to be ok with that?”
Carmella was silent for a moment, choosing just to enjoy gazing into Demarius’s eyes and feel his warm little body against her breast. Finally looking up, she smiled and replied. “Mr. Gabe, now you don’ hafta worry yourself none ’bout me. We made a deal, you an’ me, an’ I always stick to my promises. I do love this little boy, but I couldn’t raise him like you an’ Ms. Tamika can. I don’t have nothin’, an’ I got a lotta schoolin’ ahead a me. Like I told you, I really want to make somethin’ outa my life, an’ much as I love this little boy already, I’m happy for you all to raise him for me. I know maybe you’ll let me see ’im from time to time, maybe even babysit ever now an’ then,” she laughed. “But don’t you worry none, Mr. Gabe…Carmella will keep our little secret and not be no problem for yo’ wife or yo’ self. I jus’ want you to promise me one thing, tho’. You make some kinda will that you keep in a secret place, an’ you write in there that if anything eva happen to you an’ yo’ wife, that Demarius can come back to me if I’m able to care for him. Would you do that fo’ me, Mr. Gabe?”
“Of course, Carmella,” Gabriel answered without hesitation. “That would be only fair to you and Demarius. And I really don’t think Tamika will have any problem with you seeing him on occasion, so long as she doesn’t know that I’m the father! As far as Damarius goes, I think it’s better that he not know that you’re the real mother, don’t you agree? Maybe sometime, when he’s much older, if he ever asks…but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Are you good with that?”
“Yessuh, I am,” Carmella replied, “’cause if he find out I’m his motha’, he be wonderin’ pretty quick-like, who da’ daddy is, an’ that wouldn’ be no good. That’ll just be our secret, like you say. Now, how you gonna tell yo’ wife ’bout this little baby?”
“Well, pretty much like I said at first—that you worked here at the nursing home and had unexpectedly gotten pregnant. That you wanted to have a career and just couldn’t raise the baby. Once he was born, that I asked you if you would consider Tamika and me adopting him and that you had agreed. Pretty simple. Sound ok to you?”
“Yeah, long as she neva know you da daddy,” Carmella laughed. “We be in big trouble then!”
“Don’t you worry yourself about that!” Gabriel added quickly. “I don’t think that bit of information would benefit anyone, especially my wife. She is very insecure about her infertility problem and gets jealous quite easily. We’ve talked a lot about adopting, but she could never handle the idea of me having sex with any other woman, even if it were just a surrogate sort of situation. So I’m definitely on board with that plan!”
“Ok, then…you just figure out some kinda plan ’bout how you gonna tell her, and I’ll go along with whateva you come up wid. I know you all’ll be good parents fo’ Demarius, probably better’n I could ever be, so dat’s what’s most important to me.”
“And to me,” Gabriel seconded. “Carmella, I just want you to know, too, that I am so appreciative of what you’ve done. It was such a crazy idea that I was so scared to ask you, but it has really worked out amazingly well. You’ve just been incredible, and I’ve grown very fond of you. I’m certain you will do very well as a nurse, because you’re a very kind and loving person. I’m just so grateful to you and for the sacrifice you made for these past nine months. I really mean it.”
“You right, Mr. Gabe. It ain’t been easy, bein’ pregnant and tryin’ to keep up with my classes an’ all. But yo’ money an’ not havin’ to work so much helped a lot. I’m grateful to you, too, an’ wish a whole lotta happiness for you and the missus. God will bless you, Mr. Gabe, an’ our son too. I gotta get ’im fed an’ to bed pretty soon, so I be leavin’ now. You all call me soon, ’cause my clinicals start end o’ the summer, an’ I can’t be home babysittin’ this here little boy afta that. So I’ll be waitin’ for you an Ms. Tamika to visit real soon, ok?”
“You got it, Carmella. And thanks again for everything.” As Carmella stood to leave, Gabriel once again looked into his son’s eyes, and his own eyes were flooded with tears of pure joy. He had a son! Praise God!
As Carmella walked out of his office with Demarius, she called back over her shoulder, “You know, he look just like you, Mr. Gabe. Hope you got a good story fo’ dat too!”
Two Weeks Later
Gabriel’s Office
Hearing some commotion in the hall just outside his door, Gabriel looked up from his desk just in time to see his door open and two small gray wheels struggling to get through. “Gabriel!” came a familiar voice from the hall, “can you help me out here?”
Intrigued, he arose from his chair, walked over, and opened the door further, freeing the stroller and his wife, who were stuck between the partially open door and the jam.
“Oh, thanks, honey,” came a somewhat-relieved response, as Tamika Franklin now managed to gain entry along with her cargo. “Just look at Damarius’s new wheels—his first vehicle!” Tamika beamed as she showed off the new stroller she had just purchased at the mall. “Isn’t it cool?”
Gabriel had to agree that it was indeed ‘cool’, and unlike any other stroller he had ever seen. “Where on earth did you find that?” he asked in amazement as he gazed in awe at the contemporary, somewhat-tubular polished aluminum device.
“Babies R Us, of course, silly,” she responded, eager to show off her new purchase, which Gabriel conservatively estimated at three days’ salary. “Check this out!” she exclaimed, already beginning a product demo that would rival that of any sales associate’s at the baby store. “Look how easily it folds up, and it even gets smaller as it folds to fit in an overhead cargo space on the plane!”
Gabriel quickly envisioned what their vacations would soon resemble—much like those poor couples he used to make fun of, struggling with all their baby gear as they attempted to board the plane with a screaming infant not nearly so thrilled at the prospect of leaving the good old ‘terra firma’. “Hopefully, it won’t do that with the baby in it!” he cautioned.
“Of course not,” his wife continued, undaunted by his initial skepticism. “See, there are safety sensors that keep it from folding up with the baby in it,” she pointed out.
Gabriel could already envision a massive product recall the first time that failed, but he kept that little tidbit to himself. “Very nice, honey. What else does it have?” he smiled, pretending to be as interested in her purchase as she obviously was, and hoping for some justification for the outrageous bill he envisioned on his upcoming credit card statement.
“Oh, that’s just the beginning,” Tamika smiled proudly. “Daytime running lights, path lights under the stroller for nighttime visibility, a generator in the rear wheels to charge your cell phone, cupholders for four drinks, more than ample storage, an ergonomic seat with adjustable recline, AND an LCD dashboard that is easy to read! What do you think of that?”
“Amazing!” Gabriel replied, this time truly impressed with how technology had advanced since his first stroller. “So Damarius can chat on his cell phone without fear of the battery running down?” he teased.
“Oh don’t be silly, Gabriel! That’s for you or me so we can talk as much as we want while taking him on long strolls!”
Gabriel could already envision his new workplace. “Does the dashboard have Wi-Fi and video games?” he asked, this time not so certain that it didn’t.
“You’re
