Page 12 of Make Me Remember

“I’m your father. You should call me dad.”

“You should have reminded yourself of those details when I was a kid. If you haven’t realized it, I’m a grown woman… Stacy.”

I rolled my eyes. I hated him and his name. Old female ass name. When I felt his hand on my shoulder, I stood and took a step back with a frown on my face. Keonshay quickly stood from her seat and got in front of me. “Don’t touch me. You have no right to put your hands on me.”

He looked like I’d hurt his feelings, but I didn’t give a fuck. He should have come at me better. He barely knew who I was. He said my name like he wasn’t sure if it was me or not. I should have told him he was mistaken so he could have kept walking. I hadn’t seen his ass in twenty years. He didn’t even show up to my high school graduation. Even after not seeing him for three years, I expected him to show up that day, at least. Mercedes was there. She’d finally gotten herself together.

“Is there a problem over here?”

I turned to see the lady that brought out our food, standing there like she was ready for whatever. I understood that stance very well. I found myself fighting quite a bit my tenth-grade year. My reputation had preceded me, and I found myself constantly trying to defend the person I had become. I had changed.

“I just want this man to leave me alone, ma’am.”

The lady looked over at him, and he lifted his hands. “I apologize, Mekayla… for everything, baby.”

I frowned slightly. I didn’t expect him to apologize. Keonshay grabbed my hand as I allowed the tension to leave me. I stared at Stacy for a moment then looked away. He approached but stopped short of being in my space. “I know your mom and I could have done so much better by you and Zhori. I’ve changed, Mekayla. I would really like to get to know the woman you’ve become.”

“Does Zhori talk to you?”

“No. He thinks I just want to be in his life to benefit from his money. I just… I missed out on so much. I don’t want to miss out anymore. Please.”

I glanced at Keonshay, and she gave me a soft smile. Stepping toward Stacy, I grabbed his hand and closed my eyes. I supposed I was already feeling soft hearted since we were talking about Jacob. Stacy benefitted from that, because he caught me at the perfect time.

“Okay. What’s your phone number?”

He smiled so big and was about to touch me. He stepped back and asked, “Can I hug you, baby girl?”

The lump in my throat appeared out of nowhere as I nodded. He practically collided into me, causing the tears to run free. I could feel Shay rubbing my back in a circular motion as I broke down. My daddy lifted me in his arms, because I was about to drop to the floor. He sat on a bench and set me next to him, continuing to hug me tightly.

“I’m here now, baby. I should have never left you. Damn. I fucked up so bad.”

I finally composed myself and looked up at him. He gently wiped my tears from my eyes. “Thank you for that, Daddy.”

When I called him Daddy, he pulled me back into his arms. While I knew we had a long way to go to get to know one another again, I had craved him for a long time. I wanted him to rescue me from Mercedes, but he never did. I had released forgiveness a long time ago for him abandoning me. I’d even released forgiveness for Mercedes. I just didn’t have a close relationship with her.

He released me, and I turned to Keonshay. “You remember Keonshay, right?”

“Yes. I’m sorry for not speaking, Keonshay. How are you?”

“I’m good. Thank you.”

He turned his attention back to me and smiled. “For the record, I knew it was you. I just said your name like that because I couldn’t believe that I’d finally run into you. Beaumont isn’t that big.”

I chuckled. “I lived in Nashville for almost ten years. I moved back about eight years ago.”

“Wow. How did you end up in Nashville?”

“I went to Fisk University. Keonshay and her husband helped me tremendously. I even got an academic scholarship.”

“I’m so proud of you, baby girl. What do you do?”

“I’m a physical therapist,” I said, allowing my mind to travel back to Jacob.

I would be seeing him in the morning, and I couldn’t wait to release my doubts and fears. My daddy hugged me again. “That’s amazing, baby. Here’s my phone. Save your number in there and then call yourself so you’ll have my number. I can’t wait to start getting to know you.”

I did as he said. I could see him in my peripheral, smiling the entire time. This felt so good. I was glad Shay and I had been talking because there was no way I would have accepted him into my life before that. Maybe I needed to have another talk with Mercedes. She was really trying, but I hadn’t been. If I could give him another chance to get things right, then maybe I could afford her the same opportunity. I just hoped neither of those decisions bit me in the ass.

When the door opened, and Jacob’s uncle from last time was standing there, I smiled slightly. He stepped aside as he stared at me. “Hello, Mister Henderson,” I said.

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