Chapter 29-Kenya
“Good afternoon, Ms. Monroe. Your father has already been seated. Right this way,” the hostess said as I approached her host stand.
She led me to where my father was seated, enjoying a cup of coffee. When he saw me, his eyes lit up, and I realized just how much I missed him.
“Kenya, dear. How are you?”
“I’m great, Father, and yourself?”
“I’m doing fantastic now that I get to have dinner with my favorite girl.”
We sat down, placed our orders, and made small talk until the waitress returned with our food.
“I know that you have more than a few questions for me, but I wanted to catch up with you before we dived into the thing that has caused such turmoil in our lives, specifically in our relationship.”
“Fancy told you that I went to visit her?”
“You know it,” he responded, causing us both to laugh.
“Did she tell you that Kendra was the only reason that I found out?”
“No, she didn’t. However, she did tell me that I needed to talk to both of my daughters.
She said it and walked away, so I knew that she meant business,” he replied as he paused to put his words together.
My father was truly an intellectual man, and it wasn’t just because of his degrees.
It was because of how he carried himself.
He always spoke with intent, and although his tone was warm, his words carried weight and held merit.
“Kenya, when you become a parent, there isn’t a guide or a manual that the doctor hands you prior to you leaving the hospital.
You just have to hope and pray that you do what is right with the child.
When Francesca told me about her pregnancy, I wanted to do what was right by the child.
It wasn’t just because of that. It was because I also loved her very, very much. ”
“If you loved her, why did you marry Mother?”
“I married your mother because it was what my parents expected me to do. You have to understand that, when I was younger, my mother outright prohibited me from marrying a woman who was darker than me.”
“But she herself is a dark-skinned woman.”
He nodded. “She had the mentality that she was worthless because she was a darker woman. Although my mother radiated beauty, she allowed colorism to taint her. It wasn’t until your mother and I had you that she changed her mind.
When you were born, we couldn’t keep her away, and she showered you with compliments. ”
I was well aware that my grandmother could be a mean and stern woman, but to know that she was a colorist, was very surprising, especially considering that she was one of the darkest women that I knew.
However, I did understand the era that she grew up in, and I was sure that it was a common stance with many women her age.
“My parents introduced me to Olivia, and I made it clear even then that she wasn’t someone who piqued my interest. I know that you know this better than anyone, but she’s so vague and superficial.
She didn’t have depth, and she couldn’t hold a meaningful conversation.
The only thing that she has ever had going for herself is her beauty.
I hate to speak that way about your mother, but I feel the need to be transparent with you.
Maybe with my transparency, you will forgive me. ”
“There is nothing to forgive. Naturally, I wish that Tobias being your son wouldn’t have been kept a secret, and I can’t say that I fully understand, but the past can’t be changed. We can only move forward and build.”
“You have always been the wise one,” he responded with a chuckle.
“I also wanted you to know that your mother and I are getting a divorce.” Once I heard divorce , I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped my lips.
“The way that she behaved with your friend Devon was despicable. I can no longer participate in the charade that we have set up to look like a marriage. I’m too old to be unhappy. ”
“What did she say when you served her the divorce petition?” I asked, knowing that she had to have pulled out all of her theatrics.
“She fainted, cried, yelled, and cursed me out, but I refused to let her talk me out of it, again . I deserve far better than what she has ever given me. However, I don’t regret our marriage because she gave me a beautiful daughter.
I do wish some things would have occurred differently, but as you said, the past is the past.”
“You mean daughters. Mother gave you two, beautiful daughters.”
“No, she gave me a beautiful daughter. Olivia has been so hell-bent on airing out my dirty laundry that she failed to air out hers.”
“Wait. Father, what are you saying?” I asked as I pushed my plate away from me.
I had been so engaged in our conversation that I had barely touched my lobster bisque, so it had grown cold. Besides, I had a feeling that whatever he was about to say was going to make me lose my appetite completely.
“Kendra is not my daughter. I didn’t even sign her birth certificate.
Your mother had my last name when she gave birth to her and gave it to Kendra just to spite me.
Don’t get me wrong because I do love her, but the truth is the truth.
Kendra’s father is a man that your mother had an ongoing affair with. ”
“What else do I need to know about my family? Are there any more skeletons in the Monroe closet? If so, please tell me now.”
“To my knowledge, there aren’t any more skeletons.
At least there aren’t any more in my closet.
I have spoken my peace, and although we don’t share the same blood, Kendra will always be my daughter.
However, Olivia owes her an explanation or two regarding her paternity.
If I were as bitter and evil as she was, or a lesser man, I would do her the favor. ”
“Thank God,” I said, relieved that there was nothing else for me to know about my family.
“Nonetheless, I do owe you an apology. There were a lot of things that your mother said and did toward you that I shouldn’t have allowed.
I thought that by allowing her to show favoritism toward Kendra, I was shielding you from being tainted by her.
However, I never stopped to think that her clinging to Kendra would grow to hurt you, and make no mistake, I’m extremely proud of the woman that you are.
I may have a plethora of awards and certifications, but you, Kenya Alexandra Monroe, are by far my greatest accomplishment. ”
“Thank you, Father. It means the world to hear you say that.”
“I should have said it soon and I should have expressed it more,” he said as he grabbed my hand and gave me a reassuring smile.
“What about Fancy? Where does your pending divorce leave the two of you?”
You’d think that I would be concerned with the well-being of my mother or devastated that my parents were getting a divorce or think that finding out Kendra was my half-sister would be overwhelming.
But I was fine.
In all honesty, my father deserved better, and so did I. He deserved a level of better that Olivia could never give him.
The most disturbing thing that I heard during lunch wasn’t the divorce, it was that Kendra and I shared different fathers.
Nevertheless, the observant side of me always wondered where Kendra inherited some of her features from.
My parents would have been able to produce a child of her shade, but her eyes and hair were like no one else in our family.
I always admired her honey-colored eyes and long, curly hair, which wasn’t nearly as thick or as coarse as mine.
“If Francesca will have me, then I want to spend the rest of my life loving her as she deserves. She has put up with much more than a woman of her caliber should and never left. I was a fool for not making her my wife years ago.”
“That’s beautiful, but I do have another question,” I said to make sure that I wasn’t probing for too much information or asking for something that he wasn’t prepared to share.
“I’m an open book.”
“Why did you think that it was appropriate for Fancy to be our housekeeper? Didn’t you consider that it would be hurtful for her to work for your wife?”
“Yes, I did. However, I selfishly just needed her to be around. I needed to see her face daily, and I felt that it would allow me to financially provide for Tobias like I needed to. Francesca has never been paid as an average housekeeper, and God knows that Olivia wasn’t going to lift a finger to clean or dust anything.
Besides that, I needed someone with you that I could trust, so naturally, she was my first choice. ”
“Your first choice in more ways than one,” I replied, causing him to chuckle.
“Would you like the kitchen to remake your food?” he asked, pointing to the food that no longer looked appetizing.
“No, sir. That won’t be necessary.”
“Let me know if you change your mind … Now, enough about me. Tell me about this gentleman whom you have taken a liking to. I can look at you and see the bliss that he has added to your life.”
“Yes, he has indeed added to my life, and it feels amazing to be in love. He is a great man and an even better father.”
“A father ,” he repeated in a concerned tone.
“That was my initial reaction too, but Dreux is an amazing kid. Beforehand, I thought that dating a man who was a father, would be like taking on additional baggage. However, it’s nothing like that.
Also, I’m not as young as I once was, and being a part of Dreux’s life could be the closest that I come to true motherhood. ”
“As long as you are happy, then I am happy. Maybe one day I will take the new men in your life fishing.”
“I’m sure that they would like that,” I said as I thought about the men in my life building solid relationships with one another.
“Don’t think that I didn’t hear your remark about motherhood.
Dear, you have to believe that it will happen for you.
You are only thirty-six. There is still plenty of time for you to experience that part of life, and just think of all of the things that you have been able to achieve because you waited.
Those are the things that are going to make you the perfect mother when the time is right. ”
“Yes, sir.”
“It’s going to happen, and the moment that it does, I’m going into retirement. I don’t want to miss a single thing with my grandchildren,” he said, causing me to chuckle. “Have you and Devon talked about marriage?”
“Yes, and he knows that I want to be a wife and a mother. Coincidently, although he has jokingly talked about having a baby together, I can only assume that he wants more children. I mean, his son is almost thirteen, so I could understand him not wanting to start over.”
“Would you be able to handle his decision to not have another child?”
“Honestly, he makes me feel complete. I don’t feel like I am missing anything with him. With that being said, I can only hope that fifteen years from now, my stance remains the same.”
“Well, dear, that is something to consider. You don’t want to put yourself in a position to one day resent the person you’re committed to. I learned that the hard way.”
As always, his few words spoke volumes and provided necessary food for thought.