A Couple Months Later
Taraji sat on set, waiting for Craig to finish telling Terrence what to do. She was growing tired and her ankles were killing her. The only thing she wanted was to get a foot massage and eat a bowl of ice cream. At 7 months, she was over this pregnancy. It seemed like everytime she went to the doctor they were telling her she gained another 5 pounds. With the biggest belly she'd ever have, she was already pushing an extra 35 pounds and still had 3 months to go. "You sure it's only 1 baby in there? I heard about women who give birth and end up pushing out another like 2 minutes later," Taryn said, seeing how uncomfortable Raji was.
"It better only be 1. I'm not pushing out two kids. The doctor said he's big too. I don't think my cootie cat would survive multiple," Taraji groaned, shifting in her seat. "Alright let's get this scene shot. Okay so Taraji I want you to stand in the center of the living room. D'Jay is going to bust through the door, take a quick pause, then they kiss," Craig ran through as quickly as he could, knowing Raji's attitude would start seeping through if they didn't start filming soon. "I want passion with that kiss too. Don't jip me," John said, sitting behind the camera. Taraji rolled her eyes as if John couldn't see her.
"Watch this. She about to hate me," John whispered to Craig. Yelling action, Terry burst through the doors, only for John to yell cut. "I'm not really feeling the urgency. Let's try it again," Terry scrunched his face. Didn't feel the urgency? What does that mean? He went outside the door, thinking of the only possible ways that he could bust through a door. "ACTION!" Craig yelled again. Once again Terry burst through, startling Taraji with how loud he hit the door. "Shit! I'm sorry are you okay?" He asked, concerned as she held her hand on her chest. "Yeah. I didn't expect the door to be that loud. I'm good," she waved him off, seeing the look he was giving her.
"Let's try that again. You sure you good?" Craig asked, worried that she might need to sit down, but she gave him a thumbs up as Terry walked back outside. John yelled action, letting Terry bust through the door and make it to kiss Raji. "Nope! Cut, cut, cut!" John called out, Taraji groaned. It was like nothing was satisfying John whatsoever today. "Let's start from the kiss. I want to feel some real passion. I want to feel that built up tension. Better yet just keep kissing until I feel like we got the shot," she stared at him. Knowing John, it would be 48 hours before he felt the shot was good enough. He did the same thing for Baby Boy.
"Let's jut act like us for once. Not pretending that we aren't together," Terry whispered to her. "We've been professional too long. I can't just stop pretending now," she hissed barely above a whisper. "Pretend that I've just given you a full body massage, with my tongue from your neck down to that pretty little pearl that I love sucking on," he whispered in her ear, nipping at her earlobe. She started to blush, biting on her bottom lip as she gave Terry fuck me eyes. Craig said action and Terry captured her lips like he had been starving. At first Raji was relaxed, letting Terry dominate just like she loved.
Then she got wrapped up in the moment, a fire burning inside. Grabbing at his shirt, a moan escaped her lips as they fought each others tongues. The way he gripped her hair had her ready to get some deep dicking. She was fighting the urge to grab his dick, feeling it pressed against her thigh as he pulled her closer to him. Both so wrapped up in each other, neither noticed that John and Craig were literally letting them have this makeout session. The bite to her bottom lip and the ass grab that Terry snuck in made her eyes flutter open, making her realize that they were still filming... a whole 35 minutes later. "Cut. I think that's good," John finally said, holding in his laugh.
Terry pulled away, giving her one last peck on the lips. She stared at him, not remembering whether or not she had a line. "You know what? Let's do that one more time, but Terry I want you to pull her hair a little then walk out the door. I'll give signal when I want you to walk away... annnnndddd ACTION!" John threw out. Taraji couldn't take it much longer. Right now Terry was a tease and it wasn't his idea. She hated not being able to touch him the way she wanted. The longer their lips were glued together, the more uncomfortably hard Terry became. He gripped the blue gown she had on, wanting to scoop her up and bounce her on his dick.
John whistled signaling Terry to walk out. When he pulled away playing with her hair, giving it a slight tug, she stared at him, stuck in a trance. "That's the shot we were looking for! Alright take a 20 minute break," John blurted out with a mischievous grin on his face. Taraji let out a deep breath, needing some type of relief. "You need something to drink?" Anthony asked, seeing a slightly winded Taraji. "I just need to rest for a few minutes that's all. This boy has me so drained," she complained rubbing her belly. Terry walked over, still not liking when Anthony would talk to her alone.
"You good?" He asked, knowing damn well she wasn't. "If you carry me back to my trailer I'll be better. My ankles are going to give out," she whined. He chuckled, scooping her up bridal style and going to her trailer. Once they went inside, the crew quickly set everything up for a surprise baby shower. They had planned on giving her gifts before they finished wrapping up the last couple of scenes, so what better way than to have her distraction keep her occupied while they got ready? Once they got inside, Terry sat her down, grabbing a couple bottles of water out the mini fridge. He handed one to her and she shook her head.
"I don't want the water. I want some dick," she growled, pulling at his pants. "Baby we can't do that here," he whispered, trying to hear if anyone was walking by. "You should've thought about that before you decided to have my inner thighs soaking wet," she said. He laughed, licking his lips as he unbuckled his pants, taking a seat on her couch. "Come here," he told her, watching her thong drop to the ground. She sat down her back to his chest, letting his member fill her up. Riding him slowly her moans began to grow louder. He slapped a hand over her mouth, grinding to her rhythm.
"Don't let anybody hear you. Do you understand me?" He growled in her ear. She nodded, her head tossing back as he left love bites along her neck. With some support from him, she starting bouncing on his dick, feeling her g spot ever so sensitive. She bit her lip to muffle her moan, but it didn't seem to be working. Wrapping his arm around her, he stood them up, making sure not to pull out. Leaning her over the counter, he started working her from behind, handing her a pillow to scream into. The sound of his skin slapping against her ass echoed the trailer. Her walls tightening, bringing Terry to his edge as well.
"Daddy I'm about to come!" She cried, burying her face back into the pillow. Pushing threw her tight walls, he felt her release, her juices splattering onto his pelvic. Cumming right after her, he dropped down to his knees, wrapping his tongue around her engorged clit, sucking every last drop of her sweetness. Her legs started shaking, her second orgasm on the edge only to be interrupted by the door opening. "They're ready for OOPH! My bad! I'll be outside!" Taryn quickly shut her eyes, slamming the door shut. "You just can't lock a door for shit!" Raji yelled, standing up straight.
"How was I supposed to lock the door when I carried you inside and you pulled me to fuck you?" He asked, pulling up his pants, grabbing her thong off the ground and helping her step in them. "You could've checked first! Now we have to talk to Taryn about this!" She said, screaming at this point. "I swear we are going to be stuck fucking only in the bedroom," Terry murmured, helping her walk out the trailer. "You can't even lock that damn door!" She snarled at him. Taryn stood against the trailer holding a blindfold, waiting on them to come out. Hearing Taraji bicker, she held in her stifled laugh. She had her suspicions about Raji and Terry, but she wouldn't have bet that she was right.
"Taryn! Oh my god. Okay so-" "It's none of my business. But now that I see y'all are thing, I bet this baby gonna be cute as fuck! I won't tell anybody else I promise," she quickly said, hushing Taraji up. "Told you to stop worrying," Terry whispered down to her, making her swat at him. "Alright. Come on. We got a surprise for you. I guess it's both of yours. But act neutral as usual Terry. You already know what it is," Taryn said, putting a blindfold over Raji's eyes. Guiding her back to set, she started to feel anxious. What could this cast possibly be giving her? Taryn undid the blindfold, showing decorations, gifts, and a whole bunch of smiling people.
"Surprise!" Everyone yelled out. Taraji's bottom lip started quivering as she looked around. She looked at Terry, mentally questioning if he knew about this. As if he read her mind, he nodded as he pulled her emotional ass in for a hug. "I don't know what to say. Thank you guys so much," she said through her tears. Taryn guided her to her seat as Terry went to grab her something to drink and eat. The baby shower was in full motion. It was hard to not want to be involved and sit next to her as she opened gifts. She picked up on his vibe, keeping eye contact with him every time she opened a gift. The two held a few mental comments between each other just from their facial expressions alone.
Not paying attention, Terry felt a pair of hands rub his back as he sipped his drink. Looking around here saw Paula Jai, grinning big as hell at him. "I didn't expect you to be here. I don't know too many men who like baby showers," she said, running her nail up and down his arm. He scooted over, wanting her to stop touching him. "I don't mind them. I got fi- three kids. The baby shower is always the calm before the storm," he voiced, still looking at his Beloved happily go through gifts. Paula moved closer, trying to pull his focus away from their pregnant costar, all while he was trying to figure out how they were fitting all of this stuff in both of their cars.
"You're such a good guy. I can't believe you're single still. Maybe I could change that for you," she purred, her hands wandering along his back. He grabbed her hand off him, giving her a calm look. "That's nice but I'm actually content right now. I got my kids to focus on," he walked closer to Raji, standing next to Anthony and John. "I think this is the most I've seen her smile in 1 sitting. Don't fuck it up man," Anthony joked. "We got another scene to film. So please don't piss her off. We need her like this," John piggybacked. Terry chuckled, knowing he had no intentions of triggering her anger, but it seemed Paula had a mission that she didn't know would set Taraji off with the quickness.
Towards the end of the shower, Terry started to help move the gifts to her trailer. Elise and Dj Qualls stayed behind, talking and laughing with Raji while she put her feet up. "That was fun. I'm just glad she didn't get hysterical on us," Taryn said, handing Terry a couple bags. "She's gonna be in a mood when we get home though. Not a bad one though. I'm kind of looking forward to it," Terry smiled, thinking of how she most likely was going to be extremely horny by the time they get to the house. "I gotta know, but you don't have to answer if you don't want to. Her oldest son is yours and your youngest daughter is hers too aren't they?" Taryn pried, hoping she was right.
Terry looked around, making sure no one was there. Just in case he decided to verbally say otherwise. "Nah. We just met during this movie," he said as he nodded the truth. She smirked then got the gist. "Your secret is safe with me," she said, handing him the last three bags. "We sharing secrets around here?" Paula popped up, becoming a nuisance to Terry. "Nooooopppppeee. Just putting away gifts. What are you doing?" Taryn asked, seeing Terry's face grow red. It wasn't a blushing red either. He was trying to use his anger management without it being known, but his face was telling on him.
"Oh nothing. Just came to see when Terry and I were gonna hang out. You promised," she spat, knowing damn well he didn't. If there was one thing Terrence hated, was being lied on. Especially on a movie set. One lie gets out and circles through everybody, next thing he know, Taraji would be yelling and screaming all while trying to beat his ass like he was one of the kids. "No I didn't. Why do you want to hang out with me anyways?" He asked, forgetting the thug ass image he portrayed. "Boy stop acting like you ain't one of a kind. Plus like I said, you took Taryn and Taraji out. And you went out with Elise and Anthony. Where's my date?" She asked, placing her hands on her hip.
Taryn rolled her eyes, walking off to see if there was anything else that needed to be put away. "Group outing like I said," he voiced, locking Raji's door back. "Then let this one be a private outing. Like I said," she purred, boxing him against the door. He shook his head, trying not to toss the girl out the way. "I'll make it worth your while," Paula said, rubbing her hands down his chest right down to the button on his pants. By the time he grabbed her hand, a voice startled both of them. "WHAT. THE. FUCK. IS GOING ON HERE?" Taraji growled. Paula looked over her shoulder and gave an innocent laugh. "Terry and I were just being friendly," she said, giving Terry a wink before walking away from him.
"Nooooopppppeee. No I wasn't. I was putting the gifts up," Terrence quickly rushed out. Paula walked past Taraji as if she wasn't trying to cop a feel of Terry's dick a minute ago. Raji spun quickly, going after Paula. Before she could grab her by the hair, Terry snatched her up, carrying her bridal style so her belly wouldn't get hit from all her swinging. "Put me down! You entertaining bitches like I'm not waddling around here with your FIFTH BABY!" she screamed. Terry was thankful no one was close by and that he was able to get her in his trailer. Putting her down, she instantly started swinging at him, hitting him in the chest.
"Stop it before you can't catch your breath!" He snapped, holding her hands. "You just letting this bitch do what she want! You just letting her feel all up on you? And don't say no cause I saw her during the baby shower!" She quickly let out before he could say anything. "If you saw that then you saw that I moved away from her. Chill girl!" He spat, towering over her with a serious face. She kept her mad face seeing that he clearly wasn't lying, but she refused to let him know that. "We got another scene to film before we can go," she said, walking out the trailer. Terry huffed following her back to set.
As soon as he got there, John walked up, hitting him with a rolled up script. "Didn't I tell you not to piss her off!" He muttered through clenched teeth. "It's not my fault!" All the men looked at him, knowing that was a lie. "Let's just film this scene. I'm tired," Terry groaned. Craig and John ran through the scene, hoping Taraji would cooperate. As they filmed the scene of D'Jay getting arrested, it seemed as if Raji was using her frustration to show Shug's pain. It was when the "police officers" slammed D'Jay on the hood of the car did an entirely different emotion get portrayed.
In that moment, all she could remember was when Terry got arrested the first time. The fear and pain she felt at that moment bubbled forward. "What did you do!?" She screamed. Looking at her, Terry knew she was reflecting back. Tears filled his eyes because he wanted to console her, but he had to stay in character. All he could say was "man, she's pregnant". That ad libbed line brought a feel to the scene that Craig and John didn't know was needed. By the time they said cut, Taraji was drained and beyond tired. Luckily for her, that take was all they needed. "Go home!" John yelled out. Everyone else rejoiced as they packed up.
Not caring that everybody was still around, Raji wrapped her arms around Terry, her face buried in his chest as she cried one good time. "It's okay baby. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere," he whispered down to her, kissing her forehead. She nodded, but couldn't stop crying. It was times like this that she hated being pregnant. The emotions were just too much for her. "Aww that baby is giving her the blues," Elise voiced, everyone else agreeing with her. About 10 minutes later she finally pulled away, wiping her face. "Let's go home," he told her, draping his arm over her shoulder.
Apryl pulled up, ready to drive her home as per usual. The two figured the gifts could wait until tomorrow, making that one of Apryl's errands for the day. Getting in the car, she reached in the backseat for the Now and Laters that Hev usually kept back there. "How was filming today?" Apryl asked, seeing her sister's eyes still red. Raji shrugged, popping the candy in her mouth. "Well the kids did their homework and dinner is made. Daddy said call him tomorrow if you're not busy," she listed off. Taraji nodded in acknowledgment, still not talking about her day.
The ride felt weird for Apryl. She didn't really know what to say or not to say since Raji was in her own head. They got to the house and Raji was still quiet, looking out the window. Not wanting to put off the conversation, Apryl braced herself for whatever could possibly come towards her. "So I don't know if you're really listening to me, but I have something to tell you. I don't want you to be mad at me or anything. I just need you to hear me out... I dropped out of school last semester," she rushed out. TJ turned to face her slowly. Her eye twitching, showing another level of anger that Apryl never seen.
"Say that again," Raji said. Terry came to open the door for her, but she grabbed the handle, slamming it back shut. He bent down, looking through the window. Apryl looked at him then Raji, then back at him. "I... dropped out," she repeated, her voice shaking with fear. "You better be playing with me Apryl," her voice sounding stern. Apryl felt like she was talking to a parent, Boris to be exact. "Look I tried it T. I really did. I even changed my major to see if I'd like something else, but nothing felt like a fit for me. But working for you and being around Terry and the kids feels like home for me," She explained the best she could.
"It's not supposed to feel like home. Your passion cannot be to work for me," Raji stared at her, trying to make sense of this. "I've learned way more and met more people working for you than I have at school. It's hard work and I love it. Do you know how many emails and calls I've gotten from magazine editors and fashion designers about you doing front covers and maybe being the first to wear clothes from their new line? That shit is exciting T! I'd rather be here helping you succeed while still getting to see how everything works first hand. And being able to say that I've been here with my sister since the beginning. That means more to me than a degree in English," Terry smiled outside the car, able to hear everything that Apryl was saying.
"I know you're upset, but please don't be. I love what I'm doing here with you. Don't make me stop and go back to being miserable," she told her big sister. Raji looked at her, seeing the little girl who loved to tag along with them all the time. She had always been attached to Taraji's side, so it didn't surprise her too much that she'd want to make a career out of that. As she thought about it, Raji realized she really couldn't be mad about this. Hell Terry dropped out and look at the life he made for himself and he was happy with it. "Fine. You can keep working for me. I'm not telling daddy for you though," Raji said, getting an overly excited hug from Apryl.
"Oh don't worry about that. I already told him... and Terry," she spat, getting out the car before she got hit. She ran in the house, not telling Terry that she snitched on him. He looked puzzled when Raji got out the car staring dead at him. "What I do?" He asked, putting his hand up to surrender. "You knew she dropped out?" She asked the rhetorical question. "Ohhhh... yeahhhhhh. She said she was gonna tell you. I didn't think she'd wait this long though," he said, back pedaling. "Why didn't you tell me!?" She yelled at him. "It wasn't mine to tell babe. Can you please calm down? You've been an emotional rollercoaster all day," he spat.
She stopped moving towards him, sadness taking over again. "It's not my fault!" She cried, with the whiny voice that seemed to be coming out more and more. He walked to her, pulling her into his arms again. "I know I know. Shhhhh. Cyrus is just pulling so much out of you. It's okay Beloved. He'll be out soon enough and you can be back to feeling like yourself. Until then, how about I give you a foot massage while you eat dinner then we can finish what we started earlier," he suggested, leaning down and capturing her lips. "You gonna lock the door this time?" She asked. "Yes I'll lock the door," he chuckled. "Alright then. Chop chop. Let's go," she called out, walking faster than she had been doing recently. He jogged to catch up with her. With the extra pep in her step, he knew it was going to be a long night for them. Hopefully they would get up in time to get to set and finish filming.
Another Month Later
"Why are we having a baby shower early? We can have our own," Junior complained as he was helping Alice set up the decorations. Tracie, Nova, and Raji thought it would be best to have a giant baby shower for all three of them together. Nova didn't want to have all the attention on her and Tracie just wanted a big party. The three practically planned the whole thing before word got back to the mothers. Alice, Bernice, and Nova's mom Lena took over, putting together a prince and princesses shower. Finding out that Tracie and Nova were both having girls had Taraji in a funk that she wasn't having one too.
"Nigga why are you complaining? Most of this shit is coming out of my bank account anyways," Terry spat. He didn't mind a baby shower especially since Raji went into labor the day of the first baby shower she was supposed to get. He just didn't like the fact that Taraji slid his black card to Alice along with an extensive shopping list. "I don't give a fuck who paid for it. This is a lot. It's not even like they can individually enjoy it. Everybody gonna be trynna focus on one person at a time, leaving the other two out. The shit is stupid," Junior continued to complain. Terry grabbed him by the back of his neck, holding a death grip.
"If there are 3 pissed off pregnant women here today because you can't shut the fuck up and be grateful, I'm beating yo mothafuckin ass. Do you hear me?" Terry growled. "Alright just let me go damn!" Junior pushed him back, going back to hanging up the balloons like Alice asked. "It's his first baby. He just thinks it's about him and what he wants. Don't hurt him too bad," Alice whispered to Terry. "I feel bad for Nova and the baby. His spoiled ass about to be pouting because Venus gets breastmilk and he don't," Chris burst out laughing, knowing it to be true. He was already sulking because dad's don't typically get gifts at baby showers.
Just so he would not act an ass the entire baby shower, Alice made Terry buy him a "first time daddy" gift. That resulted in Terry going on a "where the hell was my gift at" rant. "Give him a chance. He might grow out of it," Alice said. "I honestly doubt it. I'm gonna go check on my kids. It's too quiet," he said, leaving Alice and Chris alone. "Two grandkids in 1 year. How does it feel?" Chris asked, wrapping her arms around Alice. "Terry ruined that excitement the first go around. But I am excited to see how little miss Venus is going to turn out. Hopefully she is calmer than Terry's soccer team," Alice said, giggling at the kisses Chris was leaving on her neck.
"Don't jinx it. She might come out just like Hev," Chris said. Alice thought she was joking, but she was dead serious. Just because Nova was pregnant and couldn't smoke, didn't mean Junior had stopped. He even let it slip that he would smoke a blunt after Nova fell asleep. Not even bothering to leave the bedroom. "Speaking of, here come the little brownie baby now," Chris said, seeing Heaven eyeing the sweets that were placed out. Chris quickly made her way over to her, snatching her up before she could even breath on a cookie. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked, tossing the little girl in the air.
"I just wanted a cookie. My tummy is growling like raaawr!" Hev demonstrated. "That's because you keep eating so much sugar. How about you eat something else?" Chris walked away from the dessert table. Hev put on a pout as she watched the desserts get further away. "But Chris!" She whined. "No buts. You can either get something else to eat or wait until it's time for cake and cookies," she looked at the 6 year old, waiting on an answer. "I'll wait," she threw out, spotting someone who would give her what she wanted. Chris put her down, only to see her run straight to Junior and have him tell her she could have a coookie now. Chris shook her head. Junior was clearly going to be spoiling his little girl like no tomorrow.
A couple hours later, the baby shower was in full swing. Music playing, families mingling, kids running around and playing, gifts everywhere. The expecting women walked into the building, dressed in skin tight white dresses, showing off their growing baby bumps. Everyone wanted pictures of them, forgetting that they were all heavily pregnant and easily tired. By the time they were able to sit down, Tracie and Taraji didn't even bother to get on Marcel and Phire, who just so happened to be hiding in a corner, making out. Giving Terry a look, then looked at Cel, he quickly caught on, pulling the almost 15 year old by his shirt.
Aubrey made sure to capture that moment before going back to take pictures of the women. With Hunter stuck to Alice's side, Hev made her way to join her mom, helping her open up gifts. Everything was going great, even though Bernice had showed up late. Spending the past two hours on the phone with Boris, she finally gave up on him. Ever since the baby shower was planned and invites were sent out, she had been arguing with Boris about his stubborn ass not wanting to go. He never gave her a real reason. Just telling her that he wanted Taraji to enjoy herself and that a baby shower wasn't where he needed to be.
It wasn't making sense to Bernice, especially considering how much he absolutely loves his daughter, no matter what choices she made. The smile on Raji's face was keeping her from talking about what could be going on with Boris. There were things that none of his children knew about and things that Bernie swore she'd never mention, but she desperately needed Boris to come out of his funk. No one knew it, but Boris had developed a drug problem when he was around 17. He hid it as well as he could, until one day he had to get rushed to the hospital to get his stomach pumped after Bernice found him unconscious outside of the school.
No one in the family talked about it, but Bernice was his saving grace. She got him sober and straightened him out. So by the time they were married and Taraji was about to be born, he was much better. Everything was going fine until one night he had stopped to get a drink to relax from the stressful day at work, when he met Kadijsha. They talked, shared a few drinks and then she offered him a pill. At first he refused it, but it was too inviting. He wanted to relax and feel good, but he knew he shouldn't have taken the pill. He broke it in half, thinking it wouldn't have the same effect on him. But he only ended up going to spend time with her even more, resulting in Apryl, then eventually Shawn.
That's what became the other reason for moving Bernice and Taraji to Chicago. Of course Bernice picked up on it, but she chose not to feed into it, especially around Raji. One night she simply told him, either sober up soon or I'm leaving you. That alone was enough for him to kick his habit. He hadn't taken a pill since then. Not even pain killers or muscle relaxers for his back. But after Terry asked for his blessing to marry Taraji, Bernice noticed how present but distant he was. He'd talk to anybody, but he didn't talk about himself or give anymore information other than he was fine and busy working hard.
It was killing Bernice to think that maybe he'd be back on drugs, but she couldn't cancel that thought out of her mind. Seeing him almost kill himself once was enough. She didn't want to see it again. That's why she needed to get Taraji to call him at least. It was her last attempt at getting him to realize he had so much to live for. It was already a struggle since he recently found out that he was indeed bipolar. That was also a secret that none of the Henson children knew about. Bernice was no match for the number of demons that Boris had. "Meme!" Hev called out, snapping Bernice out of her thoughts.
"Hey my baby," she answered, giving Taraji a kiss on the forehead. "Where have you been mama? And where's daddy?" Raji asked, skimming through the crowd. "Your dad is feeling a little under the weather. He couldn't come. He said he didn't want to get anybody sick especially the three of you. But as for me, I was talking to Emmett. We got into a huge arguement the other day. He's trying to make sure I'm okay and forgive him. Nothing to be too concerned about," Bernice played off. "Okay then mama. You better make up with Mr. Johnson. That man is something special to still be here even with daddy acting an ass from time to time," Raji threw out.
"I know baby girl. Speaking of your daddy, I think you need to call him. He's been sounding a bit down lately. I don't know what's going on with him or when was the last time you talked to him, but I think he would enjoy hearing your voice. Just check on him," Bernice threw out, planting a bug in Taraji's ear. Raji looked at her mother, confused by her choice of words. If Bernice was saying she needed to talk to him, then it must be bad. She made a mental note to contact him after the baby shower. "Oh my God! Terry! Raji! Yall are too sweet!" Tracie exclaimed.
Raji looked over, seeing the gold bracelets that Terry had gotten with the babies names engraved on them. One for Baby Serenity and Baby Venus. The one for Cyrus was already in his room, waiting for the day he's born. Bernice moved out the way letting the men join the women in celebrating the new additions to the family. Noticing something weighing heavy on her mom's mind, Raji started to worry. She was pretty zoned out up until Junior jumped on Terry when he realized that his big brother actually bought him a brand new Audi S4 so he wouldn't be driving around in a drop top mustang with a newborn baby.
Eventually Bernice started to relax and focus on the present, letting Raji relax as well. The rest of the evening was a blast. Since Junior and Nova were the newest parents, JJ and Terry decided it was only fit to play a couple jokes on Junior. Playing the baby food game, they decided to add habanero hot sauce to a jar of applesauce, standing back to watch Junior taste it while Nova was wondering where the extra jar came from and why it was so red. Within 30 seconds, Junior was sweating and downing water or whatever drink was around. When none of that soothed his mouth, he started to freak out while Terry and JJ stood by laughing with tears.
"Lesson number 1! If it doesn't smell right, don't put it in your mouth!" Terry yelled out, catching a glare from Junior. Alice groaned as Junior panted like a dog trying to chase Terry. She couldn't believe that her kids would act so childish during a moment like this. Tracie looked at Raji, having an idea of her own. "Stand up," she whispered. Taraji scrunched her face, she was not in the mood to attempt to get up. "Come on Miss Actress," Tracie waved the water bottle in her hand letting Raji know exactly what she was about to do. Pushing herself up, Raji pulled her dress up just a little to prevent it from getting wet.
Tracie quickly dumped the water on the ground and Taraji groaned loudly on que. Everyone except the Howard brothers paid attention, alarmed that Taraji might be going into labor early again. "Terry! Terry! DASHON!" Raji yelled. He stopped, looking at her with concern. "What?" He asked, barely dodging Junior. "My water just broke!" She said in a panicky voice. He made his way in her direction, slipping in a random puddle of juice that Hunter had wasted. Following right behind him was Junior. Laughter filled the room, even Alice couldn't hold back her laugh. Slowly getting up, Terry noticed that it was just a joke, but he couldn't be mad. He was having too much fun messing with Junior.
By the time the baby shower ended, the kids were all tuckered out. The men worked diligently, packing up everything and making sure the women were in the car instead of trying to conversate. Raji remembered what her mother said, so she decided to call her dad while she was thinking about it. He answered the phone with a heavy cough. It scared her hearing how harsh it sounded. "Hey daddy. How are you doing?" She said, trying to sound unconcerned. "I'm alright baby girl. Just got real bad congestion and a little fever. Nothing that I can't handle. How are you? Did you enjoy the baby shower?" He asked, getting to clear his throat without his chest hurting.
"I did, but I wish you would've been here too. What's been going on?" She questioned, hoping he'd tell the truth. "Nothing much. Just working hard. How's my grandson doing?" Raji smiled as she rubbed her swollen belly. "He's doing great. Giving me the blues with these swollen ankles and back pain. But he's cooking just fine. I'm not looking forward to pushing his big ass out though," she rambled on. Boris smiled, his heart growing warm as he listened to his daughter go on about his third grandchild. "Are you going to be here when I give birth? You were for Hev and Cel," she asked.
"Of course I'll be there Penda. Nothing on this earth would stop me. And don't be scared about anything. I seen you give everything to push Heaven's lazy behind out. You can handle this one," he encouraged her. "Yeah but he's going to be bigger than Hev was. That's the part that scares me. That and we also need a middle name for him. Nothing is sounding right to me. I'm so close to saying he isn't going to have a middle name," she voiced, poking her belly where Cyrus was stretching out his legs, hid little foot pushing against her finger. "It'll come sweetpea. You got time," he told her, hearing the car door open. "You ready babe," Terry asked, getting a nod from her.
"I'm gonna let you go Penda. I need to get some sleep for work tomorrow," Boris spat. Taraji couldn't figure out why all of a sudden he wanted to get off this phone. They were talking just fine. "Umm okay daddy. I'll call you tomorrow and check on you. I love you," she said on the brink of tears. "I love you too baby girl," he told her before hanging up. Terry grabbed her hand, kissing it as he drove home. "What's wrong?" He pried, seeing that she was in deep thought. "He's being short and... I don't know. He didn't even say much about himself. I know I forgot to call him that one day but damn. Something is up with him. I doubt he'd tell any of us though," she told him.
"I'm sure he's okay. Don't think like that baby. I'm sure whatever it is will pass," Terry said, pulling her in for a kiss as they sat at the stop light. One could only hope that Terry was right. But Boris was fighting his demons alone and one of this demons werev pure jealousy. He felt better talking to his child. But when he heard Terry, the thought of his daughter being married with her own giant family started to take a toll on him again. Would he pull himself back up or did he need the help that he refused to get?
TBC
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