Beyond the pole

Secrets and Pearls

Sunday Night
Atlanta, Georgia
Dinner at the Gates Home

Danni's P.O.V.

"I'm real proud of you, Danni. Finding a job and covering your bills really is showing me how responsible you're becoming." My dad proudly praised, making me blush.

"Thank you, Daddy! I told you I'd keep up my end of the deal."

My daddy had paid for me to attend Spelman, and his only argument was that I'd have to find a job to cover my bills, and he'd cover rent and tuition. He just didn't know the job I had found was at Magic City, one of the biggest—scratch that. The biggest strip club in Atlanta. Celebrities, ball players, your top scammers, you name it. It was lit every night. Obviously, weekends were our best nights, especially Sunday Funday's, and that's exactly what tonight was.

"Yea, you are. Your mama would be so proud seeing you follow in her footsteps. You're next, Danielle." My father nodded at my younger sister, who was the least bit interested in going to Spelman. She'd much rather attend FIT, The Fashion Institute of Technology, in New York.

My baby sister is 17 and has a passion for fashion. She's also the only one that knows my secret. Believe it or not, she's designed some of my best floss.

Danielle just smiled before stuffing her mouth so she wouldn't have to respond. I was majoring in psychology, and it was kicking my ass.

"So, daaad, how'd things go with Miss Veronica?" I wiggled my eyebrows, and he chuckled before taking a sip of his beer.

"I don't know what you girls were expecting, but Miss Veronica is my friend, and that's it."

"Daddy, Mom's been gone for three years. It's okay to move on..." He raised his hand to stop me and shook his head.

"Danni, your mother was the love of my life, my left lung, and my high school sweetheart. We built a family and started a legacy, and we built that off of years of trials and love, so excuse me if it's gonna take longer than three years to move on. Danielle, thank you for a lovely dinner. Make sure you clean this up before bed. Thanks for stopping by to see us, Danni, but I think I'm going to go to bed."

Before I could protest, he was up kissing our foreheads before heading upstairs.

I turned to Danielle with a pout and my arms folded. "Nellie, is it always like this?"

She nodded as she gathered everyone's plates, heading to the kitchen to clean.

"Pretty much. You can't even bring Mom up, and he reacts that way. Shuts down, goes to bed. Dad's here, but he's not here."

I could see the pain in my younger sister's face. She was only 15 when our mother passed, and it seemed like she lost both parents that day. She was the cook, the maid, and Dad just paid the bills and watched TV, drinking beer. Barely allowed Danielle to have a normal teenage girl life, which I hate 'cause my mom was the best during my teen years.

I pulled Danielle into a deep hug. "He's grieving, baby. I'm sorry you're going through this, and I hate to leave you like this, but I'm already a little behind for the club."

She fanned me off with a smile.

"It's fine. I'm okay, I promise. I would love if you came to see me more, though." She playfully rolled her eyes.

"Me and you next weekend, my apartment, just us."

She perked up, then quickly frowned.

"Ah, ah. You leave Dad up to me."

Like clockwork, she smiled and pulled me into a tight hug before I departed from my childhood home and headed to my secret job.

⸻