Page 52 of Love You Like That

“I thought I knew you,” he groaned after missing my favorite midnight snack.

“I’ll make you some flashcards,” I teased in a whisper.

The food was elite. There were lemon pepper wings, rice and beans, grilled shrimp skewers, and deviled eggs with little gold flakes on top because, as Erin said, presentation was everything. There was even a DIY waffle bar, a tower of pastel blue cupcakes, and fruit in the shapes of little rattles. My favorite part, though, was the speeches.

Dianna took the mic first, eyes glossy. “You’ve always been the one we watched, not just because you had it all together, but because even when you didn’t, you still moved like anything was possible. You made it possible for us, too.”

Erin followed with a story from college about me tutoring a pregnant classmate and staying with her in the hospital overnight just so she wouldn’t feel alone. “You’ve always beenthatgirl,” she said, gesturing toward my belly. “Soft, brave, and full of life, light and love.”

Ezra stood last and when he did, the room got still. “I ain’t prepare nothin’,” he started. “I gotta say this, though.” He walked toward me, eyes locked on mine. “I didn’t know what itmeant to feel grounded until I met you. I thought the only love I would know was my love for spittin’ on the mic. But then God showed me love could be somethin’ else. You.Watching you carry our son like it’s holy. It’s buildin' a home I didn’t know I needed wit’ someone who never asked me to be anything but myself. I love you, Yaya.” He kissed my hand when he finished and my heart almost melted onto the floor.

Everyone clapped, and Mekai yelled, “Damn, bro, I almost cried. Why you always gotta poet the moment?”

I laughed. We all did. And then, my body froze as a warm sensation spread through the bottom of my belly. Then, the feeling hit me lower before flowing between my legs.

My father’s eyebrows furrowed. “Yavanni?”

“Oh my God,” I whispered. “No… no, no…” I grabbed Ezra’s arm just as another wave of liquid gushed down my legs.

“Oh, shit!” Dianna screamed. “Her water broke!”

The whole room erupted and my mother rushed over. “Ezra, do something! Yavanni, sit down!”

“I can’t sit!” I shouted, gripping Ezra’s sleeve as the first real contraction slammed into me. “I need to go. Like now!”

Everything blurred. People were talking, cheering, crying and moving. And in the middle of the chaos, Ezra held my hand and kissed my temple. “You ready, baby?”

I looked up at him, breath shaky, belly tightening. “No,” I whispered. “But I’m about to be.”

“P u s h,b a b y,p u s h!Come on, you got this. Yaya, breathe. Come on, breathe.” My voice shook as I whispered to her, forehead damp, hand gripping hers while she squeezed mine like she was trying to break a fucking bone.

Yaya’s screams cut through the sterile white room as her legs trembled in the stirrups. Sweat glistened along her chest and her bottom lip was raw from biting it through contractions. I’d never seen her like this and I hated not being able to take her pain away.

“Ezra, I can’t. I can’t!” she cried out, voice cracking, eyes squeezed shut in pain.

“Yes you can,” I breathed, voice raw and thick. “Yes, you can. You are. You’re doin’ it, baby.” My heart had never pounded like this. Not during shows. Not during interviews. Not when I dropped the book or signed the deal. This shit was something different.

“Alright, mama,” the doctor said, voice calm but firm. “Next one’s coming. Take a deep breath and push hard, okay?”

Yaya nodded shakily, and I leaned in close, pressing my forehead to hers. Her breath hitched. Her fingers trembled in mine. “I love you,” I whispered into her skin, barely holding myself together. “You hear me? I love you so fuckin’ much.”

She cried harder, and when the next contraction hit, she pushed again with everything she had. “One more good push,” the nurse said, voice rising with urgency. “This is it!”

Yaya gritted her teeth, sobs in her throat. I brushed her locs back, kissed her forehead and held her hand tighter. “You almost there, baby,” I whispered. “Almost there.”

She screamed, back arching, body straining, and then came the sharpest, most beautiful cry I’d ever heard in my fucking life.Everything stopped. The doctor moved fast, retrieving my son, and the nurses swarmed with quick hands. “You’ve got a healthy baby boy,” the doctor announced, voice softening.

I broke. Right there beside Yaya, I broke open. My knees almost gave. My hands covered my face. I couldn’t breathe from how hard I was crying. I probably looked like a damn simp but I didn’t give a fuck. My son was here. Our son. His tiny screams filled the room, and one of the nurses turned to us with him bundled in blue.

“Would you like to hold him?”

I looked at Yaya, who was sobbing, eyes wide and glowing. “Go ahead,” she whispered through tears. “Say hello to your son.”

My heart thundered in my chest as I stepped forward, hands trembling. When the nurse placed him in my arms, the whole world slowed to a hush. He was so small and perfect through all the bullshit. Brown skin with a head full of curls, his face already scrunching like he had something to say about entering the world.

“Damn,” I whispered, voice breaking. “You’re real.” I looked back at Yaya. “He’s real.”

“I know,” she whispered, exhausted and glowing. “He’s ours.”

---