Blinded by Color

Chapter 33 Tiffany

When Daniel and I got to Tampa, it was beautiful. The ocean was as blue as ever. I was in awe of this place. We booked our stay at the Sand Pearl Resort, and the view was breathtaking. I loved the sound of the ocean and the breeze that blew in our room. I sat on the balcony staring at the ginormous blue gem that was before me. Our first night was amazing. We ordered sushi by the pool and had lobster, and oh my God, it was the best way to satiate our taste buds. We enjoyed wine while walking on the beach with our toes in the sand, holding hands, and watching the sunset. I could not imagine a more beautiful, serene, peaceful moment. I took it all in, breathing the salty air and remembering my father. He was from here; he probably frequented this beach in his younger days. I imagined him running around the beach and jumping waves with his friends. I am sure he would have been a great dad to take beach trips with. I silently cried on the inside because I now have lost two fathers. For some reason, though, being here is only bringing back the memories of my birth father and all that he missed out on in my life. I squeezed Daniel's hand a little tighter and felt him squeeze back. I smiled. I loved this man. Once we were back at our hotel room, I decided to text Jerimiah.

"Hey, Jerimiah, it's Tiffany. Sorry for the late text. We got in safely, and we are settling in for the night. We are staying at the Sand Pearl. LMK if tomorrow works for you. We can meet for lunch. : )"

I wanted to ask Jerimiah so many questions about our dad, but I thought that might not be the best approach. I figured I would play it by ear. I was exhausted anyway, and sleep was the only thing on my mind. I got ready for bed and climbed in next to Daniel. I put my head on his chest, and that was the last thing I remember.

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I am so nervous I cannot figure out what to wear. I was also nervous that today I might actually look more my ethnicity than most days. Ugh! My hair was never going to hold up in the humidity here, so I took the black girl approach. Now I am regretting it. I chose to get box braids and added the gold rings around my braids. I also chose to do a highlighted color which really makes me look a bit flashy. Daniel always reassures me I look beautiful, but what if Jerimiah takes one look and hates me? I realized this was real now, and I think before, I was just living in a fantasy of what might be but never actually come to be. Here I am, standing in my jean shorts with my very brown, tan legs showing, my red tank top, designer shades, and Tory Burch flip-flops. I grabbed my purse and filled it with my belongings. I took half my braids and put them up in a messy bun and left the bottom half down. This was it; I was going in as me. The real me. Daniel and I approached the diner First Watch and walked in looking for someone who resembles Jerimiah. As I looked around the room, I found a lot of white people and started to feel out of place. Daniel told me to breathe, but that was easier said than done. A hostess asked us how many? And I quickly told her four, but my voice was shaking. She led us over to a booth, and before I could sit down, someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around, and there was Jerimiah.

"Omigosh, girl, look at you, you are gorgeous! Hello, hello. Hunny, give me a hug. How are you? Omg, you must be Daniel. Hello, I am Jerimiah. It is so nice to meet you. Tiffany, you are absolutely stunning. I love your shades. You guys, this is Keith, my boyfriend. Say hi, boo."

I was in shock. He was nice. He was this loving, adorable skinny white boy with a handsome muscular Puerto Rican boyfriend, and they were just the cutest couple ever. I knew we were making waves in this area, a black girl from out of town and a gay white boy I am calling my brother with his gay lover.

"Clearly, we have the same taste in men," I said this very sarcastically, and everyone laughed. My Mexican man and his Puerto Rican man. Jerimiah sat right next to me and hugged me about a thousand times. We had a blast just talking and laughing and reminiscing on our past. He was so open and honest. He was warm and accepting. I loved every moment of being here with him, and I did not want this lunch to ever end. I was sad that Kayla chose not to come, but Jerimiah advised me he tried to reach out, but she has no interest in meeting me or ever coming back around. I was beyond words for how ecstatic I was meeting my brother that not meeting my sister was not a priority. I felt more fear in meeting her anyway. I just knew now that I had him in my life, I would never let him go. He would be my baby brother, whom I loved and adored from this day forward.