I rubbed his leg and smiled. “It’s going to be okay. He seemed harmless.”
“All of them animals at that park seemed harmless to me, but I’m still thinking about going to see about Kujo and his crew.”
I laughed and hit his chest softly. “Please, leave those people and their animals alone.”
We filled the remainder of our wait with idle chit chat until there was a soft knock on the door. I glanced at Makhai who nodded for me to go answer. Slowly, I stood and made my way to the door. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants before gently pulling it open.
Lance was there with a soft smile on his face. He looked a little more put together this time in his polo shirt that was tucked inside his slacks and dress shoes. I got a better look at his face this time and noticed how much my niece actually looked like him now. She had the same round head and small nose that he had as well as his deep mahogany skin tone.
I stepped back and pulled the door open wider so he could come inside. I closed the door behind him and told him that he was free to have a seat. He smiled and nodded walking over to the love seat. When I took my seat again, Denise took over.
“Lance, as you know, I’m Denise, over the case for baby Keona. This is the little one of the hour, Keona, her aunt, Diamond, and her boyfriend?—”
“Baby Lord’s uncle,” Makhai intervened, “and protector, Loco,” he smirked. “What’s up with ya.”
I elbowed Makhai discreetly because I’d told him not to try and intimidate the man. Denise tittered then continued.
“Guys, this is Lance Dogan.”
“Very nice to meet you all.” He gave us a genuine smile and nod.
“Diamond, if you’re comfortable with it, you can take the baby over.”
I looked from Denise to Makhai, then to Keona. Makhai leaned over to kiss the top of my head then handed me the baby. She fussed a little because she no longer had possession of Makhai’s chain, but her frown quickly turned around when she noticed me smiling at her.
I got up and slowly walked her over to Lance. Like me earlier, he wiped his sweaty palms on his pants legs before he took her from me. His eyes lit up at the sight of her and I watched as tears gathered at the rim.
“She’s beautiful,” he whispered, running one of his hands through her curly hair, “and she has a head full of hair.”
I smiled at the pair before going back over and taking a seat next to my man who wrapped his arm around my shoulder, bringing me in closer and kissing the side of my face.
Denise jotted down a few notes before saying, “You can talk to her if you want to. She’s very responsive to voices.”
Lance nodded, wiping the tears that had escaped and gathered himself.
“Hey there, baby girl. I’m your dad,” his voice cracked some, tugging at my heartstrings. “I-I didn’t think I’d ever get to say that.”
Even though I couldn’t see her whole face from where I was sitting, I saw Keona’s fat jaws lift letting me know that she was smiling as she tried to grab Lance’s nose.
“She looks just like her mother,” he noted.
“I thought so too until I saw you,” I replied. “She’s actually a perfect mixture of you both.”
He lifted his eyes to me for the first time since getting the baby. “I know it’s messed up that I haven’t been here from the beginning, but I swear if I knew, I would have. I really had no idea. Gwen had stopped coming to the restaurant for months.”
I nodded, swiping away my tears—not because I was sad, but because I was happy for my niece. She needed a parent thereto care for her. Lance wasn’t one hundred percent in the clear for me, but just from seeing him with Keona and hearing the sincerity in his voice, I could tell that he was genuine.
“Well, now that you know, these visits will help build consistency and a bond with her,” Denise replied.
“Right,” Lance nodded just as Keona started to fuss a little. Instinctively, I leaned forward as if I was going to get up, but Makhai held onto me. I looked up at him and he mouthed for me to chill then nodded toward Lance who was holding her close and rocking her small body. “It’s okay,” he cooed. “I got you. You’re okay.”
Keona settled instantly, laying her head on his shoulder. He smiled down at her while I smiled at them both.
“I-I want to be someone she knows,” he stammered some, then looked between the three of us, “someone she can count on to be there and protect her too.” His eyes were on Makhai’s when he said the last part.
I nodded. “Just keep showing up.”
“I will,” he affirmed.
