car pulling into the lot. It was so raggedy, I couldn’t even tell the make and model of the vehicle. A man got out the car who looked nothing like the photo on the dating site. Big surprise, huh?
Something just told me it was him. I sighed and shook my head. I watched him stand there, scanning the parking lot nervously for a while and then I got out of Jon’s car. “Dickin? Is that you?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s me!” he yelled in response.
He came closer to me and I almost hurled. First off, he was anorexic. Secondly, he looked more like fifty-nine than thirty-nine. Thirdly, his ass was reeking and I picked up on that in the breeze when he got within twenty feet of me.
I was pissed. This motherfucker was about to learn a valuable lesson about lying to people on the internet.
“Damn, you are fine and freaky with a fat ass,” he said after he was all up on me.
“Why don’t you just shut up and go pay for a room?” I folded my arms in front of me and leaned on the side of Jon’s car. “I don’t have all night.”
He cleared his throat. “I thought you were paying for the room. You invited me.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “I’m out of here.”
He grabbed my arm. “No, wait. I got you. I got this. Just give me a minute to get my debit card out my car.”
I didn’t respond. I just watched him retrieve his card, go into the motel office, and walk back out a few minutes later with a key.
I got my shopping bag out of Jon’s trunk and met him in front of Room 112. Once we were inside, I handcuffed his ass, gagged him, put a leather hood over his head, broke out my flogger and tore his ass up. His stupid ass asked me if I wanted to fuck him afterward.
I leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Update that damn picture on the internet. If you don’t, the next sister might not be so nice.” I gathered my things together and left. I still had time to catch the late night episode of Jerry.
The day had finally arrived and it had been a long time coming. To think that Momma and Daddy had been apart because of me, at least because of a part of me, was too much to bear. Despite what some people believe, we only get one life. Jude had ruined their life together, apparently because she felt threatened.
Daddy didn’t feel comfortable staying with me since I only had one bedroom, so I registered him at a hotel less than two blocks from my apartment. I debated about how to structure the reunion. Part of me felt it would be better for Daddy and Momma to see each other again for the first time in a public place. At least then I wouldn’t have to worry about them getting too loud. Daddy wasn’t the type and Momma was too uppity to allow complete strangers to see her arguing.
The other option was for them to do it in private so that they could really open up with each other. On the flip side, they could have ended up killing each other. I asked Marcella about it and she said that a private atmosphere would probably be better. She even offered to lend us her office. I didn’t think they were ready for that, though.
I wanted it to be someplace peaceful so I decided to take them to a park for a picnic, something we hadn’t done together since I was a child. Daddy got into town around nine o’clock on a Saturday morning but he couldn’t check in to the hotel until three in the afternoon. I took him out to breakfast at a waffle house and it was a good thing because it gave us an opportunity to get a game plan together before Momma was added to the mix.
“How’s Flower doing?” I asked him after we were seated in a booth.
He grinned at the mere mention of Flower’s name. “She’s doing great and she sends her love.”
“And I send my love back.”
“She was upset that she couldn’t come with me but I explained to her that it was more important for her to be in school and that I had no idea when I would be back.”
“Aw, well let her know that she is welcome to come see me during one of her school breaks or summer vacation. I would love to have her.”
“Wouldn’t that be too much for you to handle?” he asked.
“No, because I will take off work whenever she is coming,” I replied. “Speaking of which, who’s manning your shop while you’re gone?”
“Nobody, but it’s fine. While I hate to lose business to the competition, the townsfolk will just have to take their cars on over to Jose’s place. That’s the only downfall of running a one-person business. When you can’t be there, the business is not functioning.”
“Have you ever thought about hiring someone?”
Daddy laughed. “I don’t get enough regular business for that. I make enough to get by but just like other types of service-oriented companies, income is solely based on demand and not on recurring customers.”
“True, I guess you can never depend on people having car trouble.”
He shook his head. “Not on a schedule, that’s for sure.”
“I won’t say that I’m rich or anything, Daddy, but if you need some extra cash, I do have some savings.”
He put his hand up to wave me off. “I wouldn’t hear of it. Jonquinette, if I really get strapped, I can always go back to programming. I enjoy the repair business but I do have other skills.”
“I realize that, Daddy.” I didn’t want him to think I was implying that he couldn’t survive on his own but I also wanted him to know that he supported me for the first fifteen years of my life and for that, I owed him something. “Just don’t hesitate to ask me for something, if you need it.”
It hit me that I was sitting there talking about life as if mine were normal. There was no guarantee that I would even be around. Jude could possibly get rid of me at any second. I was intentionally beating around the bush, avoiding the matter at hand, and decided to stop it. “Daddy, what are your feelings about seeing Momma again?”
He shrugged. “Part of me is excited as I think I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
“And the other part?”
“The other part is scared to death.”
“Have you decided yet?” the waitress asked. I hadn’t even noticed her walking up to the table.
“Daddy, you know what you want?” I asked, glancing down at the menu for the first time.
“I’ll just have a buttermilk waffle with a side of country ham,” he said.
“Um, I’ll take a three-egg omelet with cheddar cheese, mushrooms, and green peppers,” I said, placing my order. “And we’ll both have orange juice. Two large, please.”
The waitress took the menus from us and said, “I’ll be right back.”
I resumed our conversation. “I can understand you being scared. I’m kind of scared about how things will go down myself.”
Daddy chuckled. “I can imagine. All I can say is the last time we saw each other, which was in the courtroom for our divorce, she looked like she wanted to kill me with her bare hands.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t have been there for you that day, in court.”
“Jonquinette, that was the last place you needed to be. I’m sorry I couldn’t have been there for you during the rest of your educational years and after.” He lowered his eyes to the table. “I feel like such a failure.”
“Daddy, you are anything but a failure. You are a kind, loving, compassionate man whose life was screwed up because of circumstances beyond your control. The bottom line is this is all my fault. All mine.”
“Jonquinette, you can’t go blaming yourself for this. This is not your fault. You have an illness and that is not something you can control.”
“Yes, but why did this have to happen to me? To our family?” I asked him, in search of answers.
Daddy didn’t respond, but a troubled expression came across his face.
“Sorry,” I said. “I can’t expect you to know the reasoning behind all of this any more than me. I just don’t understand.”
