Page 30 of Baby Me

I followed Vina into the hospital room where our little girl was in a crib with monitors attached to her little toes along with an IV. The quiet beeps from the machine were the only sound in the otherwise still room as the sweet face with blue-gray eyes that looked just like mine stared up at me. “She’s so small,” I muttered before moving closer.

“Hey there, baby girl. I’m your daddy and we’re going to do our best to make sure you get healthy enough to get out of here.”

The sweet thing smiled up at me as if she knew exactly the promise I was making. I only hoped like hell it was one that could be kept.

“Coral, I love you, my sweetness,” Davina murmured to her as she leaned in and dropped a kiss to the gaunt cheeks that should be puffed up with baby fat.

The moment I stood over the crib and leaned in so that I could touch the hollowed-out cheeks of my baby girl, my heart melted. It wasn’t like being introduced to my other children for the first time when they were born. Even though they had been tiny little humans, there was nothing but hope and bright futures shining back at me from their little eyes. Coral was fragile in a way my other two children never had been.

Coral reached her hand up and took hold of my pinky finger. I allowed her to guide my hand closer to her middle where she continued to hold on like she knew exactly who I was, despite the fact that it was my first time meeting her.

“Hi baby girl,” I whispered. The tired smile she beamed at me in response was everything. “You are so beautiful.” The words slipped free of me before I even understood what I was saying. “You and your momma aren’t going to have to worry about anything ever again.”

I glanced up to see Davina swiping at a tear on her face. “Sorry,” she whispered.

I crooked my finger, gesturing her to come to me. When Davina got close enough, I wrapped my arm around her waist and held her tight to my side while our daughter held onto the fingers of my other hand. “Not kidding, Vina. The two of you don’t have to worry about anything anymore.”

“I-Um, well, I don’t really know what to say to that.”

Our baby girl closed her eyes and drifted off, so I pulled Vina down to sit with me in the chair by her bedside.

“I want you to tell me everything, starting with the day we spoke when you were leaving. Did you know you were pregnant then?”

She nodded her head and then glanced at our daughter again. “If I’d known she was yours, I would have told you.”

I shook my head. “I’m not angry about that, Vina. I understand why you took off. No matter who the father was, the club would have taken care of you, if you had told me. Hell, the fact that you’ve been going through all of this and never said a word…” I shook my head once more. “I just can’t wrap my head around it. Did you have anyone with you when you had her?”

“No. It was just me and some super kind nurses who got me through it.”

“Fuck,” I hissed. “That makes me feel like a complete failure.”

“Why? It’s not like you knew and chose not to show up.”

“I should have known. I was there when Kim had Kip and Star. What that woman went through to give birth to them,” I started to say before turning my eyes back to Vina’s. They were swimming in tears that she was trying her best to hold back. “I wish like hell we could go back, so that I could be there for you, for both of you, from the very beginning.”

Vina heaved out a heavy sigh and nodded her head. “I’m sure if you could have one wish granted, our daughter wouldn’t even be here.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No, but it is true, and I would be so happy for you if you could have your wife back.”

“Okay, how about we put away the wishes for any alternate past because it’s not going down a road I think is healthy. I want you to fill me in on everything that I’ve missed, including why some prick doctor out there was giving me a look that almost landed my fist in his face.”

Vina’s shoulder’s slumped as she turned her eyes toward the door. “I’m assuming you saw the worst doctor in the world. Dr. Markham was the one that had social services come take our daughter from me after I brought her into the hospital about bruises that kept popping up on her when I put her down to sleep.”

“He did what?”

I spent the next few minutes listening to her describe in detail everything the nurse, doctor, and that bitch from social services had put her and our daughter through. I made a silent vow to make them all pay. No one fucked with my family and got away with it.

“I know that look,” Vina announced.

“What look?”

“The one you guys get on your face when you’re about to fuck up someone’s world.” I cocked a brow at her as if to say, “And?” Her sighed response along with the droop in her shoulders, as if she felt defeated by my actions, stopped me in my tracks.

“What?”

“I need you to put a pin in it.”

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