ONE| Innocent Mind
June 18, 2003
~
Michael was happy that he had to do a trip to New York, so he could see his little girl. He's been so occupied with work, his family, and this undeniable target he had on his back that time with Mi slipped his mind.
He felt like the feds was closing in on him, so he kept everything DL, including her.
Walking up to Marilyn door he seen how tired she looked and looked at her in disgust, "The fuck happening to you Mary?" He let him self in the raggedy apartment Marilyn made sure to keep every bill paid on.
"Don't worry about it. You sure wasn't caring about your daughter for the last 6 months-"
"Don't give me that bullshit, I'm here now."
"But that don't matter! Stupid ass!" She slapped him upside his head, he smacked his lips.
"Keep yo hands to yo self." He hated how short her temper was and how she always felt the need to "put him in his place" as people would say.
She wasn't his girl, just his secret Baby momma.
Nobody in Cali knew about them. Well they knew about them, but not that they were continuing to contact. The last time Marilyn and Michael were seen in public together was the day Marilyn told him she was living back to New York after she did some bogus ass shit.
He followed her and eventually Milan was here.
"Man you always on some bullshit."
"You're the one on bullshit actin Hollywood over yo daughter like yo ass don't stank!" She slapped him, "You going to acknowledge my fucking daughter Michael!" She continued to hit him.
Just then they heard a whine come from the hallway and stopped all movements looking at Milan who held onto her brown bear Ruby J got her last year on her birthday.
The little girl with the loose curls all over her head looked just like her father and it became unbearable to deny her as his child every day that went by.
Ruby never bought her grandchildren anything, but Rome and Milan. Mostly because she felt like they needed it the most. Their mothers all relied on Niggas after all. And Ruby felt thats where she messed up as a mother.
All her daughters left her for men and got fucked over in the end.
The only one who was successfully married was Jen, but even that ain't a real marriage.
He got off of Marilyn and went to go over to her picking her up kissing her face, "Hey mamas. Don't look at mommy look at me." He kissed her cheek. Her brown eyes that hawked like his strummed his heart.
He loved that she had his features in her face. But she couldn't stand that moe that landed on her nose like her mother.
She also had Marilyn's smile. "I love you Lani."
"I lobe you too, daddy." She hugged and kissed him. She moved off his chest, "Can I go with you daddy?"
"Yeah Shorty go and get yo coat." He put her down pushing her as she ran away.
Marilyn glared at him, eyes squinted and head titled to the side, "Can she stay with you for the night?"
"Why?" He asked, "What you finna get into?" His eyebrows furrowed as thoughts of her past clouded his judgement.
"I can't ask you to spend a night with your daughter without me having to be doing something?"
"What you doing?" He shrugged and folded his arms at her causing her to grow livid.
"SHE MISSES YOU Michael! You can't suppose you spend at least a night with her? One night!"
"Maybe next time I come out here," he shrugged chuckling, "Tryna get her out the way so you can get under something else." He shook his head at her.
She looked at in disgust throwing her heads. "That's it you're done Michael!" She pushed out the way going over to her sink to get her whine glass pout vodka inside.
"The fuck is that suppose to mean?"
"YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT MILANO ONLY YOURSELF YOU DUMB BASTARD!" She yelled throwing the glass down on the floor in anger,"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME! ITS THE TIME YOU SPEND WITH HER" She continued going for the broom.
"You're in and out of her life, but when you do come around its only for a few hours Michael. You're a shitty dad and too arrogent to apologize for your actions." Her accent slipping through just as her heart grew tight around her chest.
He shook his head, "Ion know what to tell you, but what I do know is that I do care about my daughter, I do everything I can for her."
"You have a funny way of showing it." She continued to clean the glass off the floor trying not to cry for her daughter. "You keep doing what you doing there's going to be someone at your door step with papers, because I will NOT let you hurt my fucking daughter! OKAY, Father or not you hear me? Spend time with her, stay the night." She warned him honestly pleading.
She wanted something different for Mi, if this was going to be the case she would've stayed in LA to be tormented by dickheads like him. She thought she was getting different but like all the others. She was wrong once again.
"So if I leave tonight you gone send me some papers?" He squinted his eyes at her, "YOU FUCKING CRAZY!" He yelled.
"I will be for my daughter Michael."
"Funny considering she ain't the only one-"
She socked him in his mouth, "You don't know what I had to do bitch." She hit him again, "Spend the day with your daughter like its yall last and get the fuck out Michael. You fucking bum! I NEVER wanna see you again after today." She walked him to the front just as Milan was coming down the hall in some floral dress with straps and had a too-too stopping at just her knees.
Her socks were the white long ones, church girls would wear along with her black dress she had on the wrong feet.
"Wrong feet Lani." Michael got down on his knee as he helped her.
~
They sat in their favorite pizza joint and it was lit.
Telling him so many things it amazed him. She was bubbly always smiling. She was just a ray of sunshine and always happy when he seen her. As she should've been with only being three years old. Smart as hell for her age too, but you can tell she spent too much time with Jen and Macy's kids.
"Why you eating yo pizza like that?" She asked scrunching her face up. It wasn't all clear, but he understood her.
"Eating it like what ma?"
"You ain't got it like this." She showed him the pizza in her hand that was folded just like how her mommy ate pizza while her father thought he ate pizza the normal way, "Thats weird."
"So since ion eat pizza like you and Mommy I'm weird."
"Yep." She nodded. He smacked her lips causing her to laugh, "but a good weird." She went back to her straight face in the matter of seconds.
He admired her face noticing her bottom lip poked out very effortlessly it always did that, but it was adorable in a pouty way.
She a trip, he shook his head while he watched her shimmy while she ate her pizza.
"Just a good weird?"
"Yep." She said just above a whisper, bitting into her pizza.
He shook his head at her as be began eating his pizza more too. He had so much planned for the both of them today.
~
Getting back to Marilyn house he parked and went around back to get Milan out of her car seat.
She was soundly asleep and he was glad he tired her out today. That meant she had fun with him.
Hearing the door buzzer, Marilyn looked at her face and smudge her make up in her cheek bone in a little bit before walking up to her door. "Yo?" She said into the buzzer,
"Open the door." He said causing her to roll her eyes and deeply sigh almost enraged but not surprised at all. She buzzed him in before she fixed what she was wearing and then her hair.
Just as she started to place on her pumps, Michael was making his way into the small one bedroom apartment, "Where you going?" He asked her watching her get dressed.
He looked at the attire she was wearing being a trench coat that covered most of her body before exposing her fish nets, and pink pumps.
She looked like a pick up girl.
"I'm going to work, "she grabbed Milan out his arms, "you could've took her to my mothers." She said rolling her eyes kissing Milan's temple.
"Not wit all of ya lil sister's kids there. She got a home-"
"She also has a father, but you be Hollywood-"
"We not doing this tonight Mary."
"Fine when are you going to be back out here?" She was honestly tired and now was gone be late to work thanks to him.
He scratched the back of his head, "ion know if we being honest-" over it.
"THAT'S THE SHIT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" She yelled out in anger, "Do they still not know about her or something Michael! Why she never go with you and only spend one day with you every three months my nigga what the fuck, are we a joke to you? Some alternate reality my nigga that you can just escape too when yo bitch got you fucked up or something?! Like what are we doing Michael I am tired!" Her new York accent became present.
He stressfully rubbed his face, "You fucking aggravating. Don't worry about the shit I got going on in Cali-"
"You're going to break her fucking heart Michael... stop being this way-"
"WHAT WAY IS THAT MARY!"
"NOT PRESENT! You're here but you're not. You're going to be mad when there's going to be a new guy in her life-"
"I'll fucking kill you Mary." He said through gritted teeth, she laughed.
"Suck my dick, Michael because I'm telling you the fucking truth." She walked up on him, "We're not going to be your second family for ever Michael. I swear we're not." She shook her head.
His phone began ringing, Vanessa was the caller ID. He looked at Mary before shaking his head, "I'm sorry. I gotta go."
"YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO GO, YOU SON OF A FUCKING BITCH! YOU CAN'T TURN YOUR BACK ON HER FOREVER, I WON'T ALLOW IT MICHAEL!"
~
"Que haces aqui," her little sister Macy asked as she walked freely around her mother's home. ( What're you doing here?)
She was higher than a cloud and she liked it. No one knew about her being strung out and she wanted to keep it that way.
"Hi Aunty Mary. Did you bring Lani?" Rome asked as he was about to run into the living room from hearing his aunties voice.
"AH AH GO TO YOUR ROOM BAD ASS!" Macy stopped him from coming any closer.
"BUT MA, I BEEN IN THERE ALL DAY!" He talked back about to cry.
"GO!" She yelled once again as their father came out,
"Michael es un imbécil?" He said already knowing the deal. He heard her on the phone with Ruby, then Ruby came gossipping.
(Michael is a moron)
"Tengo que irme a trabajar, ¿puedo?" She asked motioning to the sleeping child she had in her hands. She had to be to work in the next twenty minutes even though she was already late.
(I have to go to work, can I?)
She wanted to get there before she would lose out on anymore money.
Her father waved her off. She thanked him before walking to the room her nephew Rome shared with his mother and brother Quentin. Thing about it, Quentin wasn't here and it was going on Ten.
Macy didn't care about the fifteen year old that roamed the streets trying to keep the lights on in the house that gave him and his little brother shelter, he could give three fucks about his mother.
The bitch was evil.
She laid Milan down in the bed and kissed her on the head, "Where you going Aunty?" Rome asked as he wiped his tears laying next to Milan in the bed.
"I gotta go to work. Watch her for me yeah?" She kissed his forehead.
He nodded and looked at her, "I got you Aunty."
"Thank you baby. Keep the front door locked okay." She kissed Milan's head once again before walking out the room, "I'll be back by five. Keep the door locked Macy."
"I know." She dragged out as her sister left out the house. She thought she was slick but Mary knew what the fuck was going on.
~
Dancing on the pole in the Girls of France dance club, was what she did for a living to make sure all the bills were being paid.
She had to make sure everything was right for her daughter. She even started to make her a trust fund for college.
She didn't have a bank account so it was basically locked up in a shoe box.
This was just how she got by and she got by just right.
With a twenty dollar bill the man lowered her in, sliding it her way. She tried to grab it seductively but he held a firm grip on it looking her in her eyes.
She looked him in his grey ones and smiled, "What would it take to get a date with you Baby doll?" He smiled.
She shrugged as she continued to dance, "More than a twenty."
Chuckling he fixed the hat on his head, "I like the way you move Ma," his jersey voice very present. "What's your name?"
It was the voice she's never knew of. Here he was caramel with a white boy from Jersey voice? She was very intrigued.
"Marilyn..." She told him.
He leaned closer to her legs looking her up in her eyes, "Marilyn? I'm Joesph."
"Joseph?"
"No Joesph, but you can just call me Joe."
She was planning on staying with him for the entire night or even some of the morning but when he kept on coming back she knew it wouldn't be that bad to just like him just a little bit.
Even with his botched name she never felt the need to see the waving red flags.
__________
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