Prologue
It was another beautiful day on the island of Jamaica. The wind was softly blowing the palm trees from side to side in a friendly wave and people with bright smiles littered the streets shopping at all the assorted street vendors for clothes, fruits, veggies, and anything else they may need. At a small clothing vendor there stood a beautiful woman and her lovely little girl. The run radiated beautifully off the mother's mahogany skin and melted her large chocolate eyes to a light cinnamon color, while her daughter's light tan skin was like that of a shortbread cookie and her emerald eyes shone like diamonds. The mother was busy with a warm smile on her face, looking at a baby blue dress while her daughter was busy gazing with curious eyes at the many people walking by talking with friends and family, but she paid particular attention to the children walking around with their fathers. After a few more moments of silence, save for her mother's soft humming she tugged on her mom's long white frilly dress which matched her own and was decorated with purple polka dots.
" Mummy…can I ask you a question?" Zola the daughter with her lush green eyes like fresh moss, looked to her mother with a questioning, but innocent gaze.
Shantrice put down the dress she was admiring and stooped down to meet the gaze of her only daughter, chocolate brown meeting a lofty green
"Sure you can La-La, what is it?" Zola slide her black Mary Jane clad foot across the floor and looked up at her mother with a semi-strained look as if the words were stuck in her throat, but purity still resided in her eyes. Zola swallowed and softly said
"Why don't I have a daddy?"
Shantrice averted her eyes from her daughter's sweet face, but her daughter could see the pain laden in her brown irises. Shantrice noticed her concern and quickly regained her composure by shaking her head from side to side, her long black hair curtaining her face.
"I didn't mean to make mummy sad…it's just…I just…"
" Oh sweetheart! It's not that! It's just…you see your father and I were separated because he was a very busy man you see and I loved you so much I wanted to keep you all to myself." Shantrice looked into her daughter's eyes to see if she understood, but her green eyes still held questions.
"Didn't you love daddy?" Shantrice nearly choked on her breath, but her daughter simply continued speaking not noticing her mom's distress.
"Because I heard you can only have babies with people you love!" Zola said and finished with a happy giggle. Shantrice half-smiled at her daughter's comment raising one elegant eyebrow she asked
" Now who told you that?"
"Auntie Rihanna" Zola said and beamed up at her mother.
"Damn. I need to remember to slap that hair brain cousin of mine!" Shantrice thought fuming on the inside, but smiled warmly at her daughter.
Your right La-La I did love your father but he and I are so distant…" Before Shantrice could finish her statement she looked into her daughter's silent pleading eyes, his eyes and sighed. Shantrice patted Zola on her soft curly black hair and knelt down further to press a kiss to her forehead and whispered softly
"La-La, I believe that it is time you met your father."