Page 104 of Dare You to See Me
Always watching.
EPILOGUE
MALIK
10 Years Later…
“Woah! Careful on the throttle. Sports bikes are super sensitive.” I stand closer to the bike, possibly not the best idea, but it’s necessary for a first time rider. “Now listen closely. If you twist the grip towards you, you’ll speed up. Twist it away and it slows you down.”
“I know, Dad. I’ve been riding with you for ten years.”
“Shhh. Don’t tell Mom.” I gently cover her mouth with my hand and she laughs.
I stare at my daughter and can’t believe how much time has gone by. It feels like yesterday that she skipped into my class proclaiming broccoli was gross -she still stands by that statement– and now she’s sixteen and learning to ride a motorcycle.
It wasn’t until after Calix was born that Dahlia decided she didn’t want to be the only one with a different last name. I really struggled with it because as much as I longed to have her call me Dad and bear the name Dare, I didn’t want to disrespect her father. He may not have been a good husband, but he loved his daughter with all his heart, according to Soleil.
We spent weeks discussing it. Soleil and Dahlia telling me that it didn’t mean she was denying who her father is, but I had already been in life longer than Gene had and was the one raising her.
“I call you Dad. You tell people I’m your daughter.”
“Yes sweetheart, I know. But you’re asking me to essentially erase your father’s name from your birth certificate like he never existed. Do you know the amount of guilt that lays on my shoulders? Claiming another man’s child as my own?”
“Malik, you’re really thinking too much about this.”Soleil was always a champion for Dahlia and what she wanted, so I wasn’t surprised that she would side with her on this.
“Hardly any of my friends know that you aren’t myrealdad.”
“You’re her dad in all the ways that matter most.”
My eyes and my heart were overflowing with love. This young lady just wanted to be mine and I was fighting her on it.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
There were tears and hugs and kisses and months later, it became official. She was Dahlia Rose Brooks Dare. My daughter.
“What are you doing?” I groan, dropping my head and wait for the tongue lashing I’m about to get.
“Oh! H-hey Mom. What are, um, what are you doing home? I thought you were taking Cal and G.G. to the movies.”
I slowly turn around to find my wife shooting fire at my head and Calix, our eight year old son, standing next to her looking a little green in the face. Soleil props her fists on her hips and I know I’ve done it, now.
“Calix got sick right as we got to Uncle Hendrix and Aunt Dagen’s house. Seems someone let him eat an entire bag of sour gummy worms.” Her eyes bounce from Dahlia to me, trying to figure out which one of us was the culprit.
Dahlia was always a lover of gorging on junk food and dealing with the stomach ache the next day, but I’m a sucker for my kids and have a hard time telling them no.
I wince and raise my hand. “That would be me. We were racing and I may have not been paying attention to how much he was eating.”
When we built our home, I was sure to make a room just for racing. I bought a simulator that my wife was not happy about –I had to remind her that we were rich and fifty grand was no big deal– and had the room customized to look like a crowd of fans surrounded us. It quickly became something the entire family was obsessed with. And by family I mean Henny, Dagen and the girls, and D and Marcie. She’ll deny it but my Sunny Girl loves it too.
“I’ll ask you one more time. What. Are. You. Doing?” She steps closer and Calix, still holding his stomach, is glued to her side as usual.
My boy loves me and we have the best time together. But he is a mama’s boy through and through.
“Okay. Doll face. Before you get mad, let me explain.” I hold up my hands in defense.
“You and yourlet me explain.The number of times I have heard that over the years, Malik Dare, I couldn’t hold in a bucket.”
“Mom. Don’t be mad at Dad. I’ve been bugging him for a long time. And when he heard that Uncle D was helping–”
