The Naked Truth
Young, Beautiful, and (HIV) Positive
Chapter One
As a child, I adored my mother, but I was definitely a
daddy's girl. I used to love to just sit and watch my
father play his favorite game of all time: Pac-Man. As
the little yellow man whisked across the screen, my
daddy would go from happy to overexcited to sad to
angry-all in a matter of seconds. I would patiently wait
for Inky, Pinky, Blinky, or Clyde to eat him up. Then he
would yell and curse at the screen, and I would laugh
until my stomach hurt.
Unlike so many other black fathers, who disappeared as
fast as Pac-Man, my dad, Marvin, was the present parent
in those early days. He would take my sister, Mone't,
and me to kids' movies, even the ones he hated watching,
and nap until the credits rolled, at which point he
would clap enthusiastically as if he had been awake for
the whole thing.
I loved going to the grocery store with my dad because
he would always buy me yummy treats, even if it was
right before dinner. We would sneak and eat candy,
disposing of all the wrappers before we got home so my
mom, ... read full excerpt from: The Naked Truth ebook
