Wives and Champions (5 page)

He leaned close to her again, pressed
his lips against her forehead. “Princess.”

A frown disturbed her face. She
stretched. Yawned. “Yes?”

“
It’s time to get
up.”

“
Nooo,” she drawled
out.

“
Yes, baby. Do you know
what time it is?”

“
No,” she said, lazily, and
she didn’t care what time it was, especially after getting up
countless times throughout the night with the twins. First, Nolan
was crying because he was hungry. The boy had the appetite of his
father. Then Celeste whimpered because she needed a diaper
change.

After taking care of their needs at
1:30 a.m., Sherita climbed back in the bed and forced her eyes
closed, only it wasn’t easy to fall asleep after she’d been up
singing nursery rhymes to Celeste. Her body was exhausted. Mind,
active.

When she finally did fall asleep, she
was up shortly thereafter, startled by the sound of a crying
Celeste. She could distinguish between their cries now and even
knew what certain cries meant. Celeste was hungry. So she changed
her diaper and fed her. Then, since she was already up, she changed
Nolan’s diaper and rocked him back into a slumber.

Back in bed at 2:30 a.m., she fell
asleep, exhausted only to get up again around 3:15 a.m. Celeste was
crying again. With barely opened eyes, Sherita stumbled down the
hallway to Celeste’s room, stubbing her toe as she opened the door
to the nursery.

Motherhood was proving to be quite the
challenge…

She could’ve summoned Desmond for
help, but why? Babies wanted milk, and while Desmond had a pair of
delicious, rocklike pecs, he wasn’t supplying any milk. She was the
milk distributor. Sometimes, she even had to do double duty with a
baby on each boob, feeding.

“
Sherita, it’s two in the
afternoon. Let’s do something. It’s nice out. Warm. Come on,
sweetie.”

Sherita cracked her eyes just to get a
glimpse of Desmond’s face. His eyes were bright, wide-open and
richly hazel. Breathtaking. Maybe if he’d worked as hard as she
worked with the kids, he’d have bags underneath his eyes, too, but
he looked fine. Well-rested. Ready to seize the day. “Desmond, I’m
really sorry, but I do not have any energy. I was up and down all
night again with the kids and all I want to do is
sleep.”

Sherita closed her eyes.

“
Okay, then I tell you
what…I’ll take the children with me so you can sleep for a while
without them waking you up. How does that sound?”

“
Mmm, hmm,” she mumbled as
she drifted off to sleep.

Desmond doubted if she heard a word he
said. He sighed. Sherita hadn’t been the same since giving birth to
the babies six months ago. He could understand she was tired. She
was working at her photography studio four days a week, Tuesday
through Friday, and when she wasn’t working at the studio, she was
working at home. And it was all about the kids when she was there.
She would pump and store breast milk, read to them, play with them,
wash clothes and by the end of the day, she’d be so exhausted, she
wouldn’t make it to the bed. She’d just pass out on the couch, or
in the rocking chair in one of the kid’s rooms.

On many occasions, Desmond would come
home from work to find her passed out sleep on the sofa with one
baby on her chest while the other was asleep in the bassinette. To
say she was exhausted was highly understated.

That’s why, a few weeks ago, he’d
arranged for them, just him and Sherita, to spend a few days at
their vacation home in Myrtle Beach. Still, she didn’t seem like
herself. She looked tired as she struggled to keep up with him. And
even while on vacation, she called Melanie constantly to check on
Celeste and Nolan. Being with the twins gave her anxiety and being
away from them gave her more anxiety.

Desmond leaned forward, left a kiss at
her temple. “Okay, sweetheart. I’ll let you sleep.”

He stood up, adjusted the covers over
her then walked out of the room. He’d already dressed the children
and fed them from the supply of milk Sherita had pumped earlier in
the day. Now it was time for him to get out, get some fresh air,
feel the sun on his face and what better way to do that than to
take the kids to the park.

So, taking them to the car while they
were already strapped snuggly in their car seats, he secured them
in the back seat of his Mercedes Jeep SUV then headed for the
park.

When he arrived, he took the double
stroller from the back, adjusted it open, then opened the back door
to get Celeste out.

He looked over at Nolan, watching him
kick and turn a shade of red, anxious to get out of his seat.
“Sorry, man. Ladies first.” He unbuckled Celeste. “All right, lil’
mama. We have to hurry up and get you settled before your brother
goes completely nuts over there,” he said looking at his
bright-eyed daughter who had eyes just like him, but her mother’s
everything else. After he fastened her in the stroller, he wheeled
it around the opposite side of the car to get Nolan.

Now, they were off.

Desmond smiled. He recalled being at
this same park with Sherita before they were married. Then, they
were here with Ezra and Grace, his niece and nephew. Sherita had
wanted to photograph them as a gift for Emily and Melanie. Now, he
was here with his own children. Their children. He only wished
Sherita made an effort to be here, too.

Desmond dug around in his pocket for
the phone when he felt it vibrating. He glanced at the display
quickly then answered, “Hey, Dante. What’s up?”

“
Nothing much…just got home
a lil’ while ago. Went to grab some lunch with Em and Ez. What’s up
with you?”

“
I’m at Battery Park,
taking the kids for a stroll.”

“
Nice. It’s a good day to
be outside.”

“
It is. I figured I’d take
them out to get some fresh air since Sherita was sleeping. She
needs a break…had a rough night with them.”

“
Oh,” Dante said, surprised
that Desmond was at the park alone with the kids. Not that he
couldn’t handle it, but still…

“
I talked to Dimitrius
earlier,” Dante continued. “We’re trying to go to a bar, shoot a
round of pool or something.”

“
Tonight?”

“
Yeah.”

“
At a bar? We usually play
pool at your place.”

“
I know, but not tonight. I
need to get out of the house. You down?”

“
Um…not sure if I can,”
Desmond responded, thinking about Sherita. He could see her pulling
her hair out now trying to tend to the kids. He didn’t want that
for her.

“
Come on, Des.”

“
Man, I can’t leave Sherita
home alone with the twins. She’s stressed out enough.”

“
Then I’ll get Emily to go
over there, or Sherita can come over here. They can hang out, do
their girly thing and we’ll go do our thing.”

Desmond sighed, stopped walking and
adjusted his dark-framed sunglasses. “All right. I’ll find out if
Rita’s up for it when I get back. If so, I’m in. I’ll give you a
call this evening.”

“
All right. Sounds
good.”

* * *

After leaving the park, Desmond took
the kids to Sammies for frozen yogurt. Then he changed their
diapers and cleaned yogurt off of their faces with baby wipes
before loading them up in the jeep again, beginning the drive
home.

He’d successfully entertained them for
two hours. Now he turned into his long, scenic driveway, parking
behind Sherita’s jeep. He took the babies out of the back, walking
to the door with them still in their car seats. He lowered Nolan’s
car seat to the porch to unlock the door. Afterward, he entered his
house, taking the babies to the family room.

He unfastened Nolan and lowered him
into the Pack-N-Play. When he tried to put Celeste in there with
him, she began whimpering before her little voice squealed into an
all-out cry.

“
What’s the matter, little
girl?” Desmond asked, picking her up again and securing her on his
shoulder. “You don’t want to play with your brother?” Desmond
grinned. With Celeste much calmer now, he headed for the stairs to
check on Sherita, assuming she was still in bed where he’d left
her. Then he heard some commotion coming from the
kitchen.

“
Rita,” he called
out.

“
I’m in the kitchen,
Des.”

Hmm…that’s a good
sign
, he thought. From the looks of her
earlier, he couldn’t imagine she’d be out of bed at any point
during the day.

“
Let’s go see what mommy’s
up to, Celeste. Be right back, Nolan.” He continued on to the
kitchen where he saw Sherita wearing a plush, pink robe with a
multi-colored scarf tied on her head. She had a knife in her right
hand. Looked like she’d been slicing tomatoes.

“
You’re up,” Desmond
said.

“
I am. I figured I’d get
up, take a shower and wash my hair, even though I’m still tired,”
she said after cutting the last tomato slice. She looked up at him.
“Where did you take the kids?”

“
Battery Park.”

“
Oh. I see the sun shining
bright, but that can be misleading. Is it nice out?”

“
Very nice. Next time,
you’re coming with us.” He walked over to her, kissed her on the
cheek.

Sherita smiled at Celeste and said,
“Hey, sugar,” then gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

“
What are you making?”
Desmond asked.

“
Turkey
sandwiches.”

“
You know I could’ve picked
up something for us to eat.”

“
I know…just felt like
preparing my own food for a change.”

Desmond raised his brows. “Okay. Well,
it looks delicious.”

“
Thanks. Where’s Nolan?”
Sherita asked.

“
He’s playing with his
toys.”

“
Did the kids give you a
hard time at the park?”

“
No, not at all. We did a
couple of laps and then I let them crawl on the grass for a while.
They seemed fascinated. By grass.”

Sherita giggled. “We really should
make a play area for them in the backyard with a slide and swing
set.”

“
We will, eventually.
They’re too young for that right now.”

Sherita took a package of Swiss cheese
from the refrigerator and set it on the island countertop where she
was working.

Desmond watched her. Studied her. She
still looked tired, so he knew she was telling the truth whenever
she said she was tired. Even now, after her shower, she appeared
unrelaxed and unkempt. The area right below her eyes was noticeably
dark. She rarely wore head scarves, but she wore this one like a
crown. And she’d gained weight during the pregnancy, exactly what
she was supposed to do, but six months later, she was still hanging
on to baby weight. Nothing wrong with a little extra from his way
of thinking, but she seemed to have a problem with it, particularly
with the added belly fat on her lower abdomen after having the
cesarean section. He couldn’t recall the last time she made an
effort to do her hair or wear some makeup. She wasn’t herself
anymore, a far cry from the woman he fell in love with.

Sherita brought their food to the
table.

“
Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome. Um…I’m
going to go get Nolan.”

“
He’s fine, Rita. Just sit
down and eat.”

“
No. I’m not leaving him in
the family room while the family is in the kitchen.”

“
Sherita—”

“
I don’t want to leave him
in there by himself, Des,” Sherita said with a hint of panic and
irritation in her voice.

“
Okay,” Desmond said, only
because he didn’t want to frustrate her any further. She was
flustered enough.

Sherita quickly walked to the family
room, scooped up Nolan and said, “There’s mommy’s sweetheart.” She
kissed him on the cheek. He had been playing with one of his baby
rattles – more like drooling all over it – and he wasn’t crying or
making a fuss. He was extremely content.

Returning to the kitchen, she sat
across from Desmond, glancing up at him. He hadn’t touched his
sandwich.

“
You’re not hungry?” she
asked.

“
I am, but I’m more worried
than I am hungry.”

Sherita took a bite of her sandwich.
“Worried about what?” she mumbled, chewing.

“
You.”

“
Me?” she asked, laughing
it off. “Why would you be worried about me?”

He frowned. Why? What did she mean
why? And why was she laughing? “Okay, Sherita, I’m just going to
say it.”

“
Say what,
Desmond?”

“
You’ve been
different.”

“
Different how?” She took a
sip of water.

“
Since the babies arrived,
you’re not the same, and I’m not saying this to argue with you. I’m
saying it because I feel it needs to be said.”