Page 92 of A Don & His Doll

No one else had picked up on Sienna’s energy when she walked into the kitchen, but Monroe felt her sadness as soon as she walked into the kitchen.

“Mom, this is Ms. Promise. Ms.Promise, this is my mom,” Monae introduced, catching eye contact with her dad, and nodded quickly. She didn’t need Monroe to ask her to help loosen things up, Monae naturally wanted to make things easy on him.

Right then and there, Monroe realized that his daughter didn’t just look like him, she had his spirit, and she knew how to read the room.

“Sienna, your home is beautiful. It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Promise said with a smile.

“Thank you, and likewise,” Sienna returned softly. “If I would have known you two were coming by, I would have–”

“It’s all good,” Monroe cut in. “I just wanted everybody to get acquainted sooner than later ‘cause Everybody sittin' at this table matters to me, and all of y'all gon' be in my life for the long haul. Monae, I want you to be comfortable wit’ the woman I’ma spend the rest of my life wit’, and I wanted you to be in the environment you most comfortable in when I introduced her. Sienna, I want you to know who Promise is ‘cause you need to know who our daughter is around when she wit’ me,” Monroe explained. “Promise, I want you to see first hand what you signing up for. I ain’t into livin’ two different lives or holdin’ secrets. My life is simple, and I don’t do well wit’ drama or bullshit,” he laid all his cards out, then took a bite of his food, letting his words settle where they needed to. “You cooked this by yourself?” Monroe looked up from his plate and asked.

Monae laughed. “Yes, I made it,” she answered. “I’m good with the program,” she said, shrugging. “Do you love Ms. Promise?” Monae asked seriously.

Monroe, Promise, and Sienna’s eyes all shot in Monae’s direction, but nobody spoke right away. Monae wasn’t moved by the silence, she just patiently waited for her father to answer her question.

“Yea, I do. More than my broad vocabulary could ever explain,” Monroe openly admitted.

“I can learn to love her too then,” Monae said, reaching over to hold her mother’s hand.

Promise was blown away but Monae’s maturity. “I just want to say that I don’t take any of this lightly. It takes time to build authentic relationships, and I’ll never shy away from doing my part. I’m not here to make things hard on anyone. I want to love, be loved, and enjoy life,” Promise stated, looking back and forth between Monae and Sienna. “No one could ever replace your mother, and I would never try. I only hope, with time, you'll allow me to earn my own place in your life. I promise to accept you, and treat you the same way I treat my own child when he or she is born.”

Sienna hadn’t realized that Promise was pregnant until she’d made that statement, tears had brimmed her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away. Sienna had quickly understood why Monroe had fallen in love with Promise. Beyond her beauty, Promise’s heart, spirit, and warm personality was so pure it was hard not to be drawn to her. Under different circumstances, Sienna could see Promise being a friend, and perhaps in the future it may happen, but it was too soon. Sienna was still in love with Monroe, and it would take more time for her to move on.

“I appreciate you bringing Promise by to meet us. That means a lot that you’d go the extra mile to make sure everyone is good,” Sienna said. “I agree with Promise though. It’ll take time for us all to build relationships with each other. I’m willing to do my part as well.”

Monroe nodded, appreciating everyone’s responses. Everything had gone smoothly, and truthfully, he couldn’t ask for a better outcome.

“Ms. Promise, what color scheme do you wanna use for the baby’s room?” Monae asked, sitting at the kitchen table scrolling her laptop for baby room ideas. She’d been spending time with her father and Promise for the last week, and there hadn’t been any dull moments since she’d been there.

“It’s funny you ask that,” Promise said, fixing them both a turkey and cheese sandwich, Flamin’ Hot Cheeto Puffs, and juice. “I’ve been trying to think of neutral colors since we don’t know for sure if we’re having a girl or boy.”

“I have a really good suggestion. You wanna see?” She asked, looking up from her laptop with a smile.

“Absolutely,” Promise said, picking up both of their plates, and walked them over to the table, doubling back to get the juice. “Let’s see what you got.”

“Thank you, “ Monae said, bowing her head to say her grace quickly, then turned her computer to face Promise.

“You’re welcome,” Promise replied, taking a closer look at the images Monae had pulled up on the screen. “Oh my God, Monae! These are perfect. How’d you know what I wanted?”

Promise couldn’t believe it. It was the same mixture of warm cream, oatmeal linen, soft taupe, champagne gold, cashmere beige, and white oak that she’d put together on her vision board a month ago.

“Yes, Monae! We are gonna order all this stuff today,” Promise said, immediately adding everything she saw to her cart.

“Don’t forget to get that plush blanket. Look how soft it looks,” Monae said. “I bet it’s even softer in person.”

“Girl, let me find out you have an eye for luxury interior designs,” Promise duly noted, impressed.

“When I was in Morocco, I took all honors classes. Interior design, fashion, and creative writing were the classes I liked most,” Monae revealed.

“I love how intelligent you are, Monae,” Promise genuinely stated, getting a glimpse of her potential.

“My mom says if I master everything I’m good at, I’ll grow up and become one of the richest women in the world,” Monae said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Your mom is right, but let me guess…That doesn’t move you, huh?” Promise asked, taking a break from the spontaneous shopping spree Monae had inspired her to go on.

Monae nodded her head side to side, confirming what Promise had discerned already. “Money can’t buy the things in life that really matter.”

Promise laid her hand on her chest, feeling Monae’s words as they resonated deeply, but still Promise had to ask. “What are you referring to?”