2. Marshawn Sheppard
“Get up, guys,” I announced as I walked out of my bedroom.
The boys were notorious for sleeping in, but I wanted to make the most of the day since it would be at least two weeks before my sister Marshae could bring them on set to visit me.
I opened the door to my oldest nephew Nicholas’s room and was grateful to see that he was sitting on the side of his bed stretching.
“Brush your teeth, then come downstairs for breakfast, buddy,” I instructed him before moving to his brother’s room.
Typical of Evan, he was lying in bed with a huge smile on his face, pretending to be asleep.
“Well, I guess since Evan won’t get up, there will be more pancakes for me and Nick,” I said.
I watched as Evan’s eyes popped open, and he sat up straight in bed.
“I’m up, Uncle Marty,” he said, doubling over in laughter as if he had pulled off the prank of the century.
“Brush your teeth, and come down to breakfast,” I repeated.
In the three years since I was rewarded with custody of my youngest sister’s sons, my life had changed tremendously. For one, I actually cooked. Secondly, my reclusive lifestyle included just about any little league sport, instrument, or activity that I could enroll the boys in.
I wanted to fill their lives up with enough things to keep them busy and well-rounded. I worked a lot when I was filming, and I didn’t want them sitting around waiting for me to have a day off so they could have fun. My sister, Marshae, was a godsend.
When I was toying with the idea of getting a full-time nanny for the boys, she quickly shut it down.
Marshae was still a party girl like her twin Marcia, the boy’s actual mother, but she stepped up to the plate and picked up the slack when it came to getting the boys to their hobbies.
She lived in my house with our nephews when I was away for extended periods of time.
She would even bring them to see me when she was off.
The boys sat at the kitchen table, playing on their tablets while I finished making breakfast. It wasn’t long before I was telling them to put their tablets up and serving them breakfast. I found it helpful to set screen time limits for them instead of just taking the tablets.
If they wanted to use their time up early, then it was on them.
“Uncle Marty, how long do you have to be gone this time?” Evan asked with a mouthful of eggs.
Nicholas looked up from his plate in anticipation of my response. We had discussed my plans extensively, but I knew the boys were wishing there might be a change. I always felt so guilty about leaving them. At the same time, I knew a movie set wasn’t a good place for kids daily.
Nicholas and Evan were seven and five years old, so there wasn’t much for them to do there. When school was out, I took them with me and paid someone to keep an eye on them. During the school year, though, I liked for them to have structure.
“Three months, buddy… but Auntie Marshae is going to bring you guys to see me in two weeks. By the time school is out, I’ll be finishing up.”
“How long before school is out again?” Evan asked with that adorable frown he wears when he’s trying to remember something.
“Sixty-two days,” Nicholas answered.
“Oh, so you’re counting down?” I smiled.
“Yeah, because you said we could go to the insectarium when we come to Louisiana. You know my friend Caleb went there already. He said it was so cool.”
I shook my head. “I remember.”
I was hoping Nicholas had forgotten all about going to that damn insect place. He was so smart that it was scary sometimes. I knew he got his brains from his mom. She knew all these random trivia facts about anything in the world. Marcia was a genius. She had a doctorate in pharmacy.
My sister was brilliant beyond comprehension, but for whatever reason, she ran away from responsibility. She used drugs and alcohol to escape from reality. She was able to hide her addiction for a while, but eventually, she lost her job as a pharmacist for stealing pills.
Nicholas had the same inquisitive nature as his mom. Just like Marcia, he loved science and anything creepy or crawly. I hated to discourage his natural curiosity and eagerness to learn, so I usually indulged in whatever he was excited about at the time. Right now, he was into bugs.
“And the alligator park,” he added.
I had to draw the line somewhere, right? With a groan, I looked up. “Buddy, we’re going to have to talk about that one. I hate to have to fight an alligator to get you or Ev back.”
“It’s safe, Unc. I promise,” he stated.
I chuckled. “You can’t make promises for a wild animal, son.”
“They’re not wild. It’s like a zoo kinda.”
“I know what it is. I’m going to have to check into it before I agree to take you.”
“Well, can we go to the trampoline park today?” he asked.
“Yeah, we haven’t been there in a long time,” Evan added.
“It hasn’t been that long… not even a month.”
“Do you know how long that is in kid time?” Nick asked.
“I can only imagine. That sounds good, though. I told you two you could decide whatever we did today. I’m leaving early in the morning, so Auntie Marshae will be here tonight.”
They cheered in unison at the mention of their fun-loving aunt. The boys loved spending time with my sister. I knew they would be in good hands while I was away working.
For the past ten years, my career has entailed directing one horror film or thriller after another.
As a black man in the film industry, I had to overcome my share of obstacles to make a name for myself.
I was well established in my arena of film.
However, the call to come on as executive director of a fantasy film came as a surprise.
Everything I usually did was dark and gory.
The film they were pitching was action-packed, but it was far from my typical movie.
The ninety-million-dollar budget and complete creative control they offered had me booking my flight before I found out Clarissa Sanders, my ex-wife, was cast as the leading lady.
Clarissa and I had been divorced for ten years, and I could count the number of times I had the misfortune of being in the same room with her for over twenty minutes.
I hadn’t seen her in person in over two years.
Still, whenever I finally saw her, it would be too soon.
Clarissa was nasty. Not the kind of nasty that caused me to fall head over heels in love with her and marry her in less than ninety days when I was twenty years old.
She was the kind of nasty who cheated on me all while stashing away money from the lavish life that I generously provided under the guise that we were madly in love.
By the time I knew what was going on, she was asking for a divorce due to irreconcilable differences and citing that my heavy work schedule had taken me away for so long that we had fallen out of love. I was too young and dumb to have even thought about getting her to sign a prenup.
I couldn’t prove that she was cheating. On the other hand, she was able to dredge up pictures of me getting cozy with a few of the actresses I had worked with over the five years we were married.
So, on top of my ability to love, she skated away with an eight-million-dollar settlement.
Before the ink was dry on our divorce papers, she was marrying the star of one of my most recent big films. Clarissa and Clive quickly annulled their marriage, but by then, she was among the Hollywood elite and getting offers to tell her story in the form of a book.
Never one to pass up a dollar, she went on a press tour promoting her book and her new career as an actress.
The negative press I received detailing the alleged abuse and neglect she suffered at my hands got me offers for some of the biggest films of my career, so by then, the eight million I had to pay her was peanuts.
Working with her would prove to be a complex challenge, but I had never been one to back down from a challenge.
Not even Clarissa would stop me from this opportunity.