the crib again.
She assumed the guys wouldn’t be working long today an-
yway. Nathan’s wedding had been the day before, and he was on
his honeymoon. Steph pictured Saffron and Nathan hiding their
Anglo-Saxon flesh under goth-black umbrellas as they cruised
down the Nile, and she laughed so heartily that her plate nearly toppled off her gut. All at once the baby seemed to do a 360 inside her. Steph screeched loudly as her uterus seemed to twist
inside out. A sudden sheen of sweat coated her skin, and she
sucked in air. She heard footsteps thumping along the floor-
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boards toward her, and her dear friend and former assistant, Gerald, appeared. He knelt at her side, his black skin sweaty in his cobalt blue skin tight exercising ensemble. She guessed he’d just returned from trolling for men at the gym.
“Are you okay?” he gasped, his brown eyes bugging out.
Steph nodded unhappily, holding her side and Gerald heaved a
sigh of relief, fanning himself.
“Whew. I thought someone was sacrificing a wild boar up
in here.” He grinned at her slightly, and she tossed one of her
crackers at his face.
“I’m losing my mind from boredom. I’ve taken the same
picture of the same boat three times. And it’s not even a cool
boat. Entertain me, Gerald!”
“I’m all over it. Cheyenne’s on her way.” He glanced at his
cell phone. “She made me promise to wait so she could narrate
the slide show.” When the doctor explained that her blood pres-
sure was too high and ordered her to convalesce for the last
month of her pregnancy, Steph was relieved. Her agent, Debz
had done an awesome job booking her exclusively in France and
the U.K, but the baby had sapped all of her energy, and she was
more than ready to quit working. With Steph unable to attend
Nathan’s wedding, they were suddenly without a photographer.
She recommended Gerald to take her place. He’d flown in from
Chicago earlier that week. and they’d had a great time catching
up, but Steph was disappointed that she couldn’t wander London
with him and show him the sights. The wedding had been so
close yesterday—in a private garden less than five minutes away
by car—and she’d begged Phillip to let her go. But he was still
fabulously overprotective and wouldn’t budge. From the details
Phillip and Gerald leaked over last night’s dinner of Indian take-out, she could tell she missed the event of the season.
The doorbell sounded, and Cheyenne sauntered in carrying
a large basket of Steph’s favorite treats.
“Hey!” Cheyenne smiled, coming out onto the balcony
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where Steph was propped up like a giant queen bee. She looked
thin and well rested. Steph wanted to kick her over the balcony
into the river.
Gerald put a hand on his hip. “Do you really think she needs
more food, Chey?”
“She’s eating for two, Ger.” Cheyenne chuckled, tossing her
chocolate brown hair.
He gave Steph a long sideways glance. “Two what? Water
buffalo?”
Steph blinked at him. “I hate you all.”
After Gerald had a chance to shower, he and Cheyenne
pulled chairs up next to Steph’s chaise lounge. The basket of
treats was spread around them like the world’s most unhealthy
picnic, and they’d settled in for the weirdest slideshow known to man. Stephanie had traded her plate for her laptop and they were scrolling through the digital pictures of Nathan’s and Saffron’s hand joining ceremony. Steph’s mouth hung open.
“Oh…my…God.” She murmured, clicking the mouse.
“Yep.” Cheyenne concurred.
Gerald pointed to the screen proudly. “Notice the way I cap-
tured the light radiating off her rhinestone bra?”
“Stunning. Wait. Is that David?” Steph asked, her voice
suddenly small like that of a frightened child. She was having
trouble processing the images as reality.
“Yes. He got the privilege of being one of the slave men
carrying the bride’s litter.”
“That’s far better than what she made Nathan do.” When
Steph cocked an eyebrow at her, Cheyenne elaborated. “When
she stepped down from her litter, he had to be her stool.”
“You have got to be joking.” Steph stared at Cheyenne.
Gerald nodded at the mouse. “Click twice more and see for
yourself.”
Cheyenne giggled, but it soon turned into a chortle. “You
should have heard the vows.” Gerald had been in the act of tak-
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ing a drink and sprayed bottled water all over the balcony.
“It came out my nose, you bitch.” He laughed.
Two hundred pictures later, Stephanie had had her fill. Plus
the baby was stomping on her bladder with both feet.
“I have to pee. And go shave my eyeballs.”
“Thanks for sharing.” Gerald’s grimaced comically, but he
offered his hand to help her up. The moment she stood, there was a sudden sound of rushing water. Gerald jumped back from
Steph in horror and hid behind Cheyenne who stared at the
ground wide-eyed.
“I guess I waited too long to go.” Steph deadpanned.
“I think we need to call your husband.” Cheyenne replied
without missing a beat.
“I think you need to buy me new shoes.” Gerald chimed in, sounding mortified.
“Gerald, go get the car.”
His ebony face was nothing short of incredulous. “You go
get your car. She’s not getting in mine like that.”
Cheyenne huffed and flung her keys at him as she dialed her
phone with one hand. Steph bent to scoop up her camera and felt
a shooting pain in her back. She dug her fingers into Gerald’s
arm and refused to let go. He winced, but wisely said nothing as he led her to the front door. She decided this was the perfect time to freak out.
“Oh shit! Where the hell is my bag? I thought I put it right
by the door!” she said, feeling a tingly sensation in her fingers and toes.
“Take a deep breath, Steph; we’ve got everything you
need.” Cheyenne held up the bag as she held out her phone with
the other hand. It was ringing and on speaker phone mode.
When he answered on the second ring, Phillip sounded as
panicked as Steph felt. “Cheyenne?”
“Phillip…its go time.”
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From the moment they crossed the hospital threshold,
Steph, who was contracting every ten minutes, was begging
every staff member (including a passing janitor) for drugs.
Once they reached the maternity ward, a friendly faced old
nurse leaned down and took Steph’s hand in both of hers.
“Sweetie, just breathe. Your birth plan
