AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Explaining to my daughter the type of person Rodney was, was on the tip of my tongue, but what would that do to Eva’s already fragile relationship with him?
“Turns out, he’s sick,” I lied, and it came out effortlessly to shield my little girl from her father’s negligence.
She rolled her eyes and mumbled, “Good thing he’s sick then. I didn’t want to go over there anyway.”
“Sweetheart—”
“No, Mom. It’s good that he’s sick. Maybe he’ll stay sick the rest of his life and miss all of his weekends.” Eva ran up the steps to her bedroom and slammed the door.
Deep down, I knew that she knew her father wasn’t ill. Her feelings towards her father were similar to mine. We desperately wanted to rely on him to be there for us, but we couldn’t. The wall Eva had put up was simply for protection against his letdowns that he delivered more and more often these days. Breaking the news to Kevin was going to be tougher, so I headed upstairs and knocked on his door. It swung open as soon as I touched it.
He jumped off the bed and picked up his overnight bag. “Is Dad here?”
I leaned against the doorsill and looked at my excited son who’d cleaned his room to near perfection, not one toy was out of place, his books were on his bookcase, and his bed was made up with his black and gold Shazam blanket set. He did all of that so that he could go with his father.
“No, Kevin, he’s not here, and he’s not coming. Your dad is sick, so he won’t be able to pick you guys up this weekend,” I said in a soft tone as I watched the joy drain from Kevin’s face.
“Really?” he asked unbelievingly.
“I know you were looking forward to it, but I promise we’ll have fun, just the three of us,” I assured him with a smile. “Maybe we’ll go to the movies.”
“Alright,” he mumbled, sitting down on his bed with a pensive look stretching across his young, stressed features. “It’s okay, Mom,” he said as if he had to comfort me.
I walked over and sat down on his full-sized bed with him.
“Are you sure you’re okay with it? I know you were looking forward to going to the game with your father,” I said.
A tear appeared in the corner of his eye. “I should be used to it, right?” he asked, and the cracking of his tiny voice and seeing that tear sent a twinge of pain to my chest.
My son shouldn’t be used to anything like this. It wasn’t right how Rodney used our kids to show off at family affairs, and then let them down when he felt more benefit in doing something or someone else, like Melody, and her so-called event.
“I love you, bud,” I said, pulling Kevin into a hug.
“I love you, too, Mom. Thank you for always being here for us,” Kevin said and pulled away from me and started to unpack his bag.
The frustration from Rodney’s neglect was palpable in the room. We all deserved more than empty promises, and the kids shouldn’t have to suffer because their father was playing a dangerous yo-yo game with their heart. I did the only thing I could think of doing. I picked up the phone and called my mother. She would know the right thing to say to get me through yet another Rodney-induced heartache.
***
The next day, I’d taken Eva and Kevin to spend time with their friends for the day. I planned an outing with Kemara since we hadn’t chatted in what seemed like forever. Since Kemara got married, the newlyweds had been inseparable, and I missed talking to my sister. I gave them enough time to enjoy their first few months in peace, now I needed my sister back for a few hours.
I spotted her walking into the Havana restaurant, and man, she looked radiant. We hugged rocking back and forth as if it had been years and not months since we last saw each other. Finally, we took a seat in our favorite booth.
“Girl, I’m so glad to see you. I missed you so much!” I said in a high pitch.
“I was beginning to think Channing wouldn’t let you up for air. How is the married life treating you?”
Kemara’s smile from ear to ear answered that question, but I wanted to hear from her how the past few months had been.
“Everything is wonderful, Tameka. I truly couldn’t have asked for a better husband, and have it turn out this good. Channing is a blessing to me in every way.” She paused for dramatics. “I was just telling him I couldn’t wait for us to get together for lunch because I missed you. How have you been, Tameka? And, my babies, how are they?”
“Oh, Kevin and Eva are doing great. I do all I can to make sure they’re happy, but they have missed their auntie.” I flipped through the menu as I talked. “Although…” I paused, looking at my sister. “I’m about ready to kill Rodney, but what else is new?”
Kemara groaned. “What has my ex-brother in law done this time, Tameka?” she asked but
looked almost hesitant to know what he was up to now.
“What is it that he hasn’t done would be a better question? For one, in ten years, he hasn’t stepped up to the plate to help father these kids. I’m so tired of that man I want to move and not tell anyone where I’m going.”
