Chapter 9
Sunday
“Bring them ribs back out wit’cha, Nephew!” Uncle Kari yelled behind me.
I nodded, sliding the patio door open, noticing it was stopped midway, only leaving little space to get inside. I tugged on it a few times before it slid open.
“I’ve been asking Kari and Dame to fix that thing for two months now,” Moms said, washing the greens in the sink.
I checked out what the problem was before I nodded. “The wheel is old and rusted. I’ll go to the hardware store tomorrow and get the part to fix it.”
Though my moms’ house was nice, there were a few things that should have been upgraded.
I didn’t expect Uncle Kari to keep up with the maintenance since he wasn't very hands-on when it came to fixing things. But Dame knew what to do, and if he didn’t, he had the funds to hire people to fix whatever was broken.
I expected him to step up and keep up with the maintenance of our mother’s home.
His house was in pristine condition, yet my mother’s patio and doors were showing their years of wear and tear.
She swung her head over to the left of her. “I have the part in the drawer over there.”
I opened the drawer and saw the wheels inside. “I’ma get you together since I'm back. Why haven't you been letting down the patio roof during the bad weather months? The paint is chipping on the deck.”
“I be forgetting. And when I do remember, it be too late. I’m going to just start leaving it down.”
“That may be best.” I took out the tools I needed to fix the door when Scottie started crying, rolling into the kitchen in her walker.
“Aww, Sweet Pea. Nana’s coming.”
“I got her,” I told her.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Can you take the ribs out to Unc?”
“Okay. She probably wants a snack. Her chunky self loves to eat.” Ma giggled.
I walked over to Scottlyn, who was reaching for me.
“What’s the matter, Chunks? You want to get out of this stupid thing?
” I lifted her from the walker, kissing her cheeks and finding the reason for her being in distress.
“Um, Ma! Scottie went potty in her diaper!” I chuckled, looking at her staring at me with the cutest, saddest look on her face, reminding me of her cute-ass mama.
“Okay! I’m coming!”
“I’ll take her.”
I turned to see Jela, Neveah, and my raggedy-ass brother walking into the kitchen.
I hadn't spoken to him since that night I’d dropped her off and left for the Westin.
His drunken behavior was disgusting to witness, and I hated that I’d left Jela to deal with his wrath.
He sent me a text apologizing the next day, but I didn't respond.
I wasn't planning on responding either. I felt I deserved a little more than a fucking apology text.
Jela pulled her from my arms, avoiding eye contact with me. I wanted so desperately to look her in the eyes to make sure she was good, but she wouldn't allow me the pleasure to do so. Dame stood texting on two phones, and Jela left the kitchen as quickly as she came.
Neveah walked into my arms, and I received her, kissing her forehead. “What’s up, Nev?”
“Hey, Tucci. Auntie got it smelling good already.”
“Yeah, ya moms will be on her way in a minute with more food.”
“Okay. My dad outside?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’m going to go say hi to him.” She left the kitchen, leaving Dame and me. I ignored him and went to the patio door to begin removing it.
“Let me holla at you for a minute, bro.”
“I’m busy right now,” I told him.
“It’ll only take a second.”
“Honestly, we ain't even got to talk about it. You’re right. It’s not my place to stand in when it comes to your girl.”
It wasn't, but I was still going to make sure this nigga didn’t keep hurting her. Jela wasn't mine to protect, but since she was family, I felt the need to do what I would do for any of my blood relatives.
“Man, I don’t want to beef with you, Tru. I got enough shit to deal with to be fighting with my brother. I was wrong for telling her that shit, but she pissed me off by not answering my calls.”
I turned to look at him. “Again, I don’t care, and it's not my place.”
“A’ight, fuck it. Are we good?”
“Mmhmm,” I mumbled.
I knew he was fishing for me to hug him and tell him we were good, but in reality, we weren’t. I would never respect a nigga that puts his hands on women. Brother or not, he was dead-ass wrong, and before being tempted to put my hands on him, I would gradually detach myself from him instead.
“Okay. I need to talk to you about some other shit too.”
“It’ll have to wait. Moms wants to talk to us.”
“I don’t know what for,” he said, sucking his teeth like a man-child.
“Does it matter? You got somewhere to be?”
“I always have somewhere to be. Delilah!” he called out to her.
“Nigga, she’s ‘Mama’ to you.”
He chuckled and waved me off. Moms came back inside with Neveah following behind her and looked at us.
“Boy, don’t make me put my foot up your butt.
” She scolded. “I’m glad you're finally here. Both of you can meet me in the den. Neveah, wash your hands and cut up those greens for me. I’ll be right back. ”
“I got you, Auntie.”
Moms walked out of the kitchen as we followed her out and into the den. “Have a seat, gentlemen.”
“You dying or something?” Dame asked.
“No, fool! Sit down with your ignorant self!”
He shrugged as he sat beside me on the couch. “I mean, usually when ya moms tells you she needs to talk to you, it’s life-threatening.”
“I’m not dying, Damien. Although I’m sure you wouldn't care if I was.”
“Maybe…”
My head whipped over to him. “You need to fucking chill, bro.”
“Hey! Look at me,” Moms said. “My premium on my health insurance has expired. They sent me a letter telling me that I owe thirty thousand dollars.”
“Thirty thousand? How is that even possible? You don’t even go to the doctor like that.” Dame blurted.
“You don’t remember all the broken bones I’ve endured over the years? How many times have I been in the ER due to what your father was doing to me?”
“Ma, don’t worry about it. I got you. I’ll put you on my insurance once we get that bill taken care of.”
I hated for her to remind me of that fucked up time in her life.
“Yeah, let Super Tru take care of it. He always does.”
“If you have a problem with it, by all means, pay that bill and put her on your health insurance.”
“Nah, you got it… You always got it. I don’t even know why she called me in here when you always come through saving her.”
“You know what. I’m done. I can't keep doing this with you,” Ma said.
“Doing what?”
“Making it seem as if I don’t care about you or love you, Damien.”
Dame scoffed. “You don’t, but I don’t really give a fuck. Talk to your golden child.”
“A’ight, enough. It sounds like you have a problem with me being who I am to the people I love and care about. I’m really trying to figure out who the hell you are right now. What’s been happening since I’ve been gone?” I asked.
“You think it's easy to be singled out as if I ain't her fucking son? All while growing up, all she ever did was cater to you, while I had to be treated like a little nigga that wasn't going to amount to shit.”
Ma sneered. “I have never treated you like that, Damien.”
“You have! Every time Tru would leave, I didn’t fucking exist to you, and Senior would constantly tell me that I’d always be in Tru’s shadow—”
“Listening to a hating-ass, abusive-ass nigga that's causing you to build resentment toward your family is insane, D. I have never seen Ma treat you anything less than her son.”
“It’s what she showed you! She was so busy trying to stay out of the way of his fists, she neglected to see how the fuck I felt!
But when you’d come home, oh… she smothered me with affection.
She’s fake as hell, bruh, and it’s the main reason I don’t come around much unless it’s food in this bitch. ”
“I’m sorry if you’ve ever felt that I didn’t give you enough attention, Damien. I tried to do everything I could to be a good mom to you and your brother. I was living in hell and would check out, but each time I had my boys together, I was reminded to live.”
Dame stood, pulling up his pants as he shrugged. “Yeah, well… you sure didn’t care that you were dragging me to hell with you. I gotta go take care of some business. I’ll be back later.” He left the den, and I looked at my mother, who had tears in her eyes.
“I really did try.”
I stood and pulled her up with me for a hug. “I know, Ma. I’m going to take care of everything and talk to him, okay? Don’t stress. I got you.”
She nodded and kissed my cheek, then wiped her tears. “I love you, Tucci.”
I smirked. “I love you more, beautiful. I’ll love you even more when you finish those oxtails.” She laughed and mushed me while we walked out of the den. “Let me use the bathroom, so I can finish putting up your door.”
“Okay, baby.”
We parted ways, and I made my way down the hall to the bathroom, bypassing the spare room and seeing Jela inside, rocking Chunks and wiping her tears.
I pushed the door open a little more, and once again she turned away so that I wouldn't see her face.
I walked further inside and over to her, taking her chin in mine.
“You’re too beautiful to have so much misery weighing on you. I can take you away, if you want me to. Just say the word.”
“Why? So you can fuck me?”
Ouch.
“Contrary to what you believe, I don’t need my brother to tell me who to fuck. I wouldn't pursue you until you’re healed and away from my brother.”
“Healed? What do you mean by healed?” Her defensive posture alarmed me, but I kept my cool. “Did Neveah tell you my business?”
“I meant internally, Empress.”
“Empress?”
“You're an empress, Jela—a queen. You should be treated as one because your vibe and your aura exude it. I can tell you were somebody back home. You just allowed someone to stifle the person you once were. Just say the word, and I can help you.”
“Why do you want to help me?”
“Because you're worth it.”