Wives and Champions (12 page)

“
No,” Desmond answered.
“Sherita is constantly up and down during the night. I try to help,
but she doesn’t want me to get up with her during the night since I
work full-time.”

“
And not only that, the
babies want milk,” Sherita added. “I’m their milk
supplier.”

“
Right, because you’re
breastfeeding,” Dr. Knighton said, looking at Sherita.

“
Yes.”

“
Well, constantly getting
up throughout the night is quite challenging, but the babies should
be sleeping throughout the night by now. They are six, going on
seven months, correct?”

“
Yes.”

“
I’m sure they’re eating
rice cereal now, right?”

“
They are,” Desmond
said.

“
So, after you’ve given
them warm baths, feed them milk and rice cereal. You may need to
make it a little thick, but not too thick. That’ll help hold them
until the morning. Also, how long were you planning on
breastfeeding the babies?”

“
As long as I can,” Sherita
replied. “It’s best for them, right?”

“
It is, but what I’m
concerned about is getting your blood pressure down. Sherita,
according to your blood pressure reading today, you’re approaching
stage one hypertension. You need to get that down as quickly as
possible and whatever life changes you need to make to get that
done, do it ASAP. Otherwise, I’ll have to prescribe some high blood
pressure medication for you.”

“
It’s
that
bad?” Sherita asked.

“
I’m afraid it
is.”

“
So are you telling me to
stop breastfeeding?”

“
Well, if it’s adding to
your frustration and anxiety, yes. I am. I know you love your
children and while breastfeeding is beneficial for them, having
their mother around is even more of a benefit.”

Sherita swallowed hard. Blinked away
tears.

Desmond strummed his fingers across
her back.

“
So here’s what we can do.
I’m going to write you a prescription for the anxiety.”

“
What are the side
effects?” Desmond asked.

“
The pills can cause
drowsiness.”

“
But she’s already
fatigued. Now she has to deal with drowsiness?”

“
I understand your concern,
Desmond, but patients whom I prescribed the medication haven’t
complained much about drowsiness.”

“
Okay,” Desmond
said.

“
I think it would be
beneficial to try it at least for a month. If you feel that the
side effects are too much, we’ll talk about other
options.”

“
Does that sound okay,
sweetheart?” Desmond asked Sherita.

Sherita nodded.

“
And take some time to
relax,” Dr. Knighton said. “Being a new mom is stressful,
especially when you have twins. It’s vital to take some time for
yourself. Try to take a hot bath twice a night, listen to some soft
music and enjoy a nice dinner on occasion–just the two of you.
Desmond, I’m going to hold you accountable for that.”

“
You hear that, Rita. She’s
holding
me
accountable, so when I send you to get a massage and run a
bath for you, you have to oblige.”

“
I will,” Sherita
said.

Desmond strummed her back
again.

“
And that reminds me of
something else I need to discuss, Dr. Knighton,” Sherita
said.

“
Sure.”

“
It’s embarrassing, but
here goes. Desmond and I haven’t been intimate since the babies and
it’s all my fault.”

“
You’re afraid of getting
pregnant again,” Dr. Knighton said.

“
I am,” Sherita
admitted.

“
That’s common. I mean,
think about it. You’re stressed out already and having to worry
about accidentally getting pregnant adds even more
stress.”

Sherita looked at Desmond and then
back at the doctor. “Right. And the thing is, I’m not opposed to
having more children. I just don’t want more now. Maybe when the
twins are a little older.”

Desmond smiled. What a relief it was
to hear her say that because he wanted more children.

“
So, in the meantime, I was
thinking about a more long-term method of birth control and I’ve
been doing some research on intrauterine devices.”

“
What’s that?” Desmond
asked, eyebrows raised, looking at Sherita.

Dr. Knighton chuckled. “Intrauterine
devices or IUDs are these little T-shaped devices, made out of a
flexible plastic material that’s inserted into a woman’s uterus to
prevent pregnancy.”

“
Is it safe?” Desmond
asked.

“
It is safe. Of course,
there are some women who can’t use the device, but Sherita
certainly qualifies. All you would have to do, Sherita, is make an
appointment.”

“
Here?”

“
Yep. Right here. I would
be the one doing the procedure. It’s a simple office
visit.”

“
Is it effective?” Sherita
asked.

“
It is. The IUD prevents
pregnancy for up to five years.”

“
Wow,” Desmond said. “So
let’s say we wanted to have another baby in three
years.”

“
Then, we will remove the
device just as easily as we put it in.”

“
Sounds easy enough,”
Desmond said. “What are you thinking, Sherita?”

“
I’m thinking it sounds
like a good idea.”

“
Well, let me get this
prescription written up for you, and then when you check out, you
can make your appointment for the IUD procedure.”

“
Okay. Thanks, Dr.
Knighten.”

“
No problem.”

Dr. Knighton walked out of the room
and Desmond turned to Sherita. “Had no idea you were going to bring
up something about us and intimacy issues.”

“
I know. Sorry. I should’ve
warned you.”

“
No need to apologize. It
just caught me off guard.”

“
It’s just that, since the
babies, I know I’ve been standoffish and avoiding you and I want
you to know that it’s not you. It’s me.”

Desmond smiled, squeezed her closer to
him. “I know, baby. We’ll take it one step at a time, all
right?”

“
Okay.”

“
Now kiss me. You can’t get
pregnant from kissing.”

Sherita smiled, looked at him and
pushed her lips against his. After their lips interlocked several
times, she pulled back and whispered, “I love you.”

“
I love you too,
baby.”

“
Thanks for coming here
with me. I know how important your work is to you. For you to take
the day off means a lot to me.”

“
Sweetheart, nothing’s more
important to me than you and my children.”

Sherita smiled, kissed him again and
the two stood up, preparing to leave.

* * *

Desmond sent the nanny home early. He
nearly had to beg Sherita to take a nap, reminding her of what Dr.
Knighton had said. Finally, she caved, much to his delight, and he
focused his attention on the twins. He fed them at the same time.
After changing their diapers, Nolan fell asleep, sleeping as
soundly as his mama. Desmond took him to his crib.

Celeste, on the other hand, clung on
to Desmond, bright-eyed and beautiful, attentive to his every
movement.

“
You’re not going to go to
sleep anytime soon are you, little girl?” Desmond asked her.
“That’s okay, though. You’ll just have to come with daddy to his
office. You want to come to daddy’s office?”

Celeste smiled while kicking her
legs.

Desmond grinned. “I’ll take
that as a yes.” He pulled out his chair and logged into his home
computer, using only his right hand. Browsing through his emails,
he saw a few from Phyllis and an urgent one from Dimitrius. He
grinned. Dimitrius usually marked all of his emails as
urgent
as noted by the
exclamation mark next to the subject line:

! URGENT: Need your take
on this ASAP

“
Look, Celeste. Uncle
Dimitrius has sent yet another urgent email. You see
this?”

Celeste smiled again.

Desmond smiled too, then kissed her
soft cheek. “Let’s see what’s so urgent.” He double-clicked the
email to open it:

From: Dimitrius Champion

To: Desmond Champion

Cc: Dante Champion; Kurt Hempstead

Subject: ! URGENT: Need your take on this
ASAP

Met with Dante today regarding Grieving
Hearts Connect…

A while ago, Steven mentioned there
was a market for vacationers wanting to reserve rooms at the resort
even though they don’t specifically fall into the scope of GHC.
While we know GHC serves a purpose to the grieving community, we
are taking a hit during the fall and winter months. So, taking the
feedback from Steven, we are exploring the possibility of GHC
opening up to the general public, but Dante is concerned about the
impact of what this would mean for people who
are
GHC members. He doesn’t want to compromise
the integrity of GHC by basically letting anyone in. Wondering if
you had any ideas on how to spin this as a grief retreat and a
“normal” vacation resort. Let me know your initial
thoughts.

Thanks,

Dimitrius Champion | Accounts Executive

The Champion Corporation

_________

“
Okay, so we’re back to
this issue again,” Desmond said in a monotone. “They’re trying to
give your daddy gray hairs, Celeste. Do you see what they’re doing
to me?”

Celeste reached out and grabbed
Desmond’s bottom lip in her little grasp as he keyed an email
reply:

From: Desmond Champion

To: Dimitrius Champion

Cc: Dante Champion; Kurt Hempstead

Subject: Re: ! URGENT: Need your take on
this ASAP

Give me a few days.

Thanks,

Desmond Champion | Director of Marketing
& Business Relations

The Champion Corporation

_________

Desmond stood up. “All right, little
lady. You’re going to have to come with me to the pharmacy to pick
up mommy’s medicine. But let’s go check on mommy first.”

Desmond walked upstairs, stepped into
the master bedroom and saw Sherita lying there in the center of the
bed, resting. He smiled. He never imagined he’d be married with a
wife and two kids so soon. While it was something he always wanted,
he delayed it as long as he could. He wanted to make sure he was
ready and now, he was in the thick of it. And so was Sherita. He
wouldn’t have it any other way.

Chapter
Eleven

Dante sat behind his desk, temples
throbbing, trying to wrap his mind around what Emily had told him.
She confirmed what he knew – she was pregnant. While that was good
for him, she took issue with it. She wasn’t ready for a baby. In
essence, she was telling him she didn’t want his baby. How could
she not want his baby?

Feeling a strong intensity of
frustration pulsating at his temples, he pressed the speakerphone
button on his phone and dialed Phyllis’ extension.

“
Yes, Dante.”

“
Phyllis, clear my schedule
this afternoon.”

“
Should I arrange the staff
meeting for another day this week?”

“
No. I’ll email you with a
new date and time.”

“
All right,
Sir.”

“
Thank you,
Phyllis.”

“
Not a problem.”

Dante pressed the button again, rubbed
his eyes and expelled a breath. Why was Emily making a big deal out
of this pregnancy? He leaned back in his chair, expelled more
breaths. He never would’ve imagined this would be happening to him.
While he knew, somehow, in one way or another, the situation would
be resolved and Emily would always be his, it still troubled him
that she was bothered by the pregnancy.

He sat up when he heard his intercom
buzz. He pressed the button and said, “Yes, Phyllis?”

“
Hi, Dante. You have a
visitor. Were you expecting anyone today?”

“
No, I wasn’t expecting
anyone. Whoever it is, tell them they’ll have to make an
appointment.”

“
Okay, Sir.”

“
Who is it, by the way?” he
asked curiously.

Phyllis looked up at the man, watching
him walk near the coffee station like he was thinking about getting
a cup. Then she said discreetly, “He says his name is Harding
Champion.”

A frown settled deep into Dante’s
forehead. “Who?”

“
Harding Champion. He’s
dressed casually, so he’s probably not here on official business.
Should I tell him to make an appointment?”

“
No. Give him a badge and
send him up to the fourth-floor conference room.”