Single Father

Single Father: Familiar Faces

David

"I thought I told you 'bout keeping yo damn hands to yo' self, Angel." I gritted through my teeth as I swerved the car out of Octopus Garden Children's Daycare.

"I didn't push him, he fell."

Angel didn't understand the rule: keep your damn hands to yourself. I wasn't surprised when her teacher separated me into the hallway and told me how Angel had pushed one of her classmates off the rug at story time simply because he was in her spot.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. It was a lingering problem. Whenever she didn't get her way, her hands were always the solution. Even though I had told I was gonna pop her legs if she didn't keep her hands to herself.

"How come Mrs. Jennifer told me you pushed Tyrell off the rug then?" I asked, piercing my eyes at her through the rearview.

Angel pouted her lip out and hesitated. I knew she wasn't about to lie to me, I didn't raise her that way. So the truth was going to come out sooner or later.

She sighed heavily and grunted "Daddy he was on my pink square at story time-"

I cut her off before she could continue. "So you telling me there was no other squares to sit on at story time?"

"Well there was the yellow square." She frowned.

"So why didn't you sit on that one?"

"Because Ricardo peed on that square! And I always sit on the pink square!" She whined.

"It don't matter! You need to use yo' mouth instead of yo' hands. We've talked 'bout this before Angel, your going to kindergarten next year. This hitting shit aint gonna fly." I scolded.

I glance down see Angel doing the thing she does when she's trying to decide on something. She bites the inside of her checks and flickers her eyes from side to side.

"Sorry daddy." Angel groaned with puppy dog eyes. I had taught myself to see past them at this point. At first they used to get me every time. Her big, brown, sparkling eyes used to make me give up. But after a couple years. That puppy dog shit didn't work no more.

"I ain't the one you need to be apologizing to, you need to apologize to Tyrell tomorrow at school."

"But Daddy-"

"Your apologizing. Don't argue with me. Do you understand?"

There was a moment of silence between the both of us.

"I know there is two of us in this car Angel! Do you here me talkin' to you?"

"Yes...I understand." Angel murmured under her breath. I knew she was upset, but she had to learn it wasn't her place to place her hands on people.

I sighed, and re-addressed everything I had just said. I didn't mean to yell at her, but I needed to make sure I got my point across.

"Baby, you know daddy loves you right?" I asked her through the rearview mirror.

"No you don't" She huffed.

"Why you think that daddy don't love you?"

"Because you yelled at me." Angel crossed her arms over one another and bit her cheeks.

I itched the back of my head and unbuckled my seatbelt. I turned around to face her sitting in her car seat. She avoided looking into my eyes by looking into the window.

"Angel look at me." 

Angel continued to look out the window, while I pleaded her to look at me.