Today was my last day on campus. My dad and Jenelle were coming to get me from campus today. I decided to stay here for a week before going back to Grand Rapids. Since I decided to stay for the week, I agreed to let my parents finally meet Devin after they begged for so long.
I hugged Aubrey as she left out with her grandparents. She was going back home today, too.
"Make sure you call and tell me how it goes" she smiled, walking out.
"I will" I sang out to her. Having Devin meet my parents right now felt awkward. Just a couple of days ago, I wasn't speaking to him and now we're acting like everything is fine.
I sat on the couch, waiting for my parents to arrive. We were going to eat at a restaurant called Casa Maria and Devin was joining us.
Jenelle called to let me know they were downstairs. I went down to let them in, since I had a couple of suitcases.
"Kiari, why do you have all of this stuff? You're not moving out, baby girl" my dad said as he carried my duffel bag and rolled two of my suitcases.
"Daddy, you never know. What if I decided to go on a date and all I have is sweatpants?"
He shook his head as Jenelle laughed. She had my backpack on her right shoulder while holding Siena in her left arm. We reached the car and put all of my things inside. I climbed into the back with Siena, just admiring her.
"Alright, where is this place" my dad asked, putting the car in drive. I gave him the directions as I continued to play with Siena in the backseat. Every time I saw her, I got baby fever. She felt like my baby.
jackass 🤎
Im here mama
❤️.
tryna make a good impression huh?
jackass 🤎
Some like that
Devin was never on time anywhere. The restaurant was only five minutes from campus so it didn't take us long to get there. We parked across the street because it was so crowded, but luckily we had a reservation. The closer we got to the door, the sicker I felt. My dad never met Javi, so this was his first time meeting a boyfriend of mine.
I held Siena in my arms while my dad carried her car seat. She was still fairly small so it was easier to navigate this way.
My dad opened the door for Jenelle and I to walk through. As soon as we walked in, there he was. My heart fluttered in excitement, but I was also extremely nervous.
"Hey" I smiled hugging him with Siena still in my arms. He smiled, hugging me back as he greeted my parents.
"Daddy, Jenelle, this is Devin. Devin, these are my parents, Steven and Jenelle."
I never referred to Jenelle as a parent while she was present, so I'm not sure how she felt about it. My daddy shook his hand and Jenelle gave him a hug. The hostess lead us to a table in the very back of the restaurant. It seemed to be the only available seating. I placed Siena in her car seat that was on top of the chair beside me. Devin sat on the other side of me.
We talked a little bit amongst ourselves, trying to decide what to get on the menu. Once our waiter came, he took our orders and our menus.
"So, how did the two of you meet" Jenelle asked. She was always so smiley.
"Aubrey" I responded. Jenelle cooed, reminding me of when she said that Aubrey and I would become really good friends.
"How old are you son? What do you do? Tell me about yourself" my dad asked. I knew my dad wanted to grill him, but Jenelle had given him a talk on the way to get me.
"I'm 20. I'm in school right now to be a lawyer. Um, what else" he chuckled, nervously. I rubbed his thigh to calm him a bit. They both nodded at his dream to be a lawyer.
"Where are you from?"
"New York."
Jenelle's face lit up. "Oh my gosh, I love New York."
Devin laughed and so did my dad. That's a good sign.
They talked about New York for a little bit, before my dad asked him another question.
"Why my daughter? What do you like about Kiari? What are you intentions?"
"Dad" I called out. This was the part I dreaded.
"Nah, it's cool" Devin laughed. "I just wanna make her happy, for real. I like everything about her. She balances me out. I like the way she carries herself."
I smiled up at him as he received a nod from my dad. Our waiter brought out our food and we began to eat, making small talk.
"You play any sports?"
"I played basketball in New York. I don't play now though."
"Do you have a job?"
"Yes, sir. I work at Amazon."
He seemed to take these questions well.
"Can you cook" Jenelle chipped in. We all laughed as Devin responded.
"Not really. I can fry chicken though."
We continued to eat, while Siena slept. Once we finished eating, Devin offered to pay, but my dad took care of it. I think that won him over. We got up and left the restaurant. My dad carried sleeping Siena in her car seat and Jenelle walked beside him. They headed to the car, giving me time to talk to Devin.
"I'm gonna miss you" I pouted hugging him.
"You just thirty minutes away, mama" he laughed. "If your parents cool with it, I'll come see you."
I agreed. "What about your birthday?"
"What about it?"
Devin made it clear to me that he didn't care to celebrate his birthday, but I at least wanted to do something nice for him. It's his 21st.
"Are you gonna go out" I asked.
He shrugged. "I don't know yet. I'll figure something out."
"Okay." We walked down the sidewalk not saying much before he reached my dad's car. I turned and hugged him.
"You acting like we saying goodbye forever or something" he laughed, hugging me back.
"I'm just gonna miss you. That's all."
He kissed my forehead, making sure my dad wasn't within eye view. "I love you, mama."
"I love you."
He opened the door for me, as I climbed into my dad's truck. Once he walked away, we pulled out of the parking lot.
"He seems like a nice guy, Kiki" Jenelle said.
"He is" I smiled.
My dad just nodded, and coming from him, that was a good sign.
