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arms. She took in all her beautiful
features including her slanted eyes. She was surprised to see that they looked
to be grayish-green in color. Her small pink lips had a mole on the top right
corner. It resembled Maria’s; she had one near her lip on the same side. Her
baby had thick neatly shaped eye brows and a round petite nose. She looked
almost exactly like her Maria, but she was a little darker. She had a light
complexion with a hint of caramel. Her head was full of curly black hair. Maria
and Don brought a beautiful baby girl into the world.
    “What
are you going to name her?” Edella asked. Maria didn’t have to think twice. One
name rolled off the tip of her tongue. “Mercedes,” she blurted out, with a big
smile across her face. “Mercedes Carter.” Maria nodded her head up and down and
smiled from ear to ear.
    “Can
you two excuse me for a moment?” Maria asked. Her aunt and the maid exited the
room and patiently waited in the lobby. Maria grabbed the number that was on
the table and placed a piece of her hair behind her ear. She picked up the
hospital phone and dialed Don Carter’s number. She nervously placed the phone
to her ear and waited for him to answer. Many different thoughts ran through
her head. She didn’t know how he would take the news. He probably wouldn’t
believe her when she told him. He would probably deny it and say Mercedes
wasn’t his child.
    Tears
gathered in her eyes as the thoughts ran through her head. She didn’t want her
daughter to grow up without a father. She wanted her to have a wealthy life,
and she knew Mr. Carter could provide that. She bit on her bottom lip while
waiting for him to pick up. Sadly, she only got through to his voicemail. She
ended the call and looked through her room’s window. Her future would hinge on
Don Carter’s response, when and if he found out about Mercedes. 
    xxxxxxxxxx
     
    Don
cruised down the streets of New York bumping LL Cool J’s “I Need Love”. He wore
his blue New York fitted cap pulled low over his eyes. His car windows had limo
tint, so no one could see inside. Although people knew when he hit the corner;
everyone knew he was driving a gold Lexus with 22 inch chrome rims. He had just
returned from replenishing his product with his brother Roy. The next order of
business was to collect some paper that was owed to him. Things had been going
smoothly for them since they got back from Cuba. Their money game stepped up
tremendously.
    Everyone
in the Carter family was eating and had cake. Don’s cell phone was in his
pocket and he could feel it vibrating. He reached into his pocket and realized
that it was a weird number, but he recognized the Cuban area code. He thought
it was Vicente calling from another number, but when he answered he got a
pleasant surprise.
     “Yo?”
Don flipped up his phone and put it up to his ear.
    “Don?”
    “Who’s
this?” The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t put a finger on it.
    “Maria.”
    When
he heard her name, Don almost dropped the phone. He had been thinking of her
since he left, but became very focused on making his money. He loved the
connection between the two of them and wanted more.
    “Oh
my God, Maria-how have you been?” Don was happy to hear from her. He was
wondering what took her so long to call him. He started thinking that she
wasn’t interested in him and what they had was just a one night stand.
    “I’ve
been good. I mean, I’m happy.” Maria smiled. She looked down at her newborn
baby girl that she held in her arms, “Umm… I have something to tell you.”
    “Go
on. I’m listening. We have a lot to catch up on.” Don couldn’t wait to pick up
where they left off.
    “I
was pregnant with your child, and today I gave birth.” She informed him. The
words were like music to his ears. Don couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He
had to look at his cell phone again to see if this was really happening and not
a prank call.
    “Are
you there?” Maria