Baby Boy - 3

"You ready for this ratchet fest?" Sherika asked Nicki. 

"As ready as I'm gonna be." She replied as she took Sade out of her car seat and placed her on her feet. She kneeled to her daughter's level and looked her over. She wasn't in the mood to hear any comments on her daughter's appearance that weren't positive. 

"You ready, Mami?" Nicki asked Sade. 

"Yes!" She smiled and Nicki smiled back.

Once they entered the house Sade took off running. Nicki knew very well who she was looking for. Once she spotted Sahara she tackled her sister and they both fell onto the floor laughing. A series of 'aw's' filled the room. 

"Smoochie!" Nicki watched as Sade's face lit up at the sound of her father's voice. She hadn't seen him in three days. Nicki knew it was wrong keeping them from each other, but seeing Safaree after all the things she was hearing about he and Misha in the street was not what she wanted to deal with. 

"Hey." He kissed Nicki's cheek. Nicki's eyes cut to the direction of the loud huff and giggled that she heard. Sure enough it was Misha's people; one of whom sported a permanent scar across her forehead from when Candi hit her with a glass bottle. 

"Y'all sure this where it's at?" Nicki looked through her Chanel sunglasses for the party. At seven months pregnant she had no business confronting her boyfriend and his supposed other babymother but he wasn't telling the truth and she needed to find it.

"Yeah, look..." Candi pointed across the park to where two girls were carrying pink balloons. 

"It's a girl, too?" Nicki asked hurt. 

"Nic, let's go." Sherika suggested.

"Nah." She grew angry as she saw him help the pregnant woman out of the car. He was treating her with the same attention that he gave Nicki. He even kissed her forehead before letting her out. She didn't feel herself get out of her car and slam her door, or hear her friend's call after her. 

"Yo!" Was all he could muster as she began swinging on him. 

"I ask you-"

"Who the fuck are you?" The other woman asked.

"Misha..." Safaree said with caution.

"Oh, bitch you know who I am!" Nicki stepped to her. Nicki protectively rested her hand on her stomach that was growing tight.

"Oh, bitch you might wanna get out her face." Misha's cousin stepped in front of her. Candi didn't miss a beat as she jumped in front of Nicki holding her Mistic. 

"Nicki, lemme talk to you." Safaree said. When she turned to look at him she felt a push on her shoulder then Sherika snatching her arm. The next thing she saw was Candi standing over the woman screaming obscenities as the woman held her bleeding head. 

"Yeah, I'm going to enroll her in that daycare you recommended." Nicki said to Safaree's cousin Tia. 

"Now, bitch..." She said lowly. "You know that's not what I meant by what's been going on."

Nicki laughed, "I guess we're just gonna try to co parent or whatever." 

"Mandy he's gonna settle for the basic bitch with 50 kids, no job, raggedy ass car, bald headed, living in the projects with her 50 kids..."

"Tia!" Nicki laughed. "That's what he wants though, so..." She shrugged with a smile. 

"You still my cousin. Fuck what these niggas got to say." She said in reference to the rest of Safaree's family who didn't like Nicki. Most of his family didn't like her because whenever they would fall out Safaree would bad mouth Nicki without revealing his own wrong doings. 

"Ms. Nicki." Misha's oldest daughter Princess said with her hand on her hip and her other hand holding Sahara's.

"Yes?"

"You seen my mama?"

"Nah, what's up?"

"She need her diaper changed and I ain't doing it." She rolled her eyes. "Grandma said she ain't taking care of no kids either."

 Nicki knew that she was talking about Safaree's mother who refused to take care of Sahara while Misha was around because she always took advantage. Nicki looked around the room for Misha but didn't spot her. She huffed and rolled her eyes. 

"I got it." She grabbed Sahara's hand. "Come on baby. Excuse me, Tia." 

Princess followed behind Nicki to Sade and Sahara's room. Princess asked a hundred questions as Nicki searched the room for diapers and wipes. She was far too grown to be seven years old but Nicki knew that it wasn't necessarily her fault. Princess was basically raising herself and her siblings. She earned her attitude. 

"My mama said you wasn't coming today." Princess said. 

"Well, I'm here." Nicki smiled through her irritation as she removed Sahara's diaper. Her mouth opened in shocked before she rolled her eyes and huffed at the worst case of diaper rash that she'd ever seen. 

"Do me a favor, Lil Mama. Go get Safaree." 

"Okay." Princess popped her lips as she walked out. 

"You okay, baby girl?" Nicki asked Sahara.

"Nooooo." She laughed.

"No?" Nicki laughed as she began tickling her. 

"Yo, what's up?" He peeked in. 

"Come in, and close the door." She said. 

"What's up?" He asked as he approached the changing table. 

"You seen this shit?" Nicki pointed to her red bottom. 

"What the fuck is that shit?"

"Diaper rash."

"Nah, it don't suppose to look like that."

"If niggas ain't changing her like they should-"

"Safaree!" They both turned to Misha. Nicki rolled her eyes. 

"Handle it." Nicki said with an attitude before bumping pass Misha to walk out. 

The only person Nicki wanted to see at the moment was Sade. She simply wanted to hold and kiss her so that she knew she was loved. It made her sick to think of and witness the neglect of a child. She found Sade on the back porch with her grandmother and great aunts eating a Popsicle. 

"Look at her." Nicki laughed.

"Spoiled as she wanna be." Safaree's aunt commented.

"That's my baby. She can have whatever she want." Safaree's mom bounced Sade. 

"Where ya people, Nic?" Safaree's other aunt asked.

"Nicki ain't invite them." Safaree's mother said. "Thank God cause my heart can't take no more drama. That boy already got these damn fools running through my house. If I-"

"Ma!" Safaree's sister called. "They fighting again."

Everyone knew exactly who "they" were. Safaree and Misha. Nicki was the first back into the house because she knew that Safaree's mother's heart really couldn't take it and she was the only one besides his mother who could calm him. She pushed pass everyone standing around the door as she heard Tia and Sherika getting the kids out of the house. All she heard was yelling, thumping, and Sahara screaming. 

"Safaree!" Nicki banged hard. "Safaree!" 

He opened the door breathing heavily. He had scratches on his neck and face. He avoided eye contact with her out of embarrassment as he walked out. Misha walked out calmly fixing her hair. Sahara was left screaming by herself. Nicki walked into the room and slammed the door. She picked up Sahara and rocked her gently. 

"Yes?" Nicki said to the knock on the door. 

"Someone want to see their sister." Safaree's mother said as Sade ran to where they where Nicki was sitting with Sahara. 

"Mommy?" Sade said.

"Yes?"

"Sissy?" She pointed to Sahara. 

"She's sleep." Just as Nicki said that Sahara's eyes fluttered open.

"Hi, baby!" Sade said through a laugh and Sahara laughed. Sahara pushed Nicki's hands away so that she could get to her sister. 

"They're cute." Safaree's mom said.

"They really love each other." Nicki said as she watched them play. "They make all this worth it."

"Don't give up on him." Nicki furrowed her brows and looked at her crazy. "I don't know what he's being going through and why he's acting this way but if he really loses you..." She shook her head.

"It's like he's two different people. He's never put his hands on me, and we don't even argue in front of Sade."

"She brings out the worst in him." She shook her head. "And the things she allows he knows that you won't."

"Except making me look stupid." She said lowly. 

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" 

"His father was like that. He saw me cheated on, lied to..." She shrugged. "He don't know no better."

"Yes, he does." 

"Yo." He peeked his head in. "She good?" He asked as he stepped in.

"Yeah." Nicki said. 

"I'll leave y'all." Safaree's mother said. 

"My bad." He said once his mother was gone.

"Your bad?" Nicki asked. "Is that supposed to be an apology? If so, I'm not the one who needs it."

He nodded as he went and picked Sahara up, "Daddy's sorry." He kissed all over her face and she giggled. "You forgive me?" 

"No!" She yelled.

"No!" Sade repeated.

"Word? All my girls mad at me?" He glanced at Nicki. 

"Yes!" Sade yelled.

"What?!" He began tickling both of them. 

"Whenever y'all done, come back to the party. People wanna see them." Nicki stood and headed for the door. 

"Nicki!" He got up and stood by the door. She allowed him to stroke her cheek. "I miss you."

"You can't have me like this." She shook her head.

"You deserve better."

"I know." She looked pass him to the kids who weren't paying them any attention. 

"I'm gonna make it better."

"You always say that." She sighed.

"You know Mr. Lowe?"

"From the barber shop?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "He's letting me buy in. Thirty percent to begin with."

"That's nice." She smiled. "Don't fuck it up."

"I won't." It was then that she realized that his hand was still on her cheek. She pushed his hand away and cleared her throat. "Let me make things right."

"I'm out of chances for you. As long as Sade and Sahara are good then we're good."

"I need more." He pressed his forehead to hers. 

"That's all I have." She whispered. She felt herself growing weak. 

"Nicki." He whispered.

"Safaree." When she finally looked at him he caught her lips between his. He pinned her arms above her head as they kissed passionately until a knock came at the door. 

"Yeah?" He said as he released her arms but continued to look into her eyes. 

"Aye, bruh." His cousin said. "Ya moms said get y'all asses out here and open these gifts. 

"Aite."

After they cut the cake, Nicki left before the kids' party turned into an adult party. Even though Safaree had her head spinning, she still decided to go out with Nadir that night. They'd seen each other everyday since their first date. Nicki couldn't tell if she was growing an attachment to him, or if she was dependent on him being a distraction from Safaree. Either way, she was keeping him around. She just had to figure out why.