A fter being disrespected by my husband, I went to lunch alone and then returned back to work. I quickly wrapped up my day and headed home.
The way he spoke to me sent chills down my spine. Never in our relationship has he ever spoken to me this way. I rushed home through the traffic and when I got there I peeled off my clothes and threw on my comfortable robe.
Sashaying around my kitchen, I whipped out a bottle of Moscato and a tall wine glass. Typically, I preferred Riesling, but today I needed something sweeter to combat the bitter taste Tyriq left in my mouth.
The bad thing about Moscato is, it’s so delicious it’s easy to knock it back. Three glasses of wine later, I was relaxed and stretched out on our sofa flipping through the channels.
I decided to turn on my Roku and go to Hulu so that I could catch up on the latest of Love and Hip Hop Atlanta. I was severely behind. I was curious to know how things ended up with Scrap Deleon and his crazy ass love triangle. That one bitch, Tommie, was psychotic. I couldn’t help but be entertained by her crazy going from zero to one hundred in a matter of seconds.
After about two episodes, I checked my phone to see if my husband had at least called me. But he hadn’t. My stomach began to growl so I paused the show and went to the kitchen, knowing damn well there was nothing there.
Since my husband wanted to be a dick, I decided to go get dressed again and head out to grab a bite to eat from Sardi’s, the Peruvian chicken spot. Tyriq loves their food and all of those delicious sauces they have. I’ll order me some and leave it out on the counter to piss him off since he wanted to act crazy with me.
Once I was re-dressed in a pair of jeans and a pink tank top, I rushed back downstairs. Just as I turned my doorknob, I was startled by a man standing on my stoop. He looked as if he were about to knock on my door.
“Who the hell are you?” I asked.
“Are you Nova?” the man questioned. He was older with a head full of gray hair.
“You’re on my doorstep asking if I am Nova. Nigga please, get out my way. And get off my property,” I snapped as I tried to move past him to get to my car. The grumbling in my stomach overpowered my concentration.
“You are more beautiful than I imagined,” his voice cracked.
I stopped in my tracks and turned back around to him.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re Nova, I know you are. You have my nose. You’re my daughter,” he confessed, his eyes welling with tears.
“My father is dead. So whatever bullshit you are on, you can quit it,” I snapped.
The mysterious man walked closer towards me.
“Listen to me, Nova, you are my child. My name is Reginald Hoover and I dated your mother, Antoinette Johnson twenty-eight years ago. I have proof.”
What the fuck? How is this nigga going to pop up with this shit? I’m way too hungry for this but I was curious.
I stepped closer to him, looking him in the eye.
“You got some pretty big balls to come around here claiming that you are my father. Are you calling my mother a liar? Because I grew up believing my father was dead.”
“I promise you, I am not lying. Here is a picture of Antoinette and I when she was pregnant with you.” He handed a tattered Polaroid to me.
There was my mother, looking like she was about to pop, while Reginald draped his arm around her, smiling. My heart began to race as I grew angrier with every exhalation.
“Why would she lie then?” I asked as tears stung my eyes.
“I’m ashamed to say this but I was married to another woman. Your mother knew and she got pregnant on purpose. But I accept my responsibility in the role I played.”
I became paralyzed as this man dismantled everything I believed to be true. All of these years I thought my father had died and had no family, when he was alive all along. It felt as if the walls were closing in on me and I had a pair of hands gripped around my neck. I could barely breathe.
“I’m so sorry for not being around,” he apologized, stepping even closer. Recoiling, I backed away. Being able to move surprised me since I felt that my knees would buckle at any time.
“Why the hell weren’t you around?! Why would Antoinette lie to me?!” I shrieked at the man.
“She was upset that I wouldn’t leave my wife. I told her I wanted to be a part of your life, just not hers. She couldn’t accept that. I even confessed to my wife about you when you were born. But your mother changed her number and moved away. I’ve looked everywhere for you and was never able to track you down. Admittedly, I gave up.”
The tears that hovered in my eyes fell like heavy raindrops. It was as if my life had been shattered.
“What the hell is going on?” my husband’s voice called from behind me. I didn’t even hear his tires rolling in the driveway when he pulled up.
“Ty, this is my father.” My bottom lip trembled as I stared ahead at the man who possessed my nose and my eyes.
“What?” Ty asked as he moved closer to us.
“I can take a paternity test to prove it,” Reginald announced.
“I think that’s best. You go get the test and we’ll be here,” my husband spoke, pulling me away into the house.
After crying into his arms for about five minutes, I finally told Tyriq what Reginald had said to me.
All he could do is plant kisses on my forehead and whisper to me that it was going to be all right. These years I spent hating my mother were not for nothing. She was truly a rotten bitch.
Reginald came back with the test. We took and then mailed it off to the lab. Now all we can do is wait.