“Awareness is great, but what are you going to do about it?”
“You’re not disappointed that he’s not black?”
“Hell, no. He’s focused, respectful, and has a good head on his shoulders. You’re sad without him. Which means he was a good boyfriend. Right?”
Cayla nods. The emotion clogged her throat. He went over and beyond to make her feel everything.
“I know there are plenty of black men with the same qualities, but it doesn’t mean that Dex isn’t the man for you. Pry your foot out of your mouth, and fix it.”
“How do you know it was me?”
Will’s laugh was hearty. “Have we met?”
Cayla smiled. “I just thought you wanted us to be with black men, Dad.”
“In theory, but have you ever seen one second of me being disappointed since Kalilah introduced us to Nick? At the end of the day, all I want is for my baby girls to be treated well. Do you feel he’s capable of doing that?”
Cayla turned into the hospital’s parking lot. “More than capable.”
“There you have it. So, what’s the problem?”
The hospital doors parted to allow him entry. Dex strolled through the doors ignoring the inviting looks some of the women threw him on his way to Labor and Delivery. On the outside, he looked like his usual cool and confident self. But, on the inside, his nerves raged and moshed in his veins. Cayla’s presence taunted him like the ring he didn’t have the heart to return. It sat in his top dresser drawer, and every single day, it abused him and called him names. He’d often shut his d
rawer quickly just to shut it up.
Kalilah had been having pain and came to get checked out. It could’ve been a false alarm; he’d heard that happened a lot at the end, but he didn’t want to risk missing the real thing. His chest tightened when he arrived at the third floor. He was honestly unsure how he’d react to being in the same room with Cayla after months of separation. Dex silently prayed for strength as the waiting room came into view.
Dex saw his parents first. His mom rushed to him and hugged him like he’d gone to war – he had, only emotionally. He suppressed an eyeroll. He’d been on trips and vacations longer than he’d been living in California. She cupped his face and stared at him like all mothers do, mentally checking for scars. The only scars he had were internal.
Next, his dad shook his hand while pulling him into a half hug and patting his back. He felt her looking at him. Her eyes bored into his back. The chairs were in a big U. His parents were to the right when he’d walked into the room, the Wrights were ahead, and Cayla was on the left. He hugged Akila and shook hands with Will. A heavy hush fell over the room. Both sets of parents were curious to see how their last-born children would respond to each other.
Dex glanced in her direction, unable to commit to fully turning to her. His emotions were still raw enough for the sight of her to render him speechless. He didn’t want to fold or try to fix it. She needed to prove that she’d changed. Opting not to speak lest he broke, he waved in her general direction before returning his attention to his disappointed mother.
“How long will you be here?” Amelia inquired.
“Up to two weeks, then I have to be back for filming.”
“Up to?” Andrew questioned.
“Yeah, might choose to leave before then. I’m only going to book a hotel a few days at a time.”
“Hotel?” his parents questioned in unison.
“We have a huge house…” Andrew started.
“Nick also has a big house…” Amelia added.
“Hell, we even have extra rooms at our house…” Will interjected.
Dex felt the parents look in Cayla’s direction but didn’t dare bring up the elephant in the room.
“I want to be alone,” he cut in.
“Which hotel?” His mom wanted to know.
“I don’t know yet,” Dex skirted his mom’s question with a lie. He knew exactly where he was staying. He didn’t want any unwanted visitors. “Where is Nick?”
“In the room,” his dad responded while his mother continued to stare daggers at him. He didn’t care; he wasn’t changing his position. “She started to have real contractions and dilated a few more centimeters. It’s not enough to start pushing just yet.”