.....

"Mommy, what are you doing?"

"Ummm, nothing. Why? Do you need help with something?"

"Can you watch me write?"

"Yeah, of course." I put down the letter that was in my hand. I've literally been consumed by them, so much so that I think I've read all of them more than a handful of times. I haven't really had the opportunity to have a heart-to-heart with my dad, but we do text a lot. He wants to fly me down to Florida, but I don't know how I feel about that. I'd rather he come here just in case we have a falling out or something. Then all I gotta do is close my door to all the bullshit. If I'm in Florida, I can't do that.

"I have to write the alphabet," Royce said pulling me from my thoughts.

"And how is that going?" She shrugged, showing me her paper. It wasn't that bad. She just needed to follow the lines more.

"It looks good. Do you want me to show you how I write?"

She nodded eagerly. I took the pencil from her hand. The little assignments that she brings home everyday are always so interesting to me. I don't remember anything school-related from when I was her age, but they learn so much. I find it so wholesome to just be there for her when she needs help. We practiced writing some of the alphabet, and when it was time for bed, I tucked Imani under the sheets in her bed. I was still a little self-conscious about my sleeping habits, so I made her start back sleeping in her own room.

The rest of the night went by fast. It seemed as if I blinked and it was the next morning. I dropped Royce off at school and went to work. I had this couple that didn't really know what they wanted. They called me and gave me a budget and some ideas to run with, but that was it. I mostly did paperwork, no showings today. I got off earlier than usual, so I decided to go get something to eat.

"It's just me," I said to the hostess.

"Do you want to sit at the bar or at a table?"

"The bar is fine," I said. She walked me over to the bar area and I picked a random seat. There weren't a lot of people, which was great, because I wanted to eat my food and go. I looked at the menu for awhile until my waitress came.

"What would you like to order?"

"Can I get the classic burger?"

"Sure. You want everything on it?"

"Everything except tomatoes."

"Ok, and it comes with either a regular side of fries or loaded fries."

"I'll take the loaded fries."

"And anything to drink?"

"Oh umm...just a strawberry lemonade for now." The waitress nodded before leaving. I scrolled through my phone to pass the time. It might be weird, but I don't mind going places by myself; It's not awkward at all for me to just go to a restaurant, order some food, and sit down by myself. Even with Royce, we can go out to eat and just enjoy each other's presence. Which reminds me, I definitely need to make sure that I order her something for later.

"Do you want a drink?" Someone asked me.

"Oh, I have one already," I said without looking up.

"No, do you want a drink?" I looked up once I finally understood what they were saying.

"Oh, my bad," I laughed.

"Something strong maybe? Or you like a more fruity drink? Maybe something bitter?" The bartender questioned.

"Oh, I'm not sure if I want anything."

"You're sitting at the bar, you gotta want something," he teased.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I'm off work, but I have to pick up my kid later."

"No, I get it. It's just—"

He was cut off by the waitress setting my plate down in front of me. "Do you need anything else?" She asked, and I said no. She left and the bartender continued where he left off.

"Just let me know if you want anything." I nodded, looking down at his name tag. It read Dean.

"Thank you Dean," I smiled lightly.

"Not a problem..." He paused.

"Asha," I said. I was shocked when he reached over the counter and extended his hand for me to take. I reluctantly took it, and he gave me a rather gentle shake. I eyed Dean curiously. I mean, he was cute...and White, but definitely cute. He had a buzz cut, a short full beard, dark hair, light brown eyes, and a nice build...like really nice.

I fumbled for my phone once I realized that it was vibrating on the table. "Hello?"

"Hey, do you have a second to talk?"

"Yea, I mean I'm about to eat if that's okay."

"Of course." My dad's tone seemed kind of serious.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"You still haven't answered my question."

"What do you mean?"

"I want to fly my daughter down to Florida so that I can meet the grown up version of her, and maybe spend some time with my grandchild. Is that too much to ask? I've missed out on a lot and I want to start making up for it."

"Can't you come here? I'll be honest in saying that I don't want to get stranded down in Florida. I'd be more comfortable if you came here or something."

"Asha, I'm not the only one that wants to see you. What do I have to do to get you down here? I'll pay for both you and Imani a round trip ticket. If you want to stay in a hotel, I'll pay for that too. Food, activities, I'll pay for it all."

"Da—" I cleared my throat. I still wasn't sure what to call him yet. I mean, I do refer to him as my dad, but to call him my dad aloud...to actually address him in that way makes me feel weird. Anyway...

I cleared my throat again, "You don't have to do that. You don't have to pay for us," I mumbled.

"Yes I do. I need to make things right. A lot of shit has been weighing on my conscious, and I'm not above begging my daughter to come see me."

"I don't know. I want to, but—"

"How about I give you a day to think about it?"

"A day?" I frowned.

"Yes, and you can call me when you have an answer. And if you don't call me, I'll call you."

"Okay, I'll think about it," I said even though there wasn't really much to think about. I did want to see him—that I already knew. But, I was just more nervous than anything else.

"I'll talk to you Asha." We said bye and I hung up. I leaned back in my seat. I only managed to eat half of my burger. Maybe I'll give the rest to Royce. She's not a picky eater so she'll love it.

"Hey, Dean," I got his attention once he was done talking to another customer. He then walked over to me.

"You changed your mind?"

"I did actually."

"And, what would you like?"

"I don't know. It doesn't really matter, but nothing too strong," I said. He nodded. It only took a few minutes, and when he was done he sat the drink in front of me. I removed the paper from the straw and took a sip.

"You like it?" I took a few more sips before responding.

"Yea, it's good. Really good actually. What is this?"

"It's not on the menu. It's a special of mine."

"Ohhhh, fancy," I teased. "Are you allowed to deviate from the menu like that?"

"No, not here, but it's fine."

"Well thank you. I appreciate it."

"No problem. It's on me," he said walking away. Wait what?

And sure enough, when I got my bill, the drink wasn't on there. Shit, I'll take a free drink any day. I paid the rest of the bill. And since I was feeling generous, I left a tip for both the waitress and Dean. He eyed me from across the bar, and it felt kinda nice to get some male attention, especially since I don't really have any friends here. My lonely ass. But that's what I expected when I decided to move.

I gave Dean a small smile and left.

When it was time to pick up Royce from school, I went into her classroom and almost had a heart attack when I saw her crying in the corner with her teachers desperately trying to console her.

"What happened!?" I was loud, but I didn't care.

"It was just a misunderstanding," one of the teachers spoke up hella fast. She was the one I didn't too much care for. I liked the other one though. I stormed over to them as other kids were starting to leave out with their parents.

"Imani, what happened?" I asked her, squatting down to her level. She pointed to her knee. I looked down, but I couldn't see anything because of her jeans.

"You hurt your knee?"

"Someone pushed me," she corrected.

"We cleaned it earlier and put a bandaid over it. It happened at recess and she's been crying on and off ever since," the teacher said. I held my hand out for Royce. I wanted to take her to the restroom so that I could take a look at her knee in private. We left out of the room, and I pulled her into the girls restroom and locked the door. It was one of those that only had one toilet, so you basically had the small area to yourself. It was clean and smelled like Comet, so I wasn't concerned with it being too dirty.

I gently pulled her jeans down to just below her knees. I then cleaned the sink off with a paper towel and lifted her up on the flat surface so I could get a better look.

"So, tell me what happened," I said pulling the bandaid away as softly as I could.

"I was playing with Keyonna. A boy wanted us to play with him, but when we told him that we didn't want to play, he pushed me and I fell on the rocks," she sniffed. I looked at her knee, and it was a nasty scrape.

"What boy? Who is he?"

"He's in my class. I didn't want to play with him because he's always mean to me."

"Has he put his hands on you before?" She shook her head no.

"I need you to speak. Like, I'm so serious right now. Has this boy ever put his hands on you before today?"

"No mommy."

"And what happened to him? Did he get in trouble?" I asked.

"He was put in timeout."

"And did he apologize to you?"

"No."

I rolled my eyes. I repositioned her bandaid and helped her with her pants. I pulled Royce along as I made a beeline for her classroom. I hoped this little boy was still here so I could have a word with his parents because this shit ain't gone work. It's one thing if it was an accident or if Imani was being clumsy and injured herself, but no.

"What happened to the little boy after he pushed my daughter?" I asked walking back into the classroom.

"He was picked up early today for misconduct. We already handled everything Ms. Anderson."

"I mean, apparently not if the boy didn't even apologize for pushing Imani. Why wasn't he forced to apologize to my kid for physically harming her? That doesn't make any sense to me."

"He refused to apologize so he was sent home. We tried—"

"You know what? Not to cut you off, but let me talk to his parents. Put them on the phone, or call them back up here. I don't care, but I'm not about to sweep this under the rug like nothing ever happened just because y'all handled it already."

"I'll wait," I said sitting down in a chair. No, for real because this is how that bullying shit starts. If I don't address this now, it will keep happening. The last thing I need is for Imani to lose her confidence. And all because she didn't want to play with somebody. The fuck. No means no. I don't care how old you are, any person at any age needs to learn how to handle rejection.

Imani took a seat in the chair next to me.

"Do you want to practice writing while we wait?" I asked her. She nodded, pulling out her little folder from her backpack. Once the teachers realized that I wasn't playing, they quickly started making calls. I might be younger than a lot of these other parents, but I will not tolerate bullshit especially when it comes to Imani. I may let some things slide when it comes to me, but not her.

Shit, I'll wait. I got nothing else to do tonight.

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😘💜