Chapter 4
Tyrone returned to his room. He had two more nights. When his time was up, he'd see if he could find someone to take him in. He could not believe how callous his daughters were. They had the gall to tell him off. It wasn't them. It was those two Chinamen. Black women didn't talk back like that. They thought because u and Yu were with them, they could disrespect him.
It was Chrissie's fault. That white man had caused problems from him for years now. First, he forbade him from seeing his girls, and then he raised them and turned them against hm.
Tyrone took a deep breath. He had to get to them again. He would go to the house and apologize. He'd turn on the charm. But first he needed to do some research. Who in the hell were Thomas and Brandon Wend? They threatened him, and he didn't like it.
The hotel had internet services, so he cut on the computer. One Google search later and Tyrone was smiling. It seemed his girls were more like him than he thought. They were genius. They managed to hook twin millionaires. Tyrone paused; he had to rethink his approach. He needed to get his hand on some Wend money. After all, shouldn't they have to give a dowry if they wanted his daughters? Hell, in India, the groom had to pay, China, too. He'd be set for life.
Tyrone slept. He dreamt of the life he was meant to have. He would finally get his dream.
The next morning, the managers of the hotel bang on his door. He had to go. Not to be outdone, Tyrone went to the shelter. He settled in as he met with the other residence and the manager reminded them of the rules. They could not drink or use. They had to look for employment, and church was mandatory.
Tyrone was ready to balk, but he reminded himself. He had to convince his girls to trust him. Soon, the supervisor wanted a word with him. He'd learned that Tyrone failed to pay child support for several of his children. He told him that he could stay as long as he needed, but half of his earnings needed to go to his kids. Tyrone decided to play it cool.
*****
Kita and Tika had two weeks with their new brother. Also, since Brandon and Thomas were here, they also had a chance to just catch up with their friends. Thomas took every opportunity that he had to touch Tika and you could tell she loved it. Realizing they needed to head home, Thomas and Brandon decided it was time for the ladies to meet the Wends. When they returned, they'd take a weekend and fly home. This would also give Thomas time to plan his proposal. He knew exactly where he wanted to ask.
The guys headed home, with a promise from the women that if Tyrone tried anything they'd call. Chris stood, and smiled. He liked these two young men. His daughters would be protected.
He hadn't seen Tyrone in a few days. However, he learned that he'd actually gotten a job. Chris didn't trust it. He made some calls and found out that was a condition for staying in the shelter.
Shaking his head, he knew Tyrone was not finished.
********
The family was home and Carson was being cuddled by Chris. Thomas and Brandon were flying home the next day. Thomas wanted to spend time alone with LaTika, so he asked her to walk with him. Shia and Chris shared a smile. LaKita and Brandon felt like they were intruding, so LaKita asked if he wanted to walk to the courts with her. He agreed, and the two walked down the street. As they waked, LaKita talked about her childhood, Brandon was simply happy to be with her.
As they talked, both were distracted as someone frantically called LaKita's name.
"LaKita, get over here girl and give your old auntie a hug." A neighbor demanded. LaKita looked up and saw Mrs. Delvira Smith waving. When she and Tika were younger, they often stood out when they visited the neighborhood. One day, they were with their friends when Jerome and his friends decided to tease them. Mrs. Smith heard them and quickly took the boys to task. LaKita smiled, and walked over to her. Brandon followed. Never wanting to appear disrespectful, LaKita hugged the much older woman.
"Girl, you look good. I tell you what I want you to see Jerome. He's here somewhere. He's staying with me for a bit. You remember him. Wait there he is. "Junebug, Jerome, come over here." She called out.
LaKita forced a smiled as the one kid that she really detested headed their way.
"Kita girl, you're looking good. What is grandma talking about?" He asked. Enveloping her in a tight hug, LaKita hugged him back but stepped away immediately.
LaKita forced a smile, "Nothing Jerome. Let me introduce my friend. This is Brandon Wend. Brandon this is Jerome Washington. When I was younger, I had the biggest crush on this guy." LaKita explained, smiling.
"Hello, nice to meet..." Brandon was cut off before he could finish. Mrs. Smith dismissed Brandon. "Girl, you're back home now, and Jerome is visiting this weekend. You two should go out." Brandon was annoyed as the older woman was not subtle in her attempts to set LaKita up.
Clearing his throat, he decided to try something different. "Faking a heavy Asian accent, Ms. Seales, we must go now. I need to call brother."
LaKita looked confused,
What?
Brandon smirked. She frowned, but made up some excuse to go. As soon as they were away, both burst into laughter. "So, Junebug, huh?"
"Hey, years ago, Jerome was the guy every girl wanted." LaKita explained. She walked off with Brandon following close behind. He knew he had to return home, but now he wasn't sure if he wanted to leave her here.
Brandon moved, circling her waist with his arms, he pulled her close. "So, do I need to be afraid to leave you here with lover boy around?" He asked.
LaKita forgot to breathe. Brandon was sexy as sin, and seemed to know how he affected her. She pulled away. People started staring.
"Brandon, come on, I want you show you something." She took his hand and they took off. She didn't answer, and her lack of response caused Brandon to pause. They walked to a secluded area. It was beautiful. Brandon stopped and LaKita was silent.
She took a deep breath. "You have nothing to worry about where Jerome or any other man is concerned. But, Brandon, I'm not blind. We flirt and tease each other however, I am not clueless where you are concerned. Getting involved with me could hurt you. I don't have anything to bring into a real relationship. I mean..." She paused, "People talk. Are you really ready for the fallout?"
Brandon answered her the only way he could think of. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her. Lakita surrendered. She was done telling herself to wait, be cautious. LaTika had her happiness, and she deserved to be happy to. The man holding her so carefully made her happy.
Slowly their kiss ended, and Brandon spoke. "LaKita, you are the one I want. I know we agreed to be friends, but as of right now I'm telling you this; I want more."
LaKita sighed, and then she smiled. "Well, Mr. Wend, this means you and I have some serious thinking to do. When I get back next week, we can decide what we want to do. How far do we want to take this?"
Brandon smiled and agreed. "Come on, let's walk" he suggested and they did, holding hands.
LaTika and Thomas sat in the park, simply enjoying the evening air. Although there were people all around them, they only noticed each other. LaTika was startled when Amy, Chris's niece jogged over to speak. She blushed and introduced Thomas. Amy was friendly and they chatted. Thomas never took his eyes off of Tika, and Amy was happy for her friend. She smiled at the couple before running off and told Tika, "Girl, you better snatch him up before someone tries to steal him."
LaTika laughed. "Amy, he's taken." Then she waved bye as her friend jogged off.
Thomas smiled, "So, I'm taken huh? Tell me, do you want to make it official?"
LaTika simply nodded. Thomas stroked her cheek, leaned forward and kissed her gently. "Marry me?"
LaTika gasped, "Thomas, are you sure?"
Thomas nodded; his heart racing. She had not accepted yet. "I'm as serious as a heart attack."
"Yes, yes, a million times, yes." LaTika whispered.
Thomas hugged her and he knew he'd spend the rest of his life showing this beautiful woman the world.
*****
Thomas and Brandon left early the next morning. The girls had the rest of the time withthier baby brother. They truly enjoyed being home. Shia and Chris loved having them.
Soon the two weeks were coming to an end, and the girls were not surprised that Tyrone reached out to them once again. At first they were going to ignore him, but grandmother taught them to respect their elders. So the young women joined their father for lunch.
Tyrone was a bit nervous. He had to find a way to get them to accept him. They had struck gold, and if he wanted to cash in, he had to get them to want to be around him and then they would convince heir men to give him a chance. Once he earned their trust, he'd be set fr life.
Kita eyed him warily. She didn't eat, and neither did Tika. "Tyrone had a sandwich, and told the girls he was paying. They could eat, but they still refused.
"Look, I'm sorry. I had been drinking, and wasn't quite myself, the last time we were together." He added. "It's hard, you know. A black man is doomed in society these days. You two don't understand, that white man raised you. Y'all ain't white though." He stopped. "Don't get me wrong, I like Chrissie. He good people, but he is not your daddy. I am. I can teach you and help you understand how this world works."
LaTika started to speak. LaKita stopped her.
Tyrone had then now. They were listening. "Give me a chance girls. Let daddy teach you.' He finished.
"I remember when we were eight and you came for us. I was so happy that my daddy was here, but you didn't want us. You wanted what money you thought you could get out of momma. You took us with you one day, remember. We spent the entire day at your girlfriend's house. She wouldn't even feed us. When Momma came to get us, she tried to fight her." Tika exhaled, "I lost all respect for you that day. Even now, you are after something Tyrone. We are not stupid. And we won't be your financiers. We are grown and don't need a daddy anymore. Goodbye Tyrone, forget about us. You did before. It's not hard." The girls stood to leave.
Tyrone was pissed. Soon, he realized the time. He had to get back. His check was half of what it should have been. His boss sent half to the state for child support. Those three kids were not his children anyway. It was time for him to vanish again. Watching from the counter, Tyrone looked around. Leaving the ticket, he walked out. He had no intention of paying the bill. Climbing into his car, he started driving. It was time to head to Virginia. His cousin would always take him in.
The end of part four
Chapter 5
LaTika and LaKita returned home. As soon as their flight landed, Thomas and Brandon were waiting. The couples separated and went home.
"I'm so glad you're back. Kita, I missed you so much." Thomas whispered, holding his fiancé close. Brandon and LaKita were having a similar conversation. The girls told them about the rest of their visit. Each omitted mentioning Tyrone.
