Florida Kilos

Ride

"Don't forget to call me." Mama demanded to Ama as she held her in her arms,"I won't—I'll call you everyday!" "You promise?" Ama nodded her head and held out her pinky. Mama wrapped her own pinky around Ama's,"Promise!" Mama gave her another big hug and kissed her cheek," I love you." "I love you too." She finally let Ama go and she held onto Tony's hand.

I walked up to Mama and gave her one last hug," Keep me updated on the baby alright." I gave her a small smile," Absolutely." She squeezed me tight and kissed the side of my head,"I miss you already."

After we let go of one another, Mama waved us goodbye and we got into Tony's car. Ernie took my car and he led us to the private jet that Tony arrived to Tallahassee in. Ama was so excited to get on, she could barely form a sentence. The flight back to Miami was no longer than 30 minutes compared to the 6 hour drive. The jet we flown in was the most luxurious thing I ever touched. I had to pinch myself multiple times to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

When we got off the flight, another car was waiting for us and we all got in. Ama was glued to Tony, falling asleep in his lap in the process. I looked at the both of them and smiled," How did you find me?" Tony glanced at me and smirked," Jou weren't hard to find—Jou gotta clean record pussycat." I twisted my mouth," If it was so easy then why did it take you so long to get us?" He shrugged his shoulders," I knew jou wanted to get away from me—so I gave jou some time, ya know?"

He placed his hand on my upper thigh and squeezed it gently," I want to start over—Do everything right with jou," He grabbed my hand and placed a small kiss on the back of it," I want to give jou and Ama the world." He glided his hand down to my abdomen and rubbed it in a circular motion," And this little one." A smile formed on my face and I gazed at him.

"What are you starting over?" I asked him. He smirked," The American Dream." He sat back in his seat satisfied with his answer. I sighed and shook my head," There is no American Dream, Tony. It's a facade—it only exists if you're a white man," I pinched his chin and turned his head towards me," You'll die trying to chase it."

He continued to stare at me, I guess trying to figure out what to say to me. But he huffed instead," Yeah maybe jou right," He abruptly shot up and kissed me on the lips," but damn does it feel good to be on top of the world for even just a second."

His determination always brought a smile to my face. He didn't let anyone or anything get in his way. He isn't afraid of the truth or the outcome. I guess I could learn a thing or two from him, he never runs away even when he has a clear shot.

Suddenly, a heavy gentle hand grasped my attention," Jou okay?" I looked over at the scarred man and gave him a small smile," Yeah, I'm fine—I just..." I scraped the imaginary dirt from underneath my nails. Tony lightly squeezed my thigh making my heart race," I-I missed you." I glanced over at Ama who was still sound asleep in Tony's lap," We both missed you." I shook my head and continued to dig into my nails," I was foolish for leaving like that—without talking to you first." I glanced at him and back to my nails," I-I'm not use to fighting my own battles so I just run...And hope that someone fights it for me."

I felt a tear slide down my cheek, before I could swipe it, Tony had already snatched it away," Jou're not running with me—not no more. Jou got that?" He grabbed my hand in his, rubbing circles with his thumb. I nodded my head as he placed a kiss on my cheek.

It didn't take long before we reached the familiar tropical mansion. Tony lightly shook Ama awake as the car came to a stop at the front entrance. He patted my thigh as he and Ama exited the car," Lets go." He reached his hand out for me to grab and I gladly took it. He swiftly whisked me out of the car and onto my feet.

Ama held onto Tony's hand as she grabbed ahold of mine," You live in a castle!?" Ama animatedly questioned. Tony could barely get a word out before she let go of our hands and ran up the entrance way and got into the mansion with ease," Amalita Ramirez!" I was about to chase her down, but Tony grabbed ahold of my arm," Letta go—she's fine." I bit the insides of my mouth and glanced over at him," She shouldn't be running into people's houses like that—"

"She's a little kid. Letta be one—Okay?" He continued to stare at me until I finally sighed," Alright." He released my arm from his grip and we continued up the entrance steps and into the mansion. Ama was splashing her hands in the indoor fountain that displayed the sculpture of three greek women holding a globe that read 'The World Is Yours' in neon pink lights.
"Look mommy!!"

I gave her a big grin," I see baby!" I've seen that damn fountain a million times and had the unfortunate pleasure of cleaning it one time. She stopped playing in the fountain and rushed over to me," Are we gonna stay here!?"

"Yes"
"No"

Tony and I looked at one another. I furrowed my brows at him," We're not staying here." "Why not?" I twisted my face as I shook my head," There's plenty of reasons." He shrugged his shoulders and continued to look at me for a reason. Ama wrapped herself around my legs as she watched Tony circle his way in front of me," And what's that?" I rolled my eyes at him as he pointed at Ama," We both wanna know."

I crossed my arms over my chest," I don't want to live in a place where I worked—EVERYONE will be talking—" Tony shrugged," I can get new people—Next."
I rolled my eyes once again," Tony—" He swatted his hand," Next."
"I don't want to sleep in a bed your wife's been in." "Ex-wife," He shrugged his shoulders once again like water off a duck's back," We can get a new bed—"

"Tony it's not that simple—And not to mention, you have a damn tiger in your back yard!"

"You have a tiger!?" Ama gasped as she unlatched herself from my leg," Yeah, jou wanna see him?" Ama nodded her head rapidly about to run off once again, until I quickly grabbed her hand," Absolutely not!" "But mommy Tony said I could!" "And I said no," I glared at Tony and pointed my finger at him," And that's final."

Tony put his hands up in surrender," Okay so what jou want to do?"
"I like the other house—"
"No mommy I want to stay here!" Ama protested as she held her head up at me, displaying her puppy dog eyes.
"How bout jou stay for a couple days—see how jou like it?"
The pressure was on as they both looked at me, anticipating the response they wanted to hear," Please, please, please, please mommy?"

I huffed at the pair and rolled my eyes to the opposite of their direction," Fine."
Ama joyfully ran to Tony as he scooped her up in his arms," Lets go see the tiger!" Ama cheered.
"That's still a no." Ama's head hung low with her mouth in a pout until Tony whispered something into her ear to reanimate her.

I glared at Tony as I was about to walk up the stairs. He grasped my hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. I only gave him one last look before I snatched my hand away, continuing up the steps.