"You ready?" Ray asked as he realized Shi had fallen asleep. He held her properly so her neck wouldn't start hurting.
"Yeah, go ahead."
FLASHBACK WITHIN A FLASHBACK
TWENTY ONE YEARS AGO
"Just a little more Miss Brown, you got it." the nurse urged.
Fifteen-year-old Janelle pushed one more time and the nurse grabbed the silent baby. Janelle and Wayne had already filled out the birth certificate so they printed it and Shekinah Brown was officially in the world.
As Janelle wiped her face, she as well as everyone else in the room noticed that the baby was not crying.
"What's wrong with her?" Janelle inquired, her heart picking up pace. The nurse took the baby out of the room, much to Janelle's dismay. "Wayne go see what's wrong with her!"
Wayne followed the nurse out of the room and down the hall. The baby finally started crying and she opened her eyes. Wayne scowled at the bright, hazel eyes staring back at him. He had always had his suspicions that Janelle was cheating on him, and now that he saw his so-called daughter, he knew it was true.
He wanted nothing to do with a baby that wasn't his, so put Shekinah up for adoption. How was he able to do this so quickly and without anyone knowing? Because he paid the nurse not to say anything, and after Shekinah was gone, he went back into that room and told Janelle that the baby was a stillborn and held her as she cried.
It wasn't until Deandre was born five years later that he believed that Janelle really had a grandma Hazel with hazel eyes. But by then, it was too late to get Shekinah back, he had two sons, they would be fine. Until they had Charisma a year later and she ended up with his brown eyes, just like Raymond's.
END OF FLASHBACK WITHIN A FLASHBACK
"Are you fucking kidding me?! He gave me up because my fucking eyes are hazel! What the—"
"Shekinah chill out and sit down or they not gon let y'all come back down here." Ray told her, looking around.
Shekinah slowly sat back down and lowered her voice as she finished, "What the hell do my eyes have to do with anything? They were fucking fifteen, why the fuck would she cheat on him? She wouldn't cheat on him."
"I know that KiKi. I'm not completely sure that's what happened, that's just what I think. Only he knows what was really going through his mind at the time."
"Fuck ass nigga, don't touch me Zyon." she told him. He held his hands up in surrender. "Does he still live with them?"
"Nah, he left around the time Shi was born. They divorced now I guess. Mama don't tell me nothin."
"That's what happens when you get locked up."
"Mhm, whatever."
"Aight, this a sign we don't need to get in the pool again." Manny said as he got out of the pool. It was raining. He put his hair in a low ponytail.
"No it's not, this is Miami." his sister told him.
"I wasn't talkin to you, now was I?"
"Whatever, shit!" Everyone ran inside as it started pouring down raining.
"Well that was fun." Jalisa stated sarcastically. "Alex where's your brace?"
"Why do you care?" Nique asked her.
Twenty - Monroe & Verona
Start from the beginning
