The Baby They Bonded Over

Chapter 5

Sunday morning came quicker than Nadia expected as she slid out of bed into the bathroom. The hot shower was much needed after dealing with Paul the night before. Her outfit for the day happened to be an orange sundress with a ton of flowers cascading down the side. She smiled as she did a twirl in the mirror and headed downstairs into the kitchen.

She smelled the strong scent of coffee brewing and bacon cooking, but when she entered the kitchen there was no one there. She looked around and didn’t see any food out or dishes in the sink, just the pot of coffee percolating.  She shouted out to Jeremy, but got nothing in return. She skipped up the stairs looking for him in the other bedroom but he was gone. The bed was made and she was the only person in her home. Her mood dampened as she wished that Jeremy was there to see her in the dress he remembered her in so fondly.

Nadia walked back into the kitchen. She reached for the cabinet to get her favorite mug, but leaning against it was a small card with a note. It read:

Nadia,

Sorry to leave without saying anything, but I needed to take care of a few things before work tomorrow and didn’t want to wake you. There’s breakfast in the oven for you and coffee of course. Give me a call on your way to the shop. Have a great day, baby mama.

Love,

Your baby daddy

The smile that spread across Nadia’s lips beamed brightly. She read the card over and over again as she poured her coffee and then pulled her plate of food out of the oven. Bacon, eggs, and grits… she looked at the food, tasted it, and moaned. It was the first time a man, outside of family, had ever cooked her breakfast. It was delicious. She ate up and headed off to work with a bounce in her step and a smile on her face. It was the first time in a long time a man put a little joy in her heart.

Babes & Bosses Beauty Boutique was bustling this Sunday morning. Nadia checked her reflection, as always, before stepping foot inside the shop. Her number one client, Charlene, was already in her chair waiting for her to get in. Nadia shook her head. Now, that girl knows she ain’t just supposed to sit in her chair. She swore she was always her first appointment. Yet, the morning with Jeremy, even with him not there, left her floating on air. She didn’t care too much about Charlene overstepping her boundaries.

“What’s got you all glowing and sh*t this morning?” Charlene asked with a smirk.

“None of your business,” Nadia laughed as she started working her fingers through Charlene’s hair, “What’re you doing back here anyway? You know this wash and set gonna last you another week.”

“Well I read the papers yesterday and saw some familiar faces so I decided to come get the story right from the horse’s mouth,” Charlene admitted. “And even though this will last me another week, I want some curls.”

“You’re the funniest client ever! You pay me to straighten your naturally curly hair and then come back just to get some curls put in,” Nadia chuckled to herself as she got her station ready. “I’ll tell you what… I’m just gonna pin curl it so you can go on about your day, and pull the pins out in about two hours to get a loose curl.”

“Whatever,” Charlene flicked her hand at Nadia. “You just talking all this hair stuff to avoid the conversation I’m trying to have with you.”

“That you are right about,” Nadia grinned. She didn’t want to talk about the fight with Paul Friday or Saturday night. He was getting on her last nerves and had distracted her enough. Pulling Jeremy into this plan of hers was the greatest idea she had, and it’s paying off even if Paul isn’t completely gone yet.

Even though Charlene stopped pressing her about the newspaper articles, that didn’t stop everybody else from asking and putting in their two cents. Nadia dodged question after question until she couldn’t take it anymore. She started with the dinner Friday night.

“Paul was being crazy disrespectful, to me and his date. And then my dude stood up for us and was telling him to watch how he speaks to women and –”

“Ooooh,” one of the women called out. “You got you a gentleman, huh?”

“Yeah, I could tell he was by his fancy clothes I saw in that paper,” another woman added.

“You guys wanna hear about the rest or not?” Nadia asked feeling vexed by their interruptions.

“Of course we do, we’re all dying to hear about your fabulous new love life,” Megan sarcastically commented walking toward the back of the shop.

“Oh don’t pay attention to her,” Charlene told her, egging her to go on.

“Yeah she’s just hating because you got yourself a good man,” the client in the next station whispered.

Nadia laughed, “Y’all are crazy.”

“No! What’s crazy is what I read in the paper and on some of those gossip blogs. Is that guy you’re with now, the Jeremy Witten?” one of the other women asked.

“Yeah, we’ve been friends since we were kids,” Nadia answered.

“Awww, that’s even sweeter than I thought! Childhood sweethearts and now in love,” Charlene feigned a fairy tale voice.

“That’s not it at all,” Nadia denied. “I only went out to that dinner to shut Paul up and I’m not ready to talk about my s*x life with all of y’all.”

“Girl, ain’t nobody wanna know about how ya man put it down!”

Charlene scoffed, “Speak for yourself! I wanna know all of the dirt!”

Nadia shook her head, “You should know that if you kiss and tell, some woman will be out there trying to kiss your man and not tell you sh*t about it!”