“Soo apparently you punched Kiara in the stomach??”
He looked bewildered and wanted to know what the hell I was talking about. I reiterated the conversation that I just had with Dana practically word for word because I didn’t want to leave any parts out. I don’t know what was affecting him more, his hurt feelings over anyone believing that he would hurt Kiara or his anger over the accusation. All I know is that I needed to talk to Kiara so I called her back.
She wasn’t home yet and I was getting very impatient. Why would she even call to say this to me if Kiara wasn’t around for me to talk to? I hung up and asked her to call me as soon as she’s pulling in her driveway. In the meantime Richie and I were left to just sit and stare at each other.
When she finally called back I immediately asked to speak with Kiara. I wanted her to tell me what happened without any input from anyone else. I wanted her words and her experience.
I changed the call to video chat so I could see her. Her whole face lit up immediately and we were very happy to see and speak with each other. I started our conversation off normally like any other phone call. I asked how she’s been, what she’s been up to, if she’s having fun and things like that. She immediately said “mommy where is Richie?” I thought it was a bit odd because she started calling him daddy years ago. I put him on the phone and she lit up and told him she missed and loved him. Of course she asked for her sister after that and I pointed the phone at her so they could see each other. I think they missed each other more than anyone else this summer.
So I carefully tried to steer the conversation in a different direction. I walked away from Richie and the baby so I could give her my full attention. I asked if she was feeling ok and she said yes. She asked if she had to come home now and I said not yet. Then she said that Dana told her she could go to school from her house in NJ. I told her I was sorry but that wasn’t true. She would be coming home and going to school here. Before I could turn the conversation too serious Dana was back on the phone talking about maybe she was better off in NJ with her because of what happened. I said well let me talk to her so I can ascertain what happened. She proceeds to tell Kiara to tell me what Richie did. This is why I wanted to speak with her one on one. I wanted KIARA to tell me, her mother, what happened to her. At some point Dana’s daughter sat down next to Kiara and I didn’t realize it. I could literally hear her whispering to Kiara, I just couldn’t hear what she was saying.
Then Kiara proceeds to tell me that she has to show me her booboo. I said ok let me see it. So she pulls her shirt up to show me something that looks like it was an abrasion that was about the size of her pinky nail. I asked her what happened and she said “Richie punched me.” I said omg, why would he do such a thing? She said “I think I was being bad.” I said you think? She said “yes I think so. I don’t remember. Mommy can I go play now?” I told her she could go once I asked a couple more questions. I wanted to know if she could remember when this happened, where I was and why she wouldn’t tell me. She couldn’t remember when it happened but she said I was home watching tv when it happened. Well now I’m really confused. She told my aunt that it was one night when I was at work, and I would NEVER sit back and watch a man put his hands on my child. While I’m contemplating this my aunt takes the phone from her and tells her to go play.
I wanted Kiara back on the phone but apparently Dana didn’t. I wanted to know if she could send me a picture of Kiara’s stomach at least so I could get a better look at it. What I saw didn’t look like it could have been caused by a 220 pound grown man punching a 35 pound 4 year old in the stomach. Also the story didn’t make sense and the situation can’t be ignored. Her daughter took offense to me saying that and started yelling and cursing at me from the background. I told her she needed to calm down and mind her business until I ask her to get involved. Nobody was seeming to understand that I am Kiara’s mother. It had been just me and Kiara for a long time until we met Richie and I would appreciate some respect when I make it clear how I want to handle a situation with MY DAUGHTER. Ay-Yana, her daughter, proceeded to yell and scream and say that I’m protecting an abuser and that every single mark ever made on my baby’s body came from him. Now I’m livid. Had I been there in person there most certainly would have been a fist fight. I can’t even begin to explain how many times my child has fallen and hurt herself, whether it was at home or in school. With us, with her grandmother, at the doctors office, it doesn’t matter where she is. She’s always running and jumping and laughing and enjoying life so much that she’s not careful and hurts herself. I made it clear that Kiara needed to come home so we could sort out the issue. Get her to a doctor or counselor or anyone that could help us figure out what was going on.
Dana was very upset that I wanted to cut their time short but I didn’t care. This was more important than a damn vacation. What everyone was forgetting is that we were in the middle of a pandemic. There were a lot of bans and restrictions on traveling at that time. I also did not want to expose my 1 year old to the virus so I was going to be traveling alone. Airports and Greyhound were out of the question so the only alternative was to drive. The next problem was that my license was suspended and Richie didn’t feel safe allowing me to drive 1,000 miles alone. I didn’t feel safe having my baby on the road in a pandemic. I decided to wait a couple of weeks to see if things would die down and I texted Dana to let her know. I didn’t get a response. As a matter of fact, any calls or texts sent to her after that went unanswered. Well now I’m getting really pissed off and going into a spiral of panic and dread. Why would you have a persons child, tell them their child is being abused and then not answer the damn phone??
I would find out later that there was a devious reason for all of it...