( promise the stars. )

KEANU AMIRI WESTON. 20. father to two year old marika tesselle and like the hundreds of airplanes we're floating way up high we'll never look down we'll build our own town and like the thousands of clouds we will never touch the ground

[ge0withcare]

Geonna liked to think she was different. Unique. She still finger-paints. She kayaks. Occasionally she goes to the mall in workout gear and jogs up the side of the escalator that goes down – but she isn’t unique. The word in itself is practically useless, especially considering the fact that a majority of Geonna’s interests are shared – one of which are children. Her eyes widened at the sighting of the sleeping child, and soon fingertips pressed against her lip to silence the otherwise inevitable awwwww. “Of course, I would not keep from sharing with another. Too selfish. I am Italian not French, hm?” A small smirk pulled, delicately, at the corner of her lips. “Cristo, many bags. No need to go to the gym. You are babysitter or she is your sister…or your very own?”

[keanuweston-blog]

The reaction of his opposite wasn’t an uncommon one to receive. Mari was a cutie, to say the least. With her dark complexion, dark afro-curled locks and her chubby cheeks with a smile to die for it was impossible not to go googoo-gah over her. “So that’s where the accent is from. Italy, yeah? It’s odd that you’d move from such a cultural country to... here.” Keanu was not a Wilmington native but it wasn’t exactly a choice to live here. After been ostracized by his own family and the mother of his daughter ran away, escaping to a new town seemed like the best idea. This one just so happened to had been the winner. “No time to work out,” he chuckled, motioning to the little girl in his arms. It was also not uncommon for others to assume that Marika wasn’t his. It was her Ethopian side that threw them off. Different skin tones, different hair textures. The only physical attributes they shared was their rounded nose and oval eyes. Not to mention he was still so young. “She’s mine,” he confirmed, smiling wide and proud. “All mine. Wouldn’t change a thing about that.”

[ge0withcare]

In the war of comfort against proper etiquette, comfort won. That was why Geonna’s petite frame relaxed against the bench, legs outstretched and a sunhat covering her face. Children stared, as did adults with better judgment but she didn’t care. Her days in this small town were long and her ache for excitement was deep – more importantly, she was lost. Embarrassing, to be lost in a town that paled in comparison to the brilliant cities she spent only fleeting moments in before she was on to the next. A slow breath was expelled from her pink lips as she assumed there was a presence near her. “Mi sono persa,” an admittance that stung less in her native tongue. And although she was sure whomever it was that was beside her wouldn’t catch the reference ( and what a PITY that would be! ), she extended her hand nonetheless. “Thank you very much, delighted, no thank you,” using the other hand to tug the hat down to her stomach in an attempt not to seem as if her father had taught her absolutely N O home training, she purred, “charmed. Care to sit?”

[keanuweston-blog]

Marika was tired and he thought toddlers NEVER got tired. But a full day in the park? Keanu should have known that it was eventually going to come down to this. There were three different bags hung onto one arm while his baby girl was carried by the other, her head slumped on his shoulder. And now Keanu was tired. The single father desperately needed a place to sit. You would think that in a park there would be more places to sit but maybe the taxes they pay don’t go where they’re needed. He approached a occupied by only one person and gestured to the spot where her legs were, furrowing his brows when she began to mutter something not in English. ( He wasn’t a Grade A student, but he knew that much. ) “Okay...” he drawled, unsure of what the fuck she was talking about, but then she offered a seat and he would have dropped his shoulders in a sigh of relief if his daughter wasn’t sound asleep. “Yes, please,” he groaned, not wasting a single second more standing. “I wasn’t sure if you were really going to move. You looked so... comfortable.” 

[riversavannah-deactivated201606]

“Dash!” Savannah called out to her young mutt of a dog. She was never so good at being a dog owner and walking dogs around others- especially without a leash (Dash’s obvious preference). The big mutt barks are friendlier more than territorial, but if you’re not Dash’s owner you wouldn’t know that. She gets excited too and Savannah’s not the best at handling or controlling it, ‘cause Dash never latched onto her (unlike her more capable older brother). In situations like these, Savannah just hoped the stranger wasn’t too freaked out by an excited pup meeting potential new friends. “Sorry, she’s friendly.”

[keanuweston-blog]

if one thing was held to be true was that Keanu was not going to spend over a thousand dollars to upgrade his stroller from infant to toddler just so marika could go to the park. like most other children her age, she hit that walking point a long while ago ( she was growing up so fast. just S T O P it already ) so that’s what they were doing. walking in the park, playing in the park on his day off and really, there’s no other way he’d want to spend it. his hands were full, with his super efficient dad-bag ( there was no way he was going to call it a diaper bag ) on one side and reaching for his daughter as she stumbled along with the other so she doesn’t touch everything she sees. there’s not enough hand sanitizer in the world for that. it was part of single-dad vision, a ‘power’ he’d acquired over the years. single dad vision allowed him to scan the area around him will keeping an eye on his kid. so while he double-checked the bag for wipes, he saw marika transfixed on the dog coming full-speed ahead. this wasn’t going to end well. “oy! marika, honey!” he raced toward her, holding her back once they were approached by the canine that was THREE times as big as her but once he saw the owner, he was put a little at ease. “savannah,” he sighed ( quickly followed by a high-pitched 'savvy !’ in excitement to see her regular babysitter ), “she’s yours so she must be friendly. how come you’ve never brought her around before? mari would love the company, not that she doesn’t enjoy yours but…”

[oftrembliing-blog]

    “What happened to the customer is always right?” She asked, her tone holding a certain bitterness to it and her chocolate orbs roll as she reluctantly turns her buggy in his direction following the male as he directed her through the aisles and towards the groceries. “Forgive me, dear sir for being off by two damn isles. The isle with the flour and sugar and that junk doesn’t count anyways.” Mickey points out and scoffed. “Doors are locked in two minutes. Doesn’t mean all of us inside have to leave yet.” ” 

[keanuweston-blog]

“well, if the customer is a bit of a nuisance then i don’t consider them right at all,” he snapped back with a petty, fake grin. keanu speedwalked as fast as his long legs would carry him, getting to the snacks aisle short of just ten seconds. his body jumped as he exaggeratedly scoffed at her next choice of words. “you’re joking. god, you must not know anything about retail at all. while it doesn’t mean you don’t have to leave, it just shows how inconsiderate you are. believe me, we talk shit about customers too and this will just make one hell of a story go get your cookies.”

[calumhoodaily]

Billboard Magazine - September 2015

[hallyforester-deactivated202005]

Kate shrugged. “I dunno dude, I’m not a visual mastermind, I’m sure there’s a reason for it. What were you working on before then, hm?”

[keanuweston-blog]

“Stacking CDs,” he scoffed, not understanding why that was so important. But as he looked down at the shelves they were misplaced themselves, genres and artists all over the place with no order. “I’m still working on it, okay?”

[httpspaige]

” keanu ! you’re my hero. i swear, wouldn’t know what i’m doing half the time without ‘ya as a friend. “ paige chuckled, taking the list from him with a grin and waving happily at sweet marika, sitting pretty in the seat of the shopping cart. she was so tired - between waiting tables, taking care of tyler and trying to keep up with school, she barely had any time to sleep, much less think. coffee and diet coke could only do so much to help a girl out. scanning through the list, her eyes brightened as she exclaimed, ” that’s what i needed ! bananas. yeah, bananas. tyler goes through the bunch like a little monkey, i swear. bananas, and oatmeal, and… kit kats. the kit kats are for momma. though, on a second thought, i might just grab some extra boxes of diapers… you can never have too many. make up half of my damn monthly budget. “   

[keanuweston-blog]

“single parents have to stick together, otherwise we’re just adults that fight over preschool spots and accidentally drink coffee out of avent bottles,” he chuckled, too, shrugging nonchalantly. as paige greeted marika, he did the same with tyler. even though he didn’t comprehend it was much as a two year old would. keanu wished that he had someone had his back when he first started off on this whole fatherhood thing. sure, going at this alone helped build character, taught him responsibility, blahblahblah. all he knew was that those nights full of stress and tears could have been avoided. “why don’t i grab the bananas and kit-kats for you and a few other momma essentials while you get the diapers. wish i could have saved some for you but they go through the sizes so fast and we’re trying to potty-train mari.”

[bbyandie-blog]

“c’mon. she can still learn about elmo and be top of her class while knowing facts about groovy bands. i’ll even get her her very first record player. i’ll be like cool aunt logan. don’t take this away from me.” she pointed her finger at the male as a form of protest. “i don’t think i’d be able to take him seriously. like, i’d probably burst out laughing if he started yelling at me, honestly.” she walked over and sat on the couch next to marika. “she’s a cutie.”

[keanuweston-blog]

“cool aunt logan? you sure are reaching for the stars there, matlock,” he teased then winked. “still, though. you are the most positive female influence mari has so who am i as a father to deprive her of that?” with a content sigh, he leaned over to press a gentle kiss to the top of his daughter’s head. “okay, but watch masterchef. he’s like, the most caring man in the world. plus, imagine all the gourmet food he’d cook. don’t tell me you’d turn that down or i don’t know you at all.” at logan’s comment he looked over marika again, smiling at her dark complexion ( from her mother ), her rounded nose ( from keanu ) and afro-curled raven locks ( a mixture of them both). “i wish i could say she got most of her good looks from me. what do you say to auntie lo, bubba?”

the youngin’ looked up at the older woman, one small finger in her mouth. “’sank you.”

[keanuweston-blog]

the target red card

“Hells yeah. Get that ten percent employee discount, homes.”

TELL ME WHO YOU SHIP MY MUSE WITH.

[httpspaige]

“ hey, wait a second… why did i come here ? god, i can’t even remember what i came here for… are we out of eggs or milk ? or was it cereal ? diapers ? damn it, i should'a written a list or something. ”

she needed to get back to work soon, and before that, she had to drop off tyler at her lola’s house for the day… oh, god damn it, she needed to figure this out. she didn’t have time to waste in the middle of the supermarket, especially with a baby in the stroller.

[keanuweston-blog]

“don’t worry,” keanu consoled with his own child sitting in the cart seat, pulling out a list, albeit a little crumpled a smudged but it was was his go-to list, and handing it over to his fellow single parent. he liked to think he was an expert ( he really wasn’t - the farthest from one ), because compared to paige he could teach a class.  “it’s always good to get extra of everything on here because all that shit runs out fast. especially diapers”

[jade-yaxley]

Tell me who you ship my muse with.

[bbyandie-blog]

“well that’s fun.” she let out a small laugh before shaking her head. “i know it has to be exhausting. i wasn’t judging at all. i told you i can watch marika whenever you need a break. she can come to work with me. it’ll be a bonding experience. i can teach her all about johnny cash and elvis and stuff.” she nodded. “of i would love to watch masterchef and sob enternally because the only thing i can do is burn food.”

[keanuweston-blog]

“um, no? like, she needs to learn about elmo and numbers and she needs to get straight a’s. and not c’s, like me.” then he paused. “although, it’d be pretty cool for her to be the only two year old in day care to know the first chords to ring of fire... actually, yeah, keep her as long as you want.” he made a fist and pulled it to the side like he made a score before he walked over to pick marika up and sit on the couch. “gordon ramsay scares the shit out of me. but i think he’s the only man i would marry if i wanted.”

[ftsagestevens]

“so are you admitting to lying about this whole employee punishment or?” she laughed waiting for him to pick out some silly gesture she would have to perform. “the one with what i hope is pizza sauce on his shirt?” she watched as the older man dug through the old dvd’s. “fine, anything for you.” she dropped her kings of leon disk in her bin and set that next the the dark haired boy’s feet. “uhm sir.” she said tapping his shoulder. “this may seem odd but i’ve seen you around once and a while, maybe at the coffee shop downtown and really had always admired you, like in a romantic way.” she batted her eyelashes at him before going back to chatting. “and i know i’m young, but age is only a number. if you still don’t agree to go out with me i’ll live with it. here’s my number.” she handed him a small white slip of paper that was actually her grocery receipt and waltzed back to keanu. “not my best work, but what can you do i’m no actress.” sage smirked picking the crimson basket back up. “well are you going to show me this secret place or just leave me hanging?” 

[keanuweston-blog]

all keanu did was shrug and stick his hand out, directing her down the path to her ‘punishment’. his jaw dropped, eyes wide at her confidence to complete something so brash yet embarrassing and when she returned he slow clapped it out. “well done, well done. not gonna lie, that was pretty hot. lowey wish i was that guy right now. lowkey, though, lowkey. you know, because minus the pizza stain and beer gut and the fact that you gave him what was probably a fake number.” okay, so he didn’t expect for her to request to reveal the secret spot. his colleagues would kill him. their own boss didn’t even know. but she just hit on that old dude for him when she really didn’t have to, so now he was indebted to her. “oh, yeah, um.” he frantically placed all his cds on the shelf and led her down the aisles. “it’s where we keep all the damages. right next to the photo studio. come on.”

[bbyandie-blog]

“well that’s good.” she nodded. she understood how he thought her mother had the best intentions, and maybe she did. but there has always been this tension between her and her mother since her father passed away. “that could e.” it was easier to agree than to try to explain her situation. “wow you should really go shopping, man. why is there only half a beer? why did you just not drink it all?”

[keanuweston-blog]

“because i was drinking it last night and then i fell asleep.” he picked his head up from inside the refrigerator to look at logan. “what? working and taking care of a kid is exhausting. don’t judge me.” he pulled all three beverages and kicked the door close so he could place them all on the table between them. “i think masterchef is on. wanna crave food we’ll never be able to cook ourselves?” keanu wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, but it was all innocent. really.

[keanuweston-blog]

You think Target is superior to Walmart.

“…true. it’s much better to hide out in a target than a walmart during a zombie apocalypse. probably why i work there. i got a key and know where everything is.”

TRUE/FALSE GAME.

[bbyandie-blog]

logan shrugged at the male’s response about his mother. “i’m sorry to hear that.” her voice was soft–she almost felt guilty for never actually wanting to talk to her mother. it’s not that she didn’t want to–it’s just that she never had anything to say to her. “she never has anything interesting to say. it’s all gossip and nagging and her asking when i’m coming home to see her and my brother. shit i don’t need to hear.” the blonde rolled her eyes as she could practically recite every conversation she has had with her mother since she moved to wilmington in the back of her mind.

[keanuweston-blog]

keanu shrugged. “it’s cool, i guess. at least when she came to see her granddaughter she gave her her name. a good thing came out of it.” his parents didn’t approve of his raising marika on his own, let alone approve of him having a kid. “sometimes there are sacrifices you make for family. your mom probably just has the best intentions for you but has an odd way of showing it.” keanu got up from his seat and over to the fridge. “you want a drink? we got... uh, water, apple juice and half a beer left in here.”

[alexiasuarez-blog1]

“Once again, I’m sorry.” Alexia moved her cart out of the way so the boy standing in front of her could pass with no problem, and her eyes soon focused on the little girl sitting in his cart. “That makes sense. Do you need help finding anything? I’d like to help out so this would be faster for you two.”

[keanuweston-blog]

Keanu looked up at her like she was an angel that was sent down just to help him out with his errands list. Sure, after two years he was getting a hang of the whole multi-tasking thing, but help was always appreciated. “Please,” he said, nodding as he held the list out to her. “Diapers, toilet paper, paper towels, milk, bacon, eggs, diapers, beer, batteries, wipes, diapers. Did I already say diapers? There’s more but that’s the main stuff. You’d be my life-saver. ANd I would kiss you. No, really. I would. You’re really pretty.”