Daddy's House (18 page)

I watched Daddy from the corner of my eye stand near the foyer with Ms. Dottie. She was spilling her guts about me, I’m sure. Her eyes kept darting over to the bar, hoping to get some type of reaction out of me, but it wasn’t working. She didn’t even give him a chance to take off the designer scarf, nor the black leather jacket he wore.

The more she whispered, the louder my roommates became. I couldn’t hear a thing. Finally, Ms. Dottie turned on her heels with an attitude like she was fed-up. Daddy, on the other hand, took off his coat, slung it over his arm, and pimped my way.

As soon as he was within three feet of me, I jumped up and started yelling like we’d been married for years. My hair was uncombed, attracted all kinds of static, and spread over my head.

“
Who the fuck was the woman who answered your phone, huh?” I badgered. “You told me I was your woman. Didn’t you?” My head bounced up and down, like I had the power.

Daddy moved closer to me, unmoved by my craziness. His huge arms stretched toward my shoulders, in an attempt to calm me down. “Candy, listen to me. We need to talk. But you gotta calm down,” he said, in a more authoritative tone.

He looked around at the girls, and even the extra workers who’d just arrived at the house. “I want this room empty,” he said calmly. The fire in his voice was brutal enough to send the police scattering. “And every working piece of ass better be dressed in their finest attire in less than one hour!” Everyone scattered like roaches.

Daddy grabbed me by the waist lightly, and led me to a small table off to the side of the showroom. “Sit down,” he said, helping me sit. “First of all, I’m sorry to hear about your cousin. Ms. Dottie told me everything. Secondly, what’s this other woman bullshit?”

He took a seat across from me, but decided to pull his chair closer. I couldn’t believe he could still act so cool while he lied flawlessly. I gazed into his eyes, wanting to smack the shit outta him. But he was three times my size.

“
I called the number you gave me, and a woman answered,” I said matter of factly. “You can’t change that,” I added, as he tried to interrupt me. I had the palm of my hand held toward his face, which told him to stop lying.

He grabbed my hand gently, then squeezed harder and harder. He leaned over the table into my face, while speaking with the deepest anger I’d seen. My circulation was almost completely shut off. “If you don’t calm the fuck down, you’re gonna regret it!”

Chills ran through my body. I’d never see him like that before. Now, I understood all the rumors around the house about how he could get.

“
Now, if you called the number, little girlllllll, then you spoke to the woman who answers my calls. All, I repeat…all my calls go to her, because that’s my answering service. Shelly is my operator’s name. You’ll get to meet her one day.”

I looked at him, wondering if he was telling the truth. Then I thought back to the other day when I called him. The woman kept saying we, she just never presented the situation clearly.

Feeling like I was in the wrong, I hopped up, jumped into his lap, wanting to mourn with him about Tracey. I hadn’t slept all night, and would’ve given anything for him to come up to my room just to console me. Daddy looked away from me as I held him tightly. He seemed a bit standoffish.

“
What’s wrong?” I finally asked.

“
I got a little beef with you.”

“
What?” I wiped away the tears with the palm of my hands that had just begun to fall.

“
I asked you before if you had anything to hide. I’ll ask again…do you?”

Damn, what does he know
? I stretched my neck back like he had offended me. “Heck no. Why you say that.” I stuck my hand into the pocket of my robe nervously, in search of some more tissue. Just then, I felt the hardness of Lisa’s necklace rub against my hand.

“
Explain the two I.D.’s in your purse, Ms. Danielle Crouch.” Daddy’s words resonated inside my head.
How
did he know?

“
You been snooping in my things?” I snapped, trying to bide myself some time. I yanked the necklace from my pocket and slammed it face down on the wooden table.

“
Who is Danielle Crouch?” he demanded.

He pushed me off of him with force and stood up, only to tower over me. I was afraid, but knew how to coax my way out of hostile situations. I’d been in plenty before.

“
My abusive boyfriend, who I told you about, had me so scared I didn’t know what to do.” I stopped in midsentence, just to throw in a few extra sniffs. “I got that fake I.D. made in the name Danielle Crouch to get an apartment and phone. I was too scared to use my real name, because I knew he could find me.”

Daddy nodded. He really wanted to believe me. He’d already made it clear when I first met him that he didn’t trust females.

“
That’s it, I swear.”

By now my face was flushed, damn near purple. I studied Daddy for a moment, to see if he was falling for it. He studied me for a few moments, cupped his chin, made a contemplating humming sound, then reared back in his seat.

“
So, what about this necklace you gave me?” I fired.

“
What about it?”

His nonchalant tone pissed me off. “Oh, so that’s how we playing it? I’m the only one who can be honest?”

“
I’ll tell you what. Go upstairs, pack a bag, and I’ll tell you about it on our way out of town.”

My smile was so big, I could’ve been hired as a clown. “Out of town?” I questioned.

“
Yes…unless you have something else to do. I mean, I assume Tracey’s funeral won’t be for another four to five days. You’ll be back by then,” he added.

I had no intention on going to the funeral, but at least he reminded me that I needed to pretend like I was going. Besides, going out of town might’ve been the best thing for me now.
Even if it is with my cheating new man
.

I marched upstairs with my necklace, Lisa’s necklace,
our
necklace in hand. However, the moment we pulled off the property, I wanted answers.

Chapter Eighteen

If someone had told me a month ago I would be riding in Daddy’s brand new black S600 Benz, I would’ve told them to kiss my ass. I couldn’t believe my life had the possibility of turning out okay. Breaking away from my thoughts, I turned to look over at Daddy through my new $420.00 Chanel sunglasses, compliments of my
new man
. The shades were perfect, and kept him from seeing my eyes. That’s what I liked about shades, they seemed to hide the truth.

Daddy’s hands gripped the wheel with confidence, like he was some type of millionaire. I just leaned back and watched him drive with a smile; just being in his presence was enough for me. The oversized chinchilla mink he wore was unnecessary for November, but I guess being a show off was his style. We’d just come back from a night on the town at the Mohegan Sun Casino in the eastern part of Connecticut, and I couldn’t have been happier.

That night was our first time hanging out. The day before, we stayed inside the room and screwed all night. I was really feeling him, and thought about how our relationship was changing over the last few days.
Love, it had
to be
, I thought. Surprisingly, he was falling in love too.

He never said it, but when he told me we were gonna stop by his aunt’s house in the Bronx on the way back, I knew I had him hooked. Hell, what else could it have been if he wanted me to meet his family this soon?

I actually wanted to meet his people too, but was a little nervous. Surely his family was like any other dysfunctional bunch in America; filled with dope feigns, thieves, talkative aunts, and worrisome ass nieces and nephews. Still, more days alone with him would’ve been fine with me. But hell, Thanksgiving was the next day, and at least I wasn’t spending it alone. Being away from the house was a good feeling, almost like an unbelievable fantasy. I looked over at Daddy one last time, noticing him snap his fingers, and nod his head. An old school song by the Whispers flowed through the speakers.
I’m Gonna Make You My Wife
. It was perfect for us. I instantly leaned forward, and turned up the volume. I loved to see him happy.

“
I’m gonna buy you some rings,” Daddy sang along. “And everywhere you go, everyone will know, that it’s real, what you make me feel. I’m gonna make you my wife.”

I was only twenty-three, but that old school shit had meaning. He turned to find me singing the chorus too. “I’m gonna make you my wiiiiife,” I hummed.

Damn, that sounded good to my ears, but the valet attendant headed toward my door was getting ready to ruin our moment. As soon as we hit the circular tiled driveway, I knew my special moment was over. My door flew open, and a professional voice greeted me.

“
Good evening Miss. Welcome to Kensington’s.”

I stepped out proudly in the new sleek, black Dolce and Gabanna dress Daddy got me that morning from one of the hotel shops, and smiled from ear to ear.

“
You look good, baby girl,” Daddy said, coming around to the passenger side to greet me. He shot the valet guy a quick frown. I don’t think he wanted anybody enjoying the good looks but him.

I thought I was pretty damn tempting, if I could say so myself. We strutted into the five-star restaurant hand in hand. Once at the table, I thought about asking him why his wandering eye kept looking at the young girl who’d brought us our menus and wine glasses. Then decided against it, since we’d already dismissed the issue about the necklace and my fake I.D. We agreed we’d start fresh, no distrust whatsoever.

“
So, you ready to meet the fam tomorrow?” he asked, after the waitress left our table.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Sure, but I would love to stay here a few more days with you. I’ve had enough turkey to last a lifetime.”

“
C’mon, baby girl. There’s nothing better than family.”

I shook my head. “Yeah. Well, for me, family symbolizes distrust.”

“
For me too.” He laughed. “You know how many times my thievin’ ass nephews have stolen from me? My sister even called the cops on me before,” he said, without a care.

“
Nothing seems to bother you. I mean, it’s like you have alligator skin or something.”

He laughed. “You think so, huh?”

I nodded my response.

“
I guess since my mother died, it changed me. I mean, I’m all talked out. Nothing else matters. It’s all about business. I mean…until I met you.” He grabbed my hand and kissed it.

“
I wish I could’ve met her,” I responded, earning myself some brownie points.

“
You will.”

What the hell are you talking about
, I wondered,
he’d just mentioned that she was dead.
“Your mom is…” I
decided not to say a word. Maybe the wine had him
going.

Daddy laughed, then shook his head up and down. “She is, but that doesn’t mean you can’t meet her,” he responded. “So, where’s your mother buried?”

Damn, he caught me off guard. I grabbed my glass and took a sip of water to buy me some time. “Washington Memorial, out in Secaucus, Jersey,” I finally answered.

“
Oh yeah. Well, we’ll go pass there tomorrow on our way to the Bronx. It’s just over the George Washington Bridge. I wanna pay my respects since I might officially be in the family soon.”

My cheeks turned rosy. I quickly took another sip of water, damn near guzzling the whole glass.

“
Besides, we’ll visit my mother’s grave too. I do it every Thanksgiving. It’s not far from your moms,” he added, as the waitress appeared to take our order.

I started coughing uncontrollably, and jumped up from my seat, almost pulling the white linen tablecloth along with me.

“
Order for me, baby. Anything,” I said, in between coughs.

I jetted to the bathroom, and into one of the stalls. As my body slid against the wall, my thoughts went haywire.
Why do I keep allowing myself to get in these crazy situations?
At what point am I just gonna be honest with people…with myself
? Daddy was the one person in my life who really seemed to care about me, so I knew it was wrong to start off our relationship this way.
I gotta figure
out a way to get out of this shit.

****

The next day, I found myself in a laid back position once again; this time not as happy. The ride to Bronx seemed like an eternity, as I thought about stopping by to visit my fake mother’s grave. Daddy made it clear that dinner was at 4 p.m. sharp, and we’d make our gravesite visits before dinner. Even after spending all that time in the bathroom the night before, I still hadn’t figured out how to talk my way out of this mess. I leaned back further in the seat, sniffling every few minutes, trying to spring a fake sickness on Daddy with ease. For the most part he’d been ignoring me. I was beginning to get worried until he said, “You coming down with something?”

I sniffed. “Yeah…I think.” I threw my hand up to my forehead to check for a fever.