Madison in the MM.
Madison
"Hi, daddy." I spoke to my father as him and my mom sat on the couch in the living room with newspapers in hand.
"What's going on, babygirl?" He spoke up as Gio and I came walking through the front door hand in hand.
"Woah, Giovanni."
"Are you getting taller or something, boy?"
"I'm going to need higher ceilings in a minute." My mom started her shenanigans, taunting him about his height like she usually does.
"What's gon' on, Mrs. Michelle?" He smiled wide, greeting her as I did the same but his was much more joy-filled, making me roll my eyes in jealousy.
He really loved my mom.
"Hey, mommy." I hugged both her and my dad while Gio did the same but he hugged my mom a while longer then dapped up my dad afterwards.
"Aight now, nigga. That's my wife." My dad pressed jokingly to him as they both laughed, man shaking each other again.
"Look."
"I'm bout' to lose mine, if I keep on playing with her like that." Gio went on saying, seeing the look on my jealous face.
"Exactly." I smiled as my mom pulled me along, letting them have their man time like usual.
"Man, when are you going to stop messing around and start playing some pro-ball?" I heard my dad speak his signature line to Gio as they began talking their manly things while my mom and I made our way into the kitchen.
Sitting down at the kitchen's old-style booth, my mom went on asking if we were hungry and I told her no since we'd just ate.
"You sure? I made enough for the two of you." She expressed but I still declined.
"You can ask Gio."
"He might want some, you know he eats a lot." I told her, considering he ate so much but never gained any weight.
Me on other hand was a completely different story.
"Let me see.."
"Giovanni! Are you hungry, sweetheart?" She yelled from the kitchen to the living room, awaiting his response.
"Always for your cooking, Mrs. Michelle!" His deep voice spoke back from afar, making me roll my eyes.
He was so obnoxious when he got around my mom and dad. He showed out every time but I loved their relationship nonetheless.
I just wished I could have that same luxury.
"That boy's such a sweetie, honey." She smiled, making him a plate before putting it into the microwave to warm it for him.
As the microwave began, she made her way over to me and sat on the other side of the booth, directly across from me.
"So when are the two of you going to get a place?" She blurted out with a small smile and I huffed as she went on.
"You still waiting on that raise?" She went on asking, just like Gio had done in the car.
Everybody knew about the raise I was waiting on but nobody seemed to realize how much pressure it was on me to ask questions like this.
"Please, mom." I stopped her.
"Gio and I just talked about that in the car, on the way over here and I really don't feel like talking about it anymore."
"Okay, baby." She nodded, agreeing to drop it for now but I knew it would come up again.
It always does. From him and her.
Pushing those thoughts out of my mind, I sat there quietly while I picked my brain of the thoughts from earlier. I had so much on my mind outside of getting place with Gio and I wanted to talk to my mom about it but I just wasn't sure if she'd see it how I did.
"What's wrong, baby?" She asked, placing her hand on top of mine and I looked up into her eyes with a pout.
It was like she was reading my mind.
"Is it about this raise? Because if so, stop waiting on it."
"Don't deprive yourself or Giovanni of starting your young lives together. You'll regret it, if you do."
"You'll turn around and be 30 years old, still living with me, wishing you would've just went for it."
"It's not just about that, mom-" I started but stopped, looking down.
"It's that too but also, this stuff with his mom." I ended up admitting, trying to keep it together so that I wouldn't worry her.
"She's still..?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and I nodded, not even needing her to say it.
"Shes doesn't like me at all and I can feel it."
"I have been feeling it for seven years now. And I've expressed this to Gi but he keeps telling me that I'm wrong."
"I even think-" I started but stopped, gathering my words.
"What is it, honey?" She asked curiously.
"I don't know if this is true but I think I heard her call me a dark or something to Gi." I expressed to her and she furrowed her eyebrows, gasping loudly.
"Excuse me?" She placed her hand over her heart, obviously surprised by my words.
This wasn't my first time thinking that I heard it, considering she usually spoke Spanish when I was around but this was the first time that I could almost confirm it.
I was at the top of the steps, trying to console Maribel with Nat, when it sounded like she called me dark to him. Meaning my skin.
Gio didn't know this though.
"Hell no. Are you sure, Madi?"
"No, I'm not. I just think that's what I heard, I couldn't hear her completely." I admitted.
"I might just be overthinking it and getting in my own head." I said, saying what Gio says to me.
"Well what did Giovanni say when she allegedly said it?"
"I don't know."
"I wasn't listening for too long."
"I was too focused on trying to console Mari, she was crying on the steps." I admitted, not wanting to believe his mom would say that about me but it honestly made sense.
That could easily be the reason why she didn't like me all these years. This wouldn't be the first time someone disliked me because of my skin.
"Do you want me to go up there? Because I'm not having this shit, Madison." She spat seriously but I tried to shake it off, feeling tears welding in my eyes.
"No, mom."
"No." I declined, waving it off.
"It's really not that serious-"
"Yes the hell it is, Madi. It is that serious, if that grown ass woman is hating you for the color of your damn skin."
"I'm your mother and I don't give a damn how old you are, you're my child." She pointed to herself and I nodded, wanting her to lower her voice now since I didn't want Gio or my dad knowing that I thought this.
It was embarrassing.
"Look, mommy. Maybe I heard wrong-"
"No."
"Don't even give me that mess, I'm sure you heard right."
"That's why she's been giving you a cold shoulder ever since y'all got together. Seven years with her son and she has the nerve to hate you for skin?"
"She doesn't like you for your color when she has black kids her damn self?" She spat as the microwaved dinged over and over, breaking us away from our conversation.
She was steaming and honestly I couldn't blame her but I didn't want any drama. Especially not between my mom and his.
It'd only hurt us most in the end and I didn't need that happening, especially not over something that I thought.
I didn't even know if I heard correctly so I didn't want to just make assumptions. I just wanted to talk to someone about it.
"Listen, Madi. I know I'm not supposed to be in the middle. This is y'all's relationship and the two of you are both grown now, you're no longer children."
"22." She pointed to me.
"And Gio's what? 24?" She asked knowingly and I nodded.
"That's grown and I'm going to stay in a mama's place but I'm telling you now Madison, if you don't talk to Giovanni about this and get it under control-"
"—get it clarified and make sure that lady isn't actually sick in the head."
"I'm going to." She spoke sternly to me and I nodded, swallowing hard.
"You're my child. 22 years grown but you're mine and that woman won't disrespect you. Not on my watch."
"You hear me?" She expressed and I nodded in agreement, trying to figure out how I would bring it up to Gio without everything falling out and apart.
I didn't want to because the topic was embarrassing. It was something I couldn't change about myself so it sucked. But I needed to talk about this, just in case what I felt and what I heard was right.
Without any biased behavior from Gi.
My mom continued on, mumbling her words now as my dad and Gio came walking and talking loudly into the kitchen.
"He play sad as hell now, I been stop puttin' money on'em." Gio spoke as he sat down next to me, leaving a kiss upon my cheek while they went on and on about basketball and my mom gave me a look, meaning talk to him.
I nodded at her, reassuring her that I would but I sighed deeply thinking about how I could go about speaking on it.
"The food's ready." Was all she spoke with a small smile now and both my dad and Gio raised to their feet to dig in.
"Gracias, Mrs. Michelle. I appreciate you." Gi spoke his deep voice and she chuckled, shaking her head.
"Anytime, honey."
*
Midnight
"Babe, stop." I whined as he kept pushing his hands into my pants, trying to get me started.
"Stop it."
"I just got out of the shower." I complained, making him smack his lips as he laid on his back.
"Aight, baby."
"I ain't gon' fuck you, just let me eat you." He spoke seriously but I softly grabbed at his hands, pushing them away from me.
"Stop it, Santana." I called him by his last name, letting him know that I was serious.
"I'm not in the mood, you drained me early." I spoke referring to us going for two hours.
It was never enough for him.
"Aight." He shrugged me off, making me smile since he was catching an attitude about it.
"Remember that shit too." He pinched my butt, making me giggle uncontrollably as he held onto me, leaving small kisses on my cheek.
We laid just like that for a few moments with his arms wrapped around my waist while I pushed my head into the crook of his neck, slowly drifting off to sleep.
As I did, the conversation my mother and I had in the kitchen instantly woke me up. I really needed to talk to him about this so I would stop putting off, no matter how embarrassing it was.
"What's wrong?" His deep voice spoke, startlingly me.
I'd thought he was asleep by now but he was still awake.
"I want to ask you something, babe." I spoke quietly, lifting my head a bit and he nodded, looking up into my eyes.
"I'm all ears for you, mamí."
"Tienes toda mi atencion."
"You have? What?" I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to figure out what he said but I could only get the first word.
"I taught you this one, baby. You don't remember?" He asked, pulling me back down to him and mushing his head into my neck.
"No, I honestly forgot. I be having so much on my mind." I admitted to him as he nodded in understanding, leaving small kisses on my neck.
"But seriously. I need to talk, Gi." I expressed, making him stop and he did, looking up into my eyes.
"Whenever you're ready, ma."
"Okay." I nodded, looking down into his eyes as I gathered my words.
"Babe." I spoke in a shaken breath.
"When you went downstairs to make us food, Maribel and Nat were on the steps talking and I came out to help-"
"—when I did, I think I heard something."
"Heard what? Whatchu mean?" He asked, interested in what I was saying to him as he sat up a little bit.
"When I was at the top of the stairs, she was yelling at you but Mari was crying so I couldn't really hear but.." I trailed off, rambling now since I was nervous to address it.
"What, Madison? Tell me." He spat, getting agitated now because I wouldn't spit it out but this wasn't easy to talk about it.
"Baby, I think I heard her call me dark."
*
Thoughts?
Concerns?