When star athlete, DeAndre Parker clashes with a tough no-nonsense female classmate, he quickly learns that unlike basketball, there's no playin' hard in the game of love.
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It didn't happen right away. As soon as DeAndre pulled off my father inspected me, taking a very long look at my t-shirt—DeAndre's t-shirt. It was big on me and hung to my thighs and it smelled incredible. After my father practically memorized every detail of the plain black tee I was wearing, he led me into the house. If he thought I'd gone and given myself to DeAndre he didn't ask and I didn't give any explanations. Instead, my father headed to the den and remained there.
I didn't expect for it to be easy, but I knew eventually we had to talk about the elephant and the corroding force that seemed to have left a severing impact on our relationship. We had to talk about my mother.
I gave my father an hour and then I headed downstairs and stood in the doorway of the den.
"I don't want any grandchildren right now, Cree," my father said.
So he had suspected I'd slept with DeAndre of all people.
"Look at me, I know nothing about mothers," I responded.
Visibly he winced and I knew the topic of conversation would be tense. The TV went off and he faced me and studied me. "I'm sorry. I should've told you, especially when you took up dancing too." He looked down at the carpet, shaking his head. "But it's an ugly truth."
"I have a right to know regardless."
He nodded. "I blame her family for what happened to her."
"Was it an eating disorder?"
I watched as my father sighed and ran his hands down his face. This was it, the ugly truth he'd kept from me for so long. I wasn't entirely sure I was emotionally stable to hear it all, but DeAndre believed I was strong and resilient for some reason, so I knew in that moment I had to be.
"Yes," my father answered, "it was bad, Cree. We didn't even think people in her condition could get pregnant, it's rare. And then you happened and I thought you were our miracle, you could be the reason she goes clean."
I crossed over and sat beside him in Loraine's chair. "She got that way because of dance?"
My father nodded. "She used to make a fuss about her weight and being perfect." He scowled, looking disgusted. "Her momma ain't help it either. She said 'black girls don't get eating disorders, that's for white girls.' She was an idiot for that, her daughter was shrinking in front of her eyes and she thought it was just stress."
"How'd you know?" I asked.
"We met in college. Louise was taking dance classes and she and Michelle met there. Louise used to talk about her all the time, and I got so annoyed I just had to see who this Michelle girl was and then I saw her and it was over." His eyes glazed for a second with his unshed tears and I bit my lip to keep from trembling. I'd never heard the story of my parents courting before and I hated to have to hear it under the current circumstances. "I always thought she was skinny from the beginning, but she was just so beautiful and graceful." He looked to me. "You look just like her and you even walk like her, Cree."
