Page 46 of Isn't She Lucky
Now, I see where Giada got the nonsense she told me yesterday. Her mother’s been implanting these nuggets in her mind, making her question our union.
I snap and say, “I don’t care if she was from Jupiter! She’s mine. Why should status dictate who I can love? Who she can love?”
“Because in this world, that’s just the way it is.”
“Screw this world! I love her. You shouldn’t stand in the way of people who love each other. Respectfully, it’s not your place to tell your daughter who she can and can’t be with. It’s not.”
“I just wanted the best for her.”
“You’re looking at him. I am the best for her! Ain’t nobody taking her away from me. I don’t know what happened to you in the past that was so detrimental, you push that on your daughter, trying to keep her down. What kind of mother doesthat to her child? The man who hurt you must’ve really did a number on you, and on behalf of all the good men in the world, I’m sorry you found one of the bad ones, but that’s not who I am. I’m a man who waited fourteen years for your daughter because I love her. The man who didn’t touch any other woman because I knew one day, circumstances would bring Giada back into my life. In case you didn’t hear me before, I’ll say it again. I love her.”
She drops her head and weeps.
I hate that she’s in tears, but it’s hard to feel sorry for someone who singlehandedly ruined your life.
She clears her throat and says, “I know you love her.”
“Then stop whatever you’re doing to drive us apart…just stop. Let Giada live in peace because I’m not going anywhere, and I can’t help who I am and what I have. I have the means to take care of her for the rest of her life. She doesn’t have to lift a finger to do anything unlessshewants to. Is that the life you don’t want her to have because it’s one you didn’t have?”
“It’s not reality.”
“Itisreality. It’s my reality. Fifty-two million and counting. That’s my net worth, and none of it means a thing without her. Stop trying to sabotage us.”
I turn to walk away.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “I’ll leave you two alone from here on out.”
“See to it that you do.”
14.
“I don’t knowwhat to do,” I confess to Diedra as we sit at our favorite little diner. It’s late, but I sip coffee while my food gets cold because I don’t feel like eating.
I say, “Whatever I do, I won’t be able to make both of them happy.”
“Girl, if you don’t go get that man! Your mom will be fine.”
“Will she? She was crying and everything, talking about how she did what she had to do. And the messed up part about it is, if I had a daughter, I probably would’ve done the same thing. I tried to explain that to Kasim, and he didn’t understand it. He just said he never would’ve left me.”
I close my eyes and gather my thoughts.
She says, “When was the last time you talked to Kasim?”
“Yesterday morning.”
“Wait, so where were you last night?”
“I stayed at a hotel. I needed to clear my head of all of it.”
“Did you accomplish that?”
“I think so.” I shrug. “The crazy part is, I felt like I couldn’t breathe right without him near me.”
“Then I suggest you get your tail back over there so you can get your oxygen!Bay-bee…after everything that man went through to get you back, you ain’t got no business staying up in a hotel. I thought I raised you better than that.”
Laughing, I say, “Shut up, Diedra.”
“For real though…go home. Love that man down. You both deserve that.”
