Chapter 10 #2
“But he’s been checking for her since she rode to pick him up with Lyric on Monday. If you gone tell it, then tell it all, Luca. Ain’t been home forty-eight hours and already in love.”
“I’m not in love,” I confessed.
“Then why have you been looking at this little girl like she’s the daughter you didn’t know you’d conceived before you went in and this is y’all first time meeting?”
Silence.
My eyes hadn’t left the sweetheart in my mother’s arms. I wasn’t sure if it was because she reminded me so much of her mother or because I wished she was mine. Nevertheless, Laike had called good money. I couldn’t deny the accusations. They were true.
“Don’t pay him any mind.”
“I’m not.”
“What’s your name, sweetie?” I asked the mini version of Ever.
“Emorey,” she responded clearly.
“Emorey. Pretty name.”
“I’m not sure how true any of this is that Laike is talking about, but if there’s any truth to it, then I’m not objecting. I like Ever. I do. There’s this benevolence about her and her spirit that just makes me smile inside out.”
“You sound like this nigga. He’s been listening to R&B all morning because of her. I’m ’bout ready to cut my ears off and sell them to the highest bidder.”
“Oh hush, Laike,” our mother advised, drying the tears from her face with a napkin.
“I’m just trying to warn you. Your son is in love.”
“I’m not,” I corrected.
“Ever is going through a breakup,” my mother told me.
“And everything you need to know about her children’s father is right in that file on my desk.
She just changed her cell number on file, so it’s still out from this morning.
He’s not allowed to pick up the children and we’re not allowed to give out any information about them to anyone who calls.
School lets out in about a week, and the second baby will be here then, too. ”
“There’s two of these?” Laike chuckled.
“They look almost identical. Whoever he is didn’t stand a chance in the gene pool. Ever won that battle.”
I could see that without even seeing a picture of the nigga who’d knocked her up and left her to fend for herself.
“He doesn’t know where she moved to. He’s at least six hours away.”
“Doesn’t matter if he did now that I’m here.”
“Luca,” my mother warned, “just be careful.”
“I’m not going back to jail, Ma. Let that be the least of my worries.”
“OK. As long as that’s not a possibility, I can breathe.”
“Not even a possibility,” I assured her.
I reached for the file on her desk and secured it between my index finger and thumb.
“I’m going to take this with me.”
“Sure. What are you two about to get into?”
“Nothing. Going to see Pops and then dropping your aggravating a… your aggravating son off at the house.”
“Where are you staying?” my mom inquired, shifting Emorey from one hip to the other.
She was obviously getting a bit heavy. However, I knew that my mother would not put her down. She had an attachment to children that people hardly understood. I figured she was the reason I wanted so many – her and my father’s love for fatherhood.
“Come here.”
Reaching out for Emorey, I invited her into my arms. Surprisingly, her skinny arms extended as she climbed from my mother’s arms and into mine.
Visibly relieved, my mom waited for me to answer her question.
It was obvious that Laike had actually managed to keep a secret.
I was proud of him because if he revealed the home he was building for me, he would’ve had to explain why.
“The home Laike built for me over the last few months.”
“Really?” Her brows hiked and stayed put as her eyes brightened with pride.
“Yeah. Maybe we can set up Sunday dinner or something soon. I’m still touring it myself. Once I’ve gotten acquainted with it, then I can show you around.”
“Sounds beautiful.”
“Sounds big.” Laike tittered.
Turning in his direction, I shook my head.
“Because it is, nigga. It’s twice the size we discussed.”
I’d been meaning to tell him about himself. Though I was thankful for the space, as I continued to discover new territory in the home, I realized just how much of an overachiever my little brother was. He’d aced my vision and seemingly one of his own, too.
“Aye,” he responded with a shrug. “What can I say? Got a little carried away.”
“A little?”
“What’s you name?” Emorey asked, pulling my face in her direction.
“Luca,” I told her.
“I like you face.”
“I like you face, too.”
“You wan’ stay wit’ me?”
I turned to my mother for translation.
“No, Emorey. He can’t stay, sweetie. He has to get going.”
Soon, I thought.
“Why?” She saddened. “Why you not wan’ stay wit’ me?”
Her big, glossy eyes and upside down smile had me by the neck. There was nothing in the world that I wanted more at the moment than to see that smile of hers again. Shit had gone from sugar to shit quickly, and I wanted it to go back.
“This nigga is toast,” Laike observed. Again, he was right.
“I do, Emorey. It’s just that I have some things I need to do. I’ll see you soon, though.”
“Really?” She cheered up instantly.
“Yes. Really. I’ll make sure of it, OK?”
“OK.”
Her little arms wrapped around my neck as she rested her head on top of the right one. I wondered if my mother and Laike could see my heart as it melted in my chest. Wrapping my arms around her was inevitable as she continued to hug my neck.
“Come on, Emorey,” my mother demanded, reaching out for her.
Reluctantly, she pulled her arms from around my shoulders and slid back into my mother’s arms. I was sad to see her go. She felt like she belonged in my arms, like she belonged to me. I couldn’t wait until she did. As an extension of her mother, she was technically already mine.
“We’re going to head out. I’m going to try to catch Pops before he starts his day.”
“He’s golfing today. You’d better hope you haven’t missed him already.”
“I’m going to stop by and see. If I miss him and you see him before I do, don’t tell him I’m home.”
“That’s asking a lot, Luca, so go try to catch him.”
I didn’t want to task her with keeping such a huge secret from my father, so I rushed out of the building with Laike in tow.
We made it to my childhood home in the lower part of The Hills in only a few minutes.
As I pulled my truck into the driveway, I watched my father descend the steps in front of our home with his hand on his hip.
My old man hadn’t lost it, and he refused to get caught slacking.
“Watch out there, old man!” I rolled down the window and yelled.
Dropping his golfing gear, he took off heading in our direction. I opened the door and jumped out of the truck. Both with our arms stretched wide, we embraced and began rocking from one side to the other.
“Goddamn, man,” he kept repeating.
I heard the cracking of his voice as he continued to rock us both, not wanting to release me. It didn’t matter how old I got, there was nothing like my father’s embrace. For me, he meant security. For me, he meant love. For me, he meant stability.
When he pulled back, finally, I swiped the tears from his eyes, fighting those of my own.
“Don’t go sucker on me,” I teased. “What’s good, man?”
“I love you, son. Let’s start there. Shit, you ’bout to give your old man a fucking heart attack.” He held his chest as he attempted to catch his breath.
“Headed golfing?”
“Fuck that. When did you get out? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“’Cause then it wouldn’t have been a surprise. I got out yesterday and was waiting for y’all to touch down.”
“You seen your mom?”
“Just left her.”
“Where are you staying? You need to hang out here until you get something situated?”
Of course he’d asked, too. My well-being was their top priority even though I was a thirty-six-year-old man.
“Nah. Laike set some shit up for me. A crib. Once I’m settled, you’ve got to come by. It’s a big fucking deal.”
“I bet. I wish this knucklehead would put his skills to use a little more often. Your mom and I are thinking about another vacation spot on the island. Something fresh.”
“What’s wrong with the one you have?”
“Nothing. I want to make room for my children and their children. You know.”
“There’s plenty of room in that house, Pops.”
“Not enough for three kids that’s fucking and their kids if they ever give us some.”
“This nigga working on it, and he just got home,” Laike told him as he rounded the truck.
“Well, at least someone is onboard. You’ve been home and ain’t ’bout shit. Lyric won’t even give a nigga a chance to even put her uterus to use. I’m hoping I can count on you, son.”
“You can.”
“Good. Now, it was nice seeing you, and I’m very happy you’re home. Stay home, and I’ll see you after you’re settled. The guys are waiting on me. I’m on the board of the golf club we formed, and we’re taking a vote today.”
“They’d ban your ass if they knew who you really were,” Laike mocked.
“I’m talking restraining orders and all,” I added.
“Fuck you and fuck you, too,” he fussed. “And if they knew who I was, then I promise they’d tread a little lighter and stop fucking testing me.”
“Or what?” I challenged.
“Goodbye, I’m not about to fool around with you two. Call me. We can set up lunch or some shit. I’ve got to get going.”
He hated tardiness and as much as he loved seeing me, I knew he didn’t like that we’d set him back a few minutes.
“We love you, Pops!” I hollered behind him after I’d handed him the golf equipment he’d dropped.
“Always.”
The peace my new home brought me was undeniable.
Spending eight years in a cell had turned me into more of a loner than I’d already been.
That’s why it was so important to come to a tranquil dwelling when I touched down.
Solitude, for many, was a dangerous place, but for me it was a place of accord.
It was where I centered myself and my thoughts.
For me, it was much more important than community – aside from those in my immediate circle.