𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐔 ৎ୭

LXXV

Mercedes April Harris
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
5 Years Later

"Mommy can I have thith?" Dequava asks holding up sum life-like baby doll.

"How much is it?" I squint.

"One hundred and-" She reads off the price.

"And? You still going? Helllll nawl put that shit back." I laugh.

"But that leth than what you thpent at the liquor shore yetherday." She pouts.

The lady in front of me in line looks back, giving me the dirtiest look.

"Shhhhh. You don't say stuff like that around other people baby." I whisper.

"Shorry. But can I pleathe have thith?" She begs.

"Thisssss. Try to pronounce your s's again." I tell her.

"Thisth." She smiles.

"You're getting better sweetie..." I scratch my head.

"Thank you. Can I have thisth?" She repeats.

"No."

"I'm telling daddy." Her lil quivers.

"Yo daddy is in jail, what that nigga gone do to me?" I roll my neck.

"You gone sthee." She nods.

"I'm not scared ah him." I shrug.

"Next!"

I go ring my stuff up. I got sum more white towels cuz my makeup keep ruining them and I don't know how to bleach em out.

"13.55" The cashier says.

"Wait can you add thisth?" Quayva pushes it up there anyways.

"Lil girl you better be using yo own money." I say knowing she can't afford it.

"Actuallyyy." She pulls out a green dot card.

"Where'd you get that?" I mug her.

"Grandma sthaid daddy wanted me to have it." She shrugs.

I shake my head and swipe my card. She puts the green dot back in her lil Dora purse.

...

"Dequavince why you gave our daughter a fucking credit card?" I ask on FaceTime.

"Why you always calling me on sum bullshit cuh?" He smacks his teeth.

He got a attitude wimme cuz I called his momma a crippled bitch after she broke her ankle.

"She can't even pronounce her s's yet why are you giving her credit cards?" I roll my eyes.

"You said credit cards like plural, I only gave her one." He shrugs.

"That's not the point."

"Let me see my seed ion wanna look at you you no mo." He says.

"DEQUAVA!" I yell.

"Yesthhh?" She answers her room.

"Come here!"

She huffs, coming in my room. I hold the phone up and she hops on the bed with me.

"Hi daddyyy!" She cheeses, taking the phone from me.

"Quay Quay when yo teeth fell out?" He asks.

"Yetherday. I wasth eating a cookie and it just fell out." She nods.

"Did the tooth fairy come?"

"Welllll, yea but she left me a note. She sthaid she didn't have any change on her and she would hit me up next time." She explains with a frown.