Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
MEKAYLA
L aTee’s screams made me laugh. She was sliding down the water slide with Jacey and Seneda. They were having a great time, and so was I. I found myself crying tears of joy when Jacob grabbed my hand earlier and had me running to slide on the Slip ’N Slide. It was everything I knew it would be. I truly felt like a big ass kid. All my childhood dreams were being catered to in this moment, and that had me emotional as hell.
They’d squirted dishwashing liquid on the Slip ’N Slide and had me sliding through the damn grass. I laughed through the entire thing though. My hair was soaking wet, but I was happy as hell, even with all the shit I was dealing with. When I saw the two-piece Maui had bought me from Target, I screamed. Jacob had presented LaTee and me with our bathing suits after the wonderful breakfast Jess had cooked for us.
This entire family had been so good to us, even through their own chaos. I’d overheard Uncle Mayor and Aunt Tiffany talk about the pending investigation. The situation that happened at the diner was still heavily on everyone’s minds, but they took the time to show my baby and me love… hell, my entire family.
All five of my sisters were here, although I wasn’t as close to Jerzey and Anika anymore. I knew it was because they shared a room with me growing up. They saw all the shit no one saw. I snuck boys in through the night with them right there in the room. They heard and sometimes saw me having sex. I was a kid just like they were, but I apologized to them over and over for that shit. I was grateful that none of the boys had taken advantage of either of them.
Zhori had even shown up. We had yet to speak about Dad’s funeral, but I knew it was something we would be talking about before he left. We had to get that shit settled. He was standing over to the side with Jacob, Christian, KJ, and Rylan. He and Rylan had a lot in common. They both played basketball. Zhori had played overseas, and Rylan had been on the practice squad, at one point, for Dallas. Jacob had told me that much when I inquired about him playing.
Everyone in the Henderson family was tall except Maui and Karima, but Rylan just had that basketball player type of build. I didn’t know how to explain it. It was like, the minute the two of them met, they were familiar. I supposed they saw the ball player in each other. The part that tripped me out though was when Nate Guillory showed up. I knew he was a professional player, but Jacob had told me that he and Jess had a thing going before she got married.
That nigga was a good catch. I didn’t see how she didn’t choose him, but whatever floated her boat. Jacob said Nate was fucked up over her for a while. He also told me that Rylan had lived with Nate for a little while. I thought that was cool. The Hendersons were well-connected, especially since Jess was somewhat famous from Noah’s music video.
As I sat, watching everyone have a good time, Jacob sat next to me. “I know yo’ ass ain’t tired.”
I chuckled. “Hell yeah, I am. Although today has made me feel like a kid again, I’m thirty-five, nigga. My heart is elated, but my body quickly reminded me that if I dove on that damn Slip ’N Slide one more time, I wasn’t gon’ be able to get my ass up.”
He laughed hard as hell. I shoved his shoulder. His ass wasn’t that much younger than me, only by two and half years. Plus, he had a bum knee, ankle, and ribs. I was thankful that the swelling had gone down on his ankle. It seemed to be healing nicely. He was no longer wearing a brace on anything, but those ribs would still be a little tender.
He pulled me close and said, “I know you may not wanna talk about it now, but I have to tell you. I don’t have a problem with paying for the funeral. I told you that earlier, and I mean that. I’m gonna keep telling you that until you acknowledge it. I got’chu. It doesn’t matter who isn’t doing what. You will need that closure.”
I slowly nodded as I saw Zhori approaching us. “Let me talk to my brother first, and I’ll let you know what we come up with.”
Jacob followed my line of vision to Zhori. He stood from his seat and slapped his hand then yelled at Uncle Mayor for getting his long ass in the jump house with the kids. I chuckled at the sight. His feet were hanging out of the opening as all the little kids laughed. Jakari’s little boy dove on him, and they looked to really be fighting in there.
Uncle Storm was something else, but I could clearly see that he and Uncle Jasper housed all the fun. The kids loved them, and I had to admit that I did too. I chuckled while watching Jakari and Jacob pull Uncle Mayor by his feet out of the house. The kids were screaming with laughter while Aunt Tiffany and Angel took pictures.
Zhori sat next to me and grabbed my hand. “You were blessed to find a beautiful family to be a part of.”
I smiled as I squeezed his hand. “Yeah. I love them already. You can be a part too. I noticed you and Rylan kind of hit it off.”
“Yeah. We have a lot in common.” He took a deep breath and turned to me. “Listen. The reason I won’t pay for Stacy’s funeral is because I don’t have the money. I fell into gambling and nearly lost everything. I’m just now climbing out of that with the help of my agent. I’m sorry for making you feel you were in this alone and like I was trying to pass the buck. Jacob is a good guy. I didn’t expect anyone else to pay for anything. I was just trying to get the heat off me.”
I stared at him in disbelief. Zhori had always had it together. Basketball was his outlet, so he rarely even saw all the shit we saw and went through. He was always at this camp or that tournament. Somehow, Daddy found the money to help take care of his travel and everything he needed to play. I was the forgotten one.
“I don’t know what to say, Zhori.”
“You don’t have to say anything, sis. I held a lot of guilt for not being there more for y’all. I was so busy trying to avoid the situation, I forgot about my lil sisters. Shay was left alone to take care of y’all, and that shit wasn’t fair to her. Yet, she still encouraged me to chase my dreams. That shit that happened with Mama’s boyfriends, especially the one that tried to rape you that Shay gave herself to… I should have been there. I would have killed that nigga.”
“That’s why you weren’t there. It was in the cards for you to get out of here and make something of yourself. We are all okay. We all made something of ourselves. Keonshay is a calculus teacher. I’m a physical therapist, Anika is a curator, Jerzey is a phlebotomist, Amari is an accountant, and Jivoni is on her way to being a chemist. We are all doing well for ourselves. It’s time for you to let go of that guilt.”
He nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry, sis, for making you feel like this was all on you. I’m sorry for not being there for you growing up. You didn’t have anybody.”
“I had Shay and Kace, along with Mister and Missus Moses. They nurtured all of us and got us on track. I love you, Zhori. Although you don’t need to apologize, I accept it anyway.”
“I love you too.”
“Now, Shay offered to help us and so did Jacob. I’ll just see if the Hendersons can help with food, and we can borrow money from Shay to get him buried. Okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Now wasn’t that easy? We have support, and I’m just learning that we don’t have to do everything ourselves.”
He leaned over and kissed my cheek as Rylan yelled for him to go talk to Nate. He smiled at me then stood and joined him. LaTee ran to me and fell on my lap. “Mama! This is so much fun! Remington and CJ are spraying everyone with water guns! Seneda said they are mean, but it’s fun to me!”
I wasn’t sure who Remington was, but I knew CJ was Jacob’s younger brother. He was a teenager, so he was much younger. Seneda had to be the prissy lil thing that looked to be whining to Jacob’s uncle. Uncle Marcus and Uncle Kenny were the only ones I hadn’t actually spoken to. I met Uncle WJ when he talked to Jacob about returning to work full time.
Pulling me away from my thoughts, she asked, “Can I spend the night with Seneda next weekend? She said her mom and dad won’t mind, and her big sister, Malia, is nice.”
I glanced at Marcus, and I got a little nervous. While he seemed to treat his daughters like princesses, I could see the thug in him. He had a lot of tattoos. I took a deep breath and said to my daughter, “Next weekend will be Grandpa Stacy’s funeral. Maybe one weekend after that.”
“I forgot about that,” she said sadly.
I gave her a hug as Seneda yelled for her. She brightened up immediately as Marcus looked over at me. He gave me a slight smile and a head nod. I did the same as he made his way to me. LaTee ran off to Seneda, and they went back to the slide. I stood from my seat and felt a little self-conscious because of the two-piece I was wearing with him being this close to me until I saw the woman approaching us.
I remember seeing her in an ad, and she was even more beautiful in person. I had to admit, I was somewhat star struck, just like I was with Jessica when I first met her. “What’s up? I’m Jacob’s uncle. I know you prolly already know that, but we hadn’t met officially. I’m Marcus, and this is my wife, Synna.”
She rolled her eyes. “Hey. I’m Synthia, but everyone calls me Syn. Only this nigga calls me Synna.”
I chuckled. “It’s nice to meet the two of you. I’m Mekayla. Our little girls have seemed to take a liking to each other, huh?”
“They have. We just wanted you to know that she was welcome at our house anytime.”
I smiled slightly. “Thank you. Seneda is welcome to spend time with us as well.”
They nodded, and Uncle Marcus turned his head to shoot the finger at Uncle Storm. “Kiss my ass, nigga!” he yelled at him.
Yeah, he was definitely a thug at some point. I could see it all over him. Apparently, Uncle Storm had said something that I missed. Syn pushed him out of the way and said, “He and Storm are like oil and water, but they insist on working together. When Storm was mayor, he was his ‘assistant mayor’,” she said, holing up air quotes.
I giggled as she said, “Talk to you later.”
I nodded and watched her go to a woman that looked a lot like her and grab a baby boy from her. He had a head full of curly hair like Uncle Marcus. Looking around the huge yard, seeing all the family together, made me glad to be a part of it. Despite the drama they were facing, I knew they would come out on top because love would always win.
As I sat staring at the casket, I couldn’t help but allow the tears to fall from my eyes. The preacher was saying words of comfort, and they were helping a little bit, but not as much as I needed them to. I knew he was in a better place and that he was no longer suffering. All of that was consolation. It didn’t stop me from wishing I had more time with him though.
Seeing him lying there had been hard. However, the last person I expected to lean on was the one I was leaning on the most it seemed… Mercedes. She was seated between Zhori and me, holding our hands. It seemed she was just as torn up about his death as the two of us were. This funeral had been somewhat short. His family didn’t really fuck with him like that, and I wasn’t sure why. So there were more Hendersons here than anyone else.
All our siblings were here to offer their support, so I was grateful. Zhori and I had worked out a payment agreement with the funeral home instead of using Keonshay’s money. When we went to make arrangements and he reminded me that my mama had signed the promissory note and we could make payments, I was grateful. While I told Zhori we had support, I would much rather if we were able to handle this ourselves.
The past week had been filled with calls and support. Jacob had come to Beaumont and stayed the night with us a couple of times. He stayed last night to help me through whatever emotions I may have been feeling this morning. The man had been perfect. Being quiet while getting fucked was the hardest, but there was no way he would be sleeping in the bed with me, pressing his hard dick on my ass without me getting a taste.
I glanced at him, and he gave me a soft smile. I returned it then glanced at my mama. She was still crying. I knew there was more to her relationship with my dad that I would probably never know the details of. I slid my hand from hers and put my arm around her shoulder. When I felt her body quake, I leaned over to her ear and whispered, “It’s okay, Mama. I’m sorry.”
She lifted her head and gently laid her hand on my cheek, mouthing the words, I love you. I did the same as I let the tears fall. She and I would work through our emotions about one another. She understood my reactions and how I felt because she had the same emotions concerning her mother. I remembered her saying that the one person she didn’t want to be like concerning her children was who she became.
Grandma Jean had passed away some years back, but they never really repaired their relationship. I believed that was why she was so determined to make things right with me. While we didn’t have to be the best of friends, I really wanted that. I just had to be able to handle it mentally. I had to be able to subdue the old Mekayla. It seemed that was who I was whenever I was around her for an extended amount of time.
As the preacher wrapped up his sermon, I saw Mama Jen, Aunt Chrissy, and Aunt Tiff leave out, along with a few of Jacob’s other aunts and cousins. They were preparing our meal in Nome at what they called their family barn. I knew my family would enjoy their cooking, and I also knew it would be top tier and not the usual funeral food of chicken, green beans, store bought potato salad, a dinner roll, and a green salad.
As the preacher wrapped up everything, the funeral attendants came and wheeled the body to the hearse, followed by my brothers, Jacob, and a few of his family members who agreed to be pall bearers. Uncle Marcus, Uncle Storm, and Uncle Jasper were among the volunteers. I was surprised my older brother had even shown up. I hadn’t seen Landon in at least two years. He hugged me tightly and promised to check on me more. He and Keonshay talked often, but that was mainly because she reached out more.
We stood and followed the pall bearers out of the funeral home, and I watched them slide Daddy’s casket into the hearse. We didn’t get a family car because that wasn’t necessary. Jacob had driven LaTee, Zhori, my mama, and me in his SUV. After they closed the door of the hearse, Jacob grabbed my hand and led me to his vehicle. He opened the door and helped me inside then did the same for LaTee as Zhori helped Mama.
Once everyone was inside, Jacob glanced around the vehicle at everyone. He glanced at the hearse to see they hadn’t left yet. He pulled a slip of paper from his suit pocket and handed it to me. When I unfolded it and saw the receipt for twelve thousand three hundred sixty-eight dollars, I fell apart. He’d gone behind my back and paid for the funeral.
“Jacob! You didn’t have to do this.”
“I didn’t do it alone, baby. Everybody kicked in, including Uncle Mayor. We love you, and if we got it, you do too. I know we haven’t been together long, but I already know you’re going to be a Henderson. Break that fucking lease. I need you and my baby girl in Nome now. I can’t stand being in that empty ass house, knowing I got somebody I could be sharing it with.”
I could see Zhori smiling from my peripheral. I had to assume he already knew. When I heard my mama sniff, I knew Jacob’s words had touched her already heightened emotions. LaTee was staring on, looking like she was holding her breath.
I slid my hand to his and squeezed it then lifted it and kissed it as the tears fell. He’d made me remember what love was supposed to feel like and then amplified that feeling. LaTee’s sperm donor had given me a glimpse in the beginning… or at least what I thought was a glimpse. Jacob was the real deal, and I refused to keep him waiting any longer. I looked up at him and gave him a slight smile. “Okay.”
His smile was so damn big. I knew he wanted us there, but I didn’t realize just how badly he needed us. His issues and whatever he may have had going on always took a back burner when LaTee and I were with him. He’d said a countless number of times that we were his peace, his consolation, and his heart. He’d grown so much from the horny ass player I first met at the hospital months ago.
His expressiveness left no room for doubt, and he’d given me all the proof of his love through his actions. The man was love purified and personified. It felt innocent… until we were fucking. It was like we were each other’s firsts, and I couldn’t get enough of the high his love put me on.
He looked in the back seat and said to LaTee, “Welcome to the country, baby. We gotta get you and yo’ mama on a horse.”
LaTee said, “Yay!”
She started clapping loudly as Jacob pulled off the funeral home parking lot with a smile on his face. He pulled my hand to his lips and kissed it. “You are the missing piece. You gon’ be Missus Henderson before you know it.”
I blushed hard as hell. My face was so hot. I loved him vocalizing his intent. While most times he was laid-back and low-key, when it came to his emotions… Jesus. I was gonna ride a horse alright. I planned to ride it into the sunset as soon as we got home. Yeah… home.