What We Learned Along the Way by Nadirah Angail Page A

CD
case.
    “It’s Quranic recitation. He’s reading verses
from the Quran in Arabic. I love his voice. Abdullah Ali is the
best.”
    “Sounds pretty cool. I could use this CD in
the house,” he said. Jaime walked over to the closet and pulled out
a CD case and tossed it to him.
    “Take that. It’s another one of his
CD’s.”
    “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll copy it and bring it
back.”
    “No need. Keep it. I have tons.”
    “Come on, Langston. Come get this beating,”
Isaiah yelled from the living room.
    “Yea, we’ll see,” Langston said as he walked
back to finish his game.
    By the time everyone was ready to go, it was
1’oclock in the morning. Aliya went into the bedroom and found
Jaime sleep next to Harlem.
    “Jaime?” Aliya whispered as she picked up the
child. We’re gonna go.”
    “How long have I been sleep?” she asked.
    “Hours. You must have been pretty tired,”
Aliya said.
    “I guess so.” She went into the living room
to say her goodbyes. After everyone was gone, she sat on the sofa
and put her hands on her slightly rounded belly.
    “We had a long night,” she said. “Now we’ve
got to get this place cleaned up.” As she picked up the games and
food, she thought about how she was going to break the news to
everyone. She was four months along and was starting to show. She
still couldn’t believe she was pregnant. One mistake was going to
change the rest of her life. How was everyone going to take it? How
were her parents going to take it? How were the girls going to take
it? What was Rashad going to say? She didn’t know how much longer
she could wait to tell him, but his and Mariam’s wedding was
quickly approaching. She thought he should know before he got
married.
    It took her another week to muster up the
courage to tell him. She held the phone for five minutes before she
could bring herself to dial. As soon as she heard the phone
ringing, she wanted to hang up; but he answered on the first
ring.
    “Hello?” he said.
    “As salaam alaikum, Rashad. This is Jaime.
Boy, you sure answered fast.”
    “Yea, I was just about to make a call.
Wasup?”
    “Oh, if you’re in the middle of a call, I can
just call you back later.”
    “No, it’s cool. You got me on the phone now.
What’s going on?”
    “I need to talk to you about something. It’s
pretty important. I think I should come over so we can talk in
person.”
    “I’m pretty busy. What is it? I’m sure we can
talk about it on the phone, whatever it is.”
    “Please, Rashad. I need to come over,” she
pleaded.
    He didn’t like the sound of this. “I’ve got
to be to work in an hour. Can you make it quick?”
    “I’ll be right over.” She hung up the phone
before he could change his mind.
    Jaime had never been to Rashad’s house. When
she pulled up, she wasn’t sure if she was at the right place, until
she recognized his red Toyota in the driveway.
    “This is it,” she told herself.
    Rashad already had his chef’s uniform on when
she walked in.
    “So what did you need to talk about?” he
asked as he stepped into the bedroom. “Sorry if I’m being rude. I’m
just kind of in a rush.”
    “It’s okay,” Jaime said. She was too nervous
to make small talk, so she got right to it. “I don’t know how to
say this but,” she took a big breath, “I’m pregnant.”
    “Pregnant? Uhh, okay. I didn’t know Joseph
had it in him. Tell him I said congratulations, I guess. I’ll be
sure to buy the baby a nice gift. You came all the way over here to
tell me that?” he said as he walked through the living room and
into the bathroom.
    “No, you don’t understand,” she said. “It’s
not Joseph’s. It’s yours,” she said softly.
    “Mine?” he said as he walked out of the
bathroom and stood directly in front of her. “That’s
impossible.”
    “Is it really?” she said, looking him dead in
the eyes.
    Rashad hesitated. “But, but it was only one
time and that was, what, four months ago?”
    “And