Page 20 of Smoke

We were currently at the park along with my father. My baby wanted to come play, and I agreed because she didn’t deserve to be cooped up in the house. Currently, she was on the jungle gym, attempting to go across the monkey bars without losing her grip.She’d been at it for about twenty minutes now, and she’d finally gotten it.

“Good job, baby!”

She grinned and ran back to try again. I felt eyes watching me and turned to see my father looking at me curiously.

“What, Daddy?”

“Something is off with you, Romi. I know you.”

“I’m okay.”

“No, you aren’t. You’re my child. I know you better than you know yourself, and I know when something is wrong.”

I sighed. “I’m tired, Daddy. I just wanna disappear for a little while, but I can’t. I have Korri and this baby to think about. I have my business to run.”

“Did something else happen?”

“Patrick pulled up on me about a week ago. He knows about the baby, and he’s made some threats that I don’t want to test the waters with. I’m stuck, Daddy. I’m stuck, and I don’t know what to do.”

I fought back the tears as he wrapped his arms around me. I’d been crying and covering my tears with a brave face for days now. There seemed to be nothing I could do to avoid what was being demanded of me. The duffel bag of money had been sitting under my desk all week long. I couldn’t bring myself to touch it just yet. I’d been praying that something would happen to Patrick, and he would just disappear for good. That was a horrible thing to pray for, and I was sure God wasn’t pleased with it, but that was my truth.

“We’re gonna figure this out,” my father said.

I really didn’t want him getting involved. My father wasn’t a violent man by nature, but he’d protect his family. Even with that being said, he couldn’t take Patrick on by himself. There were other people working with and for him, and the last thingI wanted was my father rolling up on him to defend my honor. Anything could happen.

Just as I was about to say something, I caught sight of a familiar face. Devin was walking across the park with a small group of people. He didn’t look thrilled to be here as he looked around the semi-crowded area. When his eyes landed on me, he stopped and waved. I waved back, prompting him to separate from his people and make his way in my direction.

I had to gather myself because I didn’t want him to see me crying again. When he reached me, he extended his hand.

“Hey, Romi,” he said.

I slipped my palm into his. “Hey, Devin. This is my father, Carlton Mitchell. Daddy, this is Devin Dillinger. He teaches the gun safety class I’m taking.”

My father extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Dillinger.”

“Likewise.”

“You didn’t tell me you were getting a gun, Romi,” my father said.

“I didn’t want you guys to talk me out of it, Daddy. Please don’t tell Mama. I don’t want her to worry.”

My father waved me off. “Baby girl, you may not know this, but your mama and I have quite the stash of firearms around the house. Anybody that comes in there uninvited or starting some shit can get one of those bullets.”

Devin chuckled. “I know that’s right. Protect your peace. My grams says if you can’t have peace anywhere else, you better have it at home.”

“Your grams is right.”

“Did your daughter tell you she’s a natural shot,” Devin bragged. “She was a little nervous at first, but she surprised us both.”

“Oh, stop,” I said, waving him off.

“I give credit where credit is due.”

“Mommy!” Korri yelled, running over to me. She slid next to me on the bench. “I want some ice cream.”

“Baby, we have to eat lunch first. Say hi to my friend. This is Mr. Dillinger.”

She looked up at Devin, and her eyes widened. “Hi,” she said shyly.

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