“You hungry, baby?” I asked my daughter.
She shook her head no. Dre and Quay had already left, and I thanked those niggas for being there with me in my time of need. If the situation would have been different and one of them was going through what I’d just experienced, it would have been the same because that’s what real niggas did for each other.
“Where is Mommy?” China asked me, lifting her head from my chest.
“Mommy is at the hospital, but she is going to be okay,” I told her.
I didn’t really want to go that much into detail because she had b
een through enough shit already for today.
“Just don’t be mad at her, okay, Daddy?” China said, looking me dead in my eyes.
I kind of figured what she was talking about, but just to make sure, I decided to ask.
“Why would I be mad at her?” I quizzed.
“Because you think that she put me in danger. She didn’t know, okay? We both thought that it was going to be a sleepover. If it’s anybody’s fault, it’s mine because I begged Mommy to let me go,” my daughter cried.
I pulled her into me. My daughter was only seven years old, but like I told Charlie, I swear her ass has been here before. I never thought that she would put the blame on herself and I needed her to know that it wasn’t her fault.
“China, this is not your fault what happened, so don’t say that again. Like you just said, Mommy didn’t know, and neither did you. I don’t blame you for this, and I’m not blaming your mama either,” I said, wiping her face.
She calmed down a little bit. After she fell asleep in my lap, I picked her up and laid her down in the back seat. Since it was so late, and I didn’t feel like driving all the way to my house, I decided to crash at my mother’s house since her house was closer. I was still kind of pissed off with my wife, so I wasn’t calling her ass, but I did turn around and snap a picture of China and send it to her.
I knew Charlie was up because she had been calling and texting me every five minutes. Off the strength of her being pregnant, I sent the picture because I didn’t need her stressing while she was carrying my baby. Call it petty, but her ass was in the doghouse, and I would just swing by the hospital tomorrow to make sure that she was good and so that she could see China.
The Next Day
“I swear to God that this nigga is going to feel me as soon as he brings his ass in this hospital room. I’ll be the first to admit that I fucked up, but his ass is being very petty by not calling or texting me. I got the picture he sent me last night of China, and his dumb ass didn’t even have the decency to respond to any of my calls and texts,” I heard Charlie venting in the hospital room.
I stood by the door and decided not to make my presence known for a few more seconds because I wanted to know just how much shit she was going to talk.
“Charlie, can you please sit your ass down somewhere? The doctors already told you that you were stressing, and you know that that’s not good for the baby. You know that China is okay now, so please sit the hell down,” Toya fussed at her.
“Yeah, sit your ass down somewhere,” I said, walking further into the room and making my presence known.
“Where is my daughter?” Charlie asked me, getting straight to the point.
“She downstairs at the gift shop with Dre. She will be up here shortly. What’s all that shit you was just talking?” I asked her, wanting to see if she would be bold enough to repeat it.
“I’m sure you heard every word I said,” she smartly replied and got back in the bed.
“What’s good, Toya?” I asked her.
She was in the corner of the room on the couch, with the blanket wrapped around her legs.
“Hey, Dre,” Toya waved.
By looking at her, I could tell that she was tired and that hospital couch wasn’t comfortable because I’m assuming that’s where she slept last night.
“Mommy!” China yelled, coming inside the room with a brown teddy bear that read “Get well soon” and three balloons that had the same thing.
China had insisted on getting her mama something from the gift shop, even though I assured her that her mama was going to be fine. She ran toward her, with the teddy bear in her hands and jumped in the bed with her.
“Are you okay, mommy? What happened to your arm? Oh my God, and why do you have that big knot on your head? Jesus, Mommy, look at you,” my daughter said, being overly dramatic. I mean, she even put the palm of her hand on Charlie’s forehead to check and see if she had a fever or anything. I stood off to the side and laughed.
“I’m glad you’re doing okay, sis. I’m about to get out of here though,” Dre said.