Butterfly by Sylvester Stephens

ready to leave. I stood up and waved good-bye. “Bye! I love you, Daddy.”
    My father stared at me but did not respond. That was the second time that had happened and it was pissing me off. “Did you hear me? I said I love you, Daddy.”
    â€œI’m sorry, baby,” Dad said, “I love you, too. I love you so much.”
    â€œAll right, Stone,” Dr. Forrester said, “Keep your head up, bro.”
    â€œDoc,” Dad said, “Can I talk to you privately?”
    â€œWhat y’all talking about?” I asked jokingly. Ma had taught me that when grown-ups wanted to talk in private, they were probably going to talk about me.
    â€œYou!” Dad said while pointing at me.
    â€œIt better be good,” I said. “I’ll wait for you out here, Dr. Forrester.”
    â€œOkay.”
    I walked out to the exit room and waited for Dr. Forrester. I am not going to lie; I started to cry like a little baby. I missed my daddy! By the time Dr. Forrester came out, I had wiped my tears away and he never even knew I had been crying. However, that lasting image of my dad being locked up and behind bars stayed in my mind.
    The private conversation between my dad and Dr. Forrester was a very important one. My dad asked Dr. Forrester to take me into his home until he was released from prison. Ironically, Stanley made an impromptu visit to Ma to try and convince her to come out West with him. Our decisions were quick and final. Ma was moving out West with Stanley, and I was moving to Gwinnett County with the Forresters.
    My next interview, so to speak, with the Forresters, included the Missus herself, Mrs. Alicia Forrester. Dr. Forrester and I met her at an elegant restaurant in Midtown. She was beautiful. I mean absolutely gorgeous. It took her a minute to warm up to me, but when she did I knew that pending the result of Dr. Forrester’s evidentiary hearing, I would be having yet another family. The hearing proved that the State did not have enough evidence to prosecute his case, so it was dismissed.
    My first night in the Forresters’ house was unbelievable! They were having this party in celebration of Dr. Forrester’s murder charge dismissal. I stayed in my room until the party was over and then I helped Ms. Alicia clean up.
    Shortly after that, two of Ms. Alicia’s sisters came to town and told her some sad news. Her father had died and she had to go to Ohio for the funeral. While the Forresters were gone, I stayedwith Keisha. Mr. Forrester, Dr. Forrester’s dad, had just moved in with the family as well, but I guess he needed a babysitter, too, so he stayed with Dr. Forrester’s brother, Michael. I called him Uncle Mike.
    They were gone for only a few days, but when they returned, I could tell that things were different. It was a positive difference, but things were different all the same. The Forresters seemed to be looser and carefree, even Mr. Forrester had a friendlier disposition, and that made me feel more comfortable about the living situation.
    Excluding the Powells, all of the people I lived with were unemployed and were only foster parents for the checks. As a matter of fact, foster parenting was their jobs. Ms. Alicia seemed like she genuinely cared about me, and my welfare. She was not looking for a check. She was not looking for a pat on the back. She was just trying to help me.

Chapter Four
    W hen it was nearing the end of the summer, Ms. Alicia registered me in school. She was very thorough and wanted all of my background information. While adding me to their health insurance, she showed me my birth certificate and I noticed the name listed as my mother was not my actual mother’s name. At the age of seventeen, I found out the woman I loved, and knew, as my mother was not my mother at all. And there was some woman out there who had abandoned me. In my mind, I finally had someone to blame for all of the negative shit that had happened to me in my