Feenin': Twenty Years Later

Chapter Four: Checkin' For You...NOT!!!

SERAFINA POV

Today is a very important day for me! I am getting surgery to repair my spinal nerves/spinal cord and to get artificial legs! I'm excited and sad. Excited because I don't have be bound to that wheelchair anymore and because I get to use my legs again. I'm sad because I have to readjust to using my legs again. I looked in the mirror and this would be the last time I would be confined to this chair.

My driver, Leonard, picked me up. Here goes nothing.

THREE MONTHS LATER...

It's going to be a major adjustment, but I can walk again. And these legs aren't detachable, either! For the first time in 14 years, I was standing, walking and able to move around. This is the perfect time for this, because today is the day I'm having both my book signing and my Oscar Celebration Party. This past February, I recieved an Oscar nomination for Best Editing for the film Boyhood. My book signing will be for my very first book, "1974: A Refutation of Then and Now." The book was a surprise hit to me, reaching number two on the New York Times Bestseller List. The reason I say that is because DeVante is not mentioned at all. The book is a memoir, but it only touches on my experiences growing up in foster care, succeeding academically, and how I overcame almost losing my life in an accident. Had I put that part in the book, I would have been bringing up a painful part of my past and everyone knows about that. Plus, I did it out of respect for Jodeci. They've been dormant for a while (I'm a huge part of the reason) and I don't want to ruin their comeback.

My book signing turned into a red carpet event! I hated this! I was asked to walk to a fan and take a picture. Slowly but surely I made my way to the young girl and the crowd went crazy. They gave me a standing ovation, some were crying and I smiled and got my model on as the cameras flashed around me. Soon after, I found myself the cover girl for every single magazine: Vibe, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Oprah. I got phone calls from Inalyla Vanzant and Oprah to talk for an interview. I knew what they were getting at and I wanted no part in that. I turned them down and decided to keep working at my own things.

DALVIN POV

I was leaving The Breakfast Club with JoJo and K-Ci when I picked up a copy of Harper's Bazaar. Serafina was the cover girl....and she was standing up! Ooooh, she looked fine as fuck too! Her hair was cut (one part of it in front of her face) and she smiled....a real smile. I hadn't seen her in almost 17 years! I miss her so much! Although she and DeVante ended, I never really gave up on her. I had feelings for her, but out of respect for DeVante, I fell back and kept it to myself. Looking back, I regret that move SO MUCH!!! I turned on my iPad in the car and saw Fina doing an interview with Entertainment Tonight!

Mario Lopez: A blast from the past! We have the beautiful Serafina Phillippe with us discussing the success of her book, 1974: A Refutation of Then and Now. How are you darling?

Serafina: I'm great, Mario.

Mario: First of all, you are a survivor. You were paralyzed and thanks to artificial legs, you are walking again. How does that feel?

Serafina: I'm blessed.

Mario: Great. I always wanted to take you out, but now I'm married. Plus, DeVante was very protective of his lady back in the day.

Serafina: Uh....yeah he was!

Mario: I know your relationship with DeVante was um....less than perfect, but how has that affected your relationship with the other members of Jodeci? Do you blame them for what happened back then?

Serafina: How could I do that? K-Ci, JoJo, and Mr. Dalvin especially will always have a place in my heart. I don't blame them at all for what happened to me. They couldn't be the Justice League and save me. That's something I had to do on my own. I miss and love those guys VERY much!

Mario: It's great you don't resent them. What everyone wants to know is that do you hate DeVante?

Serafina: Not at all. I don't hate anyone. I don't hate DeVante Swing at all, I don't want anything bad happening to him. I hate what he DID. There's a difference.

Mario: Do you think he got a lot of backlash for what he did?

Serafina: Definitely. I felt bad, as much as he or anyone says I don't, I felt terrible for the shame Jodeci had to endure at that time. I was dark, angry, and depressed...DeVante caused that. He did. But what he didn't do was make me into a victim. I'm a lot of things, but I am NOT a victim, nor will I ever be a victim. I didn't want anything from that man except an apology, and the ability to move on.

Mario: Have you?

Me: Yes. I can't do anything else. I wish DeVante and Jodeci nothing but the best. I did then, and I still do now. Live and learn!

Mario: Thank you beautiful woman, stay strong.

I tried to hold back tears. It's good to know that she forgave DeVante, but never forgot what he did. I felt a tremendous sense of guilt for not doing enough to stop DeVante from hurting Fina like that. I should have had him locked up. I want to call her, tell her how much I miss having her as my sister, and everything else. But how can I call her?

Think, Dalvin, think.................