16. Mercy
MERCY
“Look, he about to get up there and do the announcements,” Psalms whispered as she aggressively tapped my thigh.
I looked up from my phone to see Krude heading towards the pulpit, and instantly, my heart dropped to my stomach.
Madea would cuss him out if he made it up there and started talking.
I looked over to see her sitting at the end of our family pew with a mug on her face.
Her dark eyes were watching Krude like a hawk.
Just as he stepped to the podium, Madea bent slightly and grabbed her purse. “Oh, she’s gonna pull her gun out!”
“Madea!” Corinthians whispered as she leaned across her sister and my lap. “Madea, you better not!”
“Mind your business, Corinthians,” Madea said without taking her eyes off Krude. “I told his yellow ass if he got up there, I was going to fuck him up.”
“You can not cuss in church!” Corinthians said, trying to scold her.
I covered my face with my hands to try and keep my laughter under control.
Even though this wouldn’t be the first time Madea pulled her gun out at church, I knew Granddaddy wasn’t going to say a word.
He’d flip out on every last one of us but would never bat an eye at Mary DeCorte. “Madea!”
“Girl, what?” she cut her eyes to us and grilled each of us. “Why the hell are you laying across your sister and cousin like you don’t have on a dress? Is your ass showing?” she looked over Corinthians’ shoulder and rolled her eyes. “It must be because that boy is staring like he wanna go home.”
I quickly looked over to see Four’s eyes locked in on Corinthian ass, and a scream slipped from my lips. I smacked my hand over my mouth and looked at the pulpit to see Granddaddy staring at us with a scowl.
“Madea, put your gun away!” Corinthians said, ignoring her comment about Four staring at her. “Seriously, put it away!”
“Tell your big-headed ass cousin to sit down, and I will,” she replied. Her hand was stuffed inside her purse, so I had no doubt it was wrapped around her gun. “He acts like we didn’t teach him shit.”
“He’s always acted like that,” Ex said from behind us.
I turned slightly to see him and Paxton sitting behind us with amused looks on their faces.
“When he’s embarrassing one of us, you never bat an eye.
Now, because it’s you, it’s a problem.” He leaned forward and rested his hand on her shoulder. “Welcome to my world.”
“Wait, why is he going up there?” I asked, looking between the four of them.
“He said he wanted to lead praise and worship this week,” Madea answered as she continued to watch Krude. “I told him no, and he said he can’t stop it when the lord leads him to do something.”
“But Krude can’t sing,” I groaned.
“Exactly,” Madea nodded. “He can’t sing for shit and got them damn babies involved.”
“What babies?” we asked in unison.
“His partners in crime,” she answered as she nodded to the front.
I saw Deuce, Judah, and the rest of the children’s choir moving towards the front.
They were all dressed in black pants and a white polo.
Krude had been banned from working with the children’s church a few years ago because he’d had them sing “The Circle of Life” at the funeral for one of the church elders.
“Oh hell,” Corinthians said as she sat up. She adjusted her dress and then stood. “Judah!”
“Thank you, sister Ingrid!” Krude said as he moved to the podium. He clapped his hands twice, rested them on the top, and dropped his head. “Family, I can call y’all that, right?”
“You know you can!” Someone yelled from the back, and I shook my head. The last thing Krude needed was to be encouraged. He was going to show out and no one could stop him.
“Now, y’all know I’m a new father!” Krude said.
His voice and cadence mimicked Granddaddy's tone when he started to get into his sermon. “My baby girl made her grand entrance two months ago, and I have nothing but joy in my heart!” He dropped his head and threw his hands in the air. “Praise and her mother are my greatest loves, but y’all know I’ve always had a special place in my heart for the kids, so when the Lord spoke to me, who was I to say no? ”
“I’ll post your bail if you shoot him,” Judge said from behind me.
“The voice of the Lord–”
“Oh, now he’s claiming the voices in his head are the Lord’s,” Judge groaned, and I laughed. “Y’all should’ve put him on meds as a child, and this wouldn’t be happening.”
“The children’s choir and I came up with a selection to share with y’all.
” Krude waved the kids over, and they came to stand behind him like the nuts they were.
He nodded at the band, then grabbed the microphone from the stand.
“For y’all that think gospel music has gone too far, you ain't seen nothing yet.” He smiled at the church members and then winked at the family. “GP!”
“Lately, I been going through some things that’s really got me down!” the kids started to sing.
Krude paced in front of them as if he were Kirk Franklin.
Granddaddy stood in the pulpit with a mug on his face as he watched Krude while Madea sighed and shook her head.
The rest of us were trying not to laugh loudly.
Neither of our grandparents tried to stop him because the congregation seemed to enjoy his performance.
“Oh no,” Corinthians groaned. “My baby is slow, just like Krude.”
“It ain’t over,” Judah yelled into the mic. “It ain’t over!”
“What happened to the light-skinned thug coming to church?” Krude asked a few hours later.
We were all hanging out in the living room of our grandparents' house, waiting for the food to get done cooking. After Krude’s performance with the children’s choir, Granddaddy had to calm the church down; everyone loved what he’d done with the kids. “Hellraiser, I know you hear me.”
“He couldn’t make it,” I said from beside him.
We were all piled together on the floor.
Each of us were in our own space but touching each other somehow.
Even at our big ages – some of us even married with kids – in our hearts, we were still the kids who were left orphaned and scared that one of us would leave and never come back.
“Y’all beefing already?” he asked, and I shook my head. “So, what’s the problem?”
“There is no problem, Krude.” I lifted my arm from my face to look at him. “He was out of town for a prior engagement and had a last-minute meeting. It’s no big deal.”
“Alright,” he said, then nodded. “I’m just checking in is all. You know you DeCorte women are sneaky when it comes to niggas.”
“We are not,” I laughed. Krude, Ex, and Judge grunted in unison. “We just don’t want y’all in our business.”
“Why is that?” Ex questioned.
“Because you don’t listen,” I answered. “Ex is short-tempered, and Judge is just Judge.” I shrugged, and Judge kissed his teeth in annoyance. “It’s easier for us to handle everything on our own.”
“You know, most people think those are good qualities to have,” he replied, and I rolled my eyes. “Excuse us for making sure niggas knew not to fuck with y’all.”
“Krude,” I sighed as I stood. I stepped over Corinthians to head to the kitchen to see what the hold-up on dinner was. “You just like to show the fuck out. Us dealing with niggas that y’all didn’t deem as good enough was just an excuse.”
“True!” the male cousins yelled in unison, then laughed.
I walked into the kitchen and saw Madea sitting at the table reading. She looked up at me and then pointed to the empty seat across from her.
“Don’t tell me Krude got you to join his book club,” I said as I sat.
“Goodness no,” she laughed as she shook her head. “This is something your granddaddy and I are reading together.” I tried peeking at the book to see what it was, but she covered her Kindle with her hand. “You’ll be traumatized if you see what it is.”
“Madea.” I pointed my index finger at her and playfully rolled my eyes. “Keep being fast, and you’ll end up pregnant with a kid that acts like Krude.”
“I can't have any more kids,” she smiled as she sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “And be careful with your words. The Lord will hear them and direct that baby to you.”
“Noted,” I laughed. “I’ll shut up.”
“Exactly; now, what brought you in here?”
“I couldn’t come to hang out with you?”
“You can, but I know you want something.” Madea was never the person to beat around the bush.
If she thought it, she said it; I couldn’t do anything but respect it.
As a child, it drove me crazy because I felt like she didn’t have time for me.
I spent my time on the court, and while she and Granddaddy never missed a game, I was still lonely, and she knew it.
To make up for it, Madea would take me for dinner after every game to check in and give me the attention I needed. “So, spit it out.”
“I just wanted to know when the food would be ready,” I laughed.
Medea gave me a look that said she didn’t believe me before she stood and went to the stove. “Your granddaddy suggested we start without him, but you know I’m not doing that.”
“Me neither,” I said, shaking my head. “I doubt any of the others will, but the kids need to eat.”
“Speaking of kids, how are you feeling about Faylin?”
“She’s good,” I answered. “I just have to keep Deuce from staking claim every two seconds.”
“He’s his daddy’s son,” Madea laughed.
“And his mama’s,” I said, and she nodded. “But other than that, she’s okay, I think. We haven’t talked about me and Givens being together, but I don’t think she has a problem with it. Or at least, she hasn’t said anything about it.”
“What about her mama?” Madea lifted her brow in question, and I waited.
She knew how I felt about dealing with men who had children.
It wasn’t as if I didn’t like it; it was just more that I didn’t like dealing with the drama that some of them brought.
Givens didn’t mention his relationship with Shai often, but I knew some issues existed.