Chapter 3
King
Satisfied that the rain slowed down, I pulled all the way inside the driveway, taking in the scenery.
The lawn looked well kept, but not how my old childhood home used to look.
I planned on going by my childhood home that was twenty minutes away and propositioning the folks that owned it now an offer they wouldn’t dare refuse.
I noticed my mom had planted sunflowers and roses right in the middle of the front yard.
Those were her favorite flowers; my dad always bought her flowers every Friday.
Twisting the front doorknob, as expected, it opened right up.
Shaking my head, I entered and was smacked with the smell of soul food.
My stomach grumbled as I reached the kitchen, I stood in the entry way, watching my mom hum as she stood with her back turned towards me while stirring food in one of her huge pots.
“Let me find out you in here cooking for someone other than your son, ol lady.”
Her shoulders relaxed, and she turned around slowly with tears welled in her eyes. Momma was still beautiful even she looked overwhelmed. I felt bad for staying away for so long.
“Jr. Oh, my lord…” She wiped her face and sat the spatula on the counter.
Racing to be inside my arms, I embraced her tight.
Inhaling her scent, I bowed my head into the nook of her neck and inhaled her floral scent.
I didn’t realize until now how much I missed this woman.
I refused to get emotional, but the battle was hard.
“I missed you, Jr.” She released me and looked up at me, eyes full of admiration and emotions.
“I missed you too, momma.”
She grabbed the side of my face to stroke my cheeks, I had to lean down; I was too tall for her to even get on her tippy toes to reach my face.
“I was cooking for some of the brothers and sisters from the congregation. Let me call them and tell them my baby done came home.”
“Don’t cancel your plans ma… I plan on being here for a few days anyway.”
Quickly nodding her head, we just stared at each other in silence, appreciating each other’s presence.
“You look just like your father, Jr.” She started to choke up, so she remained quiet for a bit, trying to catch herself from going down memory lane.
She was used of my silence. After the night of me losing my dad, I didn’t talk much at all to anyone.
I would call my mom and let her ramble on about her day.
I’d throw a word in to let her know I was listening to her.
But, I never talked much; I didn’t know why.
My mom said it was from shock and mourning, but I didn’t think it was that.
I just knew a part of me died that night, and I couldn’t get myself together.
“You know I got baptized now. I’ve been happier than I’ve ever been.” She smiled.
“Happier than when you had dad?” I asked.
It slipped out, but I wasn’t the type to take my words back.
I was happy that she could find peace. A twinge of jealousy came over me because I was not happy at all with my life.
In fact, I was miserable as fuck. Each day felt like I was just existing; I did shit from time to time to make me feel normal.
I had sex on a regular from the main women I kept on rotation, never establishing no bond with none of them.
I stayed on top of all operations that my dad once had, showing my face, discussing business, then leaving.
I was the plug, so it wasn’t much to do. I opened several restaurants and clubs.
Southern California was really going good for me.
Coming back to where I was raised made me realize that I needed to do more for out here.
Our poor city looked ran down. All the corner stores and candy houses my dad once had in place were either burned down or robbed blind.
I knew I needed to fix shit back up out here for my peoples.
I just stayed away from here to gain some kind of sanity and peace.
It had been two years, yet it still felt like two days.
Here I was battling internally, I regret so much.
I couldn’t even look down at my ol man laid cold in his casket.
I still battled with choosing to just drag my mom out that house that night, although I know it was what my father wanted.
A million times I played that night back in my head, trying to twist and turn it.
I felt I moved too slow when he first walked in the house battered and shot.
Instead of sitting him down, I should’ve taken him and my mom out the house then.
I was upset that he left me with little to no decision.
He prepared me for everything in the world except him leaving me.
I put it all on me. In my heart, I felt it was my fault.
My mind should have clicked that night on what I should have done.
“Oh Jr. don’t do that to me… you know every single day, I miss your father… this happiness is different and I’m also happy with knowing your father made it out of this wicked system of things… now, it’s us who have to make it out and live right by Jehovah.”
She gave me pleading eyes, as I dropped my eyes down to the carpet.
My mom’s beliefs were Jehovah Witnesses.
I was raised going to the kingdom hall and learning their beliefs, which I understood, and it made a whole lot of sense to me.
Jehovah was God and Jesus was his son. I just didn’t believe in giving myself to any religion.
My dad went to the meetings to pacify my mom, but he always taught me that religion was watered down.
Just do personal study and believe in God but, lately, I was upset with God as well.
I hated when people used the term “God called for them to come home.” Why the hell would God want to see someone’s father murdered and women raped and beaten to death?
That wasn’t God; that was the devil. When we died, I believed our souls went back to God and our bodies turned back into dust.
Wiping the sweat that formed on my forehead, I took a deep breath and calmed my troubled spirit. It was humid, with no a/c. Momma had fans in every corner of the room, but Mississippi heat still had a way to break through and melt you.
“Let’s not talk about religion, mom. I missed you, let’s eat.”
Giving her a slight smile, she nodded her head, still looking like there was more she wanted to say but decided against it.
“You fortunate Jr. I made your favorite! Candy yams, mac and cheese, collard greens and fried chicken. Oh, and that cornbread your spoiled tail use to cry about when you were five years old.”
She chuckled, as I followed her to the kitchen area.
Momma was a beautiful soul. She could turn a bad situation and make it better.
It’s the main reason I checked in and called her every single day.
I knew she would get frustrated with me not saying much, but I always urged her to talk and tell me about her whole day.
It made me feel like I was here with her and still connected.
Sitting down at her island, I watched her make me a huge plate, there was so much food, she had to bring out a second plate to complete my meal.
When she turned to bring me my first plate, I noticed she was drenched with sweat, which was unusual.
Momma loved the heat and turned me down each time I tried to get her an AC unit installed.
“Ma… you, okay?” I questioned, as she fanned me away and nodded her head.
“You know this dirty south heat gets to be a tad much… I’m really thinking about getting that AC unit you keep bugging me about.” She smiled faintly.
“I’ll get you one before I leave to go back to Cali.”
“Boy, you ain’t got to do all that so soon…”
Before she could finish her statement, her eyeballs went left and got stuck there as she slurred, then mumbled something.
Quickly standing to my feet to make my way to her, she started to have a seizure while standing up.
I had no training in this type of situation, but I remember hearing to put a person on their side.
I gently got her to her side and waited for the shaking to stop.
It went on for a good two minutes, causing my chest to tighten.
Grabbing my cellphone out my pants pocket, I dialed 911 and explained to them everything that was happening.
In the middle of my conversation, my mom slurred but made sure her words were clear enough for me to understand her, “I ain’t going to no hospital, it’s ok Jr…
I just have Epilepsy… I ain’t staying overnight with them folk! Hang up!”
She started shaking again, which was not a good sign.
My nerves were so bad; I yelled in the phone, telling them to hurry their asses up.
This seizure lasted for a long three minutes; I didn’t care what she said.
They were going to keep her for some days now and run multiple tests on her.
It was unlike her to even keep something from me like this.
She told me everything, or so I thought.
Never knew my mom to be having seizures.
This made me wonder who was helping her whenever she did have them.
I just knew I had to get to the bottom of everything because some shit just wasn’t adding up.
Arriving at the hospital, they had to force me to stay in the emergency waiting room.
I was on edge, ready to say fuck the rules and go see about my mom.
I decided to go outside, catch some fresh air, smoke a cigarette, and come back in.
I took a seat on the bench and googled the term Epilepsy.
It’s crazy when you look some shit up on the internet, it made you feel like it’s a death sentence.
The main thing I wanted to know was if it was curable and how serious it was.
Staying away was not the smartest thing to do; it had me feeling guilty as fuck.
I left my mom because of my own pain; it was selfish.
No matter how many times she told me she was fine to ease my worries, she wasn’t.
It was hard on her, just like it was hard on me.
Hearing sniffling, I watched the same lady that I gave a ride to earlier limp hard, struggling to make it to the entrance of the hospital.
Her clothes were in very bad condition, like someone yanked her up and stretched her shirt out.
I could see the dark purple bruises all over her chest. My eyes traveled down to her arms, open wounds with blood oozing out made me cringe hard.
Instantly I wanted to kill somebody for hurting her and didn’t know why since I didn’t even know her.
For all I knew, she could’ve did somebody wrong.
But I knew from my first encounter with Layloni that it wasn’t possible.
She was a good person, you could always feel a person’s energy.
Standing up from the bench, I flicked my cigarette and walked right up to her.
I’d came across a lot of women and people in general.
To me, one encounter could tell me a lot about them.
This woman had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and I felt bad for snapping at her earlier while she was working.
So, when I saw her, I felt inclined to give her a ride.
Walking right up to her, I asked her if she was okay and she looked up at me, and I froze at the sight of her once smooth brown skin.
Her right eye was swollen shut with a busted lip.
One look at her nose and I could tell it was broken or fractured.
There was dried up blood stuck to the inside of her nostrils.
“Just leave me alone, okay.”
Her eyes were wild and everywhere. I don’t even think she realized it was me from earlier.
“Layloni… who the fuck did this to you?”
I determined that Layloni needed someone in her corner right now, as a friend.
I could tell she had no one by the way she walked home by herself and now.
Who just up and let a beautiful woman like her just walk places alone while she claimed she had a man?
That was clown shit. I never could understand how females made themselves so weak for a man that gave no fucks about them.
“Just leave me the fuck…” She tried to yell with all her strength but fainted right in my arms. She was thick as fuck, cornfed, but that never bothered me much.
She was a plus size beauty in my eyes, and I caught her in my arms. Sweeping her off her feet, I carried her into the emergency room.
I was at this hospital for my mom and Layloni.
A total stranger that piqued my interest, just a tad bit.