Page 44 of Only a Gemini Will Do

“She’s beautiful, and so tiny,” I whispered, going complete heart-eyes over her.

“She’s perfect. It’s like I . . . don’t know how to breathe right now.”

“Me either. All that matters is that you’re here . . . with us. Do you want to hold her?”

Kareem hesitated for a second, then nodded. He was shirtless. His hoodie had been discarded somewhere in the midst of the chaos of my contractions. His wide eyes were glued to the baby as I gently lifted her and placed her in his arms. He cradled her teeny body like she was made of pure gold—the most precious thing he’d ever had the pleasure of holding.

“I haven’t held a baby this small since my first nephew was born. She feels evensmaller than him, but my arms are shaking like she weighs a ton.”

“She’s yours now.”

“Did you pick out a name?”

I smiled while gently stroking the baby’s hand. “Kareena,” I announced. “I wanted her to always have a piece of you, even if . . .”

He looked at me, feeling the weight of my words as my sentence trailed off. Then he looked back at the baby and nodded. “I love it. Thank you.”

The baby’s eyes were closed, her tiny lips puckered as she let out a soft sigh and settled into her father’s chest. We sat in silence, the two of us wrapped in awe of what we’d created. Outside, the sun had started to rise. Inside, I was finally living my happily ever after.

Three days later.

Kareena was alreadythree days old and had received a good bill of health from the pediatrician during her first visit. I was more in love with her than ever before. I’d sent over a million pictures to my mom and my friends, allowing them to gush over her from afar. She was the perfect mix of us—my complexion, his sultry brown eyes, my button nose, and his long eyelashes.

Kareem had also become smitten with her. He’d insisted on doing the late-night bottle feedings, allowing me to rest and recuperate from giving birth while alternating between pumping and breastfeeding. He’d become the blowout diaper-changing master and enjoyed all the skin-to-skin baby cuddles.

As much as I loved living in our private little cocoon and being back together, I couldn’t help but feel like we were in a bubble that was about to pop, and I didn’t want to get caught slipping a second time. The hard part was over, yet it seemed to be just beginning at the same time. Soleil was gone, and I had eight weeks of maternity leave from my job. Reality was knocking, and we needed a plan.

Kareena was asleep in the bassinet, swaddled tightly in one of her soft blankets. Butta was curled up beneath it, attentive like he was getting paid to be on patrol. I sat on the edge of the bed, sipping my postpartum tea blend. Kareem stood in the doorway, arms folded across his tatted, chocolate chest.

“We need to talk about the future and what that looks like with her in it now,” I told him as I turned to face him.

“I know. I’ve been thinking about it too.”

“As much as I love having you here and not having to do this alone, we can’t stay hidden inside my apartment forever.”

He walked into the bedroom and sat beside me, his knee gently touching mine as a heavy sigh slipped from his lips. We sat quietly for a minute, staring at the baby as the weight of reality bore down on us like a ton of bricks.

“There’s a lot to consider. I can’t make the same mistakes twice.”

“How did you get out in the first place?” I questioned.

“Kadeem.”

My brows creased. “Kadeem? H-how?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t care. Logistics was always his thing. All I know is he helped me get back to you.”

“Y’all are career criminals for real. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to figure out how not to freak the hell out every time she cries.”

“We all have our battles, shawty. You’re doing a great job with her.”

“Thanks. But seriously, Kareem, what are we doing?”

“I meant what I told you in Brazil. I want to build something real with you, no matter where we go.”

I drew in a deep breath and released it, feeling my shoulders slowly fall back into place. “Come here,” I said, getting up to walk from the bedroom to the living room. I picked up a globe from one of my shelves and handed it to him. “Spin it. Wherever it lands is where we’ll go.”

Kareem looked down at the globe, then back at me. “You serious, shawty?”