Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
KARIMA
I t felt like the mattress enveloped me and like its sole responsibility was to hold me tight. Rhodes was full of surprises. We’d gotten to Austin at about two o’clock this morning, and he’d taken me to the Four Seasons Hotel. I’d never stayed at this hotel chain, simply because I couldn’t see myself paying more than five hundred dollars a night for a hotel room. Hell, I barely wanted to pay two hundred dollars a night.
Rhodes wasn’t lying next to me, so I wasn’t sure where he’d gone. The bedroom was separate from the living area, so he was probably in there. The door was closed to the bedroom, and I knew that was so I could rest. I sat up and stretched then checked the time to see it was nearly eleven. I couldn’t believe I’d slept so long. I assumed my body was more drained than I thought.
As I made my way to the bathroom, I could hear Rhodes answer his phone. He was in the sitting area as I suspected. When I walked inside, I went to the vanity to stare at myself for a moment. I could see Wesley Henderson Senior in my facial features, and I got misty eyed. I didn’t spend as much time with him after I finished high school, because I was busy with school and rodeoing, but he and my grandmother always supported me.
He was my playmate when I was little and had to stay over there for whatever reason. As I thought about it, I never really had to stay there. I was there because I wanted to spend the night, or because they wanted me to spend the night. He and I would play Connect 4 and Checkers all the time. When I finally started beating him at those two games, he wanted to switch it up on me and change games. I chuckled to myself at the memory.
I opened the toothbrush that was on the vanity and brushed my teeth then washed my face. I couldn’t take a shower yet, because we didn’t bring any clothes. Rhodes just wanted to get me away, and I was so appreciative to him for that. I had gotten a really bad headache listening to Aunt Tiff scream and cry on the other end of the phone. She was so hurt and angry. When I first heard Milana had done that ho shit, I was angry too, not to mention what she was about to do at my house that day.
When I left the bathroom, Rhodes was standing in the bedroom waiting for me. He smiled big and said, “Good morning. You look so rested.”
“I feel rested. Thank you for this, Rhodes.”
“Of course. You ready to go shopping?”
“I just realized I’m not wearing a bra. I can’t go in nobody’s store like this.”
He frowned. “Why not? You look sexy as fuck. Fuck people and what they think.”
I slightly rolled my eyes and chuckled. “I don’t care what people think. I don’t feel comfortable though. I’m gonna take a shower, and our first stop has to be somewhere where I can get a quality panty and bra set… or at least a bra. I can go without panties.”
He lifted his eyebrows slightly and gave me a silly grin, causing me to chuckle. He spun me around and pulled me in his arms, laying his hands on my stomach. “I love you so much, baby.”
“I love you too. Is there anything in there to eat before we go?”
“Yeah. I went down and got donuts. You want a cup of coffee or tea?”
“Coffee, please. I may have tea later. It depends on how I feel. I had a slight case of indigestion after eating that fried food yesterday. That’s the worst.”
“Yeah. My mama used to complain about that. She used to keep Tums in her purse. She said she was sick of it, but obviously not if she kept eating foods she knew would flare it up.”
He chuckled, and I did too as he led me to the kitchen area. I sat at the table while waiting for him to heat up my donuts. I smiled at him as he turned on the Keurig. “I can’t believe you remember that,” I said.
“Remember what?”
“That I like a little heat on my donuts.”
He smiled as the microwave beeped. “Girl, I remember everything about yo’ pretty ass.”
I giggled. “You do, huh? What was my favorite subject in school?”
“Math. Try something harder.”
“What was my favorite meal in school?”
“Girl, you ate anything that wasn’t nailed down. I said try something harder, not impossible.”
I hollered with laughter. “Oh my God! Roselynn kicked. I probably scared her. It’s your daddy’s fault, honey bump.”
“Ooooh, so you already trying to get my baby to be on your side. That’s dirty, KD. You know my princess is going to idolize her father, right?”
I rolled my eyes as I watched him add cream and Splenda to my coffee. “Not if I can help it. She’s gonna be like I was as a kid.”
“Oh yeah? Well, you just proved my point. You may have clung to your mama at times, but you idolized Kenny Henderson. That nigga used to be almost your entire conversation. My daddy this and my daddy that,” he said, trying to mimic my voice.
“Shut up, fool!” I laughed more then asked, “Did you call him to let him know we were leaving town?”
His eyebrows lifted as I laughed. “See what I’m saying? You a daddy’s girl. Admit it. I called him early this morning to let him know I got yo’ pretty ass out of there. I told him where we were and to call me if they needed anything, because you broke your phone.”
I nodded and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I probably messed up your wall.”
“To hell with that wall. As long as you good, that’s all that matters.”
I smiled at him as he set my coffee and donuts in front of me. After thanking the Lord, I dove right in, not leaving a second for communication.
“Well, damn. You gon’ mess around and get indigestion from eating so fast. It ain’t going nowhere, KD.”
I covered my mouth and laughed then pushed him. “Shut up! We’re hungry!”
He slowly shook his head. His phone started ringing, and when he picked it up, he answered it on speaker phone. “Hello?”
“What’s up, Rhodes? Is Karima close?”
“What’s up, Mister Henderson? She’s right here.”
“Hey, baby girl.”
“Hi, Daddy. You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m good, baby. How about you?”
“I’m okay. I just woke up a little while ago, so I’m rested.”
“Good. I just wanted to let you know that Ace is out on bond. After the judge was informed of Dad’s death, he changed the remand to a million-dollar bond.”
That was high, but I supposed so being that three men were killed. “Okay. How is he?”
“He’s angry, baby. I can imagine so. Dad’s funeral is going to be this coming Saturday at Antioch Baptist Church. The church in Nome isn’t big enough to accommodate the family, let alone everyone else.”
“Okay. We’ll be back day after tomorrow unless I need to come back sooner. I love you so much, Daddy.”
I glanced at Rhodes as he gently rubbed circles on my back. He gave me a tight smile.
“No, baby. Relax. I love you more. See you in a couple of days.”
“Oh! Before you get off the phone, can you check on Aunt Tiff and go by my house and check on Milana?”
“Yeah. Something happen?”
“I’ll let Aunt Tiff tell you. She put Milana out, and she’s staying at my house.”
“Aww shit. I’ll check on them.”
“Thanks.”
After I ended the call, I looked up at my man and said, “You are so good to me.”
“Not as good as you are to me. I’m just tryna catch up.”
* * *
When we got to my house, my breath got caught in my throat. There were a ton of flowers and balloons outside the door, and a few of my family members were standing there. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I was ready to get out of Rhodes SUV to find out. We’d enjoyed our time away, simply relaxing and shopping. I didn’t want to go overboard, but Rhodes wouldn’t hear of it. The back of the vehicle was filled to capacity.
Despite him not getting an update on Ryan’s meeting with that guy in California, he seemed at peace as well. He had a lot of faith in that man’s abilities, so I could only hope they didn’t let him down. He looked over at me and smiled then got out to help me out of the vehicle. As he got to my side, my daddy was approaching as well as my brothers.
When he opened the door, he helped me out of the seat. I refused to slide out, because I didn’t want to mess up a damn thing in this beautiful vehicle. The minute my feet touched my cement driveway, my daddy pulled me into his arms. “Daddy, what is all this?”
He released me with a slight smile as my brothers hugged me one at a time. He didn’t respond to me until we walked to my porch where my mama, Cassie, Jacob, Mekayla, Yendi, Decaurey, and Milana were standing.
“We just wanted to tell you how much we appreciate you being there for everyone. The family is all split up right now. Some are with Marcus and Ace, and the others are at the barn preparing for this weekend, but they all wanted to be here to thank you.”
The tears fell from my eyes as I hugged my mama then everyone else standing there.
“Everyone will be in and out to love on you. I left the boys with Jakari just so I can come and hug you as soon as you got back,” Yendi said as she handed me a card. “Your words to me helped me so much. You had your own issues you were dealing with, but you took time to help me address mine. You are a true angel of God, and I love you.”
More tears fell from my eyes as I smiled. “Y’all got me crying so much. I love you too, Yendi. If you ever need me, I’m always here.”
She smiled and hugged me again then left. Decaurey put his arm around me as Milana opened the door to the house. I could tell by her eyes just how sad she still was. It was too soon to talk to Aunt Tiff, so she would just have to stay with me until Aunt Tiff was ready for that conversation. When I got past the foyer and saw Aunt Jen taking food out of the oven, I smiled big.
When I glanced at Rhodes, he was shaking his head slowly. I already knew what he was thinking. That lil comment he made a couple of days ago about food was still fresh on my mind.
“Thank y’all so much for all of this. It means so much to me.”
I went to Aunt Jen and hugged her tight then peeked to see what she’d taken out of the oven, because there was a couple of pans on the stove. There was baked chicken, greens, and mac and cheese. The fact that they’d taken time out of their day to see to me was overwhelming. My parents both joined me in the kitchen, and my mama handed me a gift bag. My eyebrows lifted slightly as I accepted it and threw tissue paper everywhere.
It was a beautiful journal with a black pregnant woman with natural hair on the front, along with my name and Roselynn’s name at the bottom. It was so beautiful. Before I could say a word, KJ said, “Keep digging.”
I smiled at him and found a small box. I wriggled my eyebrows as everyone laughed. When I opened it, there was a necklace with all our birthstones on a locket. When I opened the locket, the tears cascaded down my cheeks. It was a picture of Kendrick and me. My brothers all surrounded me. While King and Kane had never had the pleasure of knowing Kendrick, as much as we talked about him, I believed they had a real sense of him and how precious he was.
“KJ, thank you. You’re the only one I talked to about losing my last one. I was so depressed about it.”
“I know, so I knew this would make your day. I love you, Rima. We all do.”
When they backed away, Cassie was standing there with tears streaming down her face too. I went to her and pulled her to me. She giggled as I felt her belly moving. It was so strange that their babies reacted to me that way.
I took a deep breath and thanked God for my family. Before I could even think about asking someone to fix a plate for me, Jacob was at the stove with the utensil in his hand. I glanced at him, and he smiled. “I couldn’t wait until you got here so I could eat.”
A frown graced my face, and he laughed. “Chill out, girl! This yo’ plate. Mekayla is next. I ain’t finna fool with y’all pregnant women. Them tempers be on a whole notha level!”
Mekayla pushed him in the head then hugged me tightly. I could feel her baby move as well. “What are you having?”
“A boy!”
“Aww congratulations! My baby gon’ catch hell!”
She laughed loudly, causing me to do the same. When Jacob was done fixing my food, I turned to Rhodes and said, “Come eat with me, baby.”
“Naw. That’s all you. I might get carried away and eat too much. I’m not tryna be on your bad side.”
Everybody laughed. Seeing him dap it up with my brothers made my heart light. Thank you, God, for a small reprieve and a show of appreciation for me and what I mean to them. I can endure even longer because of it.
My eyes scanned the room, and they met with Milana’s. We would be talking before I went to Cheek tonight. She and Aunt Tiff hadn’t spoken since the other night according to what my dad had said yesterday by phone, but I figured as much. It wasn’t because Milana wasn’t trying though. I gave her a tight smile then dug into my food. Everyone disappeared from my focus as I enjoyed the best food in Southeast Texas.