CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
JACKIE
Jackie watched as the sun all but disappeared out the sky…
Practice had ended almost an hour ago, but she promised Fat Daddy he could play in the leaves. And play he did. Jackie had no idea this boy had such an affinity for nature. He usually had that phone in his hand like it was glued there. But right now? He hadn’t checked for the phone once.
The parks in their neighborhood were riddled with dirty needles and drug addicts, so chances to play, especially like this, didn’t come around often.
Most days she kept him inside, or close to the house, where she could see him and keep him safe.
Out here, though, he could run without her hovering every two seconds.
Laugh without her worrying about what he might step on or who might wander too close.
Moments like this were rare, and she knew better than to take them for granted.
Baby boys turned into big boys overnight.
One day they were rolling around in leaves, and the next they were too cool for selfies with their mom.
Jackie knew a thing or two about how quickly those little windows closed.
So instead of rushing the moment, she let it stretch.
The day had wrung her dry, and Jackie was tired.
But her tired had very little to with sleep.
She was exhausted, and that exhaustion lived in her bones and shaped all her decisions.
All Jackie wanted right now was her bed, a hot bath, a cup of tea, and the little piece of joint waiting on her nightstand.
But all that would have to come after she scrubbed the day off her little leaf blower over there.
Jackie sat on the hood of her car, arms wrapped around her knees, thinking about just how long her day had been.
She leaned back against the hood and let her head fall as she stared up at the fading sky.
After a moment, she reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone, and saw she had two missed calls from Kormia.
Probably some drama from that party Jackie told her not to attend.
Jackie tapped the hold button, then drifted back to her lock screen, where a photo of MJ holding Max stared back at her.
It had been taken at one of MJ’s last home games.
The game was far as hell, and Jackie’s car had broken down three times on the way, but she was determined to make it.
The look on MJ’s face when he spotted her and Max in the bleachers was permanently etched into her memory. For a moment, Jackie closed her eyes just to see it again. When she opened them, Max was standing in front of her, cleats untied, helmet under his arm, covered in leaves. “Mommy.”
“Yeah, baby?” He hesitated. “You… you was mad at Coach Cash?”
Jackie blinked. “No, why you say that?”
“I don’t know. Y’all was talkin’ weird.” Jackie sighed, then spoke again.
“Grown-ups just… do that sometimes.” Max nodded like he got it, but his face still looked unsure. “How was your first day?” Jackie asked, changing the subject. He climbed up next to her, legs dangling. “It was lit,” he said, biting into the protein bar she stashed in her purse.
“Coach said I got good footwork. Said I remind him of Jalen Hurts.”
“Oh word?” Jackie smirked. “Big Jalen energy, huh?
“You mean Big Max energy,” Fat Daddy said through a mouthful of oats, causing Jackie to smile. They sat in silence for a few moments, both watching the sun set on the city.
“You miss your brother?” Jackie asked suddenly. Max nodded. “Too much.”
“Me too,” Jackie responded, as another silence settled between them.
“Mommy?” Max whispered. “Yeah?” Jackie responded.
“Are you okay?” The question caught her off guard.
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she reached over and pulled him close, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.
“I’m always okay when you’re okay,” she whispered.
Max didn’t say anything else. He just leaned into her side, eating the rest of his protein bar while Jackie silently blinked back tears.
Jackie knew she should have left sooner.
The sun was long gone, and they were officially the last car left in the lot.
The temperature had dropped even lower, and against her better judgment, she let Max play another fifteen minutes after she said it was time to go.
Now here they were, sitting in her cold-ass Altima, and the engine refused to even cough, let alone start.
Jackie had been out there a whole hour trying to get it to do something, and with the exception of the dim parking lot lights, everything around them was pitch black.
Jackie tried to start it again. This time it gave her a slow, dragging click.
It was in that moment Jackie knew it was a wrap.
Her car was done. And to make matters worse, her phone had one bar.
Luckily, she had managed to send one message to Kormia that finally delivered.
Jackie: Mia, my car will not start, and I got Fat Daddy with me.
Jackie let her forehead rest against the steering wheel and willed herself not to cry.
Instead, she bundled Fat Daddy up in both the throw Najee sent and the one she kept in the car, but it was still cold.
Her fingers were starting to go numb, and the last few hand warmers she had, she smashed open and tucked around Fat Daddy’s little uniform.
Jackie pulled out her phone and was just about to open the door to get a better signal when she heard it. A knock on the driver’s side window.
She jumped and looked up. And of course…
it was him. Cash. She cracked the window halfway, half relieved and half annoyed.
“What?” “Max texted me,” he said, his voice giving nothing away.
“Told me the car would not start.” Jackie turned in her seat.
“Really, Maximus?” Her son looked sheepish in the back.
“Coach said I should call him if I am ever in trouble. And you said it is not safe out here, Mommy. I was just trying to help.” Jackie exhaled, her breath fogging the window.
“Baby, I know. I am not mad. I just…” She looked at Cash, who was already reaching through the window and turning the key.
The engine tried. Then died completely. “Yeah,” Cash muttered.
“That Jawn gone.” Jackie avoided his eyes.
She did not want to see whatever was sitting in them tonight. Pity. Irritation. Sympathy.
It didn’t matter. She did not have the capacity for any of it.
“I am parked over there,” he said after a moment.
“Lock up and come on.” She didn’t argue.
She just grabbed everything out of the glove compartment, Max’s equipment, and stepped out into the cold.
The blacked-out S-Class idled two spots over.
Jackie took her time, watching Cash settle Max into the back seat like it was nothing.
“Ooooh, my butt hot!” Fat Daddy squealed as the heated seats kicked in.
Jackie paused for half a second before climbing into the passenger seat.
The contrast hit her immediately. The car was warm, quiet, and wrapped in soft leather that smelled like him.
And for a split second, she hated how safe it felt.