Tania arrives at her parent’s house. She feels a strong need to face her father so that she can finally feel officially grown up.
George Jr. answers the door. The look on his face tells her that he is not happy to see her. He has been angry with her ever since she told him that her boyfriend, Antwain, had moved in with her.
Tania greets her father with a salute. She cannot remember a time in her life when her father actually hugged her. This formality puzzles him. “Why are you acting strange?” He asks, “Are you on drugs now too?”
George Jr. searches Tania’s eyes for signs of drugs. Tania is insulted.
“You are nothing but a big bully!” Tania explodes. George Jr. is shocked. No one has ever dared to disrespect him; especially in his own house.
He quickly recovers. “Little girl, how dare you walk into my home and talk to me like that.” George Jr. snarls between clenched teeth.
“Stop daddy… just stop.” George is outraged that his daughter would dare lift her palm to him.
“If one of my soldiers ever-” George Jr. begins, but is interrupted.
“See daddy, that’s your problem. I am your daughter. Your adult daughter. I am not one of your soldiers to control and I am not a little girl.”
“What is this about Tania? Huh? Is it about that boy you have living over there? Have you let a boy turn you against your own father?”
“No daddy. This is about you and me.” Tania answers softly.
“This is about you treating me like a child. This about you running everything like it’s the military. It’s about you being so hard. It’s that you never even cried once when my brother died.”
George Jr. turns to face his daughter. “I think you need to leave now.” He demands in a broken voice.
Tania is shocked to hear her father’s voice break, even slightly. George Jr. walks away.
Tania runs home. She has never heard him sound vulnerable before. Tania knows that she hit a soft spot by mentioning her brother, George III.
Tania sits on the couch thinking about her father. She loves him and doesn’t want him mad at her forever, but she just doesn’t know how to reach him.
Out of the corner of her eye, she can see her mother, Bianca, walking up her walkway.
“Damn!” Tania thinks to herself. She just knows that her mother is coming to tell her off for being disrespectful to her father.
Tania waits until she hears the doorbell before she goes to the door.
Tania meets her mother outside, “I guess he told you and I’m sure you’ve taken his side.”
“It’s nice to see you too Tania, I would love to come in, thanks,” Bianca says facetiously.
“I’m sorry mom. He just gets me so…come on in.”
Tania really doesn’t feel like hearing a lecture. She really hopes her mom is not here to lecture her.
“Wow!” Bianca says as she walks in. “Your house is gorgeous! I love the renovations.”
Tania is surprised. It doesn’t sound like her mother is here to lecture.
Bianca is very happy for her daughter. She’s glad to see that she is doing well for herself.
“Thanks mom… I thought you were here because of what I said to dad. He didn’t tell you about it?”
“Of course he did… but do I need a reason to come and see my daughter and her first home?”
“No mom, but I thought you were here to fuss at me.”
“Fuss at you for what? For being right? I agree with everything you said to him. Your father is a good man, but he can be as stubborn as a mule and a bully. I told him that.”
Tania lets out a sigh of relief.
Bianca turns and shakes Antwain’s hand. “Hi Antwain. Good to see you again.”
“You too ma’am,” Antwain says gently squeezing her hand.
Antwain excuses himself and heads to the kitchen to prepare a meal for Bianca.
“Momma, why can’t he understand that I’m an adult now? Why does he still want to run my life?”
“The same reason why you still seek his approval. Neither of you have fully adjusted to your new roles yet.”
Tanya realizes that her mother is right. She is holding on to him as much as he is holding on to her.
Bianca goes over to the foosball table.
Tania joins her. “But mom, why does he have to be so hard all of the time? Why can’t he just let go…maybe laugh sometimes?”
Tania laughs. “Your father laughs and he’s not as hard as he appears.”
“Your father and I were teens when we first met. A short time after we met, he lost both his mother and father at around the same time. He was suddenly responsible for a house and bills.”
“Seriously? He had to take care of himself as a teen?”
“Yep and it forced him to grow up quick. It also forced him to be strong. His whole goal is to be a great father, husband and provider and he has done those things.”
“I agree, he has. But now I don’t know what to do…he’s mad at me. I would go and talk to him, but I have to go to city hall this evening. I won a special award for my photography.”
“Well, go and take care of that. He’ll come around.”
Tania and Antwain hop in her car to head to city hall to collect her award. To her surprise, George Jr. knocks on her window before she pulls off. “Can I join you?” He asks after Tania rolls down the window. Antwain hops in the back seat and George Jr. gets in the front.
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