Round of Applause

Chapter 3: Delivery

As we headed back to the apartment from Target I had my phone in my hands. “Thank you Dario.” Manny said from the backseat. “Thank you.” Sara said. She always seems like she is in another world. “No problem.” Dario said smiling at them from the rear view mirror. “Are you guys hungry?” he asked. “Yeah.” Manny chanted. Sara just stayed quiet looking out the window. “What about you Keisha? It’s 1, and past lunch time, you want to get something to eat?” he asked. “Uhm, sure.” I said. “Good, we can go to probably Red Robin’s.” he said. That was the only good type of restaurant in the hood. Everyone went to Red Robin’s.

When we go there we got a table for 4 and was seated near a window where it was cold, but we tried to remain warm. Dario sat next to Manny and across from them was Sara and I. The kids sat inside of the both, while we sat on the outside. Safety and good parenting.

Our waitress came and I ordered Chicken nuggets and fries for Manny and Sara, since they love that. I looked over the menu and got a Chicken burger and Dario a Bacon burger. We all ordered Sprites, since that was the common favorite amongst us. “It’s cold mommy.” Sara said to me. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her. I would do anything for my babies. “When is the last time you guys seen grandma?” Dario asked. “Do you mean grandma or abuela?” Manny asked. Abuela, Kennan’s mother. She’s in the hospital now, suffering from the death of her son.

“Grandma.” Dario said. “A long time.” Sara said. It’s only been a couple of weeks. I’ve been busy. “Well do you guys want to go there today?” Dario asked them. They cheered and smiled. ”Yeah.” Sara said. I nudged Dario’s foot. He looked at me. “Yeah. You guys can go home, pack a bag and then spend a night at grandma’s.” he said setting everything up. “Not tonight.” I said. They whined. Dario looked at me with a serious face, “C’mon they never been over in a while, and you already know what I said before.” Dario said to me. I looked at him. Was he really planning on…..making plans, for us…tonight?

I was uneasy about all this. It seems all too sudden. I sighed, “To grandma’s it is.” I said. They smiled.

The food came and we all ate, savoring the well prepared food. I missed moments like these with Kennan, me cleaning up the mess Sara made on her shirt and Manny and Kennan shooting spit balls at people through straws. We were a mess, but we were a mess together.

After we finished eating and hanging out it as 3:20. When we finally got home it was 3:54. “iight, y’all go ahead and pack.” Dario said siting on the couch. I helped pack all the things they would need. I had already called my mother so she knew. I went to the kitchen and packed some chocolate powder mix for them at night, they love this. Dario approached me in the kitchen. “You had a good day so far?” he asked me. I nodded. “I’ll make your night even better if you let me.” He said. I didn’t respond, “So, do you want me to come over here, or do you want to go by my crib?” he asked.

I shrugged. Was I agreeing? I felt wrong. Like this shouldn’t be happening. He left the kitchen with me and I packed the last of things, and we were off to my mother’s house.

-

We dropped them off and talked to my mother for a while, so we came back a little later than expected, 6:30. I unlocked the door to my darkened apartment, which felt empty without my kids. Dario dropped me off and said he’d be back in a minute. I sat on the couch and stared at the tv. I noticed that the time on the box came on. The tv bill was paid. Dario….he really did pay. I smiled. It’s like God sent gave me an angel, took him away, and now he is reborn into Dario. Time passed as I watched an episode and a half of America’s next top model. Those girls are so beautiful. I have been working on my figure for a while. My stomach gets flat and then puffs back up after a while. But it’s okay.