Ethan Whitmore
For the past twenty four hours my nerves had been rattled.
Shit, I barely slept or ate anything because my heart was so full with excitement.
The day had finally come to bring my mom back home.
Internally, I felt good as hell. To be honest, I should've made arrangements for her to be home a long time ago. My mother’s condition hadn’t been getting any better.
Over time, I’d been preparing myself for the day she transitioned.
However, the facility and staff had been amazing but it was time for her to be surrounded by nothing but family.
“Are you ready?” Ava asked, walking into the room.
“Yeah,” I eyed her as I dabbed out my blunt.
The ride to the nursing facility felt longer than it actually was.
However, the moment we pulled up, the staff had my mother waiting in the lobby ready to go.
The day before, I came to pack her belongings.
On the way to Big Momma’s, I found myself checking the rearview mirror every few seconds.
I couldn’t believe I had my mom in the car with me.
I purchased a wheelchair-accessible van to make it easier to get her around.
She sat quiet and comfortably in the back seat with Ava.
Her hands rested in her lap while her eyes slowly drifted across the passing traffic and neighborhoods.
I noticed the majority of the ride she stared at Ava.
I admired how my shorty interacted with her while smiling and being so gentle.
I had asked her ahead of time to be by my side when I picked my mom up. Without hesitation she agreed.
“We’re almost home, ma.” I announced turning into Big Momma’s neighborhood.
Big momma refused to let me or Duke buy her another house.
It wasn’t anything wrong with the one she was currently living in, we just thought an upgrade would be nice.
So instead, me and bruh went half and half to have her place remodeled.
The front porch now had a gently sloped wheelchair ramp with black iron railings.
Every doorway had been widened as well as her hallways.
For my mom, the guest bedroom had been transformed into what looked more like a luxury rehabilitation suite than a bedroom.
An adjustable hospital bed and medical monitoring equipment tucked away neatly inside custom cabinetry.
A reclining chair for the nurses, a walk in shower with handrails.
Non-slip flooring. Motion sensitive lighting.
Everything. If my momma couldn’t have her mind back, she’d at least have comfort.
When I pulled into the driveway, Big Momma was already outside on the porch crying.
“There goes my baby…” I heard her say as she made her way toward the van.
I opened the automatic sliding doors before hopping out.
“Oh, Kat, baby! Welcome back home!” Big Momma smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes.
My mom just stared at her with no expression. I carefully lowered the lift while Ava helped guide mommas’s wheelchair onto the driveway. Big Momma kneeled down beside the chair, taking both of my momma’s hands into hers.
“We missed you, raggedy Ann.”
That was another nickname she had growing up because of her natural ginger red hair. For the first time, I noticed my momma’s fingers move just slightly as they somewhat curled around Big Momma’s hand.
“You see that?” Big Momma looked up at me with tears streaming down her face.
“Yeah, I saw it.”
Neither of us could stop smiling. Everyone patiently waited in the house for us to walk through the door.
Although it was a small and intimate gathering, everyone showed nothing but love and happiness.
The smell of smoked turkey wings, candied yams, baked macaroni, collard greens and cornbread floated in the air.
Ava had the house smelling lovely. My baby had spent hours getting the food together and setting up before going with me.
I knew she was tired but she didn’t show it.
I watched as she mingled with my family and she fit in perfectly.
A few hours in, everybody had eaten and were now chilling. I walked over to my momma as she watched everyone moving around the house. Next thing I knew, the doorbell rings and Zoie hops up.
“I’ll get it!”
A few seconds later, Zenobia came walking into the living room.
Her heels clicked loudly against Big Momma’s hardwood floors.
The conversations went quiet for several seconds as everyone turned their attention toward her.
Zenobia stood dripped in designer, her shades sitting on top of her head.
She looked around the room then straight at me.
“So…” She folded her arms. “I had to hear from Zoie that there was a party going on.”
“I told you I was bringing my momma home.” I nodded toward my mother.
“Yeah, but you forgot to mention the part where everybody was celebrating her arrival.”
Then her eyes landed on Ava. Everyone else had gone back to their conversations and paid Zenobia no mind. However, the atmosphere instantly felt heavy and uncomfortable.
“It’s just a small family gathering.” I shrugged.
“Doesn’t look small to me and everybody here ain’t family.” She looked Ava up and down.
For some reason I expected Ava to react but she didn’t.
I took that as a sign of respect because she knew what this moment meant to me with having my momma back in the family’s presence.
Zenobia on the other hand was acting out of character and it was pissing me off at a rapid pace.
Smoothly, I pulled her down the hallway so we could talk without everybody in the mix.
The moment I got her in the hallway we stood toe to toe.
“What the fuck do you think this is? Huh? What the fuck do you want?” I grilled her.
“Wait a minute,” she held her hands up. “Why are you talking to me like this? I came here to help you celebrate your mom, that’s what the fuck I want.” She snapped back.
“I don’t need you here to help me celebrate shit.
If I wanted you here, I would’ve told you myself to come.
I don’t need or want you poppin’ up like you’re my bitch.
You’re not my bitch, Ze. You've been acting out lately and it’s starting to piss me off.
I’m not about to allow you to fuck up my mood.
So, if you’re going to stay, cool. Stay the fuck outta my face, though. ”
“I don’t appreciate how you’ve been treating me, EJ. Ever since you started hanging around that girl, you’re the one that’s been acting out.”
“Is everything okay?” Ava asked, appearing out of nowhere.
Zenobia smacked her lips and rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest.
“Yeah, bae, everything is good.” I assured her while motioning her to come my way.
“You good?” I asked, placing a kiss on her lips.
“Yes, just checking on you.”
“He’s fine.” Zenobia interjected.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” Ava shot back. “And let’s be clear, he doesn’t need you speaking for him.”
“Bitc—”
Before Zenobia could even get a word out, I grabbed her by the face. The look in my eyes was enough to shut her up.
“I think you might wanna go home. And don’t even think about leaving with Zoie, she’s staying.”
We stared into each other’s eyes for several seconds before she slowly pulled away. She glanced at Ava with something like a smirk.
“Don’t get too comfortable, sweetheart.”
With that, she walked off without another word.