Dad's Family

My dad had 2 older sisters and a younger cousin who was adopted by my grandparents as their son. His dad had a heavy Mississippi accent and was in an oxygen tank. He was hard to understand and used to drive telemarketers crazy when they called. He sounded like Farmer Fran from the movie The Waterboy! My paternal grandma watched us when we were younger, and my mom was still married to my father. She was from Alabama and her accent was easier to understand than my grandpa's. She would say, "You must be kin to the big belly family", and I would lift my shirt to show her my round belly. I was about 5 years old.

I got my freckles and body build from my dad's mom. She was a large woman and would almost suffocate me when she hugged me. She was very loving but in denial about her son's behavior. I loved going to Grandma's house because she always had cookies and was a good cook! Almost everything she made was breaded and fried! Even the fried okra. She had a big wooden house with a wrap-around porch and a koi pond in the backyard.

I remember riding my little plastic tricycle to grandma's house one day when my father was supposed to be watching us, but he passed out after drinking. I crossed a 4-lane road all alone by stopping on the lines in the street until the cars passed! When I got to my grandma's house, she called my dad, and he didn't answer. She called my mom and she had to leave work early to go check on my younger sister and brother. Dad was still passed out when she got there. Amber and baby Christopher were in the kitchen. Amber had spilled the flour and sugar containers all over the kitchen and was smearing them on the floor. She was hungry and trying to feed herself at 3 years old!

My mom was so mad at my dad that she kicked him awake off the couch. His beer bottles were scattered around the floor. He rolled off the couch and woke up angry to be kicked. They got into a fight, and he pushed her down the stairs. That was one of the last straws and after that, she had to get her co-workers to babysit us when she went to work at the restaurant. She was a waitress at the time, and he would take her tip money and use it on drugs and alcohol. Finally, her co-worker convinced her to leave him. My mom said, "I'm scared to leave him. What if I can't do it on my own?" Her friend said, "You already are! You are the only one working! He is holding you back!" It was like the wake-up call she needed to finally get the courage to file for divorce. She took her kids and went to stay with friends.

My dad's family took his side and thought my mom was overdramatic for divorcing my father. This caused us to not see them as often. My father left for Louisiana to party, and we didn't see him again for years! One time he sent us a box of beads and toys he collected from Mari Gras. Other than the occasional phone call we didn't hear from him for almost 8 years. He finally showed up when my mom got remarried and tried to make my mom miserable. He would show up drunk to pick us up for visitation. My mom called the cops, but they said there was nothing they could do!

I was old enough to know better, so I went with him to keep an eye on my younger siblings. They desperately wanted to spend time with him. I had already seen his true colors and given up hope of him being a good dad. He would take us to his parents' house or his girlfriend's house and mostly drink while we played in the yard. My grandma would make excuses for him. Finally, one day he was throwing empty beer bottles at my brother while he was on the trampoline. I finally snapped at him!

I yelled in his face about him being a terrible father and carefully got Christopher down from the trampoline to avoid the broken glass. I took Christopher and Amber to the nearest pay phone and called my mom to come pick us up. We never went with him again! My grandma was mad at me for yelling at my dad, but I didn't care. My brother's and sisters' well-being were more important to me than his feelings. I only told him the truth and it's not my fault if he couldn't handle it. He was a grown man drunk crying in his room when my mom came to get us. Christopher needed a better father figure to be his role model.

I took my mom's side in their divorce because I was the only one old enough to remember what my dad was like when they were married. His family resented me for going against my father, but I wasn't going to allow my siblings to grow up around him while he was drunk or high. They would defend his behavior because he was the baby! I was like, "He's almost 50 years old and I have more common sense than him!" That's why I helped my mom with the housework and watched my younger siblings without any complaints. She needed help.

In my past life, my grandma eventually thanked my mom for raising her kids. My grandma had to raise all my cousins because their parents were irresponsible. My oldest aunt was the only one who had a job and moved to California, but she left her daughter and son with my grandma. My older cousin would babysit us sometimes and she was the only one I had a good relationship with out of all my cousins. My other female cousin was in her fantasy world. She refused to drink water because she thought mermaids peed in it! My younger male cousins were all troublemakers who eventually ended up in jail. I had to help break this cycle, but you can't change people unless they want to change.

My dad found out that my mom was getting divorced again through his mom. We still talked to my grandma occasionally and my younger brother told her about my stepdad not living with us anymore. She got excited and called her son. He wanted my mom back! He drove back to Texas to come to see her at her work one day. He didn't care about us but went straight to see my mom. She hated him for all he put her through, and he was the last person she wanted to see. He said, "You are the only mother of my children. Of course, I will always love you." She said, "You would have a lot more abandoned kids out there if I didn't make you get a vasectomy!" She wanted to get her tubes tied, but the doctors said she was too young, so she made him get a vasectomy because he didn't take care of the kids he already had. He didn't want any more kids, so he agreed to do the procedure.

My mom refused to talk to him anymore and left to go back to work. He went to the elementary school where Christopher was and picked him up from school. He lied to the school and said he had full custody of his son. He had an angelic face and a charming smile. He was used to getting what he wanted. He flirted with the receptionist until they brought Christopher out. Christopher was so excited to see his dad he ran up to him and hugged him. William picked up his son and hugged him as he spun him around. He pretended to be a great dad and asked him, "How was your day son?"

Christopher started talking excitedly about his day and showing his dad all his schoolwork as they went towards his dad's truck. He had no idea he was just kidnapped, and his dad was only using him as a pawn to get close to his mother. William drove Christopher back to his parent's house. Christopher was greeted by his grandma who gave him cookies. He was so happy! He had dreamed about the day his dad would come and pick him up from school. He wanted to be like all the other kids who had 2 parents. He didn't know what was going on and happily played catch with his dad in the backyard.

When Jasmine went to pick up Christopher after she got out of school, she was told that her dad picked him up. She knew something wasn't right! Her dad lived out of state and hadn't seen them in years! She used the school phone to call her mom. Her mom was still at work. She answered the phone, "Hello, Delilah speaking. Who is calling please." Jasmine said, "Mom, it's me. I came to pick up Christopher after school, but he was not there. They told me our dad picked him up earlier." Delilah panicked and grabbed her keys. She said, "Stay there. I am heading over right now."