Cario “Crow” Domingo
Being an active father was my main priority, especially since I never knew mine growing up.
I never wanted my son to feel abandoned or end up looking up to drug dealers and street niggas the way I did.
That kind of influence had a profound effect on my life, and I refused to let history repeat itself.
But dealing with my ratchet baby mother and her loud-mouthed ass sister was becoming harder and harder to tolerate.
Every time I turned around, it was some new drama, argument, or unnecessary bullshit that tested my patience.
As much as I wanted to say, fuck it and bounce for a little peace of mind, I couldn’t.
My baby boy needed me. No matter how frustrating his mother could be or how much drama came with the situation, walking away was never an option.
At the end of the day, my son deserved a father who showed up, and I was determined to be that man.
I grabbed Sebastian’s hand and walked toward my truck while his mother and her two sisters followed behind us like a pack of hyenas looking for a fresh meal.
My baby boy was so used to the bullshit that he didn’t even react anymore.
He climbed into the back without being told and buckled himself in.
I shut the door behind him before making my way to the driver’s side.
Before I could open the door, Shameka stepped in front of me with her arms folded across her chest.
“Nigga, I’m gonna need you to run me some more money since you got a new truck and messing with your little man-looking friend,” Shameka said, popping her lips.
“I just gave you four stacks last week. Now get out my way.”
“And?” Shameka asked, popping her lips again.
“And what the fuck you mean, and? Where did it go?” I asked through gritted teeth.
That hoe rolled her eyes like I was the one being unreasonable. She really thought my ass was an ATM and somehow forgot she was capable of working too.
“Bills. Clothes. Food. Shit adds up,” Shameka pursed her lips.”
“Four thousand dollars shouldn’t disappear in two days unless you’re spending it on pointless shit.”
Before Shameka could answer, her loud-mouthed sister Rita jumped into the conversation. She had the nerve to point one of her long-ass nails in my face.
“Why you always questioning her? That’s your child.”
“And he is. So step up,” Latasha chimed in.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a slow breath.
Every conversation with these three felt like I was voluntarily walking into a migraine.
I had a child with one of them, but all three always had something to say, acting like I was responsible for every problem in their lives.
Half the time they talked to me like I was all their baby daddies rolled into one person.
“I ain’t giving you nothing,” I said.
Shameka sucked her teeth and placed a hand on her hip. “Oh, you better, or I’m taking you for child support. I know that shop of yours is making money.”
I let out a dry laugh. “Man, you a scandalous-ass bitch.”
The second those words left my mouth, all three of them started talking at once. These bitches stayed teaming up on my ass.
“What you call her?” Rita asked, cracking her neck.
“You heard what he said,” Latasha said, her eyes getting big.
“That’s why your ass ain’t shit now.”
I held my hand up, already tired of the noise. “Here y’all go. Every damn conversation turns into a circus.”
“A circus?” Rita snapped. “You got money for trucks and taking out hoes, but when it comes to your son, suddenly you broke.”
My jaw tightened as I went off on all three of them. “Ain’t nobody said I was broke. I take care of my son. The difference is I ain’t financing every dumb decision y’all make.”
My baby mama snaked her neck. “So now I’m irresponsible?”
I scowled. “I didn’t say that. But if four thousand dollars disappeared in less than a week, somebody needs to explain where the hell it went.”
The look on her face told me everything I needed to know.
That money wasn’t all spent on Sebastian.
And that was exactly why she couldn’t answer the question.
The three of them kept talking, running their mouths even after the argument was over, but I was done listening.
I climbed into my truck and slammed the door hard enough to shake the windows.
Leaning my head back against the seat, I released a deep breath in frustration.
“Daddy?”
My head turned toward the backseat. Sebastian was looking at me with concern written all over his little face.
“Sorry, Daddy. Mommy gave you a headache.”
The tension immediately left my shoulders. “Nah, buddy. I’m fine.”
His face brightened instantly. “Let’s go to Funland.”
I chuckled as I started the truck. “Yeah? That’s what you wanna do?”
“Yeah!” he shouted. “We can play the basketball shooting game and play with Rain.”
My smile slipped a little. “Rain isn’t coming.”
Sebastian’s face scrunched up immediately. “Why? She is my road dog.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Your road dog, huh?”
“Yep.” He nodded so hard I thought his head might roll off.
“Can you call her?”
I glanced at him through the rearview mirror. “Rain’s probably busy.”
“Aww, man.” His little shoulders slumped.
“I wanted my road dog to come.”
I smiled despite myself. For whatever reason, Sebastian and Rain had clicked from the very beginning. The two of them were always getting into something whenever they were together.
“Maybe next time, buddy.”
“Okay,” he sighed dramatically. “But tell Raindrop I asked for her.”
Sebastian had been calling Rebel Raindrop for years, a nickname that played off her real name, Rain.
“I will.”
“She gonna be sad she missed Funland.”
That had me laughing for real.
“Something tells me Rain will survive.”
“Nah.” Sebastian shook his head. “She loves me.”
The confidence in his voice made me bark out a laugh as I pulled out of the parking lot.
Yeah, my son definitely thought he ran the world.
He begged me to call Rebel and ask if she could come with us.
When it came to Sebastian, Rebel always made time.
Didn’t matter what she had going on, she’d show up for the little man every single time.
By the time we pulled up to Funland, Rebel was already there waiting. She was leaning against her motorcycle with her arms folded and a pair of sunglasses covering her eyes. The second Sebastian spotted her, he lit up.
“Raindrop!”
A grin immediately spread across her face. “What’s up, little man?”
Sebastian took off running, and Rain bent down just in time to catch him before he crashed into her.
“Whoa.” She laughed. “Trying to tackle me?”
“Maybe.”
“You getting too big for all that.”
“No, I’m not.”
Rebel rolled her eyes and ruffled his hair. Watching the two of them together made something in my chest loosen. For all the chaos Rebel brought into my life, one thing I never had to question was how much she loved Sebastian.
“You ready to have some fun?” Rebel asked.
Sebastian nodded so hard I thought his head might fall off.
“Good,” she said, grabbing his hand. “Because your old man look like he need to stop being grumpy and enjoy himself too.”
“I heard that,” I called out.
Rain smirked. “Good. I wanted you to.”
All of us walked into Funland, and Sebastian instantly took off toward the basketball game.
“Slow down!” I called.
“I got him,” Rain said.
Sebastian grabbed a basketball and immediately started shooting while Rain stood beside him, cheering him on like he was in the NBA Finals. The funny part was he hadn’t even started the game yet because we still had to load the cards. Rain was hyping him up anyway.
“That’s it, little man!”
“Rain, the game ain’t even started,” I called.
“Practice makes perfect.”
Sebastian nodded seriously. “See?”
I just shook my head. While they were occupied, I headed over to one of the kiosks and bought a stack of game cards.
By the time I wandered back over, they were both ready to play.
Sebastian was still shooting, and Rain was acting like he was about to break a world record. Then Rain turned toward me.
“Little man beating everybody yet?”
“Nah,” I said. “But he talking enough shit to make you think he is.”
Rain laughed. “That’s because he get it from you.”
“The hell I do.”
“Please. Y’all the same person.”
I handed her one of the game cards. “Here.”
She looked down at it. “What is this for?”
“So you can stop standing around looking homeless and play something.”
Rain gasped dramatically.
“Homeless?”
“You heard me.”
“I’ll beat your ass.”
”Lies,” I chuckled.
She narrowed her eyes. “Pick a game.”
“Bet,” I smirked.
A few minutes later, we were standing in front of one of the motorcycle racing simulators. Rain cracked her knuckles and climbed on that bitch.
“You about to lose, partner.”
“That’s cute.”
“No, what’s cute is you thinking you got a chance. I ride real motorcycles.”
I smirked. “Yeah, but that ain’t the type of riding I’m talking about.”
Rain’s eyes got huge. “Oh, you got jokes today?”
I shrugged. “What? I’m just saying there might be a few things you still need lessons on.”
Rebel barked out a laugh. “Crow.”
“What?”
“You getting real comfortable.”
“Maybe.”
Rebel pointed a finger at me.
“Keep talking, and I’m gonna embarrass you in front of this kid.”
I grinned. “You threatening me already? We ain’t even started the race.”
“Because you running your damn mouth.”
“Nah. I’m just curious if your skills match your confidence.”
Rebel shoved my shoulder. “Crow, if you don’t shut your ass up.”
Next, we wandered over to one of the shooting games. Plastic rifles hung from chains while animated zombies shuffled across the screen. Rebel grabbed one rifle and tossed me the other.
“You sure you can handle this?” I asked.
She looked at me like I’d lost my damn mind.
“Crow, I shoot real guns.”
I chuckled. “Shit... me too. Just ‘cause I changed my life don’t mean I forgot how to use one.”
She smirked. “Guess we’ll see.”
“The only thing you’ll be hearing is me talking shit.”
“That’s assuming you win,” she said, rolling her eyes.