Winter's Love

•17.1

Rachel Ortiz

Feeling like you have failed as a parent is not the best feeling. Although, Honey reminded me on a daily basis that I was not a failure. I was only a victim of loving unconditionally; and wanting my marriage to work out. Sitting here now, I wondered what made me stay aside from loving my husband. He cheated, degraded me, and abused me at any given time. All of which, I hid for so long from Mariah or at least thought I was hiding. A knock on the room door made me divert my attention towards the door.

"Come in"

I expected to see Mariah walk in- but it was Qasim.

"Hey mama, I came to check on you" he stated, smiling at me.

I returned the smile but only ended up frowning once again. He closed the distance between us. Standing in front of me, he stuck his hands in his front pockets.

"I came to apologize. I didn't mean to cause this much drama between you all tonight. It was not my intentions. Only thing, I hate the way her father treats her. I don't like the way he treats you. But, I apologize from the bottom of my heart." He explained, leaning over to kiss my cheek.

Although, it was a small gesture, it truly warmed my heart. I patted the empty space band he took a seat.

"Everything that happened tonight, it was not your fault. The issue was there before you, but I will thank you. None of this would have been brought to the forefront if you hadn't said anything. I feel like I failed because I wanted to break the cycle of people believing that monogamy and love in general no longer exists." I stated.

Letting out a small sigh, I smiled a little before wiping at my eyes.

"That does not mean you failed Mrs. O.  If you believe in something then you will fight for it. You believed in your husband, marriage, and that love will prevail. However, in this case you have to let the ship sail. You have given him enough control over your life. You are beautiful Mrs. O, and you will not have a problem finding someone to wine and dine you." He stated.

Taking that time to pull me into a tight embrace. It lasted briefly- but it was enough to give my spirit a pick me up.

"Thank you Qasim. Honey is lucky to find a man of your caliber. I love how much you care about her well-being, as well as her in general. I hope you two never lose the bond you have." I retorted.

He nodded his head.

"You raised an amazing woman. She's stubborn, difficult, and a handful at times. But I love her, so I deal with it." He explained, rubbing his hands on his jeans.

I knew all to well how horrible Honey could be at times. Yet, for her to have found someone to put up with it amazed me. I was sure my baby girl would be by herself forever. Her attitude was outrageous at times.

"Thank you for that talk Qasim"

He smiled and hugged me again.

"You're welcome"

"Um Mrs. O, can I get my moms number? Or a location of where she is at?" He asked, stuffing his hands in his pocket.

I raised my brow and smiled at him.

"What caused this change of heart?"

He bit his bottom lip.

"You can keep it 100 Q" I added, hoping he could hear the assurance in my voice.

He let out a small sigh.

"Tonight I realized,  even though my mom has done her dirt she's suffered enough already. I'm only hurting myself and Trinity. I at least want to try and build something with her. If not for myself, at least so Trinity can have a relationship with her."