One night in Manhattan

What would you do?

"umm. Nowhere, looking at these pictures made me realize I haven't looked through Seven's photos in a while." Fatima answered shakily.

"Tima, You see it too don't you?" Zac asked taking in her sudden change in demeanor.

***

When Lauren heard someone turning her doorknob, she immediately jumped from the couch and ran to get her baseball bat. But halfway there to the bat, she heard the jingling of keys and knew it had to be Fatima. "Bitch, You almost ain't have a forehead!" Lauren Fussed when her friend finally made her way through the door. She showed her the bat thinking that it would make her laugh. "What are you doing here? shouldn't you be halfway to Pound Town by now?" Lauren continued not realizing her friend was not in a joking manner.

"Hey. I Came to get Sev." Fatima said quietly.

Lauren screwed up her face. "Why?"

"I just needed to be with her. I missed her."

"Fatima. what the hell is going on?"

"Nothing Laur." Fatima said making her way to Lauren's bed where she knew Seven would be asleep.

"Fatima. No. what is going on?" Lauren said in said hushed but stern voice.

"Lauren. Nothing." Fatima said realizing her tear ducts were about to betray her.

"Tima, don't wake that girl up. it's late." Lauren said trying to talk reason into her friend. "why don't you just go peek in on here and then you and I can talk."

**

Fatima sat quietly at the foot of Lauren's bed and watched as Seven slept peacefully. Fatima brushed away the hairs from her ponytail that were covering and replaced them with a kiss. "I love you" she whispered. She studied her breathing, her face, the length of her body, everything. Everything on Seven was exactly as she remembered from day one just taller. She remembered the story from her friend about an abandoned baby, she remembered meeting with the social worker, holding her for the first time, how she smelled, everything. Fatima wanted nothing more than for Zac to be wrong about the idea that Seven could be Brianna. Fatima brushed away the hairs from her ponytail that were covering and replaced them with a kiss. "I love you" she whispered before turning off the end table lamp and leaving the room quietly. Tears began to fall again as the thoughts took her back to the conversation she and Zac had earlier.

**

"Zac, I know you want her to be your daughter, but she isn't. it's like that saying, everyone on earth has a twin." Fatima said softly hoping to reason with him. They'd gone through an entire bottle of wine and a blunt and there was a collection of discarded Kleenex on the living room floor where they sat.

Zac shook his head in disappointment. "Fatima that's where you're wrong. I don't want this to be my daughter. Because if she is my daughter that means that some cruel person stole my child and told me she was dead! For seven years I had a child out there who didn't think her father loved her! Meanwhile, she has lived 15 minutes from me her entire life! Seven years and I blamed myself! Seven years of not noticing. I didn't look back." Zac looked off into the distance. He was still talking but more so to himself than Fatima. "I didn't look back." He repeated as Fatima watched him silently. "I didn't look back. I didn't want to see her like that. "I didn't look back." He continued talking to himself aloud. "they brought her out in the body bag, but I didn't want to look. "I couldn't see her. I was scared. I signed the papers as fast as I could, and I left." The next thing Fatima knew, Zac was springing to his feet. "I Never saw her body! I never saw it Fatima." it took a second but it finally dawned on her.