did it proudly. And I… I want to do it again, this second time.” They stood there, while she grappled with the desire to grab him and hug him tight, but neither of them made a move. Raw emotion, hurt, pain – all came to the surface.
“Daddy, Huggie has been saying for years that something happened to you, made you distrustful. You don’t have to tell me, but I am begging you to give Aries a chance and not start any more mess. Don’t look at him as a White man, but as another son who loves your ‘Lovely Lauren’ with all of his heart. He’s an excellent friend to me, an amazing business man you’d admire, and you should see him with his son, Daddy. If there was a real Father of the Year Award, he’d earn it time and time again. He’s been through a lot, too. We all have. I never thought I’d get married again, Daddy. I was afraid of ever putting myself in a position to feel that type of agony again. When you love someone, you’re taking a risk. I didn’t want any part of that. It happened anyway. I fell in love.”
She wiped a tear from her eye. “I know now that I can’t ask God to grant me some magic potion where if I allow my heart to take another man in, then he’ll live forever. But I did ask God for something, in the form of a prayer. I asked him, ‘God, I love this man. We’re engaged, but I want to be sure. I have got to let my fears regarding Nehemiah go away. I need to bury them. Can’t live my life afraid to fall in love again because men are mortal, and they die. If Aries is the man for me, show me a sign.’ The very next day, I was at a graveyard with Aries, visiting his father. It was a sign to me, that Nehemiah was in a coffin, too, and it was time to truly move on, once and for all.” Her lower lip trembled as she fought more tears. “His father wasn’t in his life. It affected him badly. He grew up dirt poor, angry and depressed. Trouble doesn’t just knock at Black folks’ doors, Daddy. Pain doesn’t discriminate. You don’t know his story.”
He took a step closer to her, then another, and before she knew it, that comfort, that warmth of her father’s love surrounded her. It wasn’t a perfect love, but it was right with her soul. He squeezed her tight and she could feel him shaking against her. Daddy wasn’t an emotional man – this was tearing him apart. As he held her, he began to speak softly in her ear.
“I was attacked by eight White men with sticks and bats. I was walking down the street, just trying to get home from a hard day’s work. I was only nineteen. I ended up in the hospital. Nobody thought I’d live. I remember them calling me nigger, spitting on me, each of them havin’ a turn, and then another. Once the police caught up with them and asked why they’d done it, they said it was because I walked like I thought I was better than them.”
She held him tighter, close to her heart.
“I walked with my back straight, my head held high,” he continued. “They didn’t like that. And they didn’t serve more than a few days in jail after what they’d done to me, and were back in the streets living their life while I spent the next year or so recovering from my injuries. Other things happened too, baby, but that’s when I changed my tune. That’s when I saw us as not all the same. Black people have hurt me too, baby, just like you said, but never like that… never like that.
“The pain runs deep, made me feel ashamed. Angry. But you’re right… Aries is not them; he’s his own man. I’m going to be fair and give this man a chance.” He pulled away from her, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I saw how you smiled at him, how you glowed… I have to give credit where credit is due, because my baby hasn’t smiled like that in such a long time, I almost forgot how you look happy. I love you, Lauren. Being a father ain’t easy, even when the child is grown – but nothing makes a man prouder than knowing that no