Page 28 of I'm So Mega
Pastor Gilmore asked them whether any of them wanted to do the prayer. He told them not to feel pressured. Big G was a patient God and would never turn his back. He would be there when they were ready. Jabari, white boy John, Desmond, Mel, and Sammy said they wanted to. Pastor Gilmore helped me carry them through the sinner’s prayer.Call me Minister Mega.Nah,but I was proud that in my imperfection, Big G could still use a nigga like me.
Brother– Sister Date . . .
I knocked on my mama and Samuel’s front door with a bouquet of purple roses. Moments later, the door was opened by Samuel, who wore a bright smile. “What’s up, man?”
I dapped him up. “Ain’t shit” We moved inside to the living room. “Is Megan ready?” I asked.
“Yeah, she should be down in a second. Jayme finished her hair not so long ago. Goldie should have her dressed by now.”
We both sat on the couch. We chopped it up about a little bit of everything. I stood when I heard footsteps behind me. Jayme and Goldie led the way. “Hey, Mama and Jayme.”
“What up, Mega?” Jayme greeted. Step sis was a bit of a wild child. She frustrated the hell out of her father.
I greeted her with a smile before I greeted my mother with a kiss on her cheek. My mother’s happiness was everything to me. I thanked God that Samuel came around. “Where is little miss?”
A little voice sounded off behind my mama. “I’m right here, Mega!” She popped out from behind our mama. When she let out a little gasp then looked down at her dress, I laughed. “Your shirt matches my dress.”
Megan’s favorite color was purple. Every time we had a date, my mother sent me a picture of the dress that she planned to wear. I always made sure I matched my baby sis’s fly. “Nah, your dress matches my shirt.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s the same thing, silly. We’re saying the same thing, just backwards.” She ran toward me.
I squatted down to present her the flowers. “This is for you, little miss. Do you like them?”
The bouquet was almost too big for her. She did her best to grab them. “I love them.” She looked up at Samuel. “Daddy, can you help Mommy put this in the glass thing?”
Samuel came over and took the bouquet from her hand. “Yes, I will, baby girl.” He squatted to get semi eye level with her. He was a tall man. In a low voice, he said, “I’ll make sure she cuts the stems like she’s supposed to.”
In a low voice that matched her father’s, Megan responded. “Thank you, Daddy. Remember you got ta use the lil rose food in that pack.”
Our mother put her hands on her hips. “Y’all know that I can still hear y’all.” Her eyes rolled up to the ceiling. “You kill one bouquet of flowers and suddenly you’re a flower murderer.”
“No, Mommy, you’re not a flower murderer. You’re just a flower killer. Murderers mean to do what they did most of the time. Sometimes you can accident kill. You accident kill my flowers, so you’re a flower killer,” Megan pointed out.
Jayme’s face scrunched. “Megan, how do you know that? You’re four. What do you know about murderers and killers?”
“My brother taught me, duh.” She pointed at me. “Mega, you need to teach them so they can know too.”
I laughed at how she dry snitched on me. “I got you, Sis. Let’s get out of here, lil miss.”
I got out of there with her so fast before our mama could trip about why I taught her the difference between a murderer and a killer. Technically, I taught my sons, and she happened to be there.
She talked my ear off from her seat in the back as we drove to her favorite place of all times. When we pulled up, my attentionwent to the rear-view mirror. Megan was dramatic and she got it honest.
Her hand went to her chest and that little gasp left her mouth. “You brought me to the Fila of the Chicken? Mega, I love it.”
“You know I have to spoil lil miss.” I parked then helped her get out of the car. She straightened her dress before she put her hand in mine.
I came here earlier to set everything up. When we walked into the restaurant, we were greeted by the manager. As usual, it was busy with families and children. They were one of the few restaurants that still had an indoor play area. “Allow me to take you to your table, Mr. Manfield.”
He walked us to the back of the restaurant to a table that was covered with a tablecloth and had a small vase of flowers in the center. There was even a little menu that I had printed.
The manager took out a notepad. “What would you two like to start with to drink?” This wasn’t his first time at the Manfield date rodeo.
Megan picked up the menu like she could read the whole thing. Yeah, she recognized words that she was taught in kindergarten, but she wasn’t proficient at reading just yet. You couldn’t tell her that though. “Charles, I think I’ll take an Arell Palmer.”
Charles and I tittered lowly at her pronunciation. I ordered the same thing. “So what’s been going on, lil miss? How’s kindergarten?”
“I love it. I’m the line leader on Wednesdays. The teacher lets me be it so often because I keep them in check,” she said with an attempted snap of her fingers. “On my day, you better not be crocked in my line. I’on play that.”
