You Think You Know...But (pt. 16)

Turns out that Tia was, in fact, pregnant and was due to give birth any day but it wasn’t the joyous occasion that she thought that it would be.  Ricardo had packed his things and moved into an apartment with Jay upon confirming the pregnancy with her after learning about it from his wife.  He had even accused her of getting pregnant on purpose as a way to trap him into a relationship with her.  Tia, who had been somewhat delusional about her relationship, now found herself facing life as a single parent, which was a fate she hadn’t foreseen or wanted for herself or her unborn child.  She had lost her shop due to her inability to keep any good help, which caused her to lose clients, which inevitably lead to a substantial loss in income and her closing the shop.  To top it off, all of the stress had caused her numerous problems throughout her pregnancy and now she was bedridden in her doctors attempt to keep her blood pressure down.

Tia couldn’t help but feel like she had been played a fool.  She had moved Ricardo in when his wife threw him out with just the clothes on his back and the few dollars he had in his pocket. She had given him a place to rest his head, put food in his belly and money in his pocket, as well as, his bank account.  She had listened to him gripe about how dirty his wife had done him, stood up to defend him whenever she was met with someone with something negative to say about him and more importantly she loved him, something she was sure his wife couldn’t say. She had even been prepared to forgive him for having sex with his wife and in her bed, no less, but he had packed his belongings and left as if he had been the one betrayed.

She had done everything she possibly could for a man whom she thought loved her as much as she loved him, but he still wanted to go back to a woman who had taken everything he had.  She considered Ricardo to be the love of her life and was willing to fight for his affection.  She had gotten him an interview with a small Internet Technology company owned by one of her clients’ husband, that he now worked at and hadn't even bothered to say thank you for.  She even offered to co-signed for him when he needed help obtaining a new vehicle, but after what Nikki had taken away his SUV so easily he wasn't willing to go down that road again.  But everything she had done had not only gone unappreciated but also made her feel like she was trying to buy his love through acts of generosity. At the end of the day none of that mattered to him because when he found out that she had shown Nikki the picture of their babies ultrasound, he had called her every name in the book and made her feel like the whore he apparently thought she was.

For months, she had tried everything in her power to get Ricardo to forgive her and come back to her so that they could raise their child together, something she thought was just as important to him.  They had talked several times about not wanting to raise a child without both parents, them both being products of broken homes; however, now that she was pregnant, he had no problem turning his back on them, all in hopes of winning Nikki back.  Ricardo had always talked so lovingly about his daughter, telling her that he wouldn’t want her to grow up without her father like he had.  Tia had grown up without a father and in many aspects, without a mother, as hers was in and out of her life before running off with some boyfriend and never returning.  She didn’t want that for her child. She wanted her child to benefit from having both parents together in the same home.

After months of him not returning her calls or wanting to see her, Tia had finally given up on her dreams of having what she deemed an ideal family to focus on the arrival of her new baby.  She had been smart enough to stash away enough rainy day money so that she could comfortably live for about two years, even though she had no intention of being unemployed that long.  She had taken out some money to decorate the baby’s room in the manner she saw fit, which meant that everything was as lavishly cute as could be.  She had decided to paint the walls a soft powder blue with white clouds painted underneath the molding to give the affect of the sky in honor of the baby boy was expecting, a little fact she had decided to keep from Ricardo.  She had purchased a crib, rocking chair and changing table but had received a mountain of everything she could have ever wanted or needed at her baby shower.  She had more stuffed animals then she could count, pacifiers, baby bibs, a newborn medicine kit, blankets, sleepers and was so amazed by the diaper cake that she’d received that she refused to dismantle it to put the diapers away.  Everyday she added or changed something that seemed to be missing or out of place.   Once she had gotten everything like she thought it should be she added one more thing to the room, a sterling silver frame with a picture of her and Ricardo together that they had taken on a trip to the mountains, when they were having their affair.    

Her sister, Vanessa, had moved into the guest room so that she could be there whenever Tia went into labor, which took her mind off of Ricardo and allowed her to enjoy the last few weeks of her pregnancy.  Vanessa being around was all of the moral support Tia needed.  Vanessa was waiting until Tia went into labor to take two weeks vacation from her job so that she could take care of Tia during her last few days of pregnancy and help her attend to the new baby once he arrived. Vanessa cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner for her baby sister, bringing each meal to her in bed.  It reminded Tia of when they were growing up and Vanessa had to act as her mother because their mother was never around to actually do those things herself.  They talked for hours about any and everything…except Ricardo, as Vanessa would fly off the handle at the mere mention of his name.  Still the time with her big sister was precious and it seemed as if they had never been closer.  Vanessa calmed Tia's every fear about raising her baby alone, assuring her that she would be there just as she always had been.  Vanessa provided Tia with the love and care that she needed, making her feel like she could get throughtthe devastation of losing the love of her life just in time to receive the greatest gift of love that she would ever know.