Tasha moaned and groaned, and I had to keep my focus and keep her focused. “Hold on, Tasha. We’re going to get there safely.”

“Get me to the hospital in one piece, Angel.”

“Bitch, I got you. Ain’t nothing changed. We’ve had each other’s backs since day one.”

TASHA

I had been in labor before, but this one was by far the worst. I was fearful of Scarface driving like a bat out of hell through the pouring rain, but I was in so much pain, I couldn’t even worry about a car accident. I just wanted to get this baby out of me, and I prayed it didn’t happen in the car. “Here comes another one!”

Angel rushed inside the emergency room to get help, while Scarface sat and waited by the car door with me. For the first time, I wasn’t afraid of him.

Once the orderly wheeled me up to the maternity ward, the nurse examined me, then called the doctor. She asked Angel to leave the room, but she didn’t. The doctor came in, threw on some white rubber gloves, and did a vaginal exam. It felt like he stuck his arm up into my tonsils.

“Is the baby okay?” I asked through a veil of red pain.

The doctor had stopped examining me and put a monitor on my stomach. He finally replied, “Your baby is fine, but it’s lying transverse, instead of head down or even hips down for a breech birth. We can’t turn the baby, so we’re going to have to perform a C-section.”

“A C-section?” Oh, no! Nothing was going as planned. I wanted Trae to be here when I delivered, but that wasn’t happening. I had planned on doing natural childbirth like I did with the boys. That wasn’t happening. Now a C-section? Could my luck get any worse? There was nothing I could do but go for the ride and pray that my baby girl and I would be fine. For the first time, I understood what Aunt Marva said about a woman being close to death whenever she had a baby.

“Can my sister come in and be here with me since my husband is not here?”

“Only a husband or partner can come in when there is a C-section.”

Angel pulled the doctor and nurse to the side, whispered something, and the next thing I knew, she was covering herself with a white gown and mask. She squeezed my hand. “I got you, girl.”

The last thing I remember was a mask going over my nose and mouth.

***

Waking up woozy, I heard my baby’s first cry. It was loud and feisty, as if my baby was mad. “It’s a girl,” the doctor said. “Time of birth: 4:04 p.m.”

“She’s beautiful!” Angel said, tears streaming down her face as she aimed her camera.