Aldrich
“MY DAD USED to always say the most encouraging things. Not like he was some crazy positive person but he could keep you focused on what was going on in your life. At least he could for me. When I would get down or discouraged, he had a saying for me or a story that would make my perspective switch and then I was back to being focused.”
We were lying in bed after we’d gotten through making love to one another.
I’d eaten Sterling after I’d eaten and it was a sampling of what was to come for the rest of the night.
We did the family thing and got Ami down for bed.
I was exhausted, but never too tired to spend a few hours with Ling before I absolutely had to get to bed.
Between meetings, workouts and practice, my days were full but I would always do what I could to make time for my family.
Talking about my dad with Ling as she lay on my chest in the silence of our room was the type of vulnerability I didn’t think I’d be able to tolerate at the beginning of the year.
“I have to say that you’re that way too. At least the glimpses of you I see when you’re not letting the world beat your ass.”
She giggled softly as she talked shit about me like it was no big deal. I looked down at her and couldn’t keep the laughter out of my tone. “What you mean?”
“I’ve gone back and watched your games. Your ads.
Seen the way you always had an easy smile and were never bigger than the program.
Your teammates all speak so highly of you, and so do your coaches.
You’re a likable guy, Aldrich and in this day and age that’s scarce.
In your sport, it seems like you’re a fuckin’ unicorn. ”
“Not a unicorn I just don’t let another nigga’s bullshit weigh me down.”
“Tell me about him.”
“Why?”
“Because I can hear the pride in your voice when you speak on him. And right now I think you need one of those pep talks or stories from your dad. Just because he’s not here to give it doesn’t mean that his good advice was laid to rest with him.”
She had her hand running over my chest and it was about to put me to sleep or have my head back between her thighs if she kept on being fresh with me.
I knew it sounded crazy but seeing how Sterling loved Ami made me want to give her a football starting lineup of kids.
She did this nurturing, caring, loving thing like it was easy and despite having the background she did, she never felt like caring for us was beneath her.
In my eyes, she was the total package and even more than I could’ve wanted in a woman and a partner.
Anthony and I had been talking and we were both of like mind that Aphrodite and Sterling were it for us.
“You're trying to put me to sleep the way those nails are scratching my chest. Keep on and I’m gonna need them digging in my back again.”
“I’m not sure if you’re trying to get me to stop or go harder, Money.”
She knew what she was doing and as I leaned down I knew her lil pussy would be leaking again. “You shouldn’t even have to ask.”
She giggled again but didn’t still her hand. The room was just cold enough to make our cuddling comfortable even after the workout we’d had. “Back to what we were discussing.”
I settled into a more comfortable spot on the bed and shifted her even closer to me. Our legs were still intertwined and I loved how her body felt on me. “My father’s family is from DR.”
“There's lots of crazy shit going on there.”
“Always. The craziest part is the way they keep trying to act as though they’re better than Haiti. Same land just different colonizers. My father actually discovered that one of our distant ancestors was with a Haitian man so we have no clue why this intense disdain for them still permeates.”
“Well, you don’t seem to carry any of the colorism in you.” People always thought it was funny when I could speak Spanish, as though all biracial people had to be lighter skinned. Like there isn’t such a thing as being Afro-Latino.
“My father would’ve disowned me if I did.
He got a lot of grief when he still lived there about how he looked.
Faced a lot of discrimination from everyone because of it but he was smart so they had no choice but to respect him in some ways.
They weren’t willing to and sometimes accused him of plagiarism or cheating but he always could prove he was just that smart.
He was able to go to university at INTEC- it’s the technological institution in Santo Domingo, which is a huge deal.
When he graduated the family thought he was going to be their ticket to social acceptance.
” I recounted his accomplishments with pride and knew one day I would tell Ami all about my father.
“It’s sounding like that didn’t happen.” Her breath was steady over my skin and again I was being comforted to sleep.
“It didn’t.”
“And why not?”
“Because of Sonya Mungo.”
I felt her face break into a grin as I said my mother’s name. “Ah. Love came in and messed up all their plans.”
“It did and they weren’t happy about it.
My father was thrown off because he had no plans to leave the Dominican Republic.
But he vacationed in Miami while my mother was there on spring break and he refused to do life without her.
Within a year they were engaged and he was in school in California right along with my mom.
She was finishing up nursing school and going into her nurse practitioner program as he got a master’s degree. ”
“Sounds idyllic.”
“Was but then she got knocked up with me and had to put things on hold for a while. But she got right back to it after I was in school so that she could focus on her goals. My father made good money but he always wanted her to reach her fullest potential.”
She shifted her head and I looked down to look in her face. “Is that why you’re constantly making sure I’m fine with where I am?”
I threaded my fingers through her hair knowing I was fucking her braid up but I would help her redo it before we fell asleep.
“Yeah. You’re a nurse just like she is so I understand that you worked hard for your licenses.
I’m never going to discount that fact or make it seem like your entire life should only revolve around us. ”
“I mean it does because y’all are spoiled but there’s nothing you can do about that. Besides, this is my line of work. At least before things changed.”
“For the better, right?” I don’t know but I felt desperate for her reassurance that we were good.
She kissed my chest as she snuggled back against it. “Yes, for the better.”
“Did you miss out on a lot of money by working for your cousin this summer?”
She shook her head snuggling deeper into my side. “I only work six months out of the year most years.”
“Why so limited?”
She sighed and I could tell the conversation was taking a turn that irritated her. “Because we are expected to report to the Hamptons by April and stay until September.”
My brows furrowed because I couldn’t understand what she meant by report. “Report? So why did you go?”
The sigh cut through the silence again. “That’s so hard to explain.”
“Is it? I mean if you’re wealthy independent of your people, why even fuck with them like that?”
“I can tell you haven’t been rich long.”
I bust out laughing because she said that shit so bluntly I knew she had to mean it. “Well shit, Ling, that was snobby as fuck.”
She pushed my side playfully making me laugh harder. “You know I don’t mean it like that.”
“Nah, I’m sure you don’t. But that still doesn’t answer my question about why you would go.”
“Acceptance.” A one-word response that was heavy and carried a lot of weight.
“You don’t even like them!” I wanted to make light of the situation because I wanted her to remember that she had no reason to stay around those people.
“I know but it’s hard when you feel as though your family doesn’t like you. Can’t tolerate you? Only look at you with interest in order to find a way to put you down or find a weak point they can exploit.”
I sighed because I was getting pissed off hearing her describe her interactions with her family. I was sure I was just supposed to lay here and listen or something like that, but I wanted to do something about them treating her the way they did. “Damn, it’s like that?”
“And this is why I say you haven’t been rich long. You have had to work hard for your money and you are happy that other people can sit back and have an easier life because of it. You don’t lord it over them or want something from them because of it.”
Realization struck that she was complimenting me with what she said and of course I didn’t expect anything else out of Sterling. “But your people do.”
“It’s literally like living in an episode of Game of Thrones. I never know who is truly an ally because people can shift their allegiance depending on who is in or out of favor with the matriarchs. The only person who's ever been a good person to me consistently was Dalton.”
“Shit. I mean I get how family systems works but they're doing it like that?” My father’s people knew better than to come to me with their hands out.
After he passed they tried to see what money he had for them and after me and Sonya got through cussin’ them out, they cut contact with us.
I was sure they knew about my being in the league, but they’d been smart not to reach out.
“Yeah. They want to have control over whichever business is the most lucrative at the time. Not to necessarily work hard and make it better: that’s what workers are for.
But they want their name and their face to be synonymous with the greatness that our family has represented for years.
They want the prestige of being important without the work that goes into it. ”
“And you try to stay out of all of it.”