Sex with Keir informed Katrina of two critical bits of truth; she was kind of out of shape and lacked endurance. Could she walk up two flights of stairs without breathing like Darth Vadar? Yes. But could she run away from Mike Myers all night? Hell no. She had four months to correct that if she was going to get through at least ten hours of labor. Which was why she was present and accounted for at the next session of prenatal pilates. Eight a.m. was early for exercise but she wanted to get it out of the way before the energy level on her battery sunk to red.

Forty five minutes later as she walked out of the studio into the warm late morning sun she craved two things: chili cheese fries and a nap. If Terrence was there, who's voice she could vividly hear in the back of her mind since she had been on the phone with him the night before, he'd steer her away from the empty calories and to the juice bar at the corner of Oleander Plaza. Thankfully for her the health guru was miles away and not ogling her vegetable intake.

"Trina! Hey! Wait up!" The cheerful voice from the other side of the street snatched her attention away from her powder blue sedan.

She smiled, as he jogged across the street not needing to look both ways for traffic. Pedestrian life was easily attainable in the town that utilized solar power more than electricity and with it being late July the masses of collegiate students had fled to a more entertaining environment than the sleepy sun soaked dwelling.

"How've you been Derrick?" She asked, once he reached her car, honestly interested in his whereabouts. He was a permanent fixture in her life.

"Just surviving in these streets." He joked, handing her one of the colorful smoothies sweating in his hand. "Some fuel after the workout."

She eyed him with suspicion as she expected the cold red beverage, "You still love raspberries?"

"Yup." She let her fingertips absorb the chill lowering her heated body temperature. "This is Terrence's doing." She said before taking a sip of the drink causing her tastebuds to do the hustle.

"Ye—not really." He moved his head from side to side. "He did tell me you were taking this class but I've been meaning to catch up with you."

She swallowed, "I didn't mean to ghost you, it's just that you're Terrence's friend and I didn't want to make you choose."

"Nah. There's no choosing." He affirmed. "We're adults. Terrence knows how I feel about his actions." He paused as if he was deciding whether or not to speak more on the matter but decided that the side of the pavement was not the place for that discussion. "That's not my business but I wanted to make sure you're good." His dark brown eyes lowered to her protruding stomach.

"I'm fine." She smoothed her hand over her belly. "Thanks for caring."

"And you still have my number so if you need anything don't be shy." His tone was serious but his features weren't painted with care. "I'm here and so is Niq. Pregnancy is wild, it helps to have family."

Tears threatened to burn in her throat. "Thank you and I've been wanting to call Niq and get some pointers on all of this." She glanced at her belly. "I've never made it this far and I'm freaking out a little." She shook her hand as if the gesture could free that jitters that had been sleeping below her calm exterior for months.

"Do it." He chuckled. "Cause she's been tearin' my ear up since hearing about it among other things." He brushed his hand down his waves. "I can't even speak my man's name without her—nevermind...I'll let her know you're interested."

"I'll give her a call later." She told, before her phone buzzed. "There's yo' boy right there."

"Cool. I'll let you answer that." He threw up two fingers before backing up down the sidewalk. "Don't be a stranger."

"I won't." She responded, then read the text message her estranged husband just sent.

Terrence: I handled it.

She let out a relaxed breath as her face glowed with appreciation. She may have lost trust in his fidelity but when it came to calling off his mother she knew he always had her back; be it during the planning of their nuptials or how she dressed. He got his mom in check with a quickness all she had to do was let him know.

The smiley emoji that he sent next didn't give her the same sentiment. She didn't feel like smiling. Instead, her eyes burned with tears and she didn't care that she was in public, she let them fall.

Her phone buzzed again but this message wasn't from him it was from Imani. Just a fire emoji. She quickly dried her tears and got into her car. This was serious and she needed to get to Imani fast. 

Do you think Katrina should accept Derrick's offer to help?

Why do you think Terrence's emoji made Katrina cry?

What do you think is going on with Imani?