Page 61 of Surrender

She winked at me and walked away. After a few more minutes, Jacob came over to me.

“You good?”

“I’m wonderful. I really enjoyed this. Thank you for sharing your babies with me.”

“If you keep coming with me, they’ll be your babies too. You know how many of the boys told me how pretty you were just now?”

I giggled. “That’s cute.”

“You hungry? I have food trucks outside for the kids.”

“I know. I was talking to one of the parents and she told me you always feed them afterward. That’s so sweet of you. I’m definitely getting something, though. I don’t know what’s out there, but I will be big-backed today.”

He chuckled as he grabbed my hand. “Come on.”

We headed outside to where five food trucks were parked in front of the building. They served a variety of food ranging from burgers, hotdogs, and fries to fish sandwiches, subs, and nachos. I decided on a hotdog with all the trimmings and loaded fries while Jacob got a fish sandwich basket.

He put the bed of his truck down, and we sat there eating and watching the kids play. The sun was out, the wind was blowing, and the temperature was perfect. Everything was going seemingly well until my phone rang, and I saw it was my mother.

I frowned. I hadn’t spoken to her or my father since we got back from our honeymoon. That was over a month ago. Even though my sister and I had patched things up, things were still rocky with my parents.

“Are you gonna answer?” Jacob asked, noting my hesitancy.

“I guess.” I took a deep breath before accepting the call. “Hello.”

“Kay…”

The sound of my mother crying caused me to sit straight up.

“Mom? What’s wrong?”

“Your father… he had a heart attack!”

“What! When! Where are you!”

“We’re at Baptist. He went to check the mail and he was gone a little too long. I found him on the ground! He hit his head when he fell… they don’t… they don’t know…”

She was crying profusely at this point. Jacob was already gathering our trash to throw it out. I sat frozen, listening to my mother cry. I knew she was trying to say they didn’t know if he would make it, but I couldn’t hear those words.

“Baby, let me get you in the car.”

I still didn’t move. Jacob picked me up and closed the truck gate. He then carried me around and put me in the driver’s seat before strapping me in.

“Kay… Kay baby, look at me. I need you to tell me where to go.”

My eyes finally found his. “Baptist…” I whispered.

He kissed my forehead. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

He closed my door and ran around to get in the driver’s seat.

“I can’t lose him, Kachelle!” my mother wailed. “I just can’t!”

It was as though my voice was frozen in my throat. My mind was racing with thoughts of mine and my father’s last conversation. I couldn’t take it if he left the world and there was anger between us.

Please, God. Let him be okay.

I’d been pacing the waiting room for an hour now. We’d been here for two, and my nerves were on ten. When we got to Baptist and found my mother, Ebony, and her husband, they all looked distraught. I was almost sure they were going to tell me that my father was gone. The doctor came to explain what was going on.

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