I’m going to need your help with this. Help me not lose my mind. I know if I hold her too tight that it could have worse implications than not holding her at all. Guide my words and attitude.
Amen
Ismiled softly then pulled her into a hug. “I promise that I’m not going to embarrass you intentionally.” I pulled back from the hug to focus on her face. “Maggie, I’m your daddy, so that means it’s my job to protect you. Honestly, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. If that lil boy hasn’t left you alone by now, then there is nothing I can do to make him leave you alone.”
She giggled. She knew I spoke the truth. Travis had engrained himself into our family life. Our dogs even liked him, so at this point, I was the only one that gave him a hard time. “Okay, Daddy, I love you.”
After a final hug, I was out of my house, in my whip, then on my way to the restaurant. My family’s franchised restaurant was less than twenty minutes away from our house. The steakhouse was still one of the busiest restaurants in Coreland.
I made sure we had a private room for our conversation. It took me longer to get to the room than I expected because everyone wanted to speak to me. A lot of my fellow church members were here tonight.
Our church had just had our conference for couples. On the last night, Ruth and I were selected to lead devotion. Ruth took the lead, and what a beautiful lead it was. I never in a million years thought that I would be the man that loved to see his wife pray and worship Big G. I also never thought that our praising and worshiping together would be one of the most intimate parts of our marriage.
Now, I praised Big G, but I wasn’t a run around the room and shout type of nigga. It had nothing to do with pride or anything like that. It just wasn’t how Big G made me. I was a stand in the corner and commune with Big G kind of man. Ruth was a different beast. My baby could run around a fifteen thousand square foot sanctuary in six inch heels with no issues when it came to her praise to Big G. Her little two step, four step, double step, six step was smooth. My wife had calves of steel thanks to her praise shouting.
After a few more conversations, I finally made it to the private room. My smile was wide at the sight of Travis, and Tristian, Travis and Trevor’s father, already seated. “What up, Tristian? How you doing?” I greeted him first.
Tristian stood and dapped me. He was a cool dude, but he didn’t hang in my circle. He was a long distance truck driver, so he was gone a lot. From what Croy told me, lately, his wife traveled with him more and more. For high school, they agreed that Travis would attend Coreland High School and live withTrevor and Croya. That was one of the major reasons it seemed like Travis was always around.
“I’m cool, man. How’s the family?” Tristian greeted. I thought my sons favored me, but Tristian’s sons were his carbon copy.
I smiled. “You know we always gonna be good, man. Travis, how are you, young man?”
Travis was tall as hell for his age. He was already six feet tall to my baby girl’s five-feet, four-inches height. “I’m doing really good, Mr. Manfield. Thank you for coming.”
We all sat down, got comfortable, and allowed the waitress to get our orders. We had casual conversation until our food came. We talked about sports, his grades, as well as life on the road for Tristian.
Once the food hit the table, we all dug in. I was hungry as hell. Midway through our dinner, Travis put his fork down on his plate.I guess it’s time for the main event of this dinner.
“Mr. Manfield, as you know, me and Maggie have been friends for a while now. I like and respect her so much,” he said with a genuine smile.
When his eyes went to his father and they shared this unreadable expression, my mind got to wandering.Big G, if this lil boy tells me that he got my daughter pregnant, I’m going to have to figure out how to get two dead bodies out of this private room. I just know that’s not what this nigga brought me here to tell me.I could feel my heart beating harder as the seconds passed.
Travis took a breath before he continued. “Um, well, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. I wanted your permission to ask Maggie to officially be my girlfriend. I know we’re both fourteen, but I’m almost fifteen and in tenth grade next term. She’s going to be new at Coreland High.”
A strong smirk rose to my facial expression. “Oh, you want to officially lock my baby girl in before she steps foot into high school. You want those other niggas to already know, huh?”
Tristian tittered. Yeah, he knew what it was. I couldn’t really be mad at him for it. I was the man that claimed my wife the day that I saw her. I knew in my mind that she would be mine before I even knew her name. My mind wanted to go back and forth with the notion that Maggie was too young for a boyfriend, but in my heart, I knew if I bucked against the natural order of things that I would be the one in tears at the end.
Travis chuckled. “I mean, I wouldn’t say it like that. I already consider her my girl, but I know that the rule is that she can’t officially have a boyfriend until high school. I know Valentine’s Day is six months before she starts high school, but I really want to do something really special.”
Here I was at a crossroads. Ruth was the one that came up with the you can officially have a boyfriend or girlfriend in high school. In this instance, I had to decide whether I would be Mega or Megatron.
“Travis, I respect that you came to me first before you asked Maggie to be your girlfriend. That says a lot about your character and how your father raised you. You’ve been around for a while, so I get the thought process of you already seeing her as your girl. Lord knows I tried to get rid of you. Tristian, you raised some resilient niggas,” I complimented.
Tristian’s hand went to his son’s shoulder. “Man, I had to. I’ve been driving trucks long distance all of their lives. When I was home, I had to instill in them what I could to make sure that I raised honorable men with integrity. You’ve raised an amazing daughter.”
That brought a smile to my face.“Thank you, Tristian. Travis, I give you permission to ask my daughter to be your girlfriend. With this permission comes expectations, son. Now, I hear yousay that you want to do something really special for her, and I admire that. What I’m going to say to you about that is to make sure you can keep up with the level of care that you introduce my daughter to. Don’t come in with a big bang, then everything else be a little sparkle.
“I get that you and Maggie are young. Understand that there is never too young of an age to start teaching a boy how to be a man and how to treat a woman. The same goes for a girl being taught how to be a woman as well as treat a man. You get what I’m saying?” I asked with my stare focused on him.
Travis nodded. “Yes, sir, I completely understand. My dad and brother tell me that all the time.”
I gave a nod of appreciation to Tristian. “Alright, next, we’re going to go here because I want to be clear. I don’t care what you or my daughter’s teenage hormones tell y’all, neither of you are ready for sex, Travis.”
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. As uncomfortable as he was, so was I. Just the thought of sex in the same sentence as my daughter was sickening, but this was the reality of life. I’d be a fool to act like my daughter would be the second Virgin Mary. Hell, even Mary eventually got down because Jesus was not the only child that came out of those bottom lips.
Tristian cleared his throat. “Son, he’s right. Sex changes things within a relationship that you may think you’re mature enough to understand. We are telling you that you are not. There are far too many nuances that are beyond y’all’s teenage comprehension. There is no rush for sex.”
