What is Love?

5.

Off of work and ready to go! My feet are killing me, but on the bright side me and my mini me did get our feet done. But thanks to her, the store made a huge profit today! They thought she was the most adorable little girl, and a lot of women bought a lot of clothes, since Mani persuaded them to buy whatever they touched or looked at. Most of the women probably had no intentions on spending that much, but baby girl is very persuasive.

She flirted with some of the little boys and got their mom to buy extra shit. She told them and I quote"you tell your mommy to buy that and I'll let you play a game on my phone." Make the sale by any means necessary, I guess. Danielle and I were cracking up. I'll make sure to never send her to the play room again, the sales were that amazing today.

"So, my little helper, what you wanna do now?" after all she's done for me, she deserves to be spoiled.

"Can we go to nonno (grandpa) house?"

"Yeah, anything else? You helped mommy a lot today, so we're gonna do whatever you want." I peeped in the rear view mirror and saw her eyes light up with excitement. Oh Lord, what did I just do?

"We can get ice cream, go shopping, go to the movies, and then eat!" she said excitedly.

"You got it, but we're gonna go over to nonno's house now, ok?" she nodded her head and played with her doll with the brightest smile on her face. As long as she's happy, I'm happy.

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"Can I do it?" she asked in reference to ringing the doorbell.

"Can you reach it, shorty?" I joked.

"Yeah" she pressed it, and then stuck her tongue out at me while making a silly face.

"Get beat" I said playfully.

She gasped dramatically "You wouldn't." she said in disbelief. She's never gotten a whooping before, she isn't a problem child, she's spoiled, but she knows her limits, and of course she's a diva in training, but I don't have any behavioral problems out of her.

"Not unless I have a problem" I smiled.

"Well I'm not gonna make any problems" she said just as my dad opened the door.

"Well hello strangers, and to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked sarcastically.

"I'm not a stranger, you know me" Amani said with a pout, and he picked her up.

"I'm only playing, baby girl, but I haven't seen you in a looooooonnnnnnnggggggggg time" he said just as dramatic as she is.

"I knoooooooooowwwwwwwwwww, but it's mommy fault" she said pointing at me.

"Remember that little one" I said walking in the house.

"Wait! No, it's not, mommy I was just playing" she said after jumping outta my dad's arms and running over to me. Aww she looked so devastated, who can say no to that face?

"It's ok, you're forgiven" I squatted down to her level and kissed her forehead. She smiled and ran off to her room here, but I'm only guessing.

"So what's up?" my dad asked after plopping on his couch.

"Nothing much. Mani is a cheerleader now, and as soon as I get the schedule, I'll make you a copy and she's in gymnastics."

"Oh this will be one busy summer for her."

"Yeah, and she wants to dance, so she'll probably do that after the cheer season is over."

"Just keep me updated. What's up with you though?"

"Nothing outside of work and Mani, why you ask?"

"You just look happier, that's all."

"Oh, yeah! Mani was a great sales associate today, helped me sale almost everything in the store, I'm glad I'm getting a truck in tomorrow."

"And let me guess, her reward is you spoiling her?" I laughed because my dad knows me too well, whenever Mani does something great, I spoil her.

"Wouldn't be me if I didn't."

"Can't even say nothing, I still do you like that" he said shaking his head at his own realizations.

"Exactly, so I get it honestly." I smirked.

"On a serious note, have you talked to Chelsea lately?" my smirk immediately fell, just hearing her name, got my blood boiling. She is one evil and spiteful woman.

Chelsea is my egg donor. She wasn't always bad, it all went down hill when she lost her job. When that happened she felt as if her world had been taken from her, she had been with some company for years, and they laid her off, well really the company went under due to poor management. Anyway, after that happened, she had trouble finding a new job, and during her search, she found drugs instead. My dad told her to either quit the drugs or get out the house, well, guess which one she chose? He left work one day, and she packed us up, took the car and drove us to New Orleans, man did I hate it there for the first 2 years. Men were in and out the house like roaches, and she started to care less and less about me, and my dad couldn't reach us because she was being spiteful and attempting to keep me away from him. Anyway, I went to some little diner and used their phone to call my dad, I told him everything that was going on, and he flew down one day, and gave me a phone. He couldn't take me with him, because he knew Chelsea would try to have him arrested for kidnapping and then try to get full custody, but best believe every chance I got to go visit him, I took.

One day, she was so fucked up, she sent me to some corner to buy something for her. Said it was her medicine, so I believed her, and went to the corner. When I got down there, I met some dude who looked to be about my age at the time, 14, standing there. He asked who I was and what I wanted, so I told him what I wanted and who I was sent by. He wouldn't sell it to me, said I was too pretty and seemed like too good a person to get caught up in Chelsea's shit. I nodded, and took that as a sign that it wasn't something she needed. When I told her, she went ape shit, kicked me out the house and told me not to come back until I had her shit. My phone was dead, so I couldn't call my dad, I just took my bag of stuff and walked to the diner.

"Nope, and honestly, I have no reason to" I shrugged.

"She's getting help, and she's still ya mother." I cringed at that 'mother' word, I don't have one of those.

"Mother?!?!?! No, she's ya baby mama, don't confuse the two. What kind of 'mother' sends their 14 year old out at 4 o'clock in the morning to buy crack? What kind of 'mother' kicks that same 14 year old out their house? I'll tell you what kind, the same kind that would let a man have sex with her daughter for her next fix, the same kind that would basically tell her daughter that her drugs were more important than feeding her child, the same kind that would take her daughter away from her father outta spite, the same kind that didn't give a fuck about her child." I said damn near in tears.

"You were raped?!?! Why didn't you tell me any of this?" he was pissed.

"No, I kept the switch blade and mace you gave me, they were either stabbed, blinded or both." he smiled at that. "The only person I've ever had sex with was Adonis." just saying his name brought back memories, mainly the one where he told me to abort my baby. I shook the thought. "I didn't tell you everything else, because I just wanted to forget it all, and not have to relive again."

Before he could speak, Mani walked in.

"Can we get ice cream, now?" she asked.

"Yeah, bye dad, we'll come by another time" I said grabbing my purse and kissing my dad's cheek, and Mani did the same.

Our mommy-daughter date, starts now.

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Aurelia a.k.a. Rel in multimedia