Page 50 of Steel
“Wait, she was at the school? She working there or something?”
“Nah. She has a kid that goes there.”
“She has a kid?”
“Ten years old. She’s one of my students.”
My father looked at me with furrowed brows. I didn’t have to say it for him to know where this was going.
“Nigga, did she have your baby?”
“Yep.”
“What the hell, Steel. Why the hell are you so calm about this?”
“I’m anything but calm, Pops. I’m livid, and ain’t shit I can do about it. Not the way I want to.”
“How long have you known?”
“A few weeks now.”
“A few weeks? And you ain’t say shit? When were you gonna let me meet my grandbaby?”
“Soon. I just wanted to keep her to myself for a lil’ bit, man.”
“You told anybody else?”
“Jaeda knows because she found the evidence. Destiny knows because she’s my lawyer. I’m sure Quaid does too.”
“How the fuck your sister knows before me?”
I sighed and gave him the full story of how everything went down. I couldn’t read the expression on his face, but I knew he had something to say.
“So why did she keep her a secret?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You didn’t ask?”
“She tried to explain herself, but ain’t no excuse for that shit, Pop.”
He shook his head. “Son. I’m not saying she wasn’t wrong, but I’ve always told y’all get full details before you react to anything. You need to hear her out.”
I kissed my teeth as I sat on the couch. “I don’t wanna hear shit she has to say.”
“That’s too bad ’cause you’re gonna listen to that girl.”
“Man, come on. Did you wanna listen to Maddie when she popped up on us with Mia? I still don’t understand how you let that slide and carried on a whole relationship with her.”
He sighed. “Honestly? Maddie didn’t think she could have kids, and I didn’t want any more after having five. We discussed that. She was honoring my wishes. I didn’t know she was pregnant; otherwise, I would have stepped up from jump. Mia was the one that found me. She went behind her mama’s back and had genetic testing done, then told Maddie if she didn’t bring her to meet me, she’d come by herself.
“Mia was a surprise, but the minute I saw her face, I knew she was mine, and I loved her. I wasn’t upset. I told that woman I didn’t want any more kids and couldn’t be mad that she stood on business about that.”
“It wasn’t right, Pop.”
“Be that as it may, I looked at the bigger picture. You have to do the same. She didn’t just hide a baby. She just up and decided to transfer schools. She ran from you, Steel. That tells me she was afraid.”
I frowned. “Afraid of what? I wouldn’t hurt her.”
