Xiomara ran out of the bathroom when her phone rang somewhere in the bedroom. Her feet tripped over her ankle strap platforms and she dove headfirst into the antique French desk squatted against the wall.
Luckily for her, there was a gaping hole between the legs of the desk and the floor. She plunged unto the carpet like a baseball player heading straight for the home run and used her hands to ward off the inevitable.
Her chin smacked the carpet. Hard.
For a moment it felt as if all her teeth had been knocked out with a bat. Or hacked off with a saw.
She rolled unto her back and groaned. All the while her phone kept wailing at her to pick up. She stared up at the ceiling, at the fancy light fixture and at the crown molding with its intricate patterns and waited for the throbbing in her chin to fade away into a dull ache.
The phone stopped ringing, her heavy breathing the only sound in the dimly lit room. Lifting her hand to her chin, she massaged it. She touched her belly just to assure herself that she hadn't hurt the baby. Her hands had indeed managed to take the brunt of the fall, but her pointed chin just didn't stand a chance.
Her phone went off again, startling her. She gathered her strength and got up, slipping her feet back into her fuzzy bedroom slippers.
"Hello," she croaked after she had answered the phone.
"Mi amor! We miss you."
"Hi, mom." She rubbed the back of her neck in an effort to loosen up the tight muscles there. "How's everything? How's Esme? And everybody else."
Carolina coughed. "Everything's fine. We still haven't found out who's been buying Esmeralda lunch everyday. Principal says it's part of a anonymous charity program, but I don't believe her. Esme says she doesn't know of anyone else who gets free food. That sounds highly suspicious to me."
"It is, but Esme's happy and that's all I care about. I will find out what's going on as soon as I get back, okay. I feel like they're trying to fat her up because she's so skinny." Xiomara paced around the room as she spoke. "It's like an indirect message to us telling us that we should feed her more. And I feel like Esme would hate me if I told her to stop eating the food, you know what I mean?"
There was a pause, and then she heard shuffling in the background. Carolina muttered a few incoherent words, her voice fading into the chaos. And then there was a loud cackle.
"Have you told him yet," Carolina demanded when she came back on.
"No, mama. It's just been real busy around here." Xiomara fell back on the bed as she listened to her mother drone on and on about why it was important for her to tell Omar that she was pregnant.
"I don't know, sweetheart. I'm starting to worry. This is not my firecracker, the one who doesn't hesitate to tell anyone what's on her mind."
Rubbing her eyes in agitation, Xiomara took a deep breath. "I'm going to tell him, okay."
"Maybe you don't know who the father is and you're having a hard time telling me because you're afraid I will judge you. Is that it?" More shuffling in the background. And then the sound of something breaking. "Josh! Why are you so damn clumsy?" A pause. "Xio, are you there?"
YOU ARE READING
Bona Fide Baby
Romance"Put your hands above your head and spread your legs," he commanded. Doing as he asked, she proceeded to lift her arms above her head and widened her stance. At the touch of his hand plowing through her wavy hair, she trembled, although it was Sahar...
