Claimed By Him

8| The Dinner

I don't know why I'm here....a siddung yasso at a fancy restaurant wid mommy and a couple yah....wid fih dem pickney too but nosa this look like a little pair up business.

Yesterday, Mommy announced that she was invited to a dinner by her close friends, whom I should've remembered  because they used to play with me regularly as a baby.

Siiigh....Jamaica parents expect you to remember people weh you meet from yu a 1 year old and have that memory fih the rest a you life.

I wore a burgundy, thin strapped body con dress that had a slit on the right thigh as well as cute gold heels and a gold purse. My hair was hidden from view, I had a 14" blonde human hair lace wig installed. Personally, I can't bother with my hair, so I did what any sane person would do...buy a damn wig.

"Loraine..." A deep, raspy voice called from behind me. Loraine's my mom's name, and I looked up at her. Her cold facial expression made me turn around to see who it was. The man was tall and seemed to be in his 50s, for he had some greys in his hair, his body was fit, and he was of fair complexion. He looked familiar, but I can't quite tell where I have seen him before. I lost interest in him and turned back around in my chair.

Lemme drink some water.

"What do I owe you the pleasure of addressing me by my first name, Mr Henry Sinclair?"

I almost spat out the water that I was about to swallow, and I ended up coughing. The young man next to me was kind enough to pat my back, and I thanked him.

Him nuh so bad after all.

"Loraine, I'm not here to cause a scene. I just wanted to say hi. I haven't seen you in years." He replied.

"The moment you approached me, you came here looking for me to make a scene. Move from yah suh fih mih nuh." She snapped, and he held up his hands in surrender.

"Natalie, Carlos, how are you?? Who are these young ones??" The man didn't leave.

Lawd, him no ave no shame tree....

"The young man is our son, and it's a shame that you don't recognize your own daughter." Miss Natalie replied icily.

Wow, these women....they are my role models.

Then it dawned on me.

His daughter....? Me!? A mih father that!?

I turned around and our eyes made four. He looked as shocked as I was.

"She stopped being his daughter the moment he left me, his wife back then, for his ex girlfriend who already had four children with one on the way for him that he was financially supporting behind my back!" Mom snapped and I was shocked even more.

"Loraine, that's the past! I want to reconnect with my daughter! I have been trying to reconnect with her for the past 17 years and you have denied me the privilege to have a father daughter bond with LaNae! I have been sending you cheques every month to support her and you have returned all of them! Then you gonna fucking act like you're a hardworking single parent because of me! You are one by choice!!"

"You already have 5 children, my daughter won't be one of yours—LaNae, sweetheart!"

I didn't know when I had risen from my chair and left the table. My heart was pounding in my chest and my eyes were filled with tears. When I came to my senses, I was running and I had long left the parking lot of Alexander's restaurant.

Fuck, good thing mih practice fih run inna heels.

I walked the streets for hours and I knew I was lost. I sat underneath a bus shed and pulled out my phone from my purse. Ofc, I ignored my mom's calls and texts, even went as far as to block her number along with the other strange numbers that were calling me.

So my father left mommy fih him ex oman weh him did a fuck behind her back and get 5 pickney wid har then my mother decided fih be selfish...fih mek my life difficult by putting my best interests last and using me to emotionally hurt the man and here I was wondering wahm, why my father never around only fih know seh my motha have been barring him from me...wah mek him never bring har go court tho!?

I broke down and stared to sob. Good thing that I wasn't wearing any make up, just lip gloss.

Both my parents are fucked up....

I decided to call DeShawn. I don't know why him but I needed his presence at the moment. After the first ring, I hung up the phone before the call went through.

Prefer mih just dead yah so....mih nuh care wah hapm to me.

I removed my heels and curled up on the bench not caring about how dirty it was, I regretted not having a hoodie with me. My phone rang and it was DeShawn, I didn't answer. I was there for about two hours, constantly changing positions and trying to keep myself awake. A couple minutes later, a car, a white axio, pulled up and the door burst open.

"Nae, wahm to you??" It was Shawn (Short for DeShawn). I didn't say anything, next I was scooped up into his arms along with my things and placed in the front seat, he buckled my seat belt.

Bwoy, him strong....

We drove for an hour before he broke the silence.

"You hungry??" He asked. I nodded and he stared at me for a while before turning his attention back on the road while I stared forward the whole time.

"KFC sounds good??"

"Y...Yeah..." I replied and my voice cracked. He hummed, we arrived at Domonica Drive and he pulled into the drive thru. He ordered and soon we left there. He stopped in the parking lot for us to eat some of the food.

"Want mih drop back the seat for you, so you can sleep?? Mih will wake you up when we reach you house." He said. I shook my head.

"Mih nuh want go home...will go anywhere but home." I replied. He was silent for a while before he sighed.

"Okay...ago check in over AC...when we go deh, mih and you ago wul a talk, yzt?" It wasn't long before we arrived at AC Hotel. Shawn did all the talking and necessary procedures that didn't take long. The staff seemed familiar with him and he led the way to our hotel room. I realized that he carried a duffle bag from the car. We settled in and I sat myself down on the bed. The room is really nice.

"Wahm to you, Nae??"