Page 28 of Mister President

“But you like Elias.”

“Yes, I do. He’s like another son to me. But he’s black, and I don’t want you with a black man.”

“You’re black,” I stressed louder than I wanted to.

“And?”

My eyes rolled as I crossed my arms over my chest. “I just don’t understand why I can’t be with who I want to be with. He’s wealthy, stable, and—”

“You will marry who I choose for you. End of discussion.” Daddy wiped the corners of his mouth. “Does he like you too? If so, I can tell him that you’re off limits.”

“No, you don’t have to do that. We aren’t dating or anything, so you don’t have to mention it. I just…wanted to let you know how I felt. I was hoping since you approved of him that you wouldn’t mind me dating him.”

“Nah. I approve of Elias for a lot of things, but my son-in-law will never be one of them. Trust me when I say I’m doing what’s best for you. You don’t want to marry into a black family, princess. The toxicity, the strongholds in that bloodline, the lack of wealth and financial planning, the health issues.” His head shook. “The limitations because of their color. Nah. You deserve better than that. Daddy got you.”

As much as I didn’t agree, I remained silent. I’d continue to see Elias and broach this subject again. Daddy was going to approve of our relationship one way or another.

16

Elias

That Friday

My parents were celebratingtheir anniversary with family today and planned to go to Hawaii Sunday. Regardless of how I insisted they let EJ stay home this weekend so they could leave earlier, they were against it and didn’t want to miss their time with their only grandson. This evening was the first time I’d been in the same space as Amanda in what felt like forever. Our conversation had been done via text and that was short, only concerning EJ. I felt like it was because of Fiona, so I didn’t bother addressing it.

I couldn’t deny how good it felt to see her again and be in the same room as my baby mama. She smelled and looked good, as always. After we spoke to each other, that was pretty much the end of our conversation until EJ asked if he could go to some summer camp with his best friend for the first three weeks of the summer. We told him we’d look into it before agreeing. If it looked safe and like something he’d enjoy, we were cool with it.

After dinner, I said my goodbyes to everyone and decided to head out when Amanda did. As we walked side by side, she looked up at me with a comfortable smile.

“It was good seeing you,” I said.

“It’s always good seeing you, Elias.”

“How have you been?”

Her mouth twisted slightly before she smiled and licked her lips. “Really good, actually. You?”

“Same.”

“And Fiona?”

“She’s good, Amanda.”

“Good.”

As I opened the door for her, my heart burned. Regardless of how much I wanted to hold on to Amanda, I felt the tether unraveling. The urge to hold on tighter consumed me, but I knew this was a bond I had to release.

“I guess I’ll see you for family day.”

“Actually, I won’t be able to do family day next week,” she said, getting into her Wagon.

“Why not?”

“I have a meeting.”

“You have a meeting?” She nodded. “We’ve been doing family day the same day for years, Mandy. Wassup?”

“I have to go to Memphis, and this is the only free week I could get on this person’s schedule.”

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