“I know what I said. And I meant it when I said it, but that was me trying to do what is right for the children.”
“And you were right. With everything going on in The Family, they are much safer down here,” Rain said.
“True. But I’m a New York City girl and I miss being in the city. Michael and the children, M and my mother all love it here. They think I’m crazy for wanting to go back.”
“They’re right, you are crazy. You live on an island paradise. Warm weather, beautiful beaches … but my ass would be bored as fuck down here too,” Rain said, and Shy gave her a high five.
“I mean, I have my business and I travel for that, and then I come back here to this rock.”
“So, what you gonna do?”
“Go to New York to see the doctor and then we’ll see what happens from there.”
Rain laughed. “But you ain’t coming back to this island,” Rain said as Shy parked and they went inside laughing.
When evening rolled around, it was time to leave for New York. Once the plane was loaded and everybody was on board and had their seatbelts on, Shy made an observation.
“Where’s Rain?”
“In the cockpit with Jake.”
“She like the view from up there?” Shy asked.
“No. She likes to fly the jet.”
“Oh.” Shy thought for a second. “Wait a second, she’s flying the plane?” she asked as the Cesena began to taxi down the runway.
“Yeah.”
“Does she have a pilot’s license?”
“Rain doesn’t have a driver’s license,” Black laughed, as they began to pick up speed.
“Do you know how to fly her?”
“Of course, I can. What’s the point of owning a jet if you can’t fly it?”
“Is she a good pilot?” Shy needed to know because she was both curious and concerned.
“Landings are her weak spot, but she’s getting better.”
“I wanna learn to fly the jet too,” Shy said in her pouty voice.
“Tell Jake you wanna fly on the way back.”
The following morning, Black, Shy and the children all went to the doctor’s office together. While Shy was being examined, Black sat in the waiting room with them until the nurse called him back to see the doctor with Shy.
“How’s our baby growing?” Shy asked.
“The most dramatic development is your baby’s reflexes. His fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements,” the doctor said. “In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response.”
“I know, Michael pokes my stomach and talks to the baby all the time,” she said excitedly, and Black poked her stomach.
He laughed a little. “You won't be able to feel it though.”
“Which sucks,” Black said, and they all laughed.
“It really does. Your baby is doing amazing things in there and you can’t see it,” the doctor joked. “Like, at this point, his intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.”