“And you say that I’m the last man you had sex with? Four years ago? And you expect me to believe that?” I questioned.

As wet as she had gotten in sex, there was no way she could hold out that long without being turned on again.

She said, “I’ve only had three men in my life, and you were the third.”

“That’s crazy,” I told her. She was another crazy woman having a baby on her own.

“Maybe, but it’s the truth,” she told me.

“So, what are you holding out for?” I asked her. “Four years?”

She said, “I just want a simple life.”

“Well, this ain’t simple at all,” I told her. “How could this be simple?”

She paused before she responded to me. She said, “I won’t send you any pictures. You have to see her for yourself. And if you don’t want to…then we’ll just leave you alone.”

Motherfucker! I couldn’t believe it! It was the ultimate setup. I hung up that phone with Michelle and just sat there in my living room, while staring out the window at the Atlanta skyline downtown. I didn’t need to listen to any more messages after that one. I was done for the night.

“I’m not getting involved in this shit,” I snapped to myself. “If she waited this long, then she can keep waiting.”

I stood up and walked to my kitchen to pour a glass of orange juice from the refrigerator. I drank it down and poured another glass. I drank the second glass down and poured a third. Then I started thinking about my sister.

I’ve never even had a hug from my father. Not one hug.

“Shit!” I cursed. There was no way I could stop myself from at least seeing the girl. We still would have to take a paternity test, because I’m nobody’s fool. But like Michelle said, she would be paying for my ticket. Maybe I could get her to pay for the paternity test to boot. Then I thought about the daughter and continued to shake my head. I mumbled, “I don’t even know her name.”

A New Beginning

IT TOOK ME ABOUT three minutes before I decided to call Michelle back.

“Hello,” she answered again.

That’s how tactful the girl was. She would answer hello even though she knew damn well who it was. She was the kind of woman who would stick to her script no matter what. She was unbreakable.

I said, “Let’s do it. When do you want me out there?”

“Can you come next weekend?”

“That’s when it’s best for you?”

“Yes.”

“Did you say anything to her about her father?”

“I told her I hope she likes him.”

I said, “Well, I don’t think you should introduce me to her as anything more than your friend. Because we haven’t proven any of this yet.”

“That’s exactly what I planned to do,” she told me.

“Good. And by the way, what’s the girl’s name?”

“Her name is Briana.”