Page 17 of I'm So Mega
“What did Maggie say?” I asked my boys.
Joseph shrugged his shoulders. “She asked Kellie if that Payton boy was pressuring her. Kellie said he’s mentioned it but not asked. Then Maggie said he passively suggested it. Daddy, what’s that mean?”
Ned spoke up. I could tell that his ass was in shock. “It means to say something indirectly. Like not just telling someone what it is. You beat around the bush and hope they get it.”
“So like not being real or something?” Matthew asked. “Well, I don’t like him. We only deal with real niggas over here.”
My eyes turned into slits. “Don’t get that comfortable around me. Watch your mouth, Matthew.”
He apologized. We paused our conversation for the waitress to set our pizzas on the table. We all pulled a plate from the center of the table to get our slices. I knew the boys wouldn’t want to continue the conversation until they ate at least one slice. We sat there and ate in silence.
Joseph was the first person to finish his slice, so he spoke. “Maggie said she only wanted to go to the dance with that boy because of some girl named Lisa. She said something about showing her that she could go with him.”
That made me feel a little better. “Damn, Ned, our girls are growing up. I’m not ready for this. How you handle this with Shanae?”
“Threats, that’s how. When these niggas come around, I threaten the fuck out of them. The pussy boys never last. A couple tried to hang, but they didn’t last either,” Ned said. “Luckily, she’s so focused on her certifications that she doesn’t really bother with boys like that. Every now and then, one seeps through.”
Thank you, Big G, for only giving me one girl.“Well, it looks like you got a little one that might be a little more into the boys.” I held in my laughter.
“Mega, don’t play with me, man. I promise I’m trying not to be that father. I just want to live a life with minimal violence,” Ned said.Aren’t we all.
Back To The Present. . .
“Ruth, you got me fucked up.” My wife knew what it was when she walked out here. Now I understood why she had so much worry in her eyes.
My daughter and niece looked absolutely gorgeous; I wouldn’t take that from them. My problem was that they looked older than their ages.
Ruth stepped up. “Aren’t they gorgeous, Mega and Ned?” Her eyes pleaded with us to respond.
“Yes, baby girls, y’all look absolutely gorgeous.” My heart felt like it would fall out of my chest, it hurt so much. My daughter and niece were growing up.
Ned stood there, and I swore I saw a tear in the corner of his eyes. The only time that I’d seen this man cry was when his mother died, Kellie was born, and we took the girls to their first Father-Daughter dance. He had never been an emotional person nor had I. Daughters though! They would bring out a part of you that you didn’t know was there.
He walked over to Kellie and touched the side of her face. “You are so beautiful and look just like your mother. I love you, lil Kel.”
It was like the air had frozen in the room. Ned until now refused to admit that Kellie was her mother’s twin but in fairer skin. Shan had the biggest smile on her face as a tear trickled down her cheek.
I walked into my daughter’s face. I rubbed my hand down the back of her hair. This was my first time seeing it straight. Itwas long and contributed to her appearing older than she was. When they came out of the hall, I saw the lil nigglets’ reactions. “Maggie, I love you. Wow! My baby girl is growing up.”
“Daddy, I’ve been growing up.” Her chocolate skin tone matched mine and her mother’s. All of our children shared the same skin tone.
I tittered. “I know, baby. I know.”
“Maggie, you look pretty,” Joseph complimented. “I like your dress, Sissy.”
Her dress was pretty and not too grown. It was the hair and the slight makeup that I wasn’t going to say nothing about. I turned to the two nigglets. “Y’all ain’t got roses or corsages for our babies?”
Ryne nodded, but Payton looked lost. I glanced at his mother, and she just shrugged her shoulders. “No one has ever given me a corsage or roses for a dance.”
“Let me guess, they just gave you di . . . Ow!” Ruth smacked me on the back of my head before I could finish my sentence. “Man, baby, I was just saying. Lucky for you, Payton, I anticipated one of you wouldn’t, so I was prepared.”
Ruth moved to the kitchen to get the corsage out of the fridge that I purchased. These nigglets were not going to mess up our baby’s experience. Ruth came back with the corsage and handed it to Payton.
Payton and Ryne walked over to the girls. Both of them complimented the girls as they put the corsages on their wrists. Because I wasn’t completely lost, I also purchased corsages for the girls to put on the boys. Shan and Ruth helped the girls put it on them. My mother stood there like a proud grandparent next to her husband.
“Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to go?” Samuel asked. After they nodded, he ushered them out the door.
The girls walked out first behind Samuel. When Matthew jumped in the path of Ryne and Payton, my brow peaked. Matthew pointed his finger at Ryne. “Don’t let me being eight fool you. Mess with my sister and I mess with you. Manfields don’t play about ours.”
