Page 5 of F*ckin' With Me
He told me that all the time as well. I huffed before I spoke. “I know, Daddy. I just want to get past this wedding weekend coming up, then Mother will be too engulfed in being in Lanette and her new husband’s life that she’ll forget about me.”
He laughed because he knew that I was right. “Well, you got me there.” His eyes softened once he finished his chuckles. “If you want to leave, do that, Simonette. Never allow anyone to make you feel small, because you are a hell of a woman that I am proud to say is my daughter.”
“Thank you, Daddy. That means so much to me.” I hugged him tightly before I stood. I glanced down at my watch. “The party should be over in an hour. I think I can survive.”
He stood and gave me a final hug before he reminded me that I could leave at any time. I left my room and descended the stairs. When I returned to the room where all the ladies sat, they gawked at me like I had two heads. That told me I was a topic of conversation while I was gone.
“We thought you fell in,” my sister said with a giggle. “If it takes you that long to just go to the bathroom, I know why it’s taking so long for you to get a man. Well, outside of the other things.”
She just refuses to let up.I thought it was her bridal shower. Why was all the attention on me? It felt like they planned a get-together to just poke fun at me. The words came out of my mouth before my mind caught up with them. “If you must know, I have a man. I just don’t feel the need to flaunt it.”
The room went quiet. They were in shock, like I was.I can’t believe I just said that.
“Since when have you had a man?”
“That’s not the most important question, Mother,” my sister said with a turned-up nose. “Who would want to be your man? Plus, if you have a man, why don’t you have a plus one for my wedding weekend?”
My mother scoffed. “He must be broke and can’t afford it. That sounds like the only man that would put up with you.”
Wow!I’d officially had enough. I shot up out of my seat. I felt like there was smoke coming out of my ears. “If you must know, I didn’t want him to come, because I didn’t want him to be around the toxicity that is you and Lanette. Why would I want my man around women like you?” My arms crossed over my chest.
“Well, if he’s not broke, then he should accompany you to my wedding.” Lanette completely ignored my previous statement. It was like my words went into one ear and out the other.
My mother sat back in her seat, then crossed one leg over the other. “I completely agree. If not to meet us, then to meet your father. I’m sure that your father would love to meet the man that is with his precious little project.”
For as long as I could remember, my mother called me my father’s precious little project. His task in said project was to build my depleted confidence. For years, I racked my brain to figure out what I had done to make my mother and sister act that way toward me.
“My man works a lot, but I will tell him to clear his schedule that weekend to meet my father. He’s worth meeting. I can’t say the same for you two.” I grabbed my purse from the couch that I sat on. “Ladies, you all have the day you deserve.”
What the hell, Simonette?I told them I had a man that I would bring to my sister’s wedding weekend. It would be easier if it were a one-day type of event, but it wasn’t. It was a four-day event out of the country.Oh my God, what am I going to do?
It was a little over a week before we were leaving for my sister’s wedding. For a few days, I had gone back and forth about calling a number that I hadn’t used in ages. When I used it back then, it was a one-off.
The day after my sister’s bridal shower, my mother called me to tell me that she had downgraded my ticket on the plane to economy since my man had to buy a ticket anyway. If he wanted to upgrade my ticket, then he could. That was crazy to me because it was my father’s money that paid for the tickets. I didn’t want to say anything to my father, because it wasn’t worth the hassle.
I thought about asking a co-worker to go but decided against it. The last thing I needed was it getting back to work that I needed a fake boyfriend for my sister’s wedding. When I went through a few old boxes, I found a notebook that had the number of someone from college that I thought might be a good candidate for a fake boyfriend. I didn’t even know if it was still his phone number. It had been over six years.
The only thing I could do was use the number. What did I have to lose? If he said no, then I would be in the same spot. I had no pride to lose at that point.
I took a deep breath before I picked up my cell phone to call the number. A part of me prayed the number didn’t work or that it was someone else’s. My breath hitched when the line picked up.“Yo, who dis?”
It’s him.I could never forget that voice.“Um, hi. Is this Daylen Smith?”
“Who the fuck is this?”He was rude, but that tracked. From what I remembered about him, he was brash back then.
I shifted in my seat.“Oh, um, this is Simonette Brand. I’m not sure if you remember me . . .”
Earlier The Same Day. . .
“Pull your fuckin’ teeth back. You came in here talkin’ about you’re a throat goat, but you didn’t tell me that you were a tooth fairy too. I don’t need any more teeth.” This bitch came in here talking about she would die if she didn’t suck my dick. I wasn’t the type of man who wanted to cause death if it could be prevented. She was making my life-saving efforts null and void.
She pulled back and did a little hair throw to show her pouty lips. “Sorry, daddy. I won’t do it again. I’m just so excited.”
My skin heated at her use of the daddy nickname. “Aye, don’t call me that shit. It’s nasty, and I don’t like it.”
Before she could speak again, I pushed her head back down. She had one job, and talking wasn’t it. I waited a moment tomake sure the tooth fairy had flown the coop before I laid my head back. I patted her head to let her know that she was doing a great job.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
