“Let’s not do that today. How about you just continue being happy for me.”
“Alright, alright. Go ahead and bring him. Just know, the family might not be as receptive to someone new.”
“Yeah, well, they better get used to it.” Glancing down at the time on my phone, I said, “Okay, Auntie, I have to finish up. Love you and see you soon.”
“Love you too, sweetheart.”
I ended the call and smiled a little, grateful that our conversation had gone fairly well. Hopefully, the rest of my family would take the high road and move in the same direction.
25
Don
I stood at the front desk of the new childcare center that Dakota had been attending for the past week. I couldn’t lie, it took me a minute to get comfortable with the idea of sending her somewhere that I wasn’t familiar with. But, since Nova referred the place and gave their pre-k program such an upstanding review, I figured it was on the up an up.
“What the hell do you mean she’s already been picked up?” I said to the young girl at the front desk. “By who?”
“Um…”
“Umis not the correct answer,” I shouted. “You better find my damn child.”
The young girl nodded and then scrambled around the room to find answers.
Pulling my cell from my pocket, I made a few phone calls to the few people I trusted to get Dakota if I couldn’t. Even though I would’ve been pissed that someone decided to do that shit without telling me, I would’ve been a lot more relieved.
After getting nowhere with everyone on my list, my heart returned to the pit of my stomach, and anger began to consume me.
The longer I stood without Dakota’s hand in mine, the more my mind started to shift to every horrible scenario.
Snatching the phone from the girl’s hand, I tossed it across the room. “Where the fuck is my daughter.”
She hopped back. “My apologies sir. I’m new here. Today is my first day.”
“Yeah, well, it looks like it’s going to be your last if you don’t find out where the hell my daughter is.”
Before she could respond, a slightly older lady appeared in the room and strolled behind the front desk. “Good evening, Mr. Desaun. I’m Mrs. Cole, the administrator.”
“Mmhmm…where the hell is my daughter?”
“Okay, calm down, I’m sure—”
“Don’t’ tell me to calm down. I came here to get my child, and I was told that someone else picked her up. I’ve called everyone that was on the alternative pick-up list, and none of them have her. So, who did y’all give my daughter to?”
As if a lightbulb went off in her head, Mrs. Cole lifted her finger. “Ah, it looks like she was picked up by her mother.”
“Her mother?” My head snapped back, confusion resting on my face.
“Yes. Do you guys not live in the same household?” Before I could even answer she said, “No worries, we’re used to these types of mix-ups. Parents forget to communicate things all the time.”
“Lady, we didn’t forget to communicate shit. There’s no way her mother picked her up. Her mother is in prison.”
“Oh, wow…”
“Yeah, right…wow,” I replied, my tone a lot less pleasant. “Clearly, you guys don’t check ID in here and that’s a fucking problem.”
“That’s not—”
“Save it, and find out who y’all handed my daughter off to. I’m one second away from flipping this bitch upside down.”
