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“It was wonderful!” Fee exclaimed.
“Wonderful? I’ve never heard you use that word before to describe your day.”
“It was Daddy, because guess what?” Skye smiled.
“What?”
“Me and Fee got invited to Patty’s sleepover for her birthday!” Skye cheesed.
Both girls started dancing in their seats.
“Patty is the one that said she liked your hair?”
“Yep…” Skye replied.
I was teaching myself to pay more attention to their conversations and remember the things that seemed important to them.
“…and she said that Fee had her own invitation!” Skye finished.
“She left mine in my classroom mailbox. Can we go, Daddy, puuuuulllleeezzzz,” Fee sang while clasping her hands in front of her.
“I can show you the invitation when we get to the restaurant, Daddy,” Skye said.
“Okay, I will look at it once we sit down,” I answered.
I needed time to come up with a gentle way of letting them down. I wasn’t too keen on allowing my girls to spend the night at random folks’ houses. Granted, this Patty girl was their schoolmate, but I didn’t know her or her momma. I had no idea what they had going on at their house and I certainly was not about to subject my girls to it.
“Tell me about the rest of your day,” I asked, trying to switch the subject.
Skye and Fee told me about the rest of their day while we drove to the restaurant. The girls and I were seated quickly. After ordering our food, my phone rang.
“What’s up?” I answered after seeing Bee’s name.
“Hey, Moe. I was calling to let you know that I won’t be able to pick the girls up tomorrow from school. Tony’s truck has to go into the shop for some repairs,” Bee rattled off.
I felt the heat rising in my core and quickly traveling to my head. I wanted to hang up on her, but I still tried to be respectful since she was the mother of my children.
“I’m in a cornfield,” I responded in code, indicating that there were a lot of ears around.
“Oh, the girls are right there? Let me talk to them. I will explain,” Bee cluelessly responded.
She had no idea how her broken promises were affecting the girls. She had no idea that the more she reneged on her promises, the more callous the girls became towards her. I was also tired of telling the aftercare van that she was picking them up and then calling at the last minute and changing the plans because Bee had decided not to follow through. I hadn’t mentioned anything to them this time. Good thing I hadn’t.
“No, not right now…hold on,” I said while putting the phone on mute. “Girls go and wash your hands. Come right back,” I instructed.
Both girls scooted out of the booth and held hands as they walked to the bathroom.
I unmuted the phone, “I am not going to let you explain because we have their dance class tonight and I need them at one hundred percent. I don’t want them sad because once again, their mother couldn’t get her shit together and do what she was supposed to do.”
“Moe, that’s low. I would get them if I had a way.”
“Bullshit, Beatrice. I call fresh and hot bullshit! You have a whole ghetto ass family with multiple cars and no jobs that could help you get to the girls, so I don’t want to hear that shit. Like I have in the past and will continue to do, I will let the girls know that their mother won’t be coming to pick them up…again.”
“You can’t stop me from talking to my kids!”
“You must be around somebody and trying to play the victim. You know good and gotdamn well that I’ve never stopped you from doing anything with the girls. Get the hell outta here with that crap,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Then put them on the phone,” Bee said.
