Darrin folded his hands under his pillow as he snores his life away. His mouth was agape and his eyes were tightly closed. His long legs stretched over the king sized bed as he turned his head and scratched his nose.
The sound of the alarm going off caused him to reach over on his nightstand and shut it off. He rolled into his back and looked up at the high ceiling with his dark doe shaped eyes.
Slowly, he looked over at the clock and winced. He couldn't remember the amount of times he pressed the snooze button and now he had only an hour to get ready. Just an hour to eat both him and his daughter ready.
"Fuck," Darrin cursed and shot out of the bed. Quickly, he tossed on his shirt and headed towards the room with his daughters name branded in a horizon style, in red. He knocked one the door and pushed it open. Despite it being his house and his daughter was only seven years old, he wanted to show her that he was still able to give her a bit of privacy.
He entered the red and pink room and neared the white bed. Placing m his hand on top of the headboard, he looked down at his daughter and smiled lightly. She was beautiful and he was so happy to see that she took after him in many ways. Not only some of her facial features, but the drive that she had to go for what she wanted. And, she was very smart.
"Rosé, you gotta wake up, baby."
"No, I don't wanna to go school." She mumbled into the pillow.
"You have to," Darrin said. He shook his head and removed the blanket off of her tiny body. Gently, he pushed the bonnet that he'd gotten for her, away from her face and grabbed her petite body.
He ignored her whining and brought her into the washroom.
"I don't wanna go to school," Rosé repeated.
She did this every single day ever since they packed up their things and moved to a new city when Rosé was in the first grade. She hated the school that she went to and found any and every way to stay home. If she was going to fake being sick then she'd do so. As long as she didn't have to attend school.
"It sucks that this is a concrete routine for us," Darrin added some water to her toothbrush before he squeezed some toothpaste on. She grabbed her toothbrush while he grabbed his own.
"Daddy, why can't I go to work with you?"
"Because work is for grown ups. You'll be hating it when you get older, trust me." Darrin would do everything to call in sick and just relax with his daughter at home. But he had a business to run and money to make.
Darrin was always a smart man and he had his parents to thank for that. They supported him through every step of the way. They had money and made sure that he was going to the best schools and getting good treatment.
Shit, he deserved it after all of the things this country— this world has done to his people.
He went to school in places where they were pre-dominantly white and he learned how to not care about what people thought of him there. But when he went home...
When he went home to the neighbourhood that was filled with people that looked like him, he was just the regular black boy; Darrin Onu: the Darrin Onu that had Ghanaian and Cameroonian parents whose parents were immigrants. It was instilled in him to work hard or go home.
He worked hard to be the man that he was today. And he wanted to show his daughter where hard work could take you.
"I'm gonna go shower and I'll be right back, alright?"
"Okay," Rosé nodded.
"Stay there!" He called out as he basically ran to grab his towel and entered his bathroom. He rushed into the shower and quickly washed himself before he jumped out. He knew that he still soap suds on his back, but he didn't want to leave Rosé without any supervision.
"Daddy, I'm done brushing my teeth now!" She yelled from the bathroom in the hallway.
"I'm coming, baby," Darrin ran into his room and searched for a suit to wear. He was rarely caught wearing anything other than a suit. But when he was with his daughter he was able to dress as comfortable as he wanted. He felt most comfortable when he was around her. She was his everything.
He grabbed the black suit and pulled it on after his boxers.
"Any day now, daddy," Rosé sighed heavily and leaned her head back onto the mirror. Her eyebrows raised in realization as she slowly grabbed the edge of the counter, and rocked her body forward. She wanted to get down on her own without her father.
Raising her feet, she almost jumped off the counter when she felt herself being grabbed and placed safely onto the floor.
"Rosé, what were you just about to do?" Her father asked sternly.
"I wanted to get off the counter on my own."
"You can't do that, lady bug. I don't want you to get hurt."
Sighing heavily, Rosé held her father's hand as they walked into her room and he searched for the uniform that he'd washed. He loved the fact that she was going to a school where they had to wear uniform. It would've been more of a hassle trying to get her ready in the morning.
"Here's your stockings."
Rosé slipped them on and grabbed her shirt. Once she slipped on her tank top under, she flipped her shirt on and buttoned it up.
"Skirt or pants today."
"Skirt." She tossed her legs back and forth on the edge of her fluffy bed.
Grabbing her long navy blue skirt, he handed it to her and watched and she slipped it onto her body.
"What time is it, daddy?"
Darrin's eyes widened. He looked down at his phone and realized that he wouldn't have time to make her breakfast. Swiftly, he lifted her into his arms and trudged down the stairs. He entered the living room and plopped her onto the kitchen counter.
"I can't make you breakfast today, because we gotta do your hair as well. How about a smoothie?"
"I love smoothies."
"Great," Darrin's eyes widened stressfully as he tossed all the fruits, but milk, honey and a bit of vanilla extract. He grabbed the crackers from the cupboard and ripped it open before he handed it to her.
Although, he was taking care of Rosé since she was a baby, it still felt new. He learned something new every single day.
"Can I tell you about the play that I wanted to sign up for? I wanted to sing." Rosé smiled at the thought of herself on stage. She loved to sing. She sang so much that her father grew tired of it, but it was something she loved to do.
"That's good, baby." He nodded and poured her a glass. He made sure that she was sitting properly in her chair before he ran off to her room once again.
Rosé rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink.
"Okay, let's see what we can do with your hair today." He pulled her ponytail loose and watched as he matted curls were released. She scratched at her scalp and complained about her scalp being itchy.
He usually sent her to the salon to wash her hair or his mother would take care of it, but he was always busy.
Rosé screamed, whined and cried as he father tried to detangle her hair from root to tip. He felt like he was going to cry as well.
"You gotta work with me here, Rosé."
"You're hurting me." All she wanted was a ponytail.
Darrin threw his hands up in surrender and placed her down onto her feet. He grabbed his briefcase and her backpack.
"Okay, let's go."
"My hairs not done!" Rosé squealed.
"I can see that." He mocked her. "Do you have your walking stick?"
Rosé shook her head and folded her lips. She counted four steps, turned to her left beside the closet and grabbed the white stick that was there waiting for her. She stretched it out and hooked her hand through the loop.
"Got it."
Darrin smiled down at her and held the door open for her. She walked out of the house with ease and held onto the railing of the porch stairs.
She was blind and had been blind her entire life. He didn't understand how it happened or why his daughter was robbed of sight, but he would forever question it. He would forever pray for her to get her sight, because it was frustrating for him. And he knew it was tough for her around the house.
Despite it being frustrating, Rosé took it well... at home. She knew her way around the house and knew where most things were, so Darrin made sure that things were always in the exact same place. But when his flings came over it just made things a bit more frustrating for Rosé. Things were misplaced and misused, and never put back in its place.
"Where are we going?"
"We're going to grandma and grandpas house so you can get your hair done."
Rosé threw her head back and sighed lightly. For once she just wanted her father to try and do her hair. An entire routine of just doing her hair.
After a few minutes, Darrin parked in front of the house and quickly helped Rosé out of the car. She held onto his arm as they stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell.
Suddenly, the door opened and Darrin's mother came into view. She rested her hands onto her wide hips and smiled widely.
"Afia!"
"Grandma," Rosé hugged her tightly and held onto her. She looked over at her son and pointed to her granddaughters hair.
"What's up with this?"
"I just couldn't do it," Darrin sighed exasperated.
His mother; Jennifer shook her head and led Rosé into the house. She walked her to the living room where she already had everything placed out for her. Her son was very predictable.
"When was the last time you washed your hair, Rosé?" She asked her in Twi.
Twi was a language that they spoke in Ghana. One of the languages that Darrin made sure his daughter would learn. She was fluent in English, French and a bit of Twi. Her father made it a goal of his to make sure that she understood and respected her culture.
Just as Darrin's grandparents did with his parents.
In her grandparents' house, she spoke a little bit of their language— mostly English. And when she was home with her father, she spoke pure English.
"Three weeks ago," Rosé heard her father grunt.
"Three weeks ago?" Jennifer looked up at her son. "Why in the hell is her hair so dirty?"
"I've been busy," Darrin threw his head back. He was overwhelmed with work.
"I told you multiple times to watch me do her hair so that you can learn, but you'd rather be under some twats ass—"
"Okay..." Darrin trailed off. Looking down at his watch, he avoided as much contact with his mother as he could.
Darrin was single and he made it clear that he was mingling. He tried his best to separate his dating life with his business and father life. He never wanted Rosé to see any woman that was in his life, because he knew that it was just temporary. He didn't want to show an example like that to Rosé and normalize it.
But it was too late. She knew who came in and out of the house even just by taking the first step into the house.
"All done," Jennifer leaned forward and kissed her granddaughters forehead. "Have a good day at school, okay?"
"Okay." Rosé thanked her grandmother and stood up from the ground. She grabbed her stick and reached out for her father's hand.
"Thank you, mama."
"No problem, baby." She led them out of the house and waved them off. "Make sure you watch some YouTube videos to learn. Save some money."
"Will do." He lied. He didn't understand why he would waste his time to do that when he had his mother and more than enough money to get Rosé's hair professionally done.
He slipped into the car and began to drive off. His eyes lifted towards the rear view mirror as he stared at Rosé. Her lips were poured and her eyebrows were furrowed.
"What's with the long face?"
"I don't wanna go to school."
"Rosé, please. You have two more days left." He looked back at her as they came to a full stop. "Everything's going to be okay. If you need me just call me from the school office. You can't stay home, Rosé." He never seen any child refuse to go to school so much.
She was so adamant on not showing up.
"And that's final."
He stepped out of the car and walked onto her side. He helped her out of the car and stood in front of her. Her head was straight as her moved straight past him.
"I'm right here."
"I know," Rosé sighed.
He cradled her face in his hand and bent down to his knees. "I'm doing this all for you, baby. I know you don't want to go to school, but it's a good thing. You have to learn."
Rosé said nothing.
Darrin sighed and looked down at his feet. "Maybe we can go out for ice cream later?"
That was something they'd hadn't done in years.
Rosé smiled softly and her eyes lifted towards him. She traced her hand slowly along his face for security. "Yes!"
"Okay, I love you."
"I love you, too."
"Do you need me to walk you—"
Rosé quickly interrupted him and gripped her walking stick. "N-no, I can do it on my own."
Darrin stood up and watched as she walked inside of the school along with a swarm of students. He felt like she was always embarrassed when her father tried to help her. She wanted to do some things on her own and he couldn't say no to her.
Her student teacher grabbed her arm from the door and led her inside.
Darrin quickly ran into the car and drove off at a slow speed. He had already lost half of his energy and he had an entire day ahead of him.
-
"Thank you guys for being here. That was a nice pitch that you brought to the table, Kyle."
"Thank you, sir."
"The pleasures all mine. Now let's try to get this pitch into effect."
Darrin stood up and waved everyone off. Everyone that worked for him loved him, because he was always accepting input from them. He wanted everyone included and treated them all equally.
He closed the door behind him and walked over to his desk. Plopping into his seat, he opened up how computer and began putting his notes from the meeting onto his computer.
His eyes lowered towards his phone as he watched it vibrate repeatedly. Sighing heavily, he grabbed his phone and unlocked it.
A smirk lifted onto his face as he looked at the picture before him. The woman body was nude as she hid the lower part of her body with her silk red robe. Her short hair was away from her face as she gave a sultry look into the mirror.
Darrin licked his lips and leaned back into his seat. She frequently sent him pictures whenever they were away from one another and he couldn't get enough of it.
Michelle.
A woman he messed around with ever since he moved to the city. She was beautiful, funny, sexy and she understood that Rosé always came first. They had an understanding that what they were doing wasn't anything serious and Darrin loved it more than anything. They both didn't take any of it seriously.
Darrin's life was way too complicated for him to be settling down.
Leaning forward, he began to message her back when his door was knocked on.
Quickly, he locked his phone and rested it down.
"Come in."
He watched as his assistant walked into the office and closed the door behind him. "Good Afternoon, Sir. I have a few papers for you to sign."
"Of course."
Michael handed him the papers and placed his hands behind his back. Darrin searched through the folder and nodded before he rested it down beside his computer. Intertwining his fingers, he looked up at Michael and frowned at him.
"What's with the outfit? You looked like you just rolled out of bed."
"Sorry, sir. I didn't have much time to get ready to my potential."
"Well, that means that you gotta wake up earlier, right?"
"Yes, sir." Michael nodded politely.
Michael was Darrin's assistant and had been his assistant for the past five months. When he saw Michael, he saw himself. A man that was trying to be better for himself. He was just stepping into his twenties and needed some type of foundation and grounding. So, Darrin took it upon himself to take him under his wing.
Michael had a lot to learn, but Darrin wanted to help.
"Next time come in business attire."
"Yes, sir."
Michael walked out of the office, leaving Darrin alone. He opened the folder and looked at the plethora of things that he had to sign.
"It's going to be a long day."
He didn't just sign things without reading what he had to sign. He made sure to read everything and he didn't care how long it took him.
-
Darrin tilted his head back and released his pen from his hand. He looked behind him and his eyes widened. The sky was no longer light and was setting just a bit.
"Fuck!" He cursed and looked down at his phone. It was almost five o'clock and Rosé's school ended at three o'clock.
He jumped out of his seat and threw everything into his briefcase. He grabbed his ringing phone and held it to his ear.
"I'm coming right now. I'm so sorry." He rambled into the phone and hung up. He made a run for the elevator and headed down to the parking lot.
His parents made it clear to him that if continued to run late to pick her up that they would suspect that Rosé lived in a unstable household. Soon Children's Aid would be called if he didn't pay attention to time and prioritize.
But it all slipped through one ear and out the other. Especially when he had a busy schedule, which was everyday.
He gripped onto the steering wheel and frowned. He connected his phone to his Bluetooth and decided to call his mother, hoping that she would help him out in some way.
"Hello."
"Hey, mama. I'm just ten minutes away—"
"I already have her, Darrin." Jennifer sighed.
Darrin released a long breath and placed his left indicator on to make a U turn.
"Thank you so much, Mama."
"Stop being late, Darrin. Get an alarm or something."
"I know, I know."
He didn't. He didn't know how much this annoyed his daughter and the school. The teachers had to wait there until every student was out of the school and they had their own lives. They had their own children to take care of and pick up as well. But he was so consumed with work.
Once he hung up, he sped to his parents' house and got out of the car. He placed his hands together and rung the doorbell.
The door opened revealing his father, and he didn't look too happy. His usual warm smile was replaced with a nonchalant expression.
Mace Onu was a happy man and always carried a smile on his face, but he never made it a secret when he was annoyed with his children.
"Son."
"Hey, pops. Where is she?"
"She's in the guest room upstairs." Mason turned around and called out his wife and Rosé's name.
A few minutes went by until Jennifer appeared with Rosé by her side. They carefully walked down the steps before Jennifer headed off to get her belongings.
"Hey, baby. How was your day?"
Rosé bit onto her thumbnail and tapped her foot against the wooden floor. Her voice was low and soft as she whispered, "Good."
Darrin reached to her level and fixed her skirt. He looked at his number one girl in his life and smiled apologetically. Although she couldn't see it, she knew that smile.
"I'm sorry that I was late, but we can still go out for ice cream. How bout that?"
"I'm tired. I just want to sleep."
"Here you go, baby," Mason handed her the walking stick as Jennifer gave her son her belongings.
Rosé was quiet the entire ride home and Darrin didn't know what he was going to do to cheer her up. But he thought that she was a kid and she'd get over it soon.
________________________
hey guys!
discussion: what do you guys think? thoughts on Darrin so far? what do you guys think about Rosé? the routine that he has? does anything need to change? is he a good father?
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if you'd like to read more of my content when I'm not updating, you can purchase the full version of Agape & Home on amazon. I also have a series of short stories and imagines on wattpad called Colours Of Imagination.
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