Chapter 20
I t was Saturday, and Jaeda was meeting my parents.
I was more than a little nervous about that.
Even though my mom and I were back on speaking terms, I never knew what was going to come out of her mouth.
She never held back when she had something to ask or say. This could go very right or very wrong.
“I think you’re more nervous than I am,” Jaeda said as we pulled into the yard.
“I damn sure am.”
“Baby, it can’t be any worse than meeting my family.”
“Maybe not, but your mom and stepdad balance out your dad and brothers. There’s nobody to balance these folks out.”
She laughed as I opened my door and climbed out of my car. Rounding the passenger side, I opened it to retrieve her. She slipped her hand into my palm and stepped out.
“Everything will be okay,” she said, grabbing my other hand. “I’ve got your back, and I know you have mine.”
“I do.”
Leaning in, I gave her soft lips several pecks. She smiled up at me, looking as innocent as could be.
“Even if it sours, I have something to make you feel better later.”
“What’s that?”
“A new Lego set. It’s the McCallister house from Home Alone . I figured we could watch the movie while we put it together.”
I had to laugh because that was right up my alley. “Bet.”
I leaned in to kiss her once again, when the door opened, and my parents stepped out. I was surprised to see my mom with a gentle smile on her face. I grabbed Jaeda’s hand and led her up the front steps.
“Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend, Jaeda. Baby, these are my parents, Linus and Chandra Michaels.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Michaels,” Jaeda said, extending her hand.
My father shook it. “It’s very nice to meet you, Jaeda.”
“I’m a hugger,” my mother said, opening her arms.
Jaeda went into them, and they shared a warm embrace. When my mother pulled back, she cupped her face.
“You are so beautiful,” she said with a smile.
Jaeda blushed. “Thank you. You’re gorgeous yourself. I never would have guessed you have a son Quaid’s age.”
My mother playfully rolled her eyes. “You know, I have been told I could be his older sister a time or two.”
“Don’t drag it, Ma,” I jested.
She swatted my arm. “Oh, hush! Let me be great.”
Jaeda laughed. “I believe you. My mom gets the same thing.”
“That’s that black girl magic. Y’all come on in. Dinner is almost ready.” She looped her arm through Jaeda’s. “You like wine, baby?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She led Jaeda ahead of us and into the kitchen. My father chuckled.
“She won’t admit it, but she’s been anxious to meet her all day.
” He pulled me in for a hug. “She’s beautiful, Quaid.
I’m sorry about the way your mother and I reacted to the news of who you were dating.
We had preconceived notions of her and her family.
If you like her and trust her, it’s only fair we give her a chance. ”
“I appreciate that, Dad. She means the world to me, and I really want y’all to like her.”
“I’m sure we will.”
We headed into the house to find my mom and Jaeda laughing and talking while sipping on her favorite wine.
“What are y’all in here cackling about?” Dad asked.
“I was just telling Jaeda about Quaid as a kid?—”
“Mama, please don’t start,” I begged.
Jaeda giggled. “You got to listen to my mom embarrass me. Let yours return the favor.”
“Quaid told me he met your family. We’ll have to make a meet and greet happen soon.”
Jaeda nodded. “I agree. Fair warning, you should probably meet my mom first. My dad has no filter, but Mom is a little more reserved. She loves entertaining. I just have to make sure she’s feeling up to it.”
“Is she sick?” Mom asked.
“Pregnant. She and my stepfather decided to start all the way over.”
“Oh my! How far along is she?”
“Six months now. We tease her, but she looks so cute.”
Jaeda pulled out her phone to show her a picture of her mother.
“She’s beautiful. Look at that glow. I always wished we could have had more children. The good Lord blessed me with my baby, though.” She reached out and pinched my cheek. “He’s more than made up for it. We’re so proud of him.”
Jaeda gave a gentle smile, and she looked at me. “You raised a great man, Mrs. Michaels. I’m lucky to have him.”
“He’s all right,” my father jested, playfully shoving me. “We know who will take care of us in old age.”
Just to fuck with them, I said, “Well if anything ever happens to me, I left you guys to Titan.”
My mother’s head swung in my direction. “That’s not funny, Quaid.”
I laughed. “My brother would take excellent care of y’all off the strength of me.”
“And I’d have to kill him in the process. Have you met Titan, baby?” she asked Jaeda.
“Yes, ma’am. He’s um, . . . kinda dating my sister.”
“Bless her heart.”
Jaeda laughed. “Bless his too. She’s a handful. It’s a wonder they haven’t killed each other.”
“Oh my!”
“Well, I think he needs somebody that’s gonna give him the same energy in return,” my father said. “He’s not a bad guy. Just a little . . . extra at times. You know we banned Quaid from hanging out with him growing up? Didn’t do us any good. He would sneak off to hang with him anyway.”
Jaeda gasped. “Not you being sneaky!”
I chuckled. “Titan was really my only real friend. The other guys I hung out with were only friendly because we were all getting bullied. Titan came along and told me I was messing up any chance of having street cred if I kept hanging with them. I guess it was kinda peer pressure, but we’re still locked in all these years later.
That’s my brother. Don’t let them fool you, baby. They love him.”
My mother rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you two make yourself useful and set the table.”
“You see how she deflects from the truth?” I said, playfully nudging my mom.
She swatted me with her dish towel. “Go!”
I laughed as I showed Jaeda where the plates and placemats were. By the time we got the table set, my parents were bringing the dishes to the table. My mother had prepared a spread of baked chicken, rice and gravy, mac and cheese, collard greens, and sweet cornbread muffins.
“This looks delicious, Mrs. Michaels,” Jaeda complimented.
“Thank you, baby. Do you cook?”
“Yes, ma’am. My mom and grandma made sure they taught me everything they know.”
My mother nodded. A light silence fell over the room as we all dug into our food. In the pit of my stomach, I felt like the vibe was about to shift. Mom had been nice, but I knew she had questions and needed answers. When she set her fork down and took a sip of her wine, I knew it was coming.
“Jaeda?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Your family?—”
“Ma,” I warned.
“It’s okay, Quaid,” Jaeda said. “Go ahead.”
“My son recently told me that he helps Titan with sensitive cases. I know, well, at least I’ve heard some things about your family.
Like how you all own most of the city. How you basically have free range to do what you want with little to no consequence.
You seem like a nice girl. I just . . . This is my baby.
My only son. I need to know that he is safe. ”
“I assure you, he is. My family knows how special he is to me, and he’d be protected because of that alone. I know I don’t look threatening, but I’m not a damsel in distress.”
“I’m sure you all have some enemies.”
“None that are around to be a threat.”
My mother’s eyes widened. “I see.”
Jaeda set her fork down and clasped her hands together.
“Mrs. Michaels, I understand your concern when it comes to my family. We don’t have a blemish free reputation, and that’s usually from people who have crossed a very thin line with us.
No, my family isn’t your typical family.
We don’t follow all the rules. Most of the time, the rules don’t apply to us.
“But what most people don’t see is the good we do.
My father raised us to serve and protect.
Not just each other, but our community. So while we may own most of the city, the citizens have no idea what we do behind the scenes to keep them safe.
Is it unorthodox? Yes? Is it necessary? Absolutely.
The law doesn’t protect those it wasn’t made for.
No matter how much money we have, to them , we are still just a bunch of niggas.
The only thing worse than being a nigga is being a nigga with power. ”
My father nodded as he took a sip of his drink.
“I can agree with you there.” He sighed heavily. “We understand why you do what you do. It’s just not a lifestyle we would have chosen for our son. It seems like this life was chosen for you, . . . for Titan. You want your children to grow up like this?”
“My children will have a choice, just like my siblings and I. Whatever they choose, I’ll support them and prepare them to the best of my abilities. No matter what lifestyle they live, they will have a village behind them one hundred percent.”
“Ma,” I said firmly. “Again, I know you don’t like the line of work we’re in, but we do it for all the right reasons.
Sometimes, you have to protect the helpless by any means necessary.
I’m not out there with Titan, but I’ve seen what he and the Dillingers are up against from being deep inside.
In addition, it’s the only way I can make sure he’s safe.
I owe that man. The only way I can repay him is to make sure he comes home with his life. ”
My mother raised her hands in surrender. “Okay. Okay. Just be safe. My son is smitten with you, Jaeda. My hope for grandchildren lies with you.”
Jaeda giggled. “Well, if we make it to that point?—”
“When,” I corrected.
“When,” she emphasized. “When we make it to that point, you’ll be amongst the first to know.”
My mother smiled. All previous conversation took a back seat once she started talking about grandchildren.
She reverted to embarrassing ass stories from my childhood.
When she left the table to fetch the photo album, I had no choice but to sit there and take the embarrassment.
Jaeda’s mom told cute stories. Mine documented everything with visual evidence.
Before I developed my own sense of style.
I dressed like my father. I was the only kid in my class with collared shirts, khaki pants, and loafers.
With my glasses, braces, awkwardness, and nasal tone of voice, I didn’t stand a chance against the bullies.
It wasn’t until my preteen years did I stop looking like somebody’s daddy and start looking and dressing my age.
A few hours and plenty laughs at my expense, Jaeda and I were leaving my parents’ house. As we climbed in the car, Jaeda was still giggling to herself.
“All right now, it wasn’t that funny,” I said, playfully mushing her head.
“I’m sorry, babe, but it was. You looked like a little old man.”
“Whatever, woman.”
“Awwww, is someone sour?” She cupped my chin and pulled me in for a kiss. “If it makes you feel any better. You were cute then, but you grew into the most handsome, sexy, and tempting man I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know.”
I smirked. “Don’t sweet talk me now.”
She kissed me again, this time with a sensual passion. I couldn’t lie. Her kisses made me want to pull out my wallet and hand all my finances over to her. Every dime in my bank account, my stocks, bonds, and bitcoin, she could have it all, and I would be the happiest broke man.
That was how down bad baby had me.
She pulled back with a smile on her beautiful face. For a moment, I just stared at her, admiring her.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
“Because I’m low-key obsessed with you.”
She giggled. “Really now?”
I cupped her chin. “I’m falling for you, baby. I know it feels quick, but when a man knows, he knows.”
“I’m falling for you too. I don’t have much to compare this to in terms of feelings, but I know. You feel good to my soul.” She gently traced my eyebrow. “I want to love you with everything in me. Just promise me you won’t break my heart.”
“I’d never hurt you, love. Hurting you is like slapping God in the face after He’s blessed you with everything you asked for. I wouldn’t disrespect Him or you like that. As long as you want me, you’ve got me. I’m hoping you want me for the long haul.”
“If you can stomach my family for the long haul, you’ve got me.”
I chuckled. “We’re seeing eye to eye right now, but I’ve made it clear that they can’t run me off. Nothing but death will keep me from you.”
She laughed. “Okay, Celie.”
I playfully mushed her head. “Come on here, Nettie. I wanna see this Lego set.”
She clapped excitedly. “I can’t wait for you to see it! I bought two. I thought we might have a little friendly competition.”
“What’s the wager?”
“Even if we lose, we win. But . . . I do have this new costume I want to try on for you.”
The grin spread across my face was big and wide. I’d loved cosplay since I was a kid. Having someone share that interest without calling me weird was exhilarating. It wasn’t that she was just putting on an outfit. Jaeda got into full character. We acted out full scenes and shit.
Most women I dated in the past wouldn’t even watch some of my favorite shows, let alone act them out. They either called me weird or told me I was too old to still be watching cartoons. It didn’t matter the case. I never felt like I could 100 percent be myself with them.
These days, I never felt more like me.