The father’s promise

The temperature feels just right in the house. Cool enough to wear a light hoodie, but warm enough to still wear shorts. It seems like a strange combination; it feels so comfortable. “Are you just going to sit there and doze off all day?” She says. “I will because my hoodie feels phenomenal” I say. “Spell phenomenal,” she says. “Baby you're just mad because our daughter didn’t make you a mommy edition hoodie that looks this fly” I say. A small smile starts to form across her face. I get up and hug her from behind, wrapping my arms around her waist pulling her closer. I lightly kiss her on the cheek and softly continue down her neck. Her breath becomes shallow. “Baby don’t start, I have to finish dinner for your daughter. You know she loves her noodles anime style with chicken and vegetables floating in the bowl with the broth and the noodles.” She says. “So now she’s my daughter when she’s reppin’ anime, but she’s your daughter when she’s designing clothes and doing gymnastics” I say. “Yes, she’s Tamera Washington’s daughter when she’s designing clothes and doing gymnastics. She is Eli Washington’s daughter when she’s with all that nerd stuff.” She says, with a comical grin across her face. “So you didn’t find it cute when she would be running through the house with arms out like Naruto.” She tilts her head at me and turns one of the eyes on the stove off. “Okay, I did find it funny when she told family members, she’s attending U.A. in the fall.” She says. “So you’ve been watching anime behind my back, how could you?” I say. I move my fingertip slowly down my cheek and make sniffing noises. She laughs and lets out a snort. I don't know what it is, but weirdly enough I love when she snorts. I remember when she did it on our first date, she was so embarrassed that she covered her mouth and stared at me like a child who just swore in church. The moment of reminiscing is cut short by an open and closed door, followed with hurried footsteps up the stairs. A concerned look washes over Tamera’s face as she sets the pot on a low simmer, “Wait let me talk to her, Skylar is probably upset about that school business fair” I say. “I've been telling you we should just switch her back to homeschool again. She’s been having nothing but problems at that school. First, they say her style is too urban, then they say she’s too outspoken” she says sarcastically. If anything, her outspokenness comes from her mother, I don’t care what anyone says but she mastered that attitude from her mom. “Okay, let’s give her a couple hours to just calm down and decompress” A few hours roll by and she still hasn’t come out of her room yet. Tamera walks back and forth from the bedroom to the kitchen; I wait in the living room. She comes and taps my arm “Eli I’m worried about her, since when has she never felt like eating” she says. “Maybe she’s also tired of your cooking” I say. Tamera practically shoots lasers at me with those brown eyes of hers. Just then I hear a door creak open. Skylar walks down the stairs with a face so long that you might just trip over. “Hey Sky, how was your day baby?” Tamera says. “It was alright,” Skylar says. Tamera sighs and fixes Skylar a plate. Skylar carries her plate up to her room. Tamera plops down on the couch next to me. I open my arms without saying a word, she leans into me silently and curls up like a cat in the cold. “I hate when she gets like that,” Tamera says. “Yeah, she can be very melancholic sometimes.” I say. I miss the days where we could just give her some juice and just turn on cartoons to help perk her up. Those were the simple days, beside from changing her diaper and having to feed her. I had to fight that little girl tooth and nail when it came to mealtime. Sometimes she would enjoy the food and start crying when I put it up, and I would always give her a second and third serving. Then she would throw up all over me. Tamera hated it when I would over feed Skylar, but I couldn’t say no to those little eyes of hers. Back then if she looked at me in the right way, I would have robbed a bank for her. Sometimes she wouldn’t like the food. I would hover the spoon like airplane and say “This is daddy airlines, permission to land” while shaping my hand like a com. She would try to knock the spoon down like King Kong.

Hours seem to roll by, I could feel Tamera tossing and turning. I rolled over and spooned her closely, I could feel her relax a little as she thrusted her back side closer to me. “Baby you’re off tomorrow, right?” She asked. “I have some papers to work on, why?” I said. “Well since you have some time on your hands, I was thinking we could surprise Skylar tomorrow at her school business fair” She said. “Baby that’s a great idea, also we can check her out of school early and take to that Mediterranean place she likes” I said. Before I knew it we were spawning ideas off each other. It's a fact that I hate to admit, but we have spoiled our daughter rotten. She doesn’t get whatever she wants when she wants, but her and I definitely grew up in a complete one eighty. In my perspective I’m happier than a stripper on payday that we grew up completely opposite. She doesn’t have to experience looking at an empty fridge or having to shake off roaches in the middle of the night. I didn’t have someone to push me to start my own business.

Soft footsteps wake me up, the smell of freshly brewed coffee floats through the house. You buy your wife a new coffee machine and suddenly it’s like she’s a Starbucks barista. “Dad, are you up?” Skylar says. “Yeah baby, I’m up. Did she send you in here?” I say.

She nods her head while in the doorway with her superhero-themed pajamas. “Skylar, come here. Just talk to me, I can see something’s bothering you. It’s like you’re walking with thousand-pound weights chained to you.” I say. Silence washes over the room, she stares at the floor while sitting on the bed. “Dad it’s about the business fair at school,” She says. “Baby, I know your mom and I ain’t the most social people. However, I remember us teaching you to give eye contact when speaking.” She straightens up, and the words that leave her mouth shocked me. “You did what?” “Dad, it’s just- “. I cut her off. “Why would you do that?” I say. Her expression is plain, the silence falls over the room like leaves in October. I pinch the bridge of my nose feeling nothing but anger and annoyance. “Baby, go to your room,” Tamera says while standing with two mugs of coffee. As Skylar leaves, Tamera quickly closes the door behind her. She then sets the coffee mugs down and then walks over and sits in my lap, like how you see those kids sitting in Santa’s lap around Christmas time at the mall. “What did she do?” She says. “You didn’t hear?” I say. “I heard your yelling; I think the whole world heard you,” she says while stroking my beard playfully. Even when my anger reaches a boiling point, her touch is always calming. “She said she threw away the hoodies and skipped class,” I say. Her face wears an outfit of shock. “We spent forever and a day helping her with the website, and the clothing designs. All for it to end up in a fucking dumpster around the corner,” I say. “Maybe there’s a deeper reasoning for what she did. I’m not trying to justify her actions, but let’s just talk to her. She's a seventeen-year-old who’s still learning,” She says. “I’m just disappointed,” I say. “I know, I am too. But before you talk to her remember, things don’t just happen. Before it started raining, there were clouds forming.” She says.

Time goes by since Tamera went to work and Skylar went off to school. I often enjoy these quiet moments in my home office. It gives me time to think and just be aware. Tamera’s name flashes on my screen, as the phone vibrates. “Hey, sweet face” the text reads. “Good afternoon Tia” I text. She responds with purple heart emojis “I love it when you call me that, but I’m on my break and just wanted to see if you’ve calmed down” it reads. “I’m fine, what’s for dinner?” I text.

“I was thinking I can pick up some pizza after work and my handsome husband could give me the world’s best foot massage, but I gotta get back to work.” She texted. Hours and 6 slices of pizza later were all sitting around the dinner table full. I clear my throat to break the silence. “Skylar I’ve been thinking about earlier, the truth is when you told me that you threw away the clothes just because of peer pressure, I felt nothing but disappointment and rage,” I say. She looks at me as if she's searching for the words in response. “The anger came, because your mother and I taught you about the importance of keeping the Hebrew culture, we read through Deuteronomy 28 so many times, you learned the reason for why our people were enslaved and taken down. You learned the reason for why our people were hated without a cause. You learned that you’re not an African American, you’re a Hebrew.” I say. A moment of silence passes over the room like a football. “And the reason why I felt disappointed is because I made the same mistake, at one point denied my culture and belief all for a corporate position that paid twenty-one an hour and benefits. When I worked at Maximen corporation, I had just started coming into the truth about who the black man and black woman truly were, I had learned that we weren’t just African Americans and that most slaves were Hebrew Israelites. I was researching nearly every day. At one point I started going to brothers on the highway like ISUPK, this is before I had a seven-stage account and listening to Yash Qaraah and people like the Realest and the Visionary. I had taken a picture with some of the brothers on the Highway and byways and started posting more and more truth. Before I knew it my boss had called me into his office and gave me an ultimatum, basically saying that if I do not stop posting this type of content and being so radical, that I could lose my job” I said. I feel myself starting to get angry every time I tell this story, not angry at my former employer. But angry at myself. “So, I stopped posting the truth, I had even cut my hair down, I had even stopped listening to the truth. I denied the highest for 21 dollars an hour and benefits. I felt like since your mother was five months pregnant and working at Walmart and we stayed in a one-bedroom apartment with roaches, I felt like I had no other choice. But the truth is you always have a choice. The highest knows how to teach you a lesson, two weeks later I got fired anyway because I was two minutes late, I couldn’t find a job after that. I had to go to the pantries. If I had just had faith and stopped giving so much power to man, I would have been fine. I was scared to lose my job and have to move back in with my momma. I promised that when you were born, your mother and I started to teach you about this truth. I wanted you to understand that you’re worth more than silver and gold.” I said. Skylar looks as if one million things are running through her head. She stands up and hugs both of us and says “I’ve got some work to do. Spiritually and mentally.” It’s not often when I see it but I love when she gets that determined look in her eyes. “Skylar, remember smooth seas don’t make skillful sailors.

The End

To all the righteous right now, it doesn’t matter what race or color. Keep going and fighting the good fight even when you keep getting knocked down. Just remember that every diamond in the rough needs pressure.