Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
JACOB
“ I can’t let those folks keep us from helping the elderly people in Nome. The Hendersons are known for taking care of our own. We aren’t going to stop doing that because of those muthafuckas. However, we won’t be letting everyone benefit from our generosity. That means we will have to fund the different projects to get water wells dug and aerobics systems installed.”
I was sitting in the meeting with the family, ready to go back home. Mekayla was coming later today instead of early. I was so anxious about seeing her. My attention deviated from the meeting to my phone every few minutes, checking the time. While I knew she had other clients, I wanted to be her first priority. Those other folks could wait.
“Well, that’s gon’ be our charitable work for the year. These people out here can kiss my ass. The older ones too. Just like they have a voice to complain and state their needs, they had a voice to stand up for what was right instead of letting these white folks run all over them. That’s bullshit. We ain’t in the fifties no more. We been out of that ‘yessuh massa’ mentality a long time ago. The civil rights movement wasn’t fought with niggas going along with shit.”
Uncle Storm was hot as fuck. He didn’t want to do shit for the people of Nome, and honestly, I didn’t blame him. While a lot of the older ones weren’t at the meeting when Uncle Storm walked out of that bitch, Nome wasn’t but ten feet wide. They’d heard about it and still kept their mouths closed.
“Storm, what about people like Mister Sidney? He’s immobile and living on a fixed income. We can’t let the environmental people force him out of his home,” Uncle Kenny said.
“Mister Sidney got a mouth, don’t he? His ass can move to an old folks’ home in Beaumont fucking with me. It is not our responsibility to take care of these selfish, entitled niggas. Now, what we can do is build a retirement assisted living place that they will have to pay rent at, versus funding water wells and aerobics systems for houses that look like they about to fall down anyway.”
“You know, Storm, that’s not a bad idea,” Uncle WJ said, clearly thinking it over in his head.
It remained quiet for a moment, then he said, “If all agree to do that, I can get Nesha and Jakari on the planning. All in agreement, say I.”
There was a chorus of I’s. “Any that disagree, say nay.”
The room was quiet until there was a knock at the door. Ever since those people barged in on our meeting, we’d been keeping the doors locked. All my uncles and Aunt Tiff pulled out weapons as Uncle WJ went to the door. When he opened it and we saw a white man standing there, we were all on guard. He handed Uncle WJ a piece of paper then left. We were all confused as to what it could be.
He came back to where we were all standing and handed SS the paper. Aww shit. These people were on that bullshit. Before SS could open it, there was another knock. Once again, Uncle WJ went to the door and came back with Mr. Berotte and Mrs. Taylor. Mr. Berotte didn’t seem to be angry, so hopefully, everything was on the up and up.
“They dropped the charges. I guess they got a lawyer that cares about right and wrong instead of making a dollar,” Mr. Berotte said.
“So, you’re in the clear, Seven. I’m sure that is what that letter is about,” Mrs. Taylor added.
SS opened that letter so fast and read through it. “Hell fucking yeah. They didn’t have a leg to stand on.”
“That’s what I’m talking about. Thank you, Shy and Sidney. Bullshit ass white folks. I feel like I’m getting blacker by the day dealing with those muthafuckas,” Uncle Storm said.
“I’m starting to feel the same way, brother,” Aunt Tiff said.
I glanced over to the other side of the barn and saw KJ come in through the back door. I needed to talk to my nigga. He was so pissed. Talking to him when he was that way was a waste of time most days. I walked over to where he was. When he saw me approaching, he met me halfway. I slapped his hand and hugged him.
“How’s everything going?”
“It’s okay. It’s a blow to deal with, but Mister Price said the same shit happened with his parents… I mean that they found out they were distant cousins. We’re already married. That’s my baby, man. I can’t let go. Now if we were first or second cousins, it would have to be a done deal. So, we’re both just trying to forget we even know.”
I nodded. “I’m glad y’all are going to work it out. Y’all are too perfect for each other to let go. I mean… that was our great grandmother, but it isn’t Cassie’s great grandmother. What, like her second great aunt or some shit?”
“Something like that. Cassie doesn’t know those people. Karima came down and talked to us. God gave her unfathomable wisdom, man.”
“Oh, I know that shit to be true. I need to schedule a session with her. Mekayla and I are finally talking outside of therapy. She said for us to take things one day at a time, but she wants the same things I do.”
“Congratulations, man. I guess our crew is complete, huh?”
“Yep. Finally. But listen, Mekayla ain’t mine yet, so I don’t wanna jinx the shit.”
“Family, let me get your attention right quick.”
I turned around to see Uncle WJ standing in the middle of the floor. We all turned toward him. “After Shy and Sidney get Jacob squared away, our legal troubles will be done. Thank goodness. We will have another meeting once Nesha and Jakari get shit drawn up. That should be soon. We are gonna have to move fast, though, or the retirement facility won’t have anyone living in it. They’ll be forced to move before we can even start. I’ll go to pull permits in the morning with what they come up with. I’m pretty sure it will be an all-nighter tonight. Y’all are dismissed.”
Just as I was turning to leave, Uncle WJ said, “Jacob, do you mind going to check on Ace? He started working on one of the tractors. I’m trying to give him a chance since he said that was what he wanted to do, but I need someone to check after him and make sure he’s on track.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, glancing at the time.
I still had two hours before Mekayla would make it to the house. The shit I had set up for her was going to blow her mind. My mama had cooked for us and was going to take the food to my house to warm it up after leaving the meeting. Maui and Ashanni told me they would go get flowers and shit and a gift for her. I gave them my card and made them promise not to wild out.
Hopefully, in a week or so, I would be able to go back to work. Kneeling was still a task with my ACL being slightly torn. Driving here was somewhat of a task, but I was able to get here in one piece. Mekayla would probably fuss later, but I would deal with that when the time came.
I turned to my right to see KJ was still standing there, but he was talking to Uncle Storm. I moved closer to them to hear Unc have the audacity to say, “You know there used to be an old fuckboy saying that said ‘the closer the kin, the better the skin.’ You have actually tested that theory.”
I swore KJ looked like he was gonna explode. That nigga just said whatever came to mind sometimes. I grabbed KJ by the arm and pulled him away from that nigga. “That wasn’t cool, Unc,” I said as we walked away.
I knew he was joking, but KJ still wasn’t in a joking space yet. “I swear that muthafucka get on my nerves sometimes,” KJ said as we walked outside.
“I know. He doesn’t think before he speaks. Thankfully, out of all the things I inherited from him, that wasn’t one of them.”
“At least there is no guesswork with his ass. I know he was joking, but it’s too soon, man.”
“I get it.”
“My bad, nephew. I apologize. While most of us aren’t taking the situation that seriously, I know you and Martha are. So, I apologize for not respecting that.”
My eyebrows lifted as I turned to see Uncle Storm standing there with his hand stretched out to KJ. When he shook it, he pulled him in an embrace. I could count on one hand how many times I’d heard that nigga apologize.
“Hopefully y’all can get some closure with that shit. Believe it or not, half these niggas that are married are probably related somewhere down the line. If they all took DNA tests, it would prove me right. As you learned the other night, old people keep a lot of fucking secrets. That shit can destroy families and nearly destroyed ours a couple of times. I promise y’all aren’t the first couple this has happened to, and you won’t be the last.”
“Thanks, Unc. Your apology is accepted. I can’t even believe you apologized,” KJ said.
“Well, Kendrall, if I demanded that of you when you were wrong, I figured I had better do the same since I was wrong.”
They shook hands again as Kingsley joined us. He shook Uncle Storm’s hand then mine. He was the only one out of his siblings who had darker skin like Aunt Keisha. “What that nigga was talking about?” he asked.
“He was apologizing about some insensitive shit he said to me a lil bit ago.”
Kingsley’s eyebrows lifted as mine had done, and we laughed. “Well, it was good catching up, but I have to go check on Ace right quick before my session with Mekayla in two hours. We gon’ have to catch up so I can find out how y’all’s trip to Dubai was.”
“A’ight, nigga. Thanks for having my back earlier too. I was ready to tell that nigga where he could go. His apology wouldn’t have been as satisfying if I would have had to apologize too.”
I chuckled and slapped his hand then Kingsley’s and made my way to check on Ace. When I got to the shop, he wasn’t there. He probably had to leave to get a part or something. I made my way back home. There was no point in me trying to see what he was doing, because I didn’t know what was wrong with the tractor to begin with.
When I got there, Ashanni’s car was still there, and so was my mama’s. I planned to go and take a shower as soon as I walked in, but the smell of the food distracted me. I was smelling the shit outside. She had stray cats sitting on my porch, waiting on scraps. I walked in, and Ashanni and Maui were arranging flowers in various spaces. I had to stop and smile. It looked like something Mekayla would like.
She tried to be hard, but I could clearly see she wanted to be soft. She just hadn’t been with or around anyone she could be soft with. I needed her to be able to feel and be that way with me. She’d already been vulnerable, and I was happy that she felt comfortable enough to be that way. After today, hopefully we would continue to progress to where she was ready to be in a committed relationship soon. I never had a problem being faithful, so she didn’t have that to worry about with me. I only fucked around when I was single.
“Hey, Jacob! What do you think?” Maui asked.
“It looks great, y’all. I appreciate it. I just hope Mekayla loves it.”
“When she sees these flowers and this expensive ass gift we bought, she gon’ gift wrap the panties,” Ashanni said with a laugh.
When I heard her say expensive ass gift, I completely tuned out everything else. “What’chu mean ‘expensive ass gift’?”
They laughed more. “I’m just kidding, cuz. It was close to five hundred dollars though. That’s not too bad, right?”
Shit! “Damn. Y’all starting me out kind of high. What did you buy?”
“A Pandora bracelet with a few charms.”
“Oh, cool. She seems to like bracelets. She always has one on when she comes here.”
“So you haven’t seen her outside of here?” Maui asked.
“Naw, not yet. She’s extra careful when it comes to niggas. She finally let me in a couple of days ago, talking to me on a personal level after my many attempts to get her to do so. I want to show her what it will be like to be mine.”
“Okay, smooth. I see you,” Ashanni said.
I kissed both of them on their heads, thanking them for their help, then went to the kitchen to see my mama taking a pasta from the oven. She smiled at me. “I know Mekayla can appreciate a good pasta and dessert. She loves pasta almost more than my stuffed chicken.”
She giggled, and I couldn’t help but chuckle too. “Thank you, Mama. It smells delicious. I’m gonna go take a shower. I appreciate you doing this for me.”
“Of course, baby,” she said as I kissed her cheek.
I made my way upstairs to the room I slept in and showered, preparing to shower Mekayla with affection and attention.