Aftermath (50 page)

Toya reluctantly came clean. “My mother stitched it while she was visiting me.” As everyone commented, she spoke over them. “But, it was
my
vision. I told her how I wanted it and she simply produced it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dominique dismissed her.

“It's beautiful, Toya. Thank you,” Camille said. She moved on to the next gift as Toya discreetly gave Dominique the finger.

Octavia sidled up beside her mother while everyone's eyes were on the mom-to-be. She nudged Dominique playfully as Camille opened the next present.

“So,” she said. “Who's your friend?” Octavia nodded in Archie's direction as he sat beside Eli tearing into some chicken.

Dominique felt like she was on the hot seat. Her relationship with Octavia was so much better than it had ever been and she didn't want to jeopardize it in any way. Since ending her relationship with Jamel, she was wary of bringing a new man into her child's life so soon. The last thing she wanted was to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.

“That's Archie,” she said. “I'm dating him, but we're not serious. Not yet anyway. We're just getting to know each other for now and we'll see if it goes anywhere.”

Octavia gave her a sly look. “Well, he gets my vote. 'Cause he's mad cute!”

Dominique laughed. “He is cute, ain't he?” Mother and daughter shared a laugh and rejoined the festivities.

Once all of the gifts had been opened and the cake had been sliced, the guests began to wane. One by one they offered their congratulations to Camille and her family and left. Misa and Lily sorted through all the baby clothes like two kids in a candy store while Octavia and Toya looked on.

Archie decided to make his exit and Dominique walked him to the door.

He towered over her at six one and she felt so small standing beside him. He smiled down at her and pulled her into an embrace. Dominique wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chiseled chest. She closed her eyes and wondered again if this could be the start of something big.

“So,” Archie said, still holding her close. “I will call you tomorrow and hopefully we can get together.”

She nodded, forced herself to step out of his arms. “Sounds like a plan,” she said, smiling.

He smiled back, leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. His eyes lingered on hers for a moment. And then he turned and left.

Dominique watched him walk away and fought the urge to call after him. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to say to him, only that she hated to see him go. She watched until he got to the end of the hallway and turned the corner. Reluctantly, she shut the door to her apartment and returned to the few guests that remained.

Camille was drained. As the last handful of guests filtered out, Eli sat beside her and put his arm around her.

“You look tired, gorgeous,” he said. “You need to get all the sleep you can get now. Because once the kid gets here, it's a wrap!”

Camille laughed, and couldn't help thinking that it was nice having Eli's arm wrapped around her this way. “Gorgeous, huh?” she repeated. “That was sweet, but we both know you're lying.”

Eli looked shocked. “I am not! I've seen some hideous pregnant women in my lifetime.”

Camille cracked up laughing.

Eli laughed, too. “Word! Noses spread all out across their faces like King Kong. Their necks get all dark and their ankles all swollen.” He shuddered for emphasis. “You're nothing like that.” He watched Camille smile bashfully. “Your skin is glowing, your hair is long and thick, your nails are done, pedicure is official.” He smiled back at her. “You're gorgeous.”

Camille wanted to kiss him. Instead, she took his hand in hers and squeezed it. “Thank you,” she said. Eli had no way of knowing how crucial he had been to Camille's sanity over the past several months. Since Frankie had abandoned her, Camille had been left feeling undesirable, less attractive, and she had almost forgotten what it was like to smile. But Eli had come into her life and made her feel wanted, appreciated, and respected. She had no idea how she could repay him for making her life livable.

“You don't have to thank me,” he said. “Just keep being you.” He kissed her on her forehead and stood to leave. “I'll see you on Monday for our walk,” he said.

Camille stood awkwardly and hugged Eli. “Monday, it is,” she said.

She walked him to the door and he bid farewell to her family and friends and left. Camille joined her loved ones in Dominique's living room and made herself comfortable on the chaise lounge. Celia, Lily, Misa, Toya, Dominique, and Octavia were all that remained and Camille felt surrounded by love.

“I like him, Camille,” Lily said, smiling. “He's a real gentleman!”

Camille beamed. “I like him, too,” she said. “If he's being this sweet while I'm pregnant, just imagine what it'll be like when I'm not.”

Toya laughed. “You'll be pregnant again in no time,” she predicted.

Everyone laughed. Camille blushed.

Misa sighed. “I can't wait for this baby to get here. Shane is so excited to have a cousin to play with.”

Lily nodded. “It's all he talks about. ‘Is Aunt Tamille gonna have the baby
today,
Grandma?' I keep telling him that his cousin will be here very soon.”

Camille smiled as she imagined Shane playing with her baby, the two of them growing up side by side. “I'm so happy that Shane is doing well,” she said. “I love him so much.”

Misa nodded. “He loves you, too.” She looked around at all the people in the room and reflected on how supportive they had all been of her and Camille.

“Thank you, everybody,” she said, seemingly out of nowhere. She noticed the puzzled expressions on all of their faces—all except Camille, who understood completely where her sister was coming from.

Misa continued. “We never got the chance to say thank you to all of you for everything you did over the past few months. I'm not just talking about the trial and the fact that you all were there every single day. But, you've all done so much. You've opened your homes to us, opened your wallets.” She looked knowingly at Celia, who smiled. “We're so grateful.”

“We sure are,” Camille chimed in. “We couldn't have survived all of this without you ladies.”

Toya waved her hand dismissively. “That's what friends are supposed to do. We stick together, and we will continue to do so.”

Everyone agreed and Misa turned her attention to Celia. “How is Baron?” she asked. “I haven't spoken to him much since we started planning the baby shower. I've been obsessed with baby stuff lately.”

Celia smiled. She was proud of her son for the strides he was making. “He's still undergoing physical therapy a few days a week. He's hoping to be able to walk without having to use a cane or a walker eventually. But he's taking it one day at a time.” She looked at Misa, hoping she understood the underlying message in what she was about to say. “Lately, Baron has been doing some soul-searching and coming to terms with the monster that he used to be. He admitted to me that he's made a lot of mistakes, hurt a lot of people.”

Misa understood exactly what Celia was saying as she stared directly at her.

“It's not always easy admitting when you've been wrong. So that's been hard for Baron … he's being hard on himself. But the first step in correcting a problem is admitting that you have one. He's finally admitted that to himself and with God's help, he'll be okay. I believe that Baron will emerge from all of this stronger than he was before.” She looked around the room at all the women present and realized that was true for all of them. “We all will,” she added.

“I know that's right!” Lily agreed. “Stronger than ever!”

Epilogue: A New Beginning

“Push!”
the doctor was urging Camille as she panted and sweated, her legs spread-eagle on the delivery bed.

It was ten minutes to four on the morning of July 11, 2008, and the baby had decided to arrive on a lucky day—7/11. Camille didn't feel lucky at all as the pain seared through her. She groaned and grunted as she bore down hard, squeezing Frankie's hand for dear life. He was amazed by her strength as she crushed his fingers together painfully. “That's it,” he urged her. “You can do it!”

Camille had called Frankie just after midnight to tell him that her water broke and she was en route to the hospital. He had climbed out of bed frantically and rushed to meet her at the hospital. He had arrived to find that all of her family and friends were gathered in the waiting room, and he had been humbled to find out that Camille wanted him to be by her side. For hours now, he had been coaching her to push, to breathe, and telling her that she was the strongest woman he had ever met.

Camille felt the contraction ceasing and fell back against the bed, breathless and exhausted. “I can't do it,” she said. “Just take it out.” She looked at the doctor pleadingly.

“You're almost there, Camille,” the doctor reassured her. “One or two more pushes and the baby will be here.”

“You can do it,” Frankie said, convincingly. “Just one or two more pushes,” he repeated.

Camille stared at him in silence. Had she been in her right state of mind, she imagined that he may have looked quite handsome standing there smiling at her, urging her on. Instead, at the moment he looked and sounded like a complete fucking idiot. He made one or two more pushes sound like an easy task when, in fact, Camille feared that the pain might kill her.

She felt another contraction coming and she squeezed his hand again. “I'm gonna try and push it out one more time. If it doesn't come out, I'm not pushing anymore.” She said it so matter-of-factly that the doctor just agreed with her.

“One, two, three,
push
!”

Camille pushed with all her might and Frankie felt his hand go numb. She was straining so hard that he thought she might self-destruct if this push wasn't successful. She squeezed his hand with such force that
he
wanted to cry out in pain. Then in one swift motion the squirming baby sprang from her womb and into the doctor's arms. They cleared out its airways and the baby's first cries filled the room.

“It's a girl!” the doctor proclaimed.

Frankie held on to Camille's hand as they watched their baby being cleaned and bundled. He couldn't believe the miracle he was witnessing.

“A girl,” he breathed, gripping Camille's hand tighter.

Camille watched her ex-husband's face as he laid eyes on his daughter for the first time. She watched his apprehension at the thought of being a father give way to pure love. His eyes filled with tears and he laughed as several streamed down his face. “I have a daughter.”

Camille smiled brightly as she watched him. He felt light-headed, but her hand steadied him as he stood staring at their squirming eight-pound-seven-ounce baby girl. The nurse finally brought the baby to them.

“Let me have her,” Frankie said eagerly. Smiling at the happy dad, the nurse handed the child to Frankie and he took her carefully into his strong arms. He cradled her so gently and so carefully that Camille chuckled a little. “She's beautiful,” he said.

The baby lay serenely in Frankie's arms and he couldn't take his eyes off her. Camille beamed with joy as she wrapped her mind around the fact that they now had a little girl to love forever. The doctor tended to her and the nurses swarmed around her. But all Camille could focus on was the vision of Frankie holding his baby girl.

Finally, Frankie handed the baby to Camille. It seemed like he hated to give her up, but he did. He watched Camille cry as she held her daughter for the first time. The sight of mother and child lying together there that way filled Frankie with such joy. He smiled at them and shook his head in amazement. “She looks like you,” he said.

Camille thought she looked like an angel. “She has your nose.”

Frankie laughed. It was unthinkable to him that he had helped to create this perfect little girl who lay before him, that he and Camille together had formed something so magnificent.

“I want to name her Bria,” Camille said. “What do you think?”

Frankie smiled and nodded. “If you like it, I love it.” He scooped the baby back into his arms again and cradled her close to him, inhaling her scent. “Bria,” he repeated, staring at her chocolate-brown skin, the same color as his own.

“It means ‘beautiful one,' ” Camille explained.

“She is beautiful,” he said again.

Camille smiled. She had a feeling that Bria would be the apple of his eye from that day forward.

The nursing staff came to take the baby to be inoculated and they explained that Camille would be taken into recovery where she would get rest and have a chance to recuperate. Frankie reluctantly watched as the two of them were taken away.

He wasn't sure how to feel as he stripped out of his scrubs and left the delivery room. He took a seat just outside of the delivery room and waded through a flood of emotions. He was a father.

He looked around at the staff at North Shore University Hospital hustling to and fro and he took a deep breath. Hospitals had always been a place of sadness, distress, and so much pain in his life until that point. But this time was different. He smiled as he thought of his baby.

Frankie got up and entered the waiting room where Camille's loved ones sat anxiously. He looked around at everyone and a broad smile crept across his face. “It's a girl,” he announced proudly. “Her name is Bria.”

Everyone smiled, laughed, and congratulated Frankie. They also flooded him with questions.

“How much did she weigh?”

“How long is she?”

“What time was she born?”

“Who does she look like?”

“How is Camille?”