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LIFE HAD NEVER BEEN MORE PERFECT THAN RIGHT NOW.
Her second album was finally out to great reviews, Joshua was practicing again with the Brooklyn Nets, baby Nas was on the way and for the first time in almost ten months there was no drama in Ayoluwa's life.
Ayoluwa laid on her bed, her head turned towards the window to people watch and her hands resting protectively on her floral night dress covered stomach.
Outside she could see a group of teenagers, two boys and three girls, walking down the street across from her home and talking animatedly.
She could hear Joshua rustling with something downstairs in the kitchen, the clink of pots and pans traveling faintly through the brownstone.
Ayoluwa shook her head at whatever he was trying to concoct today for her to eat, in his latest attempt to ensure that she would want for nothing this last month of pregnancy.
A Braxton Hicks contraction hit her, causing Ayoluwa to grit her teeth in agony until it faded away.
The sound of something hitting the kitchen floor caused Ayoluwa to flinch lightly in surprise and then groan with the effort of lifting herself from the bed by herself.
"No, no, no!" Joshua rushed through the door, some of his face covered in flour, "Don't get up. Everything is fine."
Joshua helped Ayoluwa onto the bed and she gave him a look that clearly said that she had no patience.
"I've had enough of your shenanigans, Josh." Ayoluwa said in a lazy tone, "What happened? Where's Firefly?"
"I uh... I tried to make pancakes but it didn't exactly work out." Joshua said in a sheepish tone, "And she's still downstairs."
"What's gonna happen when I'm away for work? Nas is gonna starve, huh?" Ayoluwa asked in a playful tone.
"No, because he's gonna be resourceful like his mom." Joshua shot her a crooked grin before he ducked into the bathroom.
The comment left Ayoluwa pondering and when Joshua came back into the room, he tilted his head in curiosity.
"What you thinking about, Palmer?" Joshua said as he laid in the bed next to her, the side of his now flour free skull resting upon her torso.
"Whether Nas is gonna be like you or me. Will he be into music or is he gonna wanna spend all of his time dunking a basketball?" Ayoluwa questioned out loud, a contemplative expression on her face.
"I wonder who he's gonna look like more." Joshua mumbled against the material of her pajamas.
"I want him to have your smile, I know that." Ayoluwa said, her gaze on the ceiling above her, "And even though it irritates the fuck out of me sometimes, I hope that he gets your calmness."
"I hope he gets your everything," Joshua began to trace some of the blue flowers.
"Watch he play soccer or something." Ayoluwa laughed after a moment's pause, "Or baseball. Or run track."
Joshua made a face, "Track is okay. I wouldn't mind football either."
"But not the other sports? Ooh!" A deep pain rumbled from her belly and she pushed Joshua's head off of her, her fingers pressing against his forehead.
"Are you alright? What happened?" Joshua asked, sitting up and his expression full of worry.
"It's just Braxton Hicks," Ayoluwa managed to breathe out through the pain, "Give me a minute, please."
The pain floated through her abdomen, ripped the air from her lungs and made it difficult to focus on anything else.
"Ooh!" Ayoluwa groaned just as the pain faded.
"Imma be so glad to pop this little boy out." Ayoluwa wiped her forehead.
"So we can get to work on our second one right?" Joshua asked with a smirk.
Ayoluwa sent him a glare to Joshua that she wasn't amused by his statement and his smirk faded.
"Too soon? Sorry." Joshua coughed and then looked away.
Ayoluwa was about to respond when another Braxton Hicks contraction settled into her abdomen and then rippled through the rest of her body.
"Palmer, are you sure that these are just Braxton Hicks? They're coming way too close together."
"I'm sure. He's not due for another two weeks at least." Ayoluwa panted through the pain.
"You know that babies come on their own time," Joshua said in a cautious voice, afraid of pushing Ayoluwa's buttons.
"I know but," Ayoluwa started to say but the pain became too much for her to speak through and she closed her eyes.
"I'm gonna start timing it. Shit, where's my phone?" Joshua patted his pockets and then looked around the room before picking his phone up and off of a shelf that held a stack of vinyls.
"Okay when did these first start?" Joshua asked.
"I wanna say, um, about two hours ago but it only started hurting like this like forty five minutes ago." Ayoluwa said, her eyes still closed.
"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Joshua demanded as he rose from the bed, "I think you've been in labor for two hours."
"I didn't tell you because it's Braxton Hicks and they're common," Ayoluwa snapped at her boyfriend, "Trying to start shit with your heavily pregnant girlfriend is a bad idea. It's always a bad idea. Can you please go get me some water or something?"
At the feeling of a liquid dripping down her legs, Ayoluwa's eyes sprang open in bewilderment.
It couldn't be.
But sure enough when Ayoluwa flipped the covers from over her, there was a wet spot in between her thighs.
"Um, Josh? Josh!" Ayoluwa called to him, now in the hallway.
He stuck his head in the room, "What's up?"
"You were right," Ayoluwa gulped a little in preparation for what's to come, "I think my water just broke."
