Drama Queen by La Jill Hunt Page B

clock. The numbers read eleven twenty-one. November twenty-first, my due date. Kayla did the only thing she knew how; she began to pray.
    Okay, God, I am finished having my pity party. It’s just you and me now. What I did was wrong, and I am asking you to forgive me. But I know that what has come out of it is a blessing, not a curse. Please, God, guide me and tell me what to do. Give me the strength to make it through this, because I can’t do it without You. She closed her eyes and did not realize that she had gone back to sleep until she checked the time, and this time it read two-fourteen. Kayla knew what her next move had to be. Okay, God, here goes , she thought as she reached for the cordless phone and dialed the numbers.
    â€œHey, beautiful. I was hoping you would call me,” Craig said when he answered.
    â€œHi. Are you at work?” she asked him. She could not remember his schedule.
    â€œI get off at three. Why? What’s up?”
    â€œI need to talk to you. Do you think you can stop by on your way home? Or maybe I can meet you at your house?” Kayla felt that this was something she should tell him in person rather than over the phone.
    â€œNo! I mean, I’m not going straight home.”
    â€œThen can I meet you somewhere?”
    â€œWhat’s the deal? I guess I can swing by your place. Is this gonna lake long, because I have somewhere to be.”
    â€œNo. I just need to talk to you.” Kayla tried not to be irritated by his covertness. She gave him directions to her apartment and got up to prepare for what she was about to do.
    â€œNice place.” Craig gave her a quick hug and kissed her lightly.
    â€œIt’s not quite as lavish as yours. Have a seat. Would you like something to drink?” She remembered to be cordial. He is a guest , she reminded herself.
    â€œNo, no thanks.” He looked down at his watch, “So is this just a ploy to get me into your bed?” He smiled his sexy smile; always the flirt. He sat on the soft, hunter green sofa that Kayla had inherited from her parents’ den.
    â€œDefinitely not. That’s the reason I’m in the shape I am in now.” Kayla tried to say what she needed to say without coming straight out and telling him.
    â€œUm, you look like you’re in great shape to me, Beautiful.”
    â€œNot for long.” She chose to sit in the chair across from him so she could look him right in his face.
    â€œAll right, Kayla. What is this all about? Come on. I told you I gotta be somewhere.”
    â€œOkay. You know I’ve been sick, right?” she began.
    â€œYeah. I know you called me some other nigga’s name at the club last week. You said you were tired. What’s wrong?” He began to look worried.
    â€œI’m pregnant,” she told him quietly. She looked in his face for some type of reaction. He just nodded his head.
    â€œOkay.” He shrugged his shoulders.
    â€œBy you,” she whispered.
    â€œWhat? Me? Are you sure? We were together only one time.” He responded like she had made a bad menu choice, rather than told him she was carrying his child. She thought it would go a lot worse than it was. Kayla had heard horror stories from other women when they told guys they were pregnant and it was unplanned.
    â€œIt only takes one time, Craig.”
    â€œAll right. So, how much you need?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” She was confused.
    â€œFor the procedure. I mean, you want me to pay half. Isn’t that why I’m over here?”
    â€œWhat procedure?” the realism of what he was talking about sunk in. “The only procedure I’m having is a full-term delivery,” she said angrily.
    Craig looked down at his watch. “Look, Kayla. Obviously you haven’t thought this all the way through. I ain’t in no position to have a baby. I mean, you said so yourself you gotta work two jobs to make ends meet. How you gonna take