Revealed

100. Mama Dee

Solane and I are not in a great place. We left off in an argument. Her graduation is about to start and I've been impatiently waiting for her to cross the stage. They already called all of her friends and are now finishing up the last names that started with N's.

Finally, the reach her.

"Solane Royal."

She looks amazing in her dress. Her hair is styled in its natural state and her makeup is light but classy. She walks across the stage so gracefully and shakes the hands of the people handing her her certificate of graduation. I wonder how she was able to convince them to let her walk.

Everyone gives her a standing ovation and I join in. Some people murmur in judgement but I ignore them.

"Elizabeth Russell."

The claps continue. Soon after, the valedictorian heads to the podium to give his speech.

"These are the people I grew up with. They're more than just my classmates, they're my family..."

Solane sits with one leg crossed over the other and her hands peacefully lay in her lap. She turns slightly to look at Stella and Melissa who also turn around to smile at her. In doing so, her cap moves slightly off her head causing her to have to adjust it. She gives a smile of embarrassment to someone in the crowd before sitting back up straight again.

I follow her eyes to a young man. He's dressed in a button up shirt leaving the very first button undone. He's about two rows ahead of me. Next to him are two other men, the one on his left flirting with a girl next to him. He gives me a man whore kind of vibe and makes me judge the first young man a little more harshly. The other boy on his right has a young girl laying on his shoulder. His head rests on hers. How cute. She has hair that reminds me of Solie and it makes me look back up at her on the stage.

My beautiful daughter. I have to make it up to her.