Chapter 12
“Thank you for hanging out with me for my birthday, Mr. Graham,” Keelan said from the back seat.
We spent four hours playing video and interactive games, eating pizza, cake, ice cream, and having an overall good time. I was glad Keelan and Trey were friends because they were two cool ass eleven-year-olds.
“You’re welcome, my guy. I had a great time.”
“Me too.”
“What did you do earlier today?”
He excitedly told me about his grandmother and aunt coming over to eat the big birthday breakfast his mother had cooked for him.
They showered him with gifts, and his mom let him play his video games all day, something she usually didn’t do.
I glanced in the rearview mirror, and his expression showed nothing but pure joy.
“Sounds like an amazing birthday.”
“It’s been the best birthday ever.”
I couldn’t lie. His words tugged at my heartstrings a little bit. We’d only known each other a short time, and I was honored he wanted me to be a part of his special day.
The last thing I expected when I turned down our block was to see Naryah’s ex in her front yard. I looked at the clock on my dashboard, and it was almost eight o’clock.
“Have you talked to your father today?” I asked Keelan.
“No.”
When I turned into the driveway, it looked as if they were exchanging unpleasant words. As soon as I put my truck in park and turned it off, I hopped out to make sure Naryah was okay.
Shit moved fast as hell after that, and as the four of us, including Que, headed inside, I couldn’t believe what had transpired over the past five minutes.
Once we were inside, I locked the door, then went to the bathroom where Naryah had taken Keelan. Of course, Que wasn’t far behind.
She sat on the toilet, examining his face while he stood in front of her. He was the spitting image of Naryah, including her gray eyes with the hazel tint, but had his father’s dark complexion, and even still, the dark purple bruise on his swollen cheek was very visible.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He nodded. “Why did he hit me? Does he hate me that much?”
Tears fell down his cheeks, and it made me angrier than I was. My fists clenched at my sides as I fought the urge to go back outside and finish what I started.
“Baby, I can’t make excuses for your father. I don’t know what’s going on with him, but he will never get the opportunity to hurt you again.”
“You promise, Mom?”
“I promise I’ll do everything I can to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you fast enough to protect you.”
She embraced him, and he cried on her shoulder for a few minutes. As a police officer, I prided myself on staying calm. Rarely did I allow situations to bring me out of character.
The scene had me raging on the inside, thinking of ways to make Victor disappear. The way I wanted to make it my life’s mission to protect them, and my willingness to do anything to keep them safe, was very telling.
“We need to take some pictures and get some ice on that,” I said.
“Okay.”
Since I had my phone on me and the bathroom had the best lighting, I took several pictures and sent them to Naryah. We went to the kitchen, and they sat at the table. She pulled her chair as close to Keelan’s as she could, and the worry and concern on her face fucked with me.
I found the plastic sandwich bags and filled one of them with ice. After wrapping it in a clean kitchen towel, I gave it to Keelan.
“Be gentle,” Naryah warned, as any caring mother would.
She’d only taken her eyes off him long enough to blink. I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.
“Baby, let me talk to you for a minute.”
She looked at Keelan for the okay.
“I’m fine, Mom.”
We went to her bedroom, and I closed the door before pulling her into my arms. Immediately, she began to weep against my chest. I knew she wanted to break down, but she wanted to be strong for Keelan.
“Let it go, baby. Let it go.”
“What did he do to deserve a father who treats him like an option? He hit my son in his face, Graham. He backhanded him like he was nothing to him.”
“I know, baby, but Keelan is okay. He’s safe, and we’ll never let his father hurt him again.”
“I made that promise to him, but I don’t know if that’s something I can do. The courts—”
“Don’t worry about that right now, baby. I’ll make sure the courts do the right thing.”
She lifted her head and looked at me with a confused expression.
“But how can—”
“My parents are former attorneys and know people in high places. I’m sure they’ll be happy to use their connections on your and Keelan’s behalf. We’ll call the police, and he’ll be arrested tonight, and his arrest will be used against him when y’all go to court.”
Her mouth opened and closed several times, but she was apparently speechless. Instead, she let her head fall on my chest again and cried. When she was all cried out, she stepped away and went to her bathroom to wash her face. While she did that, I went back to the kitchen to check on Keelan.
“How you doing?” I asked him.
“I’m fine.” He removed the ice pack from his face, and I noticed his expression was serious. “Mr. Graham, do you like my mom?”
“I like your mom very much. Why do you ask?”
“Can you marry her and be my dad?”
I wasn’t expecting him to say that, and I was sure my expression showed it.
“You might not understand this, but the first time I saw your mother from across the street, God told me that she was my wife. I would marry her in a heartbeat and would love to be your dad.”
“Ma, Pops, this is Naryah. I’m not sure if she’s my lady yet because she’s still playing hard to get.”
“Seriously, Graham?”
“Am I lying?”
“Whatever. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Diggs. This is my son, Keelan. My mother and sister already had plans for today, so they couldn’t make it.”
“Hello,” Keelan greeted.
“It’s nice to meet you both. Please call us Mama and Papa Diggs. We’ll just have to plan another dinner when your mom and sister are available,” my mother said.
“It’s good to meet you. Graham speaks very highly of you both,” Pops said.
“Thank you. He’s told me a lot of great things about you two as well.”
After exchanging greetings, we headed to the backyard. My parents had a huge deck and an enclosed patio where they loved to entertain guests.
“This is beautiful,” Naryah complimented.
“Thank you. We spend most of our time out here,” Ma responded.
“I don’t blame you.”
“Y’all don’t lock doors around here anymore?” DJ said as he and his family entered the backyard.
“Keelan!” Trey shouted, running in our direction.
“Hey, Uncle G. Hey, Ms. Naryah.”
“Wassup, Nephew.”
“Hi, Trey. Thanks for hanging out with Keelan on his birthday.”
“We had fun. Hey, Keelan. What happened to your face?”
Keelan looked at his mother, and she smiled uncomfortably before saying, “Tell him as much or as little as you want.”
He nodded. “Let’s go over there, Trey, and I’ll tell you what happened.”
The boys went to the back corner of the yard to talk.
I’d already hipped my parents, DJ, and Kindra to the sensitive situation, but it seemed none of us remembered to talk to Trey.
We let Keelan know that he didn’t have to share what happened with anyone who asked unless he felt comfortable doing so.
My mother whisked Naryah and Kindra away to help her in the kitchen, while my father, brother, and I remained outside. We gathered in the enclosed tent, and my father poured us a drink.
“She has a pleasant aura about her, and she’s very pretty. I can see why you're so taken by her,” Pops said.
“Do I need to watch you around my woman?”
“A few minutes ago, you weren’t sure if she was your lady. Did something change?” he teased.
“I did that to mess with her. She’s definitely mine.”
“Everything is still so fresh. Are they okay?” DJ asked.
“They’ve been okay. She’s still pissed, of course, but Keelan, .
. . he’s resilient. He wanted to tell her mother and sister what happened when they visited yesterday, and he didn’t get angry or upset while talking about it.
When I asked how he could talk about the incident without getting upset, he said, ‘I didn’t do anything wrong.
My dad did. He’s the one who should be upset. ’”
“That’s a pretty mature thought process from someone his age,” Pops said.
“It sure is.” DJ agreed.
“The night it happened, after things had settled down a bit, he asked if I could marry his mother and be his dad.”
“Oh, shit,” DJ blurted out.
“How did you respond to that?” my father asked.
“Hell, I told him I planned on marrying his mama anyway, so I’d love to be his dad.”
That wasn’t exactly what I said, but it was certainly what I’d been thinking.
“You might want to officially lock her down before you go making promises like that to her son,” DJ warned.
“Slowly, but surely, she’s coming around. I want to take her on a weekend getaway, but I’m not sure how she’d feel about leaving Keelan, especially after what happened.”
“It doesn’t hurt to ask. It may be just what she needs,” DJ said.
“Dinner is ready! Come wash up!” my mother shouted from the patio doors.
About ten minutes later, we were seated around a table in the enclosed patio, eating what may as well had been Thanksgiving dinner. Conversation flowed nicely, and laughter echoed through the yard. It was good to see Naryah enjoying herself because her mood had been understandably down.
When dinner was over, Trey and Keelan went to the room Trey had at my parents’ house to play video games. The adults met on the deck, and while the ladies enjoyed a wine, the men drank something stronger.
Naryah and I were seated on one side of the couch, while my brother and Kindra were on the other. My arm was over her shoulders, and she was comfortably tucked into my side.
“Naryah, thank you for joining us for dinner. It’s been great getting to know more about you and Keelan,” Ma said.
“Thank you for inviting us. Everything was delicious.”
“You can have food like this every Sunday if you stop playing in my brother-in-law’s face,” Kindra teased.
“Hold on, baby. You know Mama don’t cook like this every Sunday,” DJ said.
“I sure don’t. Please don’t lie to her like that,” Ma agreed.
“There’s nothing wrong with a little false advertisement to seal the deal. Good looking out, Sis.” I lifted my hand to give Kindra a high-five.
“I got your back, Bro.”
We shared a good laugh before my father took over the conversation.
“I hate to bring the mood down, but we need to talk business before you all have to leave. As you know, Naryah, Graham shared with us what happened with your ex, hoping we could help. As luck would have it, the judge who presided over your divorce and custody agreement is a good friend of mine.”
She sat up and leaned forward. “Really?”
“Yes. We go way back. I reached out to him, and for some reason, he remembers your case well. I told him about the incident, and he said to tell your attorney to request an emergency hearing tomorrow morning, and he’ll hear your case on Tuesday. Be sure to bring any damning evidence you have.”
She stood and rushed over to where my parents were seated in a love seat. He stood as well, and they embraced.
“Thank you so much, Papa Diggs. I can’t thank you enough.”
“You’re welcome. From what Graham has shared, your ex is a piece of work. Judge Carson will do what needs to be done, and everything will work in your favor.”
That news shifted Naryah’s mood for the better. For the rest of our visit with my parents, she was more animated than she had been in the past thirty-six hours. As we prepared to leave, my father pulled me aside.
“You look like a man in love,” he said.
“I’ve never been in love, Pops, so I don’t know if that’s what I’m feeling.”
“I’ve watched you with her all night. You could hardly stand to be too far away from her, and when you were, you couldn’t take your eyes off her. Your concern for her and Keelan’s well-being speaks volumes, and I’m proud of how you’ve shown up for them.”
“Pops, everything in me wanted to beat her ex within an inch of his life, but regardless of how Keelan feels about him now, that’s still his father. One day, they might make amends, and I didn’t want Keelan to live with visions of me almost taking his father’s life.”
“You did the right thing, Son, and you know what?”
“What?”
“I noticed her looking at you the same way you looked at her. She might not be ready to admit it, but she’s yours.”