe we should have a game plan before tonight. I don't know about you, but I don't want to increase our fathers' disappointment."
"Right," Kyle moved to sit down when the doorbell rang. "You expecting someone?" he goes to answer it.
A frowning Ayanna stands up, briefly looking at the baby. "No . . . maybe our parents came early?"
Kyle opened the door, coming face to face with a guy he did not recognize.
Like Kyle, he was tall, handsome, had blue eyes but was a brunette.
He frowned at the sight of Kyle: so Kyle frowned back.
"Can I help you?"
"Uh," the guy cleared his throat, his expression softening. "Yeah, I um, I'm looking for . . ." His face fell when he noticed Ayanna standing in the living room, breastfeeding.
They wore the same shocked expression.
"Ayanna?"
"David, hi!" she gulps, quickly grabbing a blanket from the couch to cover her boob and the baby. "W-what are you doing here?"
"I um - you wouldn't answer my calls. I was worried, so I - You know what? I should go."
"Wait, David!" Ayanna starts walking toward the door.
"Dude," Kyle stops him. "It's not exactly what you think. Trust me. You guys should talk."
Visibly hesitant, David only nods.
"I'll be back," Kyle says to an appreciative Ayanna and leaves them alone.
When Kyle pulled up to his apartment building, he turned off his car and exhaustedly leaned his head against the steering wheel.
Naturally, he hadn't slept since the baby's birth. Having things so out of sort made it all the worse. Now he was thinking about Ayanna and David.
What if she still wanted to date him? That would make things more complicated, and as much as he hated to admit it, the thought made him agitated and sad.
He couldn't even blame it on them having a baby together now. Kyle thought about who Ayanna might be seeing even before their daughter.
After breaking up with her, it worried him that maybe it was him and not Ayanna in the end. He feared that she'd find someone she was willing to open up to fully; it would hurt him that he couldn't be that guy.
Groaning, he rubbed his blue eyes roughly, "what the - FUCK!?"
A loud bang against his window scared him half to death. His fuming Dominican-Vietnamese girlfriend, Sydney, stood outside the car, staring daggers into his soul.
For a split second, he'd forgotten about her.
"Where the hell have you been?" She asked as soon as he got out of the car.
"Sydney -"
"And don't you dare tell me to calm down, Kyle!"
"I wasn't going to tell you to calm down, Syd," Kyle could feel an attitude brewing.
Though she had every right to be upset, he didn't have the capacity for her irate state.
"I have been calling you for days! You haven't responded to my texts, and I know you haven't been home! You leave our date in a hurry, and then you just ghost me!"
"Can we talk inside?" Kyle stayed calm.
Sydney was already loud, and he knew the news would make her go up a few octaves.
"No, because if your excuse is not good enough, I'm getting in my car, and you'll never see me again." Sydney crosses her arms over her chest, "now, I'm listening."
Kyle opens his mouth, unsure of how to come out with the news. In the end, he wings it.
"My ex-girlfriend had a baby . . . my baby. She was born the day I left you at the movies."
Sydney's arms fell to her side as she registered his words. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I'm a father, Syd."
"Are you sure?"
"What do you mean, am I sure?" Kyle scoffs, insulted.
"I mean, did you get a DNA test?"
Kyle chuckles, his agitation turning into anger. "I can't believe you're asking me that, Syd."
"And I can't believe you're taking the word of a girl you haven't been with or seen in months."
"Nine months, Syd. We broke up nine months ago."
Sydney's face fell at the revelation, "shit." She held her temples, turning away. "This can't be happening."
"Syd," Kyle reaches out to her.
She slaps his hands away, turning around. "Of course this happens to me! I finally get with a good guy, and he has a baby with someone else."
"Neither of us knew this was going to happen. She didn't know she was pregnant."
"How the hell did she not know? What is this that tv show, 'I didn't know I was pregnant?'"
Kyle chuckles awkwardly, rubbing the nape of his neck. "Yeah, it's exactly like that."
"Damn," Sydney shakes her head, visibly disappointed. "I can't even hate her. Or you . . . You can't even apologize; I mean, what would you apologize for?"
Kyle stays silent, unsure of how to respond.
"So, what does that mean for us?" her arms found their way folded across her chest again. "Are you just gonna break up with me for your ex?"
"Ayanna is not just my ex anymore, Sydney. She's the mother of my child."
"Are you gonna leave me for the mother of your child?" Sydney's blunt question perplexed him.
Kyle's problem wasn't the question; it was Sydney making the situation about her. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah, I am. Did I say something wrong? What's the problem?"
"The problem is that this isn't some easy pick between you and my ex situation. We have a kid together. Being with her means more than just leaving you behind, you know? It's about more than romance at this point."
"I get it, I do, but I didn't have your kid. You're watching out for her already, and I have to do the same for me." Sydney takes his hand, "Kyle, I love you, okay? I didn't want to tell you like this, but I do."
"Even if I have a kid?" he wondered.
"I mean, it doesn't mean we can't work out? There are plenty of people who co-parent well while dating other people. Right?"
"You're not wrong," was all Kyle could say; he was shocked. He hadn't imagined things to go this smoothly when he told her the news.
"I know it's a lot to think about, and I know you still care about her . . . but you deserve to be happy. Babies don't always change people, and I'd hate to see her hurt you again."
Sydney kisses him on the cheek. "Call me when you figure things out, okay?"
Instead of waiting for him to respond, she walks away, leaving Kyle speechless and stunned.
* * * * * * * * *
"So, you were pregnant for nine months, and you didn't know?" David asked, more intrigued than surprised.
Now dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, Ayanna sat beside him, cradling the sleeping newborn.
"Yeah, pretty much," she shook her head, still perplexed about the massive change in her life. "It sounds crazy like something off TV, I know."
"Yeah, it does," David let out a chuckle. He looked at the baby, trying to find a resemblance to Ayanna. Even with her eyes closed, she looked like Kyle.
"She's beautiful," he complimented. "What's her name?"
"We don't know yet," Ayanna lovingly looked down at her.
"Right, of course."
There was a moment of awkward silence between the two. Both were thinking many things but didn't know what to say.
"Listen, David," Ayanna looks up at him. "I'm sorry that I didn't answer your calls or your texts. I -"
"You really don't have to apologize," David said to her relief. "If I randomly found out I was a father, I honestly can't promise I'd answer your calls either."
"Right," Ayanna giggles.
"Can I be honest?" he asked.
"Of course."
"I hate that I like you so much," he made her laugh. "As crazy as it sounds, I'd love to stick around. But dating is the last thing you need right now."
"Yeah," Ayanna's facial expression turned to petrified as she looked down at the baby.
"And you love him still," David tried to find her gaze again.
Ayanna avoided his eyes. She could feel herself tearing up; mentally, she blamed it on the hormones. "I think a little more now that she's here. Kyle hasn't left my side since she's been born."
"Are you guys getting back together?"
"I don't know," she sniffles and shrugs. "He has a girlfriend. Sydney."
"Do you want to get back together?"
Finally, Ayanna looks up at him, her brown eyes pink and puffy. With a troubled look on her face, she opened her mouth to respond but couldn't answer.
David raised an eyebrow, "mixed feelings?"
"Something like that," was all she could say.
Hearing the door unlock, they stood as Kyle entered the apartment with a duffle bag. He looked slightly more awake than before, his hair dripping wet from his shower. "Everything good?" he asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I was just leaving," David turns and hugs Ayanna.
"Thanks for understanding," she patted him on the back.
"Of course, and congratulations to both of you."
Kyle saluted him goodbye as he walked past and left. "That obviously well," he locked the door.
"Yeah, well, David is a sweet guy, and we hadn't been talking that long anyway," Ayanna sits back down on the couch.
Kyle walks over, sitting beside her. "Have you been crying?" he noticed her eyes.
"It's the hormones."
"Hm," was all he said, not believing her. "If he's such a nice guy, why not keep seeing him?"
"Because," she rubs the fidgeting baby's stomach. "I don't have the time or energy to put into a man and our daughter, wouldn't you agree?"
"Yeah, that makes sense . . ." Kyle looks away thoughtfully.
Ayanna raises an eyebrow, sensing there is something on his mind. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I, uh bumped into Sydney at my place. I told her everything."
"And?"
"She was pissed at first. Asked if I knew for sure the baby was mine."
Ayanna glared, "she what?"
"Don't get upset," Kyle tiredly rubbed his eyes. "Women do lie, you know? Especially when they need a man or want one back."
"Yeah, women do lie, Kyle, but she shouldn't make assumptions about people she doesn't know." Ayanna gets up and goes to lay the baby down in her crib.
Instead of coming back to the living room, she went to the kitchen for a glass of water. Kyle gets up from the couch, following her.
"You're not mad, are you?"
"Nope, it's the hormones," Ayanna chugged some of the water down.
"You don't have to blame it on your hormones. If you're mad, you're mad."
"Kyle, I am not wasting my energy on a girl I've never even met. The baby is yours. There's nothing she can do about it. So, what else did she say?"
Kyle searched her eyes for a moment before deciding to move on. "She said she still wanted to be with me either way."
"Oh, so she's nuts," Ayanna laughs.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean, what woman in their right mind would want to insert themselves in a situation like ours?"
"I can't argue with you there," he leans on the counter.
"So, what did you tell her?"
"I said nothing because I was surprised. She told me she loved me."
Ayanna falls silent for a moment. "Did you say it back?"
"No, of course not. I care for Sydney, I do, but we haven't been dating long enough for me to love her. And you know me, I don't say it unless I mean it."
"Yeah, I know that," Ayanna looks away, swigging down the rest of her water.
There's a sudden knock on the door; both their eyes go to the microwave clock. They were only expecting their parents.
"They're early," Kyle follows her out of the kitchen.
Ayanna opens the door to find both their parents. Georgie and Rhonda were practically jumping up and down in excitement while their husbands were carrying the many baby gifts they brought.
"Where is she?" Rhonda squeezed right by with Georgie at her heels.
"She asleep in my room," Ayanna motioned for them to relax. "Try not to wake her."
The grandmother shh'ed each other as they went to stare at their sleeping granddaughter.
"Let me help you guys out," Kyle takes some of the gifts out of their fathers' grasps and sits them down nearby.
Ayanna nervously stood by, watching and anticipating her greeting with her father. She hadn't seen him since he left for his fishing trip.
"Nice to see you, son," Kyle's father gave him a bear hug. "You too, Yanna."
"Hey, Eric," Ayanna smiled, receiving a kiss on the forehead from him.
"Come on, there's more in the car," he took Kyle outside, leaving Ayanna and her father alone.
She clears her throat nervously, "Hey, daddy."
To her surprise, he pulls her into a tight embrace that she hadn't known she needed. Ayanna clung tightly to her dad and started to cry.
"It's alright," he rubbed her back. "I'm not upset, and I'm still proud of you. Okay?"
"Okay," her voice cracked as she sniffled.
"We're in this together. Don't worry," he kisses her on the forehead.
Pulling away, Ayanna let out a sigh of relief and wiped her eyes. She couldn't blame it all on the hormones this time.
"Now, show me, my granddaughter," her father put an arm around her.
"She's beautiful," Ayanna leans her head against his arm as they head to her bedroom.
****
Hey guys! Don't worry, there will be another part of the . . . family meeting I guess you can call it. Let me know what you think of this part of the story. Also, I really don't know what to name the kid, so help me, please.
I like the name Ailani but I don't know. Let me know what you guys think and suggestions would be appreciated. :)