Chapter 12 #2
"You can call me, Muffin…if you want," Monae told him.
"I got'chu, little lady,” Monroe nodded. "What you got a taste for?"
"Pizza sounds good right about now," Monae answered.
"That do sound good. I'll go pick it up," Sienna offered.
"You sure?" Monroe asked.
"Yea, I'ma go get it from the restaurant. You know they got the best pizza in New York."
"True," Monroe agreed, reaching in his pocket and handing Sienna five hundred dollars.
"Monroe, this is too much," Sienna said. “You know she gone cuss me out if I try to pay her.”
"Tell her I said get herself something nice."
"Ok, but if she doesn't take it, I'm bringing all this back to you." Sienna said seriously.
"It's just money, Sienna. If she don't take it, keep it for yourself," Monroe shrugged. "You wanna get in the pool?" He redirected his attention to Monae.
"I'd love to get in, but I didn't bring a swimsuit," Monae answered.
"No need. I got'chu 'bout five to choose from. They laying on the bed in the spare room next to the bathroom." Monroe had sent his house cleaner to the mall to get them.
"I'll be right back," Monae said, speed walking to the spare room.
"I won't be gone long," Sienna said, reaching for the door.
"Thank you," Monroe said before she opened it.
"For what?" Sienna returned.
"For her," Monroe said genuinely. "She's perfect."
Sienna's shoulders relaxed. "She really is, and she really loves you. Monae never warms up this easily with anyone, but with you it comes so naturally."
"That's 'cause she's mine," Monroe said proudly.
"She is," Sienna smiled, knowing Monae had him wrapped around her fingers.
That was the thing about blood...Some connections don't need years to grow roots.
Blood has a way of recognizing blood, even after a decade apart.
After Sienna left, Monroe went upstairs quickly to change into some shorts, and by the time he made it back downstairs, Monae was standing at the bottom of the stairs in an orange one-piece swimming suit.
"You ready?" Monroe asked as he descended the stairs.
"Yes, I'm ready."
"Do you know how to swim?" He asked, needing to be sure.
"Yes. Me and Mom swim all the time in Morocco." Monae revealed.
"You miss being there?" Monroe asked.
"Sometimes, but I like it here too," Monae answered, following Monroe's lead to the backyard.
"On the count of three, we gone jump in, a'ight?" Monroe offered.
"One," Monae started counting. "Two, three," they said in unison, jumping in on three.
"Let me see what you can do. Swim to that side," Monroe pointed. "Then come back."
"Okay," Monae agreed, immediately doing as told.
Monroe watched in awe, silently thanking God for an amazing daughter.
She had beauty and wit. She was intelligent and sweet.
She was just all the things a father could pray for in a daughter, and it almost felt like he didn't deserve her.
Real love in a relationship is earned, but it always flows freely...
and in most cases before it's acknowledged.
Monroe thought of the words Promise said to him a little over a year ago when they were visiting Africa.
"Wheww! How'd I do?" Monae asked, jarring Monroe from his thoughts. "I'm impressed," Monroe stated honestly.
"You wanna race?" Monroe challenged.
"Let's go on the count of five. Last one back has to buy ice cream," Monae said, looking straight ahead.
"Now you know I can't let you buy no ice cream," Monroe told her.
"If I lose, I pay," Monae was serious, and Monroe was seeing more of his personality coming out of her. It was refreshing.
"A'ight," Monroe agreed, counting to three. He gave Monae a thirty-second head start before getting started. Less than two minutes later, Monroe had made it back, and twenty seconds later Monae met him.
"How'd you get back so fast?!" Monae asked out of breath.
"Years of practice, Muffin."
"Can I get a cold bottle of water?" Monae asked, noticing the cooler.
"Yea, you can have whatever you want," Monroe told her, meaning every word.
Monae walked over to the cooler and grabbed two bottles of water, then sat poolside with Monroe. A comfortable silence followed for a few minutes as they both enjoyed the water view.
"Can I trust you?" Monae asked, desperately needing him to say yes.
"With your life," Monroe answered, looking straight in her eyes. “I’on care what time it is, where I’m at in this world, or what I’m doing,” he reached for her hand, gently covering it with his. “I’ma always show up for you. It ain’t never gon’ be a time you won’t be protected.”
"I'm scared," Monae revealed with tears brimming her eyelids.
"Scared of what? Who I gotta go see?" Monroe asked.
"Mama Macie," Monae answered without blinking.
“Who?” Monroe asked, unfamiliar with the phrase.
“Your mom,” Monae said, wondering why her father was confused.
It was another moment that solidified what he already knew, and that reality was disheartening. He hated to see his mother in this light, but the writing was on the wall.
"She came to our house, and I heard her threaten to kill Mom and my grandma Symie,” Monae continued.
“I was supposed to be sleeping, but I had to use the bathroom.
When I saw the lights on, I peeped downstairs and saw them at the bottom of the stairs.
I know I was wrong, but I started eavesdropping, and I heard her.
I know mom is scared too because later on when she thought I was sleep, she cried. "
Monroe’s jaw tightened, but he listened attentively before responding. "Would it give you some peace if you and your mother stayed with me?"
"Yes, I'd like that," Monae answered.
Monroe nodded. That was all he needed to hear.
"That means a lot to me, Muffin. I know trustin’ me wit’ this wasn’t easy, but I got’chu," Monroe told his daughter.
"Don't ever be afraid to tell me anything.
I will always be here for you no matter what," Monroe promised.
"I'll talk to Sienna about our agreement, and I'll deal with my mother too. "
“Thank you,” Monae replied. "I wish I could have met you sooner," she spoke from the heart.
Monroe couldn't lie to his daughter, especially not at a moment when she was so vulnerable. "Muffin...If I knew you existed, life would have been so much different."
Before Monae could ask what he meant, the sound of the back door opening carried across the patio. Sienna was back. Monroe stood, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around Monae's shoulders.
"Come on," he smiled down at her. "We'll finish that conversation later." Monroe grabbed a towel and handed it to Monae.
Wrapped in a soft brown-colored silk robe, Macie stepped onto the terrace that was just outside of her master suite.
This was her morning routine after an hour-long bath in her oversized jacuzzi that started at 5am.
It's such a beautiful day, she thought as the breeze kissed her bronze-colored skin.
Life had shifted so quickly in the last month, and she had herself to thank for that.
She'd be lying to herself if she spent one second believing this day would never come.
The truth is, not only had she anticipated it, she'd mentally prepared for it, and had thought through how she'd move when the time came.
Monroe had been weighing heavily on her mind, but not in the normal way mothers thought of their sons.
She wasn't thinking of him because she missed him, and wanted to spend time with him.
She wasn't thinking of him because of how proud she was of the man he'd become, or how hard he'd worked to become who he was.
The reason he was on her mind was because she needed to find more ways to control his life.
She needed new strategies on how to manipulate him into seeing things her way.
Macie had tried explaining to her son time and time again that love wasn't meant for people like them, it’d happened to her already, and she refused to sit back and watch it happen again.
A hard head would forever make a soft ass.
She was sure of it. So sure, she'd gone out of her way to make sure of it.
Monroe Sr. had sacrificed everything for The Black Family Empire, even her.
Macie had once thought that their love would stand forever.
She didn't think that anything was powerful enough to eradicate what they shared.
She knew the life her husband led, but their love was bulletproof, until it wasn't. Until the day a bullet took her husband away from her forever.
Monroe Sr. had prepared her in more ways than one to walk in his shoes if it had ever come to that, but he hadn't taught her to be ruthless or malicious when it came to matters of the heart.
This was a trait that she'd developed after his death because she'd died and come back as someone else.
No one noticed though. No one had paid close enough attention to her because she had appeared to be okay.
She'd seemingly resumed responsibility, had the mind of a boss woman, and had shown signs of turning a new leaf when it came to The Black Family.
All of this had been the truth, but her grief had turned her into a woman who hid well behind a mask.
Monroe Sr. had been the one who kept her balanced, and often kept her from jumping off the deep end.
He was the only person capable of quieting the chaos inside her mind.
His death had triggered Macie in the worst way.
She couldn’t cling to her husband anymore, so she tried reaching for her son, but he wasn't available in the way she needed him because Sienna was in his life.
Macie had even tried going to see a therapist, but that was short lived.
Macie had learned how to smile while unraveling. How to command a room while pieces of her fractured quietly beneath the surface. She buried herself in the empire, took control of the family business, and wore strength so convincingly that no one questioned whether it was real.