Black Boys Bloom Thorns First: Volume 1 (A Black Panther FanFic)

Black Boys Bloom Thorns First Chapter 21

"Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac
Gangster whitewalls TV antenna in the back
You may not have a car at all
But just remember brothers and sisters
You can still stand tall
Just be thankful for what you've got"

Andy Allo (version)—"Be Thankful For What You Got"

Califia took her time filling out the prison visitors pass neatly. It was a routine to help her prepare mentally for seeing her father. Big letters. Even lines. Slight slant with the numbers. Index finger and thumb making slow meditative movements. Methodical deep breaths.

First, it was her father's name and then the CDCR number. Next came her relationship to him and then her name and address. She signed her own name in a large flourish.

She handed the pass to a staff person and they checked her info on a computer. Once she passed that checkpoint, she removed her riding jacket and her motorcycle boots along with her keys and fanny pack, placing them on a conveyor to be X-rayed.

Her pass directed her to one of two waiting rooms, and when she arrived at the one to where she would meet her father, she handed over her pass once more. Then found a seat.

Visiting day on this day was a bit full. The day before Christmas Eve.

Califia wore a long sleeve red shirt with a holiday wreath on it and straight-legged black jeans. She waited thirty minutes and her father, Dante, finally arrived in his prison blues, his new eyeglasses odd-looking to her. It made him seem older. Dante pushed his glasses up on his nose and held out his arms for her. Califia moved easily into his warmth, and although every visit she tells herself she won't cry, she stood there with water leaking from her eyes in her father's arms. Dante stroked her back and murmured soothing words into her ear.

"Hey...hey...babygirl..."

Califia pulled it together and wiped her eyes.

Dante kissed her forehead and led her to an open table with seats. His hair was grayer, the thick waves combed back from his forehead. Even his beard had more white hairs since her last visit. Dante stared at her hair and chuckled.

"Nana?" he asked.

Califia reached up and let her hand swipe down the side of her hair. Her normal happy to be nappy crinkly fullness had been neutered by Nana Jean's flat iron with the ends of her hair bumped like she was in junior high again.

"I'm going to midnight mass with her tomorrow."

"It's cute. You look like a ginger-haired Aaliyah when she was in that Jet Li movie."

"Romeo Must Die?"

"Yeah."

"Nana said Veronica Lake."
"Her too."

The ends of her flattened hair touch past her shoulders, and she debates cutting it before June when she would face the maestros in Brazil. Baggage and negative energy could be carried in the hair, and she debated a big chop to help get her mind ready for her final test.

"You look great, babygirl."

"Thank you, Daddy."

Her father was always a handsome man. A pretty boy. He was probably her reason for falling for guys who were extra easy on the eyes. A light cola nut brown, his skin was still smooth except for the few worry lines in his forehead. Medium build with a silky voice, Califia was very clear as to why her mother fell for him. Her daddy was smart. A college-dropout who went to work for the city sanitation department when her mother "fell" pregnant with her during their senior year of college. Her mother graduated cum laude with a Biology degree and Califia on her hip.