Intercept My Heart

Chapter 33 #2

“I remember how nervous I was when you brought me here. I had no idea what life had in store for me, but I never imagined it going the way it did.” Sunny took a seat on the edge of my bed. Everything had been cleaned and organized, but all my old posters were still in place. It gave me a bit of nostalgia to see all my football idols on the wall. I used to sit in my room for hours, envisioning how life would be once I became the next big deal. I manifested the life I wanted, and now I was on some kid’s wall who had dreams of becoming the next Money Sutton. It was crazy how life worked.

“Man, when I brought you home, I was terrified too. You were so fragile, and I worried that I wouldn’t be able to give you what you needed.” Our eyes locked, and my chest swelled with love and admiration. It took us a minute to get back to this place, but seeing her beautiful self sitting on my bed reminded me of how far we had come. I knew from the moment I brought her home that she would hold a special place in my heart, but I had no idea just how much of an impact she would truly have on me.

“You gave me everything I needed and then some. Without you, I would never have made it as far as I have. I wouldn’t have had the strength to stand up for myself or find my worth. You gave me love and a shot at a new life. I’ll always be indebted to you for that.”

I took a seat next to her, wrapping my arm around her. As a young man, I had no idea what love truly meant, but I knew what I felt for her was real. Now, I could really sit and appreciate all that we had been through because it brought us back together.

“Aye, Pops! Did you really grow up in this house? This shit is dope!”

“Moolah, I’mma fuck you up,” I warned. I swear that boy just didn’t give a damn about what came out of his mouth.

“My fault, Pops. I’m still a work in progress.” He grinned, standing in the doorway with his brother.

“Yes, this is my old house. This is where your mama and I used to live before we went to college.

“Oh, so y’all were fuc?—”

“Moolah!”

“Oh, sorry. I was just gonna to ask, was this where we were made?”

“Man, get out of here. Anyway, this is where I fell in love with your mama. We had a lot of good memories in this place. My parents and I lived here, and when they died, I stayed here by myself.”

“Okay, now we really need an explanation. Who was that nigga at the hospital looking like a black James Bond?”

“What do you even know about James Bond?” I chuckled.

“I know enough. He looked like he was coming from some secret mission or something.” Since we were all together, I decided to break it all down to them from the beginning. Of course, they both had a bunch of questions that I barely had all the answers to. I tried to explain the situation as best as I could, and they soaked up every word.

“You were slanging bricks like the ones Jeezy talks about in his songs? All this time, I thought you were one of those niggas who pretended to be in the streets,” Moolah blurted out. Sunny giggled while I shook my head.

“It wasn’t one of my proudest moments, but I don’t regret it. I learned a lot from those days, and to be honest, it made me appreciate the life my uncle provided for me. I worked hard to make sure my future children would never have to.”

Glancing over to my nightstand, I retrieved the photos I had of us when we were together. In every photo, Sunny’s smile was bright enough to make you want to smile too. When we first became close, I made a vow that I would do everything in my power to make sure she had some good memories in her life to counteract all the bad ones. Seeing these pictures reminded me that I had honored my promise.

“Eww, why are your shorts so small?” Moolah pretended to gag as he held up the picture. When I saw which one he was referring to, a huge grin covered my face. I remembered that day like it happened yesterday. She ended up linking up with Shanique from the mall, and she helped her find the perfect outfit for the party.

The moment she came down the stairs, I knew she was gonna be a problem. Sunny was naturally pretty but seeing her in that bikini top with those daisy duke shorts riding up her ass almost sent me into cardiac arrest. I wanted so badly to tell her to go upstairs and change, but I wanted her to enjoy her night. That night, I ended up fighting two different dudes over her.

“Oh my gosh. Why do you still have this?” Sunny squealed.

“You were out there looking like a thot, mama. I can’t believe Pops let you leave out of the house with this on.” Moolah shook his head.

“Aye, I wasn’t worried because she was with me, and you better believe I put every nigga on their ass for trying her.”

“I hope you burned those shorts afterward,” he spat.

“And did. I set them on fire the next day and gave her the money to make up for it.” I cheesed, reminiscing about how upset she was when she found her charbroiled shorts in the garbage. I let her have her moment, but she wouldn’t be wearing them again around me.

“He’s not lying. I was so mad at him for that.”

We continued looking at photos while telling the boys about our past. We had so many good times, and it upset me that we had allowed so much time to pass without communicating with one another. She was the best thing to ever happen to me.

“I heard the alarm sound off. I think your Unc… I mean, father is here.” Sunny caught herself.

“No, you said it right the first time. That man is still my uncle. I don’t give a damn what DNA says.” I huffed. We still had to sit down and have a conversation with each other, but now wasn’t the time for that. Tootie was in critical condition, so that was what I chose to focus on for the time being.

“Why don’t we get changed and then find a movie to watch in the theater room,” Sunny suggested.

“Wait, you have a theater room here too? Man, you’ve been loaded your whole life!” Cash exclaimed, hopping up from the bed.

“Hey, I wanted to let y’all know I’m here. I’m gonna order some pizza and wings unless you all have a taste for something else,” Uncle Ro stated as he peeked inside of the room.

“Naw, pizza is cool.”

“Oh, can we get our own pizza and wings to ourselves? I’m not trying to share with everyone else,” Moolah requested. Unc grinned and agreed to his request. The twins followed him out of the room, telling him what they wanted. Sunny scooted closer to me as I stared off into space. I still couldn’t believe all of this was happening right now.

“How are you feeling? And don’t give that general answer because I know you better than that,” she pressed. I chuckled at the stern look on her face.

“You do know I’m grown, right? You have two sons, but I’m not one of them.”

“You said everything except what I asked. I don’t want to hear any of that. Give me the real.” I stared at her for a moment. Taking a deep breath, I attempted to gather my thoughts so I could truly give her an answer.

“I’m angry and scared. They kept this secret from me for all of these years, and now, what am I supposed to do? Uncle Ro has been my hero since I was a kid. I always looked up to him and wanted to be like him when I grew up. He would pop in to visit and go fishing with my dad and me. Never once did he give me any reason to doubt him. This situation has stressed me out because, as angry as I am, I don’t want to lose either of them. Tootie’s love helped me through so many dark times, and I don’t want our last memory to be a bad one.”

“It won’t. You have to have faith. She loves you too much to leave without the two of you making it right.”

“Thank you for being here.”

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” My lips pressed against hers. Everything with Sunny seemed effortless. She fit perfectly into my world. She always had.

I walked down the stairs and immediately wanted to turn back around to avoid being in the same room with this man. It was crazy that I used to idolize my uncle, and now the sight of him pissed me off. I wanted to beat his ass like a nigga off the street, but I knew it wouldn’t do anything to make me feel better.

“Are we supposed to call you grandpa or some shit?” Moolah probed.

“I don’t know about that shit. I’m too damn player to be called PawPaw or Granddad. Besides, your dad isn’t fucking with me right now, so I’m sure he probably won’t want you calling me anything other than Uncle Ro.” The conversation made me uncomfortable because I had no idea how I wanted them to address him. Hell, I was still processing the fact that he was my biological father.

“What about Papa Ro? It’s still cool, and it gives us something to address you as that’s not weird.”

“I’m cool with that. Y’all want to see some photos of your dad? Tootie kept a bunch of photo albums here from when he was little.” My stomach sank at the mention of her name. Tootie was the best auntie in my eyes, and she always supported me in whatever event I had. Even those stupid ass Christmas programs at my school. She would sit right next to my parents, smiling big and proudly with a camera in her hands.

“You can bring your peeping ass in here and look too,” Uncle Ro called out, letting me know I had been caught. Instead of turning to head back upstairs, I decided to join them. I watched as he brought out a big box with what appeared to be photo albums. The twins sat on either side of him while I chose to sit on the love seat across from them.

“This was your dad on his first day of kindergarten. Little nigga walked into that classroom, saw all of those kids, and walked his ass right back out.” They all laughed while I sat there stoically. I didn’t have too many memories of my childhood, and after my parents were killed, I wanted to forget about those days because the memories of them were so painful.

“This was him in the third grade. He had a crush on this pretty little girl, but she never gave him the time of day. I can’t remember her name, but I remember him calling me to ask for some dating advice because the little girl wouldn’t talk to him. Apparently, he didn’t like the advice my big brother gave him. He told him to be patient and wait for her to come to him.”

“What did you tell him?” Moolah asked. I listened intently because I wanted to know the answer to the question too.

“I told him there were too many bitches in the world to be caught up on one. Then I advised him to take some flowers to school and give them to her friend. That would get her attention for sure.”

“Dang, Papa Ro. That’s cold-blooded.”

“Aye, it’s a cruel world out there. I was only trying to give him the game early.” I shook my head because he gave the worst advice when it came to women. I never saw it that way. Growing up, he was like an idol to me, and his word was law. He continued to pass them pictures and explain where they came from and what they meant. I remembered him being around as a kid but never to this extent.

“How do you know so much about my childhood when you were gone all of the time?” Uncle Ro looked up and stared as if he was pondering the answer.

“I was there as much as I could be. At the time, the streets were my life, so I spent a lot of time chasing the bag. However, I made sure to be there for the major events in your life, even if I had to watch from the background. Whenever there was something going on that I couldn’t be a part of, your mother and Tootie would call and give me every detail so I could be included. To be honest, I never cared about that shit. I felt that providing was the only thing I needed to do as a man. As long as I brought home the money, then I was doing my part for you and my family. Do y’all mind giving your father and me a moment to talk privately?”

“Can we go watch movies in the theater room? I want to see if it’s as nice as the one Pops has.”

“Of course.” The twins ran off without any further objections. The room fell silent as the two of us glanced at everything but each other.

“Look, Son.” I glared at him. “Money, you have every right to be upset, but you’re acting like we gave you to some strangers who didn’t give a fuck about you. My brother and sister-in-law loved you as if you were theirs because you were. They never treated you any differently, nor were you neglected. What other alternative would you have wanted? Because I can guarantee you, a young street nigga and a junkie weren’t gonna be able to give you the life you deserved.”

“What happened? Why didn’t she get an abortion if she couldn’t take care of me herself?” Tootie tried to explain what happened, but I was so angry back then that I couldn’t hear shit they had to say.

“When Tootie and I first got together, we were both young and dumb.

Roland was in the streets, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps as the younger brother. Eventually, he got married, and things started to shift for him. He wanted to get out of the streets, and I was just getting started. Tootie and I were on and off, for the most part, so I played around like most young cats my age. I was young, fresh as fuck, and getting money, so women were coming at me left and right.

“When Tootie told me she was pregnant, I told her to get rid of it. I wasn’t trying to be tied down to anything or anyone. She refused, telling me that she would take care of you by herself. Of course, I wasn’t going for that shit, so I agreed to help with you. The pregnancy went smoothly, but it really didn’t set in until she went into labor. It was like one minute I was living a carefree life, smoking, drinking, and kicking it, and the next, they were telling me that there was a chance the two of you could die.

“They performed an emergency C-section to try to get you out before you lost oxygen to your brain. I ain’t know what any of that shit meant. I was only eighteen years old, having to make these major decisions about a baby I had no real attachment to. There were some complications with the surgery, and we almost lost Tootie. I called my brother, panicking, so they raced to the hospital to be with me.

“Tootie’s mama was a judgmental Christian, who cared more about what other people thought. She ain’t have no daddy, so there wasn’t anyone there to make decisions on her behalf. The doctors were able to save her, but due to her pain, they prescribed her narcotics. I never thought twice about it until a few weeks after we came home from the hospital. I’d been around enough pill heads to recognize the gleam in their eyes. Tootie denied it for weeks until I walked into the house one day and found her passed out on the floor with you screaming in your crib.

“I asked your parents to take you for a while and then sent Tootie to rehab. The first stint, she relapsed within the first month home. We sent her to another treatment facility, but she did the same exact thing. I had been moved up in the ranks, so I didn’t have time to care for a baby. Your parents agreed to adopt you and raise you as their own. Tootie was against it, but I made it clear that if she didn’t get clean, she would never get to see you again.

“Eventually, she got her shit together, but it was a long road. Tootie was broken. I knew that shit when I met her, but I had no idea how bad it was until she started therapy. Her mother had allowed a lot of men to come into their home and take advantage of her children. Tootie wasn’t just taking the pills to escape her physical pain.

“When she finally got clean, she wanted to take you back, but once she saw how happy you were, she settled for being a part of your life. It was hard for her at times, but she knew she couldn’t give you the kind of life they could. Roland and Chanice were older, more established, and they had money, all of the things Tootie lacked. I mean, you would have never lacked financially, but we both knew your quality of life would have been different.

“You might feel like it was a selfish decision, and you’re damn right it was. If I was going to give you anything, then you deserved the best. That’s exactly what you got. I don’t mind you being upset with me because I hid the truth from you, but I’ll never apologize for giving you the best life I could.”

His admission put a lot of things in perspective for me. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wasn’t mad about them giving me away. I was pissed because they never told me the truth. I wasn’t sure if it would have made me feel better knowing or not, but I felt like I deserved the truth.

“I love my kids more than anything. I hate the fact that I missed so much time with them, because they are my greatest accomplishment.”

“And you think it was easy for us? The only reason I was able to move the way I did was because I knew you were in great hands. My brother practically raised me, so who better to take care of my seed? When you become a parent, it changes you. In my case, I never wanted you to go without like we did. I thought money was the answer, but I was wrong.”

“Where do we go from here?” As much as I wanted to hold a grudge against him, I knew I couldn’t. Not only would it hurt me, but it would negatively impact my kids, and I couldn’t have that.

“I’m on your time, Son. If you want to keep our relationship the way it’s always been, I’m cool with that. As long as I’m able to be a part of your life and my grandkids’ lives, I’ll be a happy man. Damn, that shit sounds weird to say out loud. I’m a grandfather.” I chuckled at his reaction.

“Yeah, it’s crazy.” I sat there staring at the coffee table. My mind was filled with all kinds of thoughts that were meshed into one.

“She’s gonna pull through. She has to.” He must have been reading my mind because Tootie crossed my mind at the exact moment.

“What if she doesn’t?” Tears burned the rim of my eyes as I tilted my head back on the love seat. All these emotions hit me at once, and I couldn’t control them.

“She will. Tootie is the strongest person I know, and that should say a lot, considering I’ve been around certified killers and drug lords. Her heart is stronger than anyone I’ve ever met. She has always been fearless, even when things were hard for her.”

“Do you love her?” The two of them were always on and off as far as I remembered, but she was the only one who had ever been close to the family.

“Always have, and I always will. It’s fucked up because I’ve been wanting to talk to her about it. I’ve spent all of these years running the streets and fucking every bitch I could get my hands on, but it did nothing for me. We used to fight like cats and dogs at times because she would always tell me that I didn’t know how to love. She was right, though. I let the money and power go to my head. I took my time with her for granted because no matter what happened between us, she was always there.”

“What are you gonna do now? What happens if she wakes up?”

“Ain’t no ‘if.’ Tootie is gonna come back to us. I’m not accepting shit else,” he proclaimed with finality.

“And are the two of you going to be together?”

“You’re asking questions I can’t answer. All I know is she isn’t going to die. At least not right now. The last time we spoke, all she could talk about was how she wanted to make things right with you so she could be there for her grandbabies. She isn’t leaving up out of here until she can love on those boys of yours and you. As far as our relationship, Tootie deserves better.

“I’ve been selfish for years, and she deserves to be with someone who will put her first. I want her to be loved by someone who isn’t gonna hold anything back from her. She deserves that.”

“You’re willing to let another man love her?”

“As long as they can love her better than me, yeah. When you truly love a person, you want them to be happy regardless of whether you’re the one making them happy or not. You don’t feel the same way about Charae?”

“Hell no! I just ran off the last nigga who tried to take her out on a date. I would never feel comfortable with another man telling her what I was supposed to be. If I can’t be the man she needs, then I’ll go talk to that lady and sit on her couch until I can. I already fucked up by letting her leave the first time. It’s till death. There are a few things I need to clean up, but I won’t lose her again.” I made many mistakes in the past, but one thing I was certain of was that Charae wasn’t going anywhere.

“Well, I’m happy for you. I know how much she meant to you, so I’m happy to see the two of you were able to work through your differences. I pray the two of you are able to make it work for the long haul. Don’t take her for granted, if you learn nothing else from me. Once you find the person who is meant for you, you have to do everything in your power to keep them.” I could tell he was reflecting on his past with Tootie.

I wasn’t in the place to judge him because I remembered what it felt like to be without Sunny for all those years. While I might have experienced success on the field, it could never make up for the loss of her love in my life. I never wanted to feel the void of losing her ever again.

We sat and talked for a while longer. Eventually, we ended up joining the boys and Sunny in the theater room to watch movies. Sitting there with my first love and our children was an indescribable feeling. This was worth more than a hundred Super Bowl rings. They gave me a new sense of purpose, and my only goal was to provide for them and give them the kind of life they deserved.

“This is crazy,” I whispered, sitting on the couch with Sunny sitting on my lap with her head resting on my chest and a bowl of popcorn clutched in her hands.

“Yeah. I can’t believe Rickey got shot like that,” Sunny replied, referring to the movie we were watching.

“Naw, I meant us. I never thought I would be sitting here in this house with you. Now, here we are with our boys, with a little girl on the way. Life is wild. I feel like I need to pinch myself to make sure this shit is real.” Her head tilted up, and I lowered my head to meet her gaze.

“No need to pinch yourself. We’re really here. I haven’t felt this level of peace in years. I don’t even care about all of the things we had to go through to get here. I’m grateful our children get to experience my hero the same way I did.” Sunny reached up to caress my cheek, and I kissed the back of her hand.

“I’m still your hero after all these years?” I honestly didn’t feel like I deserved the title. I made so many mistakes that contributed to our separation.

“You’ll always be my hero. You’re the first person to show me what love really means. The one thing about heroes is that when they are done saving the world, they turn back into regular humans who are flawed and make mistakes. You’re my hero because of the way you love and protect me, not because you’re perfect.”

The rest of the night, I prayed for Tootie’s recovery while asking for guidance on how to handle the other situations in my life. I refused to miss out on any more time with Sunny. But if I didn’t handle things the right way, it would cost me everything.