The front door finally opened, and I pulled away from Ahmad.
My dad was standing there smiling at the two of us. “I’m glad you decided to come, baby girl.” My face went blank.
“Let’s just get this over with, Dan,” I mumbled.
My dad had the nerve to look saddened by my response, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t here to make him feel better.
He stepped to the side and allowed us to enter the house.
“Everyone is already at the table,” my dad spoke then led us toward the back of the house.
As we walked through the house, I looked around. This was the first time I ever stepped foot in it, and I couldn’t lie and say whoever decorated it didn’t do their thing. My dad had money, so I wasn’t shocked that he lived in a large family home.
We walked down the hall and I peered in the living room. It was huge, with the couch in the middle and a big flat screen mounted on the wall over the fireplace. Just like Ahmad’s, it was a stone fireplace that complimented the room nicely. There was a treadmill located behind the couch and what looked like a yoga mat as well.
We continued down the hall, and I observed the pictures on the walls, stopping when I noticed one.
“What’s wrong?” Ahmad asked, stopping next to me.
I didn’t respond, just kept my eyes on the pictures in front of me.
“Do you remember taking these?” My dad backpedaled and asked.
“It was a birthday, I remember that,” I told him.
I looked at the frame that was divided into five sections, and each one was filled with pictures of me. Some were of my dad and me.
“It was your tenth birthday. Your mom wanted to capture your double-digit year.”
I looked happy in the pictures. I was in a pink dress with a white bow around it, and my hair was in two pigtails. My mom was wearing a matching dress, while my dad had on a pink polo and white shorts.
“I remember these. This was the year you left us. I have the pictures somewhere in a box at home.” I rolled my eyes and grabbed Ahmad’s hand, brushing past my dad.
As soon as we got to the dining room, my eyes landed on Heather, my dad’s wife. I cut my eyes at her before looking over to where my brothers were. Both of them were on their phones and didn’t even notice me.
“Put the phones up. We’re about to eat,” my dad said, stepping into the dining room behind us.
He took a seat next to Heather, and Ahmad and I took the two seats across from them.
“I didn’t catch your name,” my dad said to Ahmad.
“Ahmad.”
“Well, since my daughter isn’t going to introduce us, I guess it’s up to me.” My dad looked at me like I was going to jump, but I sat there with my lips pressed together. He sighed and shook his head.
“I’m Dan, and this is my wife, Heather. These are Fatima’s brothers, DJ and Jalen.”
I looked over at my brothers, who looked just as happy to have me here as I was to be here.
“You did good, Fatima. He’s good looking.” Heather smiled at us, but I rolled my eyes.
“It’s nice to meet all of you.” Ahmad grabbed my hand from under the table and squeezed it. He narrowed his eyes at me. I knew I was being petty and that I should stop, but I couldn’t help it.
“You know, I thought you favored your mom, but looking at your dad and your brothers, I see all four of you really favor each other.”
“Yeah, you would think I spit them three out,” my dad joked. Instead of saying the slick remark I wanted to, I kept quiet.
“Well, let’s eat,” Heather spoke up and reached for one of the dishes on the table.
