What is Love?

3.

"Moooooommmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!" I heard my 5 year old daughter yell in a sing-song voice. Well there goes my sleep, good morning!

"Maaaaaannnnnnnnniiiiiiiiiii!!!!" I yelled back, slowly making my way into the bathroom, she'll be in here soon.

Seconds later, I heard rapid footsteps approaching me. "What's for breakfast?" she asked plopping down on the closed toilet lid. I shook my head, and spit the toothpaste out of my mouth. "Good morning little girl" I laughed a little.

"Good morning old lady" she laughed. "Did you brush ya face and wash ya teeth?" I joked. "Noooo, I washed my face and brushed my teeth like forever ago" she said dramatically. I shook my head, and finished up what I was doing.

"What do you want to eat piglet?" I asked as I picked her up and started to tickle her. She is truly my world, couldn't imagine life without her.

After she stopped laughing her little heart out she told me what she wanted to eat. "Waffles!" she exclaimed and jumped out my hand as she dashed down the stairs with me behind her. I don't understand this energy at 7 in the morning, it's unnatural.

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"You going to work with me or you going to papa house?" I asked Amani. It's the summer, and that means school is out. I don't do summer camps for the simple fact that I own a store that has an area dedicated just for kids and besides she has cheer practice 2 days out the week, gymnastics practice 1 day every week, and games every Saturday, so a camp would just be a waste of money.

"Work!" she yelled running out of my room, I guess to go get dressed. My little diva. I sometimes wish her sperm donor was here, but he showed me who he really was, and I don't regret my decision at all.

"I need something to weeeeaaaaarrrrrrrr!" she so dramatic, I swear, but she gets it honestly.

I got myself dressed in a dark blue skater skirt, white button down with the sleeves rolled up to my elbow, a blue and white necklace, some pearl stud earrings and matching bracelet, and some dark blue closed-toe heels. I'm in desperate need of a pedicure, we'll get one at work today. I put my hair in a neat bun, and went to go find little miss diva.

I walked in and she looked as if she had lost her best friend. She was pouting, and staring intently at her closet. She got clothes for days, I should know, I made most of em. Anyway, I picked out her an outfit just like mine, only she wore flats, and being the diva she is, she found her dark shades as an added accessory. And she had me put her hair in a bun as well, this little girl is more like me than I am, and it doesn't help that she looks like me too.

"Are we ready, now?" I asked her after she had gotten dressed.

"Almost, hold on" she said going to her mirror. "Purse? Check! Shades? Check! Mommy's old phone? Check! Lip gloss? Poppin! Hair? Slayed!" I gotta keep her away from my best friend, Danielle. "Ok, I'm ready" she said as she skipped out her room.

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"There go my favorite twins!" Danielle said as soon as we walked in. "Hey boo" I greeted back. "Auntie Dani!!!" Amani exclaimed as they ran towards each other, they just saw each other last night, and they hugging like it's been years.

"Mani, you going in the play room?" I asked and she scrunched up her face like as if something smelled like shit. "No, I'm too cute to be playing today" she said and walked off towards the mirrors.

"What am I gonna do with that child?" I laughed to Danielle. "Love me forever!" Amani yelled back. "Always, baby girl!" I yelled back, the store isn't open for another hour or so, so we don't have to worry about strange looks from customers.

"She acts like you, look like you, and everything. If I didn't know where babies came from, I would swear you had her via asexual reproduction" she laughed. There was no argument there.

I giggled a little too. "True, but let's start prepping to open this place of business." "What about mini me?" Dani asked. "She has a phone with a camera and games, and mirrors, what about her? Besides the doors locked, and she got a mouth on her, she good."

Amani doesn't have a working phone that she can make calls on, since she's only 5, but her lil conceited ass stay camera ready, that phone is full of her selfies. That's not the only thing she can do though, my baby is smart, she attends a private school, and is enrolled in their bilingual program, so by the time she graduates high school, she'll be fluent in both english and spanish. And at least one day out the week, we are doing something educational, whether it's her brushing up her writing skills, reading, or doing math, she learning something new every week. It all starts at home, and I'm not one to raise no dumb child, and hope the school will teach her everything. Her education comes first, and she knows that. As long as she isn't disrespectful and her grades stay on point, I'll spoil the fuck outta her. I grind as hard as I do, so she won't ever have to won't for nothing or depend on a nigga to get it.

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"Where ya shadow at? it's almost time to open." Dani asked. "The mirrors, where else her lil conceited ass gon be at?"

"Never, I'm always confident" speaking of the diva. "Dani, I'm keeping you away from her."

"Nothing but death can keep me from her" she replied quoting Ceilie from The Color Purple. "But what I do?" she asked.

"You rubbing off on her, this morning she had a check list and the last two things were her lip gloss and her hair and instead of saying 'check,' she said that her lip gloss was poppin and her hair was slayed."

Dani laughed like that was the funniest thing on earth. "Yasss!!! That's right Mani, gotta let em know."

I shook my head these two, right here, I swear my life will never be dull.

"Let's open these doors, and get ready for today." I said as I walked to my side of the store.

Let the day begin.

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Amani outfit in multimedia