Don't Need A Man

in which she has a baby ×2

"Baze!" I call for the two, almost three, year old punk. He left his toy cars out again and I almost slipped again. "Basil, if I have to call you again--."

"Momma, I am here." He stomps his way into the living room. I point to his cars and he scoops them up.

I ruffle his hair. "Go put your toys away. Dinner is almost ready." He runs off to his bedroom.

I adore my son. He's a complete mommy's boy and I can't be happier. He knows right from wrong and knows when I say no I mean no. And since he's been so well behaved I'm throwing him a surprise birthday party. All he's been asking for is somebody to play with, and I've decided to grant him his wish.

I serve the macaroni and cheese between the two of us. Baze comes running to the dining room in anticipation. "Mmmmm, food."

"Yes, food." I set the place before him and hand him his favorite Mickey Mouse spoon. Baze digs into his food the minute he has the spoon in hand. I settle down and watch as he inhales his food. "So, are you excited for your birthday tomorrow?"

"Of course, Momma!" He puts another spoonful of macaroni in his mouth. "I am three!"

"Almost."

"Almost three!"

➖✖➖

"You're what?"

I snicker at my brother's gobsmacked expression. He holds the hand of his wife, Paris, tighter than she would like. His sons, James and Frederick, hand Basil the present the four of them brought for him. The three cousins run away to play with the other children.

"Pregnant. With child. Expecting. A bun in the oven. Preggo--."

"I get it, Rose. You're having another bastard child." Paris gasps and slaps her husband right across the face. I've always loved my sister in law.

Paris embraces me in a tight hug.  "Congratulations, Rosemary. Basil must be excited."

"I haven't told him yet, I was going to tell him after the cake."

More and more family members and friends find themselves at the three year old's birthday party. More and more presents are stacked in the corner of my living room. More and more ankle biters run around.

Basil is enjoying the attention, the hugs and kisses. He asks me many times if he can open at least one present but I tell him that he can open presents once everyone goes home.

"You can have my present right now," I tell him. The guests quiet to see what I got my only son.

"Oooooooh, yay!" Baze cheers, earning a few chuckles from the crowd. "Gimme, gimme!"

I pull a picture from my back pocket and hand it to him. He looks perplexed and raises an eyebrow.  My shaky hands point to the light area. "That's your baby sister." It clicks in his head. He looks up at me and starts crying.

I panic immediately. He grips onto me and tries to speak. The guests watch with wide eyes as Baze continues to sob. "T-Tank y-y-yous, Momma. Be-Best prez-zent for-e-ever."

For the first time in years, I start to cry in front of people.

➖✖➖

"What's her name, Momma?" Basil asks, hovering over the newly born girl. "What do we call her?"

"Primrose Beckett."

Basil's eyes light up. "We have the same last name, all three of us."

All three of us. That sounds wonderful. My daughter comes out to be a total of seven pounds and three ounces. Giving birth to Primrose was slightly easier than Basil, but waking up at three in the morning with wet bedsheets scared the living shit out of me.

Basil couldn't have been happier to hear me crying. He's been waiting five long months for his sister and now that she's here he cannot be any more ecstatic.

I ruffle his brown hair. "That's right, big brother, all three of us have the same last name." He giggles and flops down onto the hospital bed beside me. Soon enough, the three year old passes out on my breast. Primrose falls into a deep sleep as well.

The door opens to reveal Clover, Paris, Mother, and London. The twins and Father remain in the waiting room.

"Awh! Rosemary, she looks just like you!" London comments very enthusiastically. I look down at the child. She does have my brown hair, but her eyes are a deep, deep blue. The sperm donor had blue eyes.

"Blue eyes." Mother glances over at my baby, an unreadable expression on her face. Basil sleeps soundly on my left breast, when I move he just snuggles deeper. It is almost ten o'clock.

Clover smiles. "They said you can leave tomorrow. Also said to have one of us put the baby in the crib and for you to sleep."

"She has that man's eyes." Mother stands with crossed arms and a stoney expression. "At least the boy looks like us. The girl looks like the mysterious sperm donor."

"Are you saying my child is of less worth because she has blue eyes?" Steam must be pouring from my ears because why else would everyone step back from my mother and me? "You're such a fuckin' bitch, you know that? They're eyes. There is always something wrong when I do something, isn't there? When I opened my first shop you told me the location was all wrong, that I hired the wrong people, that I could never make it work. When I tried dating, everyone I went out with wasn't good enough. When I got pregnant with Basil I was inconsiderate of my 'future husband'. Are you stupid or can you just not understand that I don't give a fuck what you think of me?"

"Rosemary--."

"Shut the hell up, Honeysuckle Beckett. I don't give a fuck what you have to say."

"Rose--."

"Get the fuck out of my hospital room!"

Clover decides to step in once he sees that I'm turning blue in the face. "Mother, just step outside. Can't you see she's exhausted?"

"That child, doesn't belong in our family. She's different. Too different."

I know for a fact she isn't talking about Primrose anymore.