Crime-fighter dad gets pampered

CORPORAL RAFELITO Lafayette loves pampering his sons, but as he got treated to a pedicure, manicure, facial and de-stressed massage yesterday, it was obvious that he loves being pampered even more.

Lafayette says he has become “a star” ever since the story of him giving his children regular pedicures was published in The Gleaner on June 19 and subsequently circulated on social media. Beauty care expert Suzanne Anderson, like most Jamaicans, was impressed and sought to commend the father of three by offering him a spa package valued at more than $14,000.

Single parent

“When I saw it on Instagram, I was like ‘Oh my God, a father taking the time out to take care of his sons’,” she said.

“It kind of hit me because I am a single parent, because I lost my husband, which is my boys’ father some 13 years ago to crime, so I had to grow them up on my own and to know that these kids have a real dad,” said the mother of a 17-year-old and 22-year-old twins.

Lafayette often clips the toenails and washes the feet of his children – nine-year-old Gabriel, and six-year-old Justin and also enjoys Playstation with his 16-year-old son Jamar.

“In these days, you really can’t find or it is so hard to find a dad like that to be caring for his sons; to find the time out of his busy schedule,” said Anderson.

Lafayette admitted that he did not sleep the night before his spa treatment at Suzanne’s Body Care located at 18 Roosevelt Avenue in Kingston.

“I’m excited based on the conversation that me and Ms Suzanne have, that she is going to take care of me and let me feel appreciated, so you don’t want to oversleep, you just want to get some pampering,” said Lafayette, who had just picked up his 67-year-old mother from her dialysis treatment.

As Anderson’s hands massaged his shoulders, the contented father de-stressed. “I could do this every day,” he sighed.

“I don’t get these luxuries often, just one time for the year. So I make sure I exercised first, so she can rub out the pain them,” admitted the crime fighter whose sense of humour also helped to extinguish his anxieties.

Not just for females

While some men consider a pedicure to be a luxury best enjoyed by females, that is not the case for Lafayette who purchased a foot bath so he could get one done at his own convenience. He clearly has been doing a good job, as Nicole McFarlane conceded shortly after starting his pedicure, that he didn’t have much dead skin.

McFarlane, who operates the Textures Hair Salon, where Anderson’s spa business is located, did not withhold her appraisal.

“Him don’t do bad,” she said.

After a day of pampering, the crime fighter was looking forward to spending the weekend with his children who he promised to take to the river or the beach.

“I buy all a deep fry for them to fry chicken, like all later down, we are going to fry chicken and nuggets and fries,” he said.