Britney said a mouthful. I massaged my forehead and tapped my foot on the floor. Looked at Dayon then at my grandson. Turned to my daughter and could only ask her why.
“Why didn’t you just tell me what was going on? All you had to do was call me, Britney. I don’t like to be kept in the dark like this, and why couldn’t you just complete school?”
She shrugged. “Sometimes we don’t know why, Daddy, but things happen and you just gotta go with the flow. You’re not always the easiest person to talk to. As busy as you be, sometimes I feel as if you have to put me on your schedule. I’ve always said that to you, but it is what it is. School will always be there, but for now, my child is what’s important.”
As much as I may have wanted to scream at her for not going to college and doing what I anticipated that she would do, there was nothing that I could say or do to change this situation. Britney had her mind made up; it was obvious. Even so, the marriage thing was a bit much for me to swallow. Why get married at such a young age, when neither one of them had direction?
I looked at Dayon to address him. “Don’t sit there all quiet and let my daughter speak for you. Tell me what the plan is. What are you prepared to do about this situation, and what kind of sacrifices are you prepared to make?”
Appearing slightly nervous, he sat up straight then cleared his throat. “I was in law school too, but it has been rough with the baby and everything. He and Britney are my priority. I truly believe that I need to step up, get a job, and take care of my family. I was offered a job at an investment firm last week. The pay is good, but we need to save some money. We don’t have any money saved, and it’s been a struggle. I told my parents about my decision, but they aren’t supportive of it. They need time, and I get that. Like you, they had high hopes for me, but what they don’t understand is that this is my life. It swung this way and now I have to roll with it.”
Even if I didn’t want to, so did I. There was no way in hell that I would ever disown my daughter. I would never turn her or my grandson away, and the way I looked at it, the timing of this couldn’t have been more right. Whenever I was down, there was always something pertaining to Britney that would swoop into my life and lift me up. She just didn’t know how special she was to me. I was the luckiest father in the world.
I spent the next few hours getting to know more about the young man my daughter had married, all while holding my grandson in my arms. It was such a good feeling. As he squirmed around in my arms, my thoughts were all over the place. I wondered if there was anything else I could have done as a father. I thought about the many times my daughter said she’d felt neglected. I even thought about the pressure I put on her to do what I wanted her to do. I wasn’t going to be hard on her or myself, because the truth of the matter was that some things were destined.
Later that night, Britney put the baby to sleep and came into my room with a checkerboard set. She sat on my bed and we started to play, just like we used to when she was little.
“I’ve gotten good at this,” she said, rubbing her hands together. “And if you think you’re going to beat me, you may want to think again.”
“You may be good, but never as good as me.”
I allowed her to make the first move; I made the next. After several more moves, I found myself in the hole, contemplating how to get out of it.
“The only person who can beat me at this game is Sylvia,” she said. “I can’t wait for her to see my baby. When can I invite her over?”
“As you know, we are not speaking to each other right now. She’s doing her thing; I’m doing mine. I don’t think it would be a good idea for her to come over here.”
Britney pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “She can still be doing her thing and come over here, can’t she?”
“I guess, but let’s wait a while. I have my reasons for waiting, so please don’t go behind my back and do anything crazy. Respect my decision.”
“I will, but you need to hurry up and work through this stuff so the two of you can get married. I will be glad when y’all grow up and do the right thing.”
I had to laugh. Britney had always been determined to see me and Sylvia together. She was convinced that we would one day be husband and wife. I wasn’t.
“That day will never come,” I said. “Sorry to shatter your dreams and break your heart.”
“You’re the one who taught me to never say never. And after what I presented to you today, how can you say that? I bet you never thought I would show up at your doorstep with a husband and baby, did you? And you never thought that I would be five seconds away from winning this game, did you?”
Britney cleaned house. I lost the game that fast, only because I wasn’t focusing.
“Well, if you put it like that then I guess anything is possible. I will never say never again.”
She high-fived me and demanded that we play another game.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” she said. “Anything, my dear Daddy, is possible.”
She was so right, but I still felt comfortable saying to myself that I was happy with how things had turned out, and I had a feeling that Sylvia was too.
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Slick 2 Copyright © 2015 Brenda Hampton
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