The Waiting One Part II: Waiting for the End

Daddy's Declaration

        Serrano and Ukashni were home, Serronie saw their cars as she pulled up into the driveway. She felt like she hasn't visited home in such a long time. The last time she'd seen her mother was when she came out of state to accompany her back to Texas. And she hasn't seen her father since before then.

         A lot of it was shame keeping her away. She was troubled by the thought of looking her father in the eye and knowing that he was aware of everything that happened to her.

        She knocked at the front door and Ukanshi, her mother, opened the door. She was beautiful as Serronie. Her skin was dark like her daughter's but her hair was black instead of light brown. She was about three inches taller than Serronie, making her about 5'6". Being petite ran in the family, she was a mere hundred and twenty pounds.

    "Salam, pumpkin!" Ukashni greeted her enthusiastically while pulling her into an embrace. Serronie hugged her mother tightly and smiled from ear to ear.

        "I missed you mommy," she said as she squeezed her tighter.

        "It's so good to see you at home again, come on in here," Ukashni expressed as she took Serronie's hand and walked her into the grand room, past the couches and into the back den.

        Ukashni peeked her head inside of the doorway and said, "You'll never guess what the camel brought in!"

        Serrano laughed, "No camels drag in things around here, only the cats!" he joked.

        Ukashni and Serrano always made little jokes about their different cultures. And it was all fun and laughs. It’s what Serronie grew up around. She hadn’t been home two minutes yet and they were already heightening her spirits.

        On the other side of the wall Serronie giggled at them. Serrano stood to his feet with surprise. " I know that's not my little brown gal!"

        She stepped around the corner and joked with her dad, "I'm the only “ting” tiny enough for a cat to drag, papa!"

        His face lit up! Serronie was so happy to see her father. He was more fair than she remembered, though the last time she was him he had a nice island vacation tan. She ran to her dad and they locked in an embrace. Her dad was 6'7", even taller than Zachary, and he towered over her monumentally.

        "I missed you so much, papa!" She said clinging to her dad. He ruffled her hair and picked her up and twirled her around like a little girl. Ukashni smiled at the both of them.

        "I'm going to make some lunch okay, I'll come check on the two of you in a little bit," stated Ukashni.

        They both nodded in her direction and took a seat. Serrano moved his cell phone, tablet, and reading glasses out of Serronie's way. He then leaned back on the arm of the sofa, "So what brings my little stranger around this way?" he joked.

        She smiled and replied, "Well, I missed you, it's been quite some time." Then she glanced around his office. Everywhere, there were pictures of her older sisters, Ulani & Khari, and Serronie as well. The collection spanned back to elementary. Oh how she missed the innocence. Last time she’d been in there, her whole psyche was different. It was amazing how time could change so many things and bring one right back to their origin.

        He nodded and chuckled, "I would have to agree with you. How has everything been?" He stretched his arms out over the top of the sofa and crossed his legs to get comfortable. His relaxing put her at ease but she was still apprehensive about saying too much.

        "I'm fine, papa, I seem to keep on making it," she said in a somewhat somber tone and a half-hearted smile. Then her eyes went to the floor. She couldn't even hide the grey cloud rolling in over her mood.

        Serrano just sat back and kept his composure, he only imagined what she was going through. There was nothing more disheartening than seeing his last born emotionally crumble before his eyes. He felt so helpless because there was nothing he could do to magically make it better. But he had to try.

        He calmly asked, "You want to talk about it?"

        She retracted her head in her shoulders and shook her head side to side. Then there were tears.

        "Come here," he said as he pulled Serronie close and rubbed her head. "You can talk to me, baby girl."

        She just buried her face in Serrano's torso and cried harder, and squeezed him tightly.

        "I'm so sorry daddy," she mumbled.

        He hardened his expression, even though she couldn't see, "Why are you sorry, Serronie?"

        "Because, I'm your daughter, I know you wanted the best for me, and I know it's embarrassing to know everything that has happened."

        Little did she know, the misfortunate event took a toll on both of her parents. They sat up many nights trying to map out where they went wrong and what could have made thing turn out differently for Serronie. Ukashni had to beg Serrano, kicking and screaming, not to seek Jesse out and hurt him. There was no embarrassment, only mounts of anger and regret.

        "No, sweetheart, I'm not embarrassed at all! I'm mad as hell and I want to kill that little bastard! But you're still my little girl, he didn't alter that at all, and if I could alter what happened to you, I would do it in a second!" he admitted sincerely.

        Then she professed loudly and slammed her hands into the cushions of the sofa, “He hurt me so bad and ruined so much! I just want it all to go away. I just need it behind me!"

        All she wanted was a magic pill to make everything go away. Serronie felt like she could be a happy woman and live a happy life if she never had to lay eyes on Jesse again. She wanted him to fade away, along with the rape, and along with all the shame she was harboring. Linden’s memory would never dissolve. He was her first child, she could never forget him. But his circumstances were all bad, and that’s the baggage that she wanted to ditch.

        Serrano pulled her back and said, "Absolutely not! You won't get closure until he pays for what he did!"

        She looked up at her dad and he was stern. His complexion was turning red and a single vein was starting to pop out in his forehead. That always meant that he was either gravely frustrated or beyond pissed off. Given the conversation, it was safe to say he was stuck in between the two.

        "But I can't relive all of that again dad! I don't want to, I'm not strong enough!" she confessed.

        Serrano put his head down. She tried to ignore the disappointment on his face but she couldn’t. He didn’t like where her head was at all, and he wanted nothing more than to get through to her.

        "You are, baby girl, you are a little fighter because you've made it this far! You can't let him win, because he will do it again to some other sweet little innocent girl; but, now, you have the power to stop him."

        She sniffled, “So you really think I should file charges?"

        He scoffed, "That's not even a real question, Serronie! Take that shithead to hell! Let the public know what kind of person he is!" Serrano demanded.

        And at that moment she made up her mind. Jesse was going to court.