XanderIt's week two of the trial, and Nikki is being called up as a witness today. I was nervous. I didn't think it was a good idea for her to be under so much stress, after all, she was pregnant and the last couple of days had put her under a lot of pressure. "Babe, please just listen to me, I don't think this is a good idea." Nikki groans and rolls her eyes, "Xander, I'm not doing this with you again." "I agree," Charles says from the front seat. "It's the only way we can get this case to work in our favor," Nikki says, "We need to do this. I need to do this." I sigh, "Fine, but the moment I sense any stress coming from you, I stop the whole thing." She nods, "Fine." The car stops outside the courthouse, and we jump out of the vehicle, officers, and security guards immediately surround us, this has been our lives for the last two weeks. It's been a whirlwind for us all, I'm used to being in court, but Nikki and her family haven't been taking it well, especially with all that
Xander “What are you talking about Nikki? You messed up how?” “There is a lot that I need to tell you.” I look at Nikki, “About what babe? If it’s about Aiden’s accusations then surely we can get that cleared up.” “There is more to it Xander, a much darker truth.” My stomach turns when she utters those words, what is she hiding from me? Nikki looks around and shakes her head, “We will talk about this when we get home.” I sigh, “Okay, fine but do we need to excuse ourselves from the court?” She shakes her head, “I’m okay, let’s finish this.” I nod and we sit outside and wait for our family to step out of the court. Nikki’s mom walks out and spots us sitting nearby and walks towards us. Nikki stands up and starts talking to her mother in her native tongue, Xhosa. Nikki’s mother looks at me and then back at Nikki, she looks scared. Nikki’s mother, Boniswa, and I’s relationship is still in the works. I believe that she still doesn’t trust me but however, I still respect her, and
Xander “I can explain.” She folds her arms and looks at me, “You have 10 seconds.” “My company is going through a snag right now and with our project still in the planning stages, I have to figure something out to help us stay afloat until then,” I ramble, “I was going to tell you I swear, I’m just still talking to an investor in the UK to confirm the meeting and then I was going to tell you.” Nikki sighs, “Why not say something Xander, I hate it when people keep things from me.” Likewise, but you don’t hear me complaining. “I know baby, I didn’t want to worry that’s all. We already have a lot going on and all of this was before I found that you were carrying our baby.” She pouts, “Fine, but I’m coming with you.” “Nikki I – “It is not up for discussion,” she says and walks past me. I groan, “Yes ma’am.” I quickly change out of my suit and into a pair of sweatpants and I go downstairs and find Nikki munching down on the pizza. “Save me a slice, why don’t you?” She looks at
Xander It’s a little after 18:00 and Nikki and I are laying on the floor, covered with a small blanket that was on the couch, she’s fast asleep, and I’m awake, drawing small circles on her arm. Alone with my thoughts, I’m overwhelmed by the silence. A lot has happened, and every time I realize how far I’ve come; I’m amazed at the amount of unintentional healing I’ve done. The more I experience life with Nikki, the more I realize how much I missed out on growing up and being shielded and lied to by my father. People come in all forms, good and bad. It doesn’t matter who they are or where they come from, a human is defined by their actions and circumstances, each of our experiences in life determines who we become, we either chose to let them define us or redefine our circumstances. I’m about to be a father, and every day I’m learning something new about pregnancy and just how much value there is in a woman and why they are the supreme human being on this earth. They deserve more
Nikki A few days later “Mama, can you please stop doing that?” My mother smacks her teeth and proceeds to wipe my jacket with her handkerchief. “Can’t have my daughter looking like she came from the township,” she says and pinches my cheek. I huff, “Mama, it’s just a doctor’s appointment,” “I know but you know what I’ve always told you,” “Cleanliness is next to Godliness,” I say to her mother. I sigh, for the life of me I don’t understand why my mama has to be like this, I’m grown as hell. We are waiting outside my doctor’s office and I’m nervous as hell, I haven’t had one of these in a while, I barely get sick and if I do, I use home remedies. I feel my mother’s hand on my thigh, and I look down and it’s bouncing up and down. “Everything is going to be okay,” I nod. From the corner of my eye, I see Xander coming in with my food, these pregnancy cravings were something else, I had him go across town to get me some meat from a restaurant that I went to with Chantel, two yea
Xander We have two hours left before Damien’s proposal, and I am freaking out. The venue messed up the catering and the proposal area, and I am about to get some people fired. “We have two hours until the event and everything is a fucking mess,” I grumble as I walk past Nikki. She grabs me and pulls me towards her. “Look at me,” she says softly, and my eyes meet hers, and she gives me a soft smile, “It’s just a minor issue, can I call Chantel to come help, she’s good at handling situations like this?” I sigh, I didn’t want to seem weak, or incapable, but I needed the help and as part of my therapy sessions, I was told to always ask, accept, and give help. “I’d really appreciate that baby,” She gives me a light kiss, and she pulls her phone out of her pocket. “Chantel, I need your help,” she says, not wasting any time. “Okay, I’ll send you the address,” she hangs up the phone and starts typing, she hits send and puts her phone back in her pocket. I kiss the side of her head,
Xander I am panicking. I am nervous for Damien; everything has to go perfectly tonight. We arrive at the restaurant and Damien is waiting for us outside. He looks calm, like always, but I know he’s nervous. He is wearing royal blue, a white shirt and white Nike sneakers. He seemed to be playing with a box in his hand. “Damien, you look amazing,” Nikki says as she gives him a hug. “Thank you,” he says with a smile. I give him a hug, “Are you ready?” He nods, “I’m excited and nervous. X sent me a text saying they are 20 minutes away.” “That’s great, so what was the excuse?” “Just a nice family dinner,” he chuckles. Nikki and I laugh. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face,” Nikki says, “He’s very difficult to surprise, but this plan is foolproof.” “Let’s head inside and get everybody ready,” I say, “Can’t keep the guests waiting.” We all step inside, and we are greeted by my mother, sister, and Nikki’s mom, as well as Chantel. “Mom, Jessica, thank you so much for coming,
Nikki “Nikki, come on, we need to get going, we are going to be late,” Xander yells for the fifth time this morning. “Yell at me like that again, and I’m going to kick you where the sun doesn’t shine,” I yell back. It’s been a few weeks since Charles and Damien’s engagement, and this is the final week of testimony in Aiden’s case. I am exhausted and could not wait for it to be over. They had a pretty strong case against Aiden, and it looked like he was going to be facing some serious jail time. I pick up my handbag and I make my way downstairs. Xander is on the phone, and he looks stressed, he has been for the last few days, but he doesn’t seem ready to talk about it, so I won’t force him to. He looks at me and smiles and ends his phone call. “You ready to go?” he asks as he kisses my forehead. I nod, “Yeah, I’m sorry I took so long, I couldn’t pick out an outfit, this baby seems to be growing a little too fast, and I’m getting fat.” “More ass for me to grab,” he smirks, I hit