Nick leaned back in the cab and brushed gravel off his bare feet. "Lucky stroke for me, I carjacked your limo."

"Yeah, I'd say so," I said, rubbing my palms together to keep my hands from shaking. "How'd you hear about the kid?"

"Through the grapevine. You know how it is." (Cough-cough). "When I get straight, I wanna meet it. Might get me back in good with my old man. Keeping the bloodline going and all that shit."

How he knew was of little importance. The fact that he knew was monumental.

Biggie's son was born via cesarean section. The only people in attendance other than the staff were Sid and Q.

Q ended up signing the birth certificate as the father__an unexpected event. No one questioned the parentage. They handed him the baby, a few pampers, and he brought the infant home.

The new baby showed up unceremoniously. "Meet Tolliver," he said.

No one knew how to change a diaper. Stella googled disposable versus cloth. Nuk-naturals versus Mam-newborn versus Evenflo. I thought all nipples were equal. Fuck me.

At first, Q took his new responsibility with trepidation and then dedication, then with fanaticism. He bought baby furniture and transformed Biggies room into a nursery. He prepared homemade baby formula with the finest ingredients

Only organic materials could touch Tolliver's body, including his butt. Boxes of vinyl-free gloves invaded every room in the condo. Even the dog was quarantined in Stella's bedroom. I was not allowed to smoke anywhere other than my bedroom. Fuck me, again.

Sid showed up every day with something new. A car seat, a high chair, a stroller, bouncy toys, and stuffed animals. I enjoyed seeing him even if he refused to speak to me.

Stella took care of sterilizing all things needing sterilization, disposal of all poop-filled, puked-on clothing, and 4 AM feedings.

I went shopping for under-eye concealer. Since babies do not sleep__no one sleeps. Fuck me.

So, the idea of Ike The Spike getting his hands on the only thing we have left of Biggie except for a shadow of herself, could not happen. I acted on my raw instinct.

I lit a cig, much to the chagrin of our cabbie, and handed it to Ike. "How about I take you to meet your son? Think of it as a much-needed vacation__so to speak. Kill two birds with one shotgun__so to speak."

A lie told convincingly.

"It's a boy! How cool is that?"

"Cool, indeed," I said