That Girl Changed

Drifting Apart

"Happy birthday toooo you. Happy birthday toooo you. Happy bir-r-r-th-day dear Reg-g-g-g-inae... Happy birthday toooo you," the crowd of sixteen children sang, helped along by some of the parents who were present. It was Sunday afternoon in Reginae's sixth year of life, nineteen-seventy-seven. She sat proudly on her fathers lap at the table in front of her birthday cake. She cracked a broad smile in her cute red dress. Her newly tied ponytail dangled down her neck. Her hazel eyes enlarged as her daddy helped her to cut the two-layer cake while the other children watched excitedly, all wishing that it was their birthday.

Reginae's daddy, Dwayne Micheal Carter Jr, was deep cocoa-brown and hazel-eyed and had the lean figure of a trained athlete. He was a youthful twenty-nine year old, possessing the boyish face of a teen. Dwayne wore no mustache or beard, obeying his self-imposed hygiene regulation of a rapper gone by Lil Wayne. He believe that his clean shaven face presented a healthy and professional appearance.

Reginae's smooth, honey brown skin was exactly half the richness of her father's tone. She has inherited his light colored eyes along with the almond shape and long eyelashes of her mother, Toya. Reginae's eyes seemed to glimmer whenever the sun hit them, making them sparkle like a cat's eyes. She was average height for her age, not standing out among the other kids. But her daddy was y'all, and her mother was no midget herself. Toya had inherited a considerable amount of height from her father, Jason Smith, who died in a car crash a year ago.
So Reginae, it seemed, was destined to be y'all. Reginae's cousins has always envied the attention she received. For her birthday, she received presents and money from all of her guest and relatives. Her aunts bought her new clothing and shoes that her cousins wished they could have. All but two of her six cousins were older than she was. Toya matching her daughter and wearing red herself, bought Reginae a pink Mickey Mouse watch.

Dwayne gave her a small gold ring. Most of the parents say around eating ice cream and cake and watching the television set inside of the kitchen. Their kids played board games in the Carter's large, finely decorated basement. The kids began to scream and yell once Toya decided to put on a VCR movie. The 27inch, floor model, color television set brand new RCA. Dwayne has bought it a week before the party. He had moved the old, 19 inch Sony with stand into Reginae's room. Her cousins envied that too. Out of the four sisters, Reginae's mother Toya had captured the best man. And Toya had been considered the prettiest sister their youth, with brown skin, curvaceous body and dark almond shaped eyes.

Dwayne was definitely a catch. His high income enabled them to move into a comfortable and scenic black neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia. In Germantown they had the luxury of private lawns, patios, driveways and lots of trees, which surrounded their three-bedroom twin house things not affordable to many Philadelphians who lived in crowded row houses areas.

Toya worked as an entrepreneur writing books and doing fitness programs adding to their income. So far Reginae was their only child.

Dwayne was an only child himself. Toya's three sisters each had two children. Reginae fought her cousins constantly..

"Girl, this house is just beautiful," a parent said enthusiastically, as though the house had energized her.

"Yeah, girl, you just don't know how much we put into this house," Toya quickly responded, trying to be modest.

"Well, if my man had some money, i could've had a house like this too," Toya younger sister Tanya said. She stood inside the kitchen entrance leaning up against the wall.

"Unh hunh, that's why i love to visit, just to be in this house" Toya youngest sister Joy said with a giggle.

"This feels better than being in the hospital." Joy was considered the silly sister. She was on the thin side, earring an off white dress and sitting in one of the kitchen chairs