This is an excerpt from She’s the Man and a spinoff of one of my short stories. I call this excerpt “New Life” because new life represents a change we all have when it enters the world.
Brielle and I quickly made our way to the room where Kimorri sat with her visitors. In her room, Kimberly and Walton joined her. It shocked me to see Walton there, as I didn’t understand he had joined them in the fray at the hospital. When Brielle and I walked into the room, I greeted everyone and asked, “So, what’s the doctor saying? When is the baby coming out?”
“You guys are late,” Walton said while holding my hand. “She’s already here.”
“Huh?” I asked.
“What do you mean she’s already here?” Brielle asked while sitting in a seat closest to the bathroom door.
“I’ve had her about an hour ago,” Kimorri said. “She’s still getting all cleaned up.”
“Wait, I thought you were just in labor,” Brielle said. “Kimberly, you didn’t say she already had the baby.”
“Brie, that was over two hours ago since we last talked,” Kimberly replied. “She had a seven-pound eight-ounce baby girl since then.”
“Oh, my goodness! How is she?” I asked.
“She’s a trooper. She came out kicking and screaming,” Walton said. “It was a scary sight to see.”
“Oh, really? Were you scared?” I asked Walton.
“No, it’s just too much for me,” Walton said. “Rae, walk with me down to the nursery. Your niece is being prepped, and they said they’ll put her in the window.”
“Guys, we’ll be back,” I said before Walton and I walked out of the room.
He led me down the hall toward the nursery. Once at the nursery, Walton and I began scanning the room for my first niece. “Do you see her?” I asked my boyfriend.
“Nope, and I don’t think they’ll put her here first,” Walton said.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because she hasn’t seen her mother yet. She’s probably hungry. Need to get that first meal out of the way,” Walton said.
“That makes sense. I have to ask the question. What are you doing here?” I asked.
“It’s my first niece being born,” Walton said.
“Your niece? Since when did she become your niece?” I asked.
“Since I got drug off the basketball court with Jason to help put together her crib,” Walton said. “Besides, she’s your niece and I’ve got big plans.”
“How sweet of you to think like that. Who does she look like?”
“She looked like one of those aliens from the movies. So, I guess Sigourney Weaver.”
“I don’t know why I even ask you questions.”
“They asked me if I wanted to be with her while she got cleaned up, but I had to let them know that I was the uncle, quickly.”
“Hey, guys,” Mom said while walking up to us. “How’s Kimorri?”
“She’s great. She’s doing well,” I said.
“How far along has she dilated?” Mom asked.
“What’s dilated?” Walton asked.
“How far along has her cervix dilated?” Mom once again asked.
“I don’t have the slightest idea what that means,” Walton said.
“Sorry, Mom, we don’t know what you’re talking about,” I told her.
“Rachelle, haven’t we had the talk. Once her cervix is ten centimeters dilated, it’s time for the baby to come,” Mom said. “Rachelle, haven’t I taught you anything about sex education and pregnancy?”
“Oh! We don’t have to worry about that. Kimorri had the baby,” Walton said.
“She had the baby?” Mom asked. “Where is it?”
“She’s getting cleaned up,” I said. “We’re just out here looking at all these other babies.”
“That was fast. I wish Steve could have been here,” Mom said. “By the way, Walton, how did you get here?”
“I rode with Kimberly and Kimorri to make sure Kimorri and the baby got here safely. I just did what any man would do,” Walton said.
Mom looked over at me and smiled. Six hours of shopping with her husband and daughter didn’t faze her attitude. Daddy always said that Mom glowed when she smiled, but I never knew what that meant until that moment. I’ve seen my Mom smile before, but this smile was different. At thirty-five years old, she was a grandmother and had a lot going on in her world. Walton’s statement appeared to put her at ease. “Rae, you’ve got a good one,” she said before hugging Walton and leaving us to stare at babies again.
After she got out of earshot from us, I told Walton, “I think my mother loves you.”
“Is that good?” Walton asked.
“I put it to you this way. She’s never called me Rae, or any other nickname for that matter,” I said. “She must really like you.”
“Good. Just as long as she doesn’t have the hots for me. I can’t date a mother and a daughter at the same time,” Walton joked before I shoved him back a couple of steps.
Shortly afterward, a nursing attendant came out of the nursery to ask us which baby we wanted to see. After Walton spoke up and told her we were interested in seeing Kimorri Hart’s baby, the nurse pointed her out to us. She was perfect. Although we couldn’t hold her because she was behind the glass, that little bundle of joy made me one proud aunt. Just seeing her wasn’t enough. After nearly ten minutes of silence between Walton and me, the nurses packed her away to send her to Kimorri. We quickly followed behind.
Upon reaching Kimorri’s room, Mom sat next to Kimorri’s bed while Kimberly sat in a recliner on the opposite side of the room. Once Kimorri received her baby swaddled in a light pink blanket, she said, “My baby, Victoria Arianna. You are so beautiful.”
“That’s her name? That’s so beautiful,” Mom said as she closed in to look at her first grandchild.
“Vicki A. is so cute,” Walton said while he and I closed in. “We saw her in the nursery. By far the cutest baby in the hospital!”
“No, Walton, she is not getting a nickname from you,” I told him.
“I actually like that nickname,” Mom said. “I gonna make that into a little hat for her. Thank you, Walton.”
“Oh my goodness, she looks just like Cyndi and Steve,” I said while looking at Victoria while Kimorri stroked her face. “Mom, did you bring your camera?”
“No, but I’ll call your father and tell him to bring it,” Mom said.
“Walton, would you like to hold her next?” Kimorri asked. “If it wasn’t for you, she’d be born at home with us not knowing what the heck to do.”
“It’s okay. I think blood relatives should hold her first,” Walton deferred.
“No, Uncle Walt, you can’t get out of this. You need to grab your niece,” Kimberly said while forcing Walton over to hold Victoria.
“I ain’t gonna be too many more Uncle Walt’s to you, Ms. Kimberly,” Walton said before he reached in to grab and hold Victoria. He lifted her from Kimorri’s arms and held her very close, looking like a pro.
“Hey, don’t get too comfortable doing that, Walton. You look too comfortable holding her,” Mom said. Victoria started fussing a bit not long afterward.
“Uh-oh, I don’t know how to stop this,” Walton said. “Who’s next.”
“Give her to me,” I said while reaching for Victoria. “I can get her quiet. Mom said I was the best at getting Lisa quiet when she was a baby.”
After Walton handed Victoria to me, I held her very close to me and she quickly quieted. “Wow, Auntie Rae is all she needs,” Kimorri said. “Rachelle, you still got it.”
“I hope you realize that’s what she’s gonna call you when she grows older,” Mom said. “You guys are too good at this. Give me my granddaughter.”
Auntie Rae was my name to Victoria and all my future nieces and nephews from that day forward. Only Walton called me Rae to that point in my life, but after Victoria’s entrance into this world, everything changed. Being an aunt meant something special to me. She was an early Christmas present to the entire family and our crew.
Victoria Arianna Hart was a beautiful baby girl. She was the center of attention for us all. When Stephen and Stephanie came home, it was great to see him bonding with his daughter. My older brother being a father was unique, as this was the same guy that just a year earlier shoveled dog poop in a brown paper bag and lit it on fire on the porch as a prank of one of our neighbors that everyone hated. I could hear my father telling him it was time for Stephen to hang up his little boy shorts and start being a man. For me, Victoria meant everything to me and my family. She was a new life and the first representative to the next generation.
Be A Man Universe 