Quiet Storm

29 | "Haunted"

   1996'

Things were weird. About a week and a half later after Arlante finally coming home it was like a change in his demeanor. He was talking more and interacting than he was. It was normal for him to go through a change since he was grieving his daughter. Miyoko was glad he was in better spirits but that was only what people were seeing from the outside. Behind closed doors was a different story.

It still worried her when he went out and came home any hour of the day. She never complained about it because she didn't want to seem apathetic. Everyone's grieving process was different and while going through the process people always went through the five stages of grief. When her parents died she didn't see a change in herself other than not having the same passions for things like she did before. With Arlante it was hard to tell what stage he was in.

There would be days where he'd shut down and not speak to her. She didn't take it personal because she didn't know what was going through his head or what he was thinking. Some days he'd jump out of his sleep because of the nightmares or he'd not go to sleep because he had nightmares.

One day she had found him sleeping in Imani's room. He was too big to fit in her bed so he slept on the floor with her teddy bear. It was her favorite one. Arlante was exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally. He wanted to give up after losing his only hope but he knew he had shit to finish before doing so.

He felt lost, hurt and upset. He spent almost a month blaming himself for what happened. He tried not to but it was hard. He felt like a failure at being a parent. The mood swings and emotions were real. Once he realized he wasn't his usual self when it came down to moping and being sad he'd find things to do that kept him busy. Something to keep his mind off of the fact he had killed his daughter.

"You wearing that dress you got out for tonight?" Arlante walked into the kitchen as Miyoko stood by the sink washing the little dishes that were in there. He went into the fridge grabbing the milk box and left over cake from some random bakery they went to the day before.

They were going to Harvey's for Sunday dinner and Miyoko already had her outfit planned. It was a dress Amirah gave her from her upcoming clothing line so of course she had to show it off.

"Yeah. You like it?" She spoke softly with a small smile on her face not bothering to look at him since she was trying to hurry with the dishes. She hated a messy house before they left out.

"I don't actually." He voiced, monotonously. "It's a little too short. You don't think so?"

"I don't think so." She answered, shrugging her shoulders. "When do you ever have a problem with what I wear?"

"I don't." He shrugged. "That's why I think you should wear something more appropriate. You gone be in front of Harvey and his family. His grand kids gone be there. You need to look presentable. We ain't going to the awards." He walked over to the cabinets to retrieve a cup.

She snickered. "It isn't that short. You're so dramatic."

"It is."

"It really is not. If you really think so I'll just wear spandex under it."

"You gone put on another fuckin dress if I told you to put on another dress." He barked, closing the cabinet to look at her with a cup in his hand.

The authority in his voice made Miyoko pause for a second. She was utterly confused. Miyoko turned her head. "Pardon me?" She tilted her head to the side because he couldn't be talking to her in that manner.

"You heard what I said."

"I did and quite frankly I don't understand what the problem is. I wanna respect your feelings but speaking as if you're my father when you're not, is disrespectful to me."