“What about the guards and stuff though? They knew that girl was going in your cell, doing that shit to you, and they didn’t do anything about it?” I asked, not understanding.
“Them guards turn their heads to a bunch of shit. Then, you already know that I’m not the most likeable person, so they didn’t give a damn. Shit, they probably were telling Cam to get a few licks in for them too. The only officer that didn’t play that shit was officer Randall. An older guy that’s been there for a while. They didn’t come in there messing with me while he was on duty. Even when he would come back, and see me all bruised up, he would try to get me to tell him who was doing it, but of course I wouldn’t say anything. You can’t be snitching in jail ma. That’s like the easiest way to get your ass killed in there. I had to keep quiet and endure it. I’m fine though ma. I did my time, and I made it out alive. That bitch gotta come home though, and she gotta have her day with me. You think Ima let a bitch live that poisoned me, and beat me like that? You know I believe that I can go to war with a giant, but ma it was one of me in there, while it was her, and damn near every other bitch in there that she had running with her. I couldn’t take on all that shit on my own,” she finished.
I didn’t say anything else. I just used this time to keep quiet, wipe my eyes, and to process all the things that she finished saying to me.
I eventually got it together, and I leaned back against the wall, just like she was doing, and I pulled my legs up as well. Riot had her moments where she could be mean, and standoffish as hell, but then she had her moments where she could be sweet.Right now, she chose to be sweet, as she scooted over, grabbed my hand in hers, and she placed multiple kisses on my cheek.
“Ma, I’m good. I ain’t going to lie, I’m a little fucked up in the head from that shit, but physically, I’m straight,” she said. I turned to look her in her eyes. My beautiful daughter. Looking at her beautiful face, I could just see the images of someone beating on her, and that’s what kept fuckin with me.
“You would have never told me any of this stuff, huh?” I asked her.
“Probably not. I knew how you would take it. Look how you crying. You shed enough tears mama. You cried tears for daddy, and Roman. I didn’t need you crying tears for me either,” she responded.
“It ain’t your job to protect me, Riot. It’s the other way around. It’s my job to protect you,” I told her, and she smiled at that.
“It’s our job to protect each other. We don’t always see eye to eye, but your my mother. You carried me for nine months, and you raised me. I know raising me wasn’t easy, either. I’ll forever go out of my way to protect you. I don’t like seeing you cry. I don’t like the cards that you were dealt in life, losing people like that. I just try not to bring more pain to your life, and that’s why I had to silently go through that shit in jail on my own. I’m good though mama. Stop crying,” she said, reaching her hand over to wipe away more tears that had fallen
I was going to let this child of mine drive me the fuck crazy. Whatever Rasheeda was down there mixing up, I needed a few of them. A good drink was the only thing that was going to help me forget about Riot, and the things that she endured in jail.
Chapter 10
Dominique ‘Dolo’ Shaw
Iwas pulling up on Riot, and her family, and I came bearing gifts. This shit was new for me. I never was deep in a situation with a woman before, where I had to meet her family. Because it was new, and because I wanted to make a good first impression on her family, I called my parents this morning, needing to get some advice from them. The second they heard me tell them that I was serious with someone, and how I was going to pull up and meet her family today, they switched it on me, telling me that they wanted me to bring Riot over next weekend because they wanted to meet her as well.
I was close with my parents. I didn’t pull up on them all the time because they moved a little further out north in West Palm Beach, which was about an hour from me, so I didn’t make that drive to them too often. We talked all the time though.
They knew that I had someone in my life, but I don’t think they knew how serious it was. It probably didn’t hit them until this morning when I called asking for advice. It was my mom that really wanted to meet Riot. She’s never seen me settle down with a woman before, and she’s been in my ear for years, telling me that she wanted me to meet a good woman, so that I could give her grandchildren. No matter how many times I’ve told thiswoman that I didn’t want children, I guess she was going to hear what she wanted to. I told my parents that I would bring Riot over to meet them, but I just didn’t know if it would be next weekend. I couldn’t make those kinds of promises, knowing that I was always on the move, and business always had to be handled.
My mom told me that whatever I did this evening for me not to show up empty handed. She gave me a list of options to bring over for dinner tonight. I didn’t want it to look like I was trying too hard, putting in overtime for Riot’s family to like me. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted them to like me, but I didn’t want to have to put on a façade, doing shit that I knew that I wouldn’t typically do.
I wanted them to like me for Dolo. Since it was Riot’s mom that I felt like I really had to win over, I came with a beautiful bouquet of roses for her. I get flowers for my mama all the time, and I would think that now that I was in a relationship, that I would get flowers for my girl all the time too, but Riot’s gangsta ass wasn’t into flowers. She told me that shit awhile back.
Not only did I show up with the flowers, but I came with a couple of bottles of wine, and even a bottle of reposado, and I only brought the reposado because I knew that Riot’s cousins were going to be here, and that’s what they liked to drink. My mom told me that it would be a good look if I showed up with some kind of dessert, so I brought cheesecake over. Riot liked cheesecake. The girl barely ate, but when we were in Mexico, I remember she kept having that for dessert, so I came with a big serving of that, that was more than enough for us all.
I wasn’t a scary ass nigga that needed Riot to come to the door to get me. I never even texted her to let her know that I was outside. I just pulled my car up on the side of the street, and I had all the items in a big, reusable bag. I held the flowers forRiot’s mom in my hands, and once I had everything, I walked over to the double doors, and I knocked.
Standing outside, I was able to look around, see the nice garden that her mom had, and how well kept her lawn was. On the outside, you really got to take in how beautiful her home was. The driveway was nice and big as well, having enough space for all the cars that were parked. I just knew that the inside of her home was going to be just as beautiful as the outside.
It took about a minute, but the door eventually swung open, and when it did, I knew that it was Riot’s mother that was standing on the other side. I’ve only seen her in pictures, and no disrespect to my girl when I say this shit, but pictures didn’t do Keyshawn any justice because she was beautiful as hell. She reminded me of Riot, but just a more mature version of her. It really felt like I was standing in front of Riot, that’s just how much they looked alike. She was small just like her daughter. While Riot preferred to wear her hair curly, her mother’s hair was straight, and it went down her back.
“Wow. Look at you. You are so handsome. It’s nice to finally meet you Dolo,” she greeted me, putting her hands out, so that I could walk into her embrace.
I was towering over her as I hugged her. She smelled good as hell too. Just by the way she greeted me, I could tell that her, and Riot had two different personalities. If it was Riot’s first-time meeting someone, she would have been nonchalant as hell, and I know for a fact that she wouldn’t have given them a hug, either. It made sense though because Riot told me that she got her personality from her dad.
“It’s nice to finally meet you as well. I got these for you. I’m not trying to win you over or anything like that, but just wanted to come showing a little respect,” I said, handing the flowers to her after we pulled away.
She beamed at the roses and even sniffed them. For her to smell them, that’s how I knew that she was a flower girl for real because whenever I would get flowers for my mom, she would always do the same thing.
“Aww thank you. Come on inside. Everybody is dying to meet you. Riot must not know that you’re here because she’s out back with her cousins, and her best friend,” she said, reaching behind me, so that she could close the door.
“Nah. I didn’t tell her,” I let her know, and then I started following behind her.
We made it into the kitchen, and I felt like I was stepping into women territory. I knew that these had to have been all of Riot’s aunties that were piled up in the kitchen. There was an older woman that was standing in the kitchen as well, and I knew that that was her grandmother. Riot always spoke highly of her grandparents. I even turned my head to look over into the family room area, where there was a big sectional couch, with a flat screen TV mounted to the wall, and there was an older gentlemen that was sitting there, dozing off, so I knew that that was her pop-pop that she’s always told me about as well.
“Hello. How you ladies doing?” I was respectful, sitting the bag that I came with on the kitchen counter.
I don’t know what Riot’s aunties, and her grandmother might have heard about me, or if they thought that I was going to walk in here, and be shy since I was outnumbered, but being shy has never been a part of my personality. I was bold, and cocky in any room that I stepped foot in. The good cocky though. Not the asshole kind.