7. Halo
Halo
“ P lease, I really need to go get my son,” I told the officer as he pulled me out the door.
“You should’ve thought about that before you went in there stealing.”
That was the thing… my son was what I was thinking about in the first place. He was sick. I didn’t have enough money to buy him cold medicine, so I decided I was going to go in there and take it. I’d never stolen anything in my life. For whatever reason, I’d always managed whenever we needed something, but this time, I’d just paid the light bill and we were low on money. We had food in the house, and I was able to hold off ’til next week when I get paid, but Brave came home from school sick as a dog, and I needed to get him some medicine before he got worse. Obviously, it didn’t work out for me because someone saw me slip the medicine into my purse. Since I was only taking one little thing, I thought they’d be generous and let me go with a slap on the wrist. Never did I ever think they’d call the police on me for taking medicine.
“Aye?” I heard a familiar voice from behind but couldn’t quite place it ’til I turned around and saw him marching in our direction. It was as if every time I looked up, he was there.
“This doesn’t concern you,” the officer said over his shoulder and opened the back passenger door on the Tahoe that was parked in the center of the entrances.
“First of all, I don’t know who the fuck you think you’re talking to. Secondly, this does got plenty to do with me.” The officer and I both looked in his direction because I just knew he was about to slap his ass in handcuffs too and haul both of our asses off to jail.
“I’m sorry, Joker. You know her?”
“Somewhat. What you booking her for?”
“She was caught stealing,” he replied, and Joker looked over at me. His eyes turned to slits and for whatever reason, I wanted to tuck my tail and hide as if he was my daddy and about to whup my ass.
“I tell you what, how ’bout I send you a nice lil bankroll down to the station and you let her go.”
“I can’t do that.”
“I’m pretty sure you can.”
“What am I supposed to tell them?”
“Whatever the fuck you want, but let her go.” The next thing I know, I heard the cuffs click and my wrists were free.
“Don’t let me catch you stealing again,” the officer warned. Stepping away from the truck, I rubbed my aching right wrist with my hand. He shut the door and climbed into the driver’s seat.
“What the hell you doing up here stealing?”
“None of your business,” I told him and marched past him. He quickly caught me by the wrist, and my heart thumped rapidly. Halting, I stood there frozen in place. My eyes bore up into his. His eyes were dark and mysterious. I sensed a lot of pain behind them.
“Now I’m gon’ ask you again. What were you stealing for?”
“My son is sick. He needed some medicine.”
“You ain’t have no money to get some medicine? Why you ain’t just take him to the doctor?”
“We don’t have any insurance and the medicine from the pharmacy was going to be expensive. I just planned on giving him something for now. If he got worse, then I’d taken him to be seen, but for now, I was treating him as a regular cold.”
“A’ight. Come on and get him some medicine then.”
“I’m not going back in that store. That was embarrassing, and what I’m going to buy it with anyway?”
“I’ll get it. What kind of medicine does he need?”
“I was trying to get that Zarbees.”
“Zarbees?” His forehead wrinkled. “What the fuck is that?”
“It’s children’s cough syrup.”
“A’ight. I’ll go in there and get it. You can wait in my truck ’til I get back,” he told me and stepped off the curb. I stood there for a moment, debating if I wanted to follow him out into the parking lot. I didn’t know this man from a can of paint and he was telling me to wait in his truck as if it’s not possible for him to snatch me up or something.
Going against my better judgment, I stepped down off the curb and strolled through the parking lot behind him. He stopped at this truck, and I couldn’t believe this was what he was driving. Something in me should’ve screamed expensive vehicle when I found out that he owned the stadium. I’d seen the truck around the city but didn’t know who drove it.
Joker hit the fob on the truck and opened the passenger door for me. “Wait right here,” he said and stood there, waiting for me to climb inside.
I slid into the seat and rested my head against the headrest. He closed the door behind me and sauntered back toward the entrance. His truck smelled so freaking good. I’m not sure what type of cologne he wore, but it had me prepared to eat his dick off the bone. Got damn.
My fingertips glided across the Lamborghini writing on the dashboard. Never in life did I think I’d be sitting in one of these. I looked over my shoulder at the exit to make certain he wasn’t on his way back out before opening the middle console and peeking inside to see if there was any trace of a female in there. If he was really taken, bitches loved marking their territory. Shoot, when I was dealing with Nutt, I’d find all type of women’s shit lying around in his car, and he had a fucking excuse every single time.
I jumped and gasped when I saw a shadow out my peripheral. When I looked up, it was some guy climbing into the white sedan next to us. His eyes locked in on the truck briefly before shutting the door. I can only imagine how much attention he got from driving this truck alone. Bitches were probably constantly fighting over him. That was a battle I wasn’t prepared to join. I already had enough things going on.
Looking toward the store, I saw Joker exiting with a few bags in his hands. He stopped at the passenger side door and opened it. “Here,” he said and handed me the bags.
“What’s all this?” I questioned him.
“I picked up a few other things for lil homie that I thought he would need.”
“You really didn’t have to do all that,” I told him, taking a peek inside the bags. He had cold medicine, Vicks, vitamins and some other things that I couldn’t really make out in the dark. “Thank you though. You really don’t know how much this means to me.”
“It was nothing. Where you parked? I can carry the bags to the car for you.”
“Uh,” I scratched the back of my neck. This was embarrassing to say, but I told him anyway. “I don’t have a car.”
“How you got over here then?”
“The bus.”
“You really don’t need to be out on the bus this time of night. Where you stay? I can drop you off at home.”
“I don’t know you like that for you to be taking me to my house.”
“Lil mama, if I was gon’ do something to you, I would’ve done it by now. It’s just a ride. Relax,” he said and shut the door on me before I was able to protest any further. He placed a couple bags on the back seat behind the driver’s seat and climbed into the truck. “Where do you stay?”
“Ridgeview,” I told him and turned my head where he couldn’t see the redness in my face from embarrassment.
“What the hell are you doing all the way over here?”
Looking back at him, I responded, “I went to the Walmart on the Boulevard first, but they didn’t have the medicine I needed.”
He just hit me with a nod and backed out his parking space. The ride home was a silent one. I didn’t too much know what to say to him. I was grateful that he’d saved my ass twice, but I still didn’t want to deal with him like that. The last thing I wanted to do was give my heart to another man just for him to hurt me. There were other things I needed to be focusing on than worried about being in a relationship.
The truck came to a stop. I looked up and saw that we were sitting in front of my building. Joker turned the truck off and removed his seat belt. “I got it,” I quickly told him and pushed the door open. He was not coming up to my apartment. It was already bad enough that he knew where I lived now. He wasn’t getting the exact number.
“You sure about that?” he questioned me with a raised brow.
“Yeah. Thanks for the ride,” I replied and shut the door.
“Who the fuck is that?” Jah asked me as I approached the front door.
Glancing over my shoulder at Joker, who still sat there in his parking space, most likely waiting for me to go inside, I said, “Nobody,” and entered the building.
Taking the stairs up to my floor, I trotted down the hallway toward my door. Sticking my key in the hole, I unlocked the door and pushed it in. The apartment was dark except for the fifty-inch playing in the living room. I was watching Grey’s Anatomy before I left the house.
Coughing came from Brave’s bedroom. Easing the door shut behind me, I kicked my shoes off on the beige tile and stepped onto the deep-brown carpet. Some might think I was a bad parent for leaving my eight-year-old at home alone, but he was already not feeling well. I didn’t want to take him out the door with me. I did what I needed to do. They can kiss my ass.
Going into the kitchen, I placed the bags on the counter and opened the first one. I found the Zarbees medicine. He picked up the double pack. One for daytime and one for night.
Ripping the box open, I grabbed the nighttime medicine and poured it over into the small measuring cup. Grabbing the Vick’s, I went into Brave’s bedroom. He coughed again and turned over onto his left side, facing me. Brave was in his Spider-Man stage, so his entire bedroom was Spider-Man. The only furniture in there was the black LED light twin-sized bed and his black dresser with a forty-two-inch television.
Entering his room, I stopped over by the bed and lightly shook him. “Poppa, get up and take this.” His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he coughed again. Dried-up snot rested underneath his nostrils. I handed him the cup and he poured it into his mouth. “I got you some Vick’s to rub on you too,” I told him and twisted the container open. Dipping my right index finger inside, I rubbed it across his chest. “This should help clear you up some.”
Brave stared up at me with glossy eyes. “Can I have some orange juice? My throat is dry.”
“Yeah. I’ll go in there and fix you some. Do you need anything else?”
He shook his head, so I exited the room and went into the kitchen. Opening the cabinet next to the refrigerator, I grabbed a small cup out of there and removed the orange juice container out the refrigerator. Pouring him half a cup, I put the container back and took the cup into Brave’s room.
“Here.” He lifted just enough to gulp down the juice and handed the cup back to me. He laid back down against his pillow and I rubbed his head. “I love you. Get some rest.”
“I love you too,” he replied and turned over on his right side with his back facing me. I went to leave the room.
Pow! Pow! Pow!
Gunshots rang out, and I shook my head. Turning back toward Brave in the doorway, I could hear him snoring. “I promise I’m gon’ get us out of here,” I whispered and pulled his door closed.
A week later
Chewing on my thumbnail, I stared at the GED prep book sitting on the counter in front of me. A lot of the information inside looked fairly easy, but I was still going to make sure I took all the classes and passed on the first try. Classes were starting in a couple days for me, and I couldn’t wait to get all of this behind me.
“Your food is ready,” Will said and placed two plates on the counter next to my book. Sighing, I straightened my posture and picked up the plates. My shift was almost over, and I couldn’t wait to get out of here. Unfortunately, I wasn’t going straight home. Brave had his first football practice today and I had to take him straight there after I got him from school. Krissy made sure to let it be known that she wasn’t missing his first practice. At least I wasn’t gon’ have to catch the bus to get us there.
Pushing the kitchen door with my right hip, I stepped out onto the floor and my eyes landed on my table that’s been waiting for their food for the last twenty minutes. Sitting at the table were three women. Two were there when I took their order and said that they were waiting for a friend to get here. Judging by the back of this other chick’s head, she’d made it there and now I had to see if she wanted to order food.
I maneuvered through the tables ’til I made it to my destination. “Here’s the salmon,” I said and set the plate down on the table in front of the woman that was facing the kitchen doors. “And the fried chicken,” I spoke, resting the other plate in front of the woman that was sitting next to the new guest. When my eyes locked with who was sitting next to her, I wanted to slap her ass in the face with the plate. It was the bitch who went out her fucking way to let Steven know she wasn’t pleased with me wasting water on her. If I didn’t have to worry about hearing his mouth, I would’ve given this ho a piece of my mind. It was bitches like her who disgusted me. She carried herself as if she was the finest thing walking and no one could hold a candle to her. She had plenty mouth, but I bet she wasn’t getting in the field with that shit. Ho probably had plenty blank checks dropping out of her ass. Her mouth was writing the bitches faster than her brain could process—checks she couldn’t cash.
“Ugh.” Her nose scrunched as she eyeballed me. “Not you again. Can we get another waitress?”
Straightening my posture, I interlocked my fingers behind my back to keep from strangling her ass.
“What’s wrong with her?” the chick to the left of me asked.
“Remember the bitch I told you that wasted water all over me the last time I was here. That’s her,” she said, nodding in my direction.
“I like her though. She’s really good with customer service. I think that it’ll be okay,” the girl replied to her and picked up her fork.
“Whatever,” the crusty bitch had the nerve to say with a roll of the eyes. “Let me get the shrimp alfredo with the breadsticks and white wine to drink.” She shooed me away from the table with her hand. My teeth clenched.
“Coming right up,” I said through bared teeth. Spinning on my heels, I marched away from the table, making sure to stop at my other one before heading to the kitchen. “Is there anything else I can get for you guys?” I asked the couple with a grin. The aura had completely changed from the first table.
“Just the check. Thanks,” the guy responded, and I bounced away to the kitchen.
Entering the kitchen, I stood at the counter and told Will, “Shrimp alfredo with breadsticks,” then went back out to the register to print out the check. I took it over to my table and went back to see how far Will was with my order.
“It’s been pretty busy today,” Will said and slid the plate onto the counter. “The bread is coming up in a second.”
“I’m so ready to go.” My eyes rolled heavenward. “I can’t wait to pass that test and find me another job. This shit isn’t getting it anymore.”
“I’m pretty sure that you’ll be out of here in no time,” Will replied and went over to the oven to grab the bread. Glancing over my shoulder, I made sure that no one was coming and grabbed the plate off the counter. Bringing it up to my mouth, I dropped a glob of saliva into the food and stirred it up with the fork. Will handed me the bread, and I exited the kitchen.
My customers from the other table were gone, but there was a tip waiting for me there. I set the plate on the table in front of the chick and said, “Enjoy,” beamed a smile at her, and went to collect my tip.
By the time they were done with their food, I gave them the check and removed their plates. Old girl had slaughtered her food. Left no crumbs, and I was satisfied as hell. “Here’s your tip,” the other girl said, handing me back the signed check and a fifty-dollar bill.
“Thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of your night,” I told them and stepped back away from the table as they rose to their feet and collected their things.
By the time they left out of the restaurant, it was time for me to clock out and head to grab Brave from school. “See you tomorrow,” I told Tiffany as I headed toward the kitchen to clock out and gather my things.
“See ya!” she tossed over her shoulder and continued toward her table.
“I’m out of here,” I said to Will soon as I entered the kitchen. I grabbed my book off the counter and went toward the back. After clocking out, I took my purse out of my locker and exited the kitchen.
When I stepped outside, I saw Krissy parked across the parking lot. She was backed into a spot. Trotting in her direction, I slid my book into my purse and opened the passenger door. “Hey,” left my lips as I slid into the seat.
“Hey, girl,” Krissy responded, keeping her eyes trained on her phone. I observed her as her fingertips tapped away at the screen. Her fingers stopped moving and with a satisfied grin, she stared at whatever she wrote before hitting the power button and resting the phone in the cupholder.
“What’s that smile for?” I knew that look on her face all too well. She was talking to someone knew.
“Nothing,” she quickly lied and pulled out her parking space.
“Yeah, okay,” was the only response I gave. If she really wanted me to know, she’d tell me.
It didn’t take us long to make it to Brave’s school. The children were already standing outside. Krissy hopped into the pickup line and waited ’til it was our turn to get to the front.
“You need to go by the apartment first for him to change?” she questioned me as we waited to make it to Brave.
“No. I brought him a change of clothes inside my purse. I didn’t want him to be late to his first practice.”
“That was smart.”
“I know.”
Krissy’s truck stopped in front of the school and Brave trotted in our direction. He opened the back door and climbed inside. “Hey, Ma. Hey Auntie Kris.”
“Hey, boo,” Kris quickly replied.
“Hey, Poppa. How was your day?”
“It was okay.”
“Here. Change your clothes,” I told Brave and removed his clothes and shoes from my purse. I didn’t want him going out there messing up his school shoes, so I brought a pair of old Nikes from the house.
Brave took one look at his shoes and said, “Ma, I’m supposed to practice in cleats.”
“Cleats?” My brows snapped together. I didn’t know the first thing about football.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“I could’ve told you that,” Krissy said as she pulled out of the parking lot.
“I’ll get you some,” I told him and rubbed the back of my neck with my right hand. I’m not sure what I was going to buy them with, but I was going to figure something out, even if I had to go out and get a loan to do it.
“You okay?” Krissy questioned me as she whipped in and out of traffic.
“I’m starting to believe that I bit off more than I can chew,” I whispered, not wanting Brave to hear me.
“Everything is going to be fine. Don’t overthink it.”
“I sure hope so.” Leaning my head back against the headrest, I closed my eyes for the remainder of the ride.
The truck stopped, and my eyes popped open. We were sitting in the parking lot of the stadium. Some of the other parents were unloading their children from their cars. I noticed there were a few kids that looked as if they were going out to practice in brand-new clothes and equipment. Here Brave was about to get out and didn’t have any equipment at all.
We climbed out of the truck and rounded to the front. Krissy lifted her phone up to her face, and she frowned. “Sorry, I’m going to have to drop y’all off. Something just came up with Ma. Call me when you’re ready to go and I’ll come back and get you,” she said and dropped her hand to her side.
“Okay.” Krissy got back into the truck, and I nudged Brave in front of me by the back of his head. “I’ll have to ask your coach for a list of everything you’ll need,” I told Brave as we made our way toward the entrance. A lot of the daddies were the ones showing up to bring their kids to practice. Instantly, I felt bad because Brave wouldn’t be able to experience this with his daddy. It always bothered me when he’d come to me asking questions about Eno. At first, I used to be angry with Eno because he could’ve gotten himself out the streets for the sake of our son, but it wasn’t his fault that he was killed. If he didn’t die that way, he was still probably going to die another if it was his time to leave here.
We entered the stadium, and I followed behind the other parents out onto the field. “There’s TJ,” Brave said and took off running in the little boy’s direction. I didn’t even have the energy to run behind him nor stop him, so I just went over to the bleachers and took a seat on the second row. Brave and the little boy TJ tossed the ball back and forth between each other. Every time TJ threw the ball to Brave, it was with so much force that Brave stumbled a bit to catch it. Brave wasn’t that big, which was why I didn’t know why he wanted to play football in the first place. It terrified me that he could get hurt out there on the field.
“A’ight, bring it in!” some tall guy with a black baseball cap resting on his head said. He stood there in a red t-shirt and black jeans. I assumed this was their coach. Once they were done practicing, I was going to make my way down there and ask him what all Brave needed so my child wouldn’t be lacking after today.
His mouth moved, but I was sitting too far away to know exactly what he was saying. Soon, I saw the children breaking off into two groups. The little boy TJ took off running down the field and one of the other little boys threw him the ball. He jumped up and caught it, then rolled onto the ground. A few more other little boys ran out and did the same thing. One of them caught the ball and the other missed. Then I saw Brave approach the coach. He nodded and turned around then ran across the field. My poor child tripped over his own feet and stumbled to the ground.
“Whose son is that?” a female’s voice came from behind me with a snicker. My hand balled into a fist.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
I released my fist and ignored the hell out of her before she was tumbling down these bleachers. Lifting to my feet, I curved my hand next to my mouth and nose and yelled, “Shake it off, Brave! You can do it! Try again!” then sat back down.
Brave pulled himself to his feet and looked in my direction. With a nod, he went back to the starting line and ran across the field again. The coach threw the ball. Brave jumped up in the air to catch it and missed.
“Pathetic,” the voice behind me said.
“That’s it.” I bolted to my feet and turned to face her. The bitch sat there with another woman alongside her with her Fendi shades resting on top of her head that went perfectly with the tote in her lap. “That’s my son you’re up there talking about. I suggest that you shut the fuck up before I come up there and toss yo’ ass out there on the field. Let’s see if someone catches your ass,” I said with my right hand resting on my hip.
“Who do you think you’re talking to?” she asked with an arched brow.
“You, bitch. I didn’t stutter.” When it came to my child, I didn’t play about him. I’ll stomp somebody’s ass into the ground behind that one.
“What’s going on here?” And there was his voice again. It was as if I couldn’t escape this man if I wanted to.
“She’s tripping,” the chick said, not even taking her eyes off me.
“I’m gon’ show her ass who’s tripping when I shove my foot up her ass if she keeps talking shit about my son.” I was gripped by the forearm and pulled toward the steps, stumbling over my feet.
When we got down to the bottom, he said, “You need to chill,” and released me.
Stepping back, my eyes drank him in. He stood there in this black snapback resting backwards on his head and a pair of gray sweats with no shirt. His abs were washboard ready. If he didn’t get out my face, I was going to use them to clean my soaking wet panties. When I saw him at the restaurant, I knew he was tatted from the tattoos on his arms and neck, but I didn’t know that every piece of his skin that I can see was covered ’til now.
“I wasn’t about to sit there and listen to her talk about my son like that.” I finally snapped from the trance he captured me in.
“Which one is yours?”
Looking out onto the field, I saw Brave over with the coach, tossing the ball back and forth. He caught the ball, briefly pressed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose with his index finger and tossed it back. His aim was a bit off because the coach stumbled a bit to catch it. I did my best whenever he wanted to play catch, but I wasn’t a man. I couldn’t throw to save my life, and now I was reflecting in my son. That was a job for his daddy. It bothered me that I wasn’t able to find him a stepdaddy. I wanted one so bad for my son since I knew his father was never coming back. It hurt to know how much stuff my son was missing out on not having a father figure in his life.
“He’s struggling a bit, but I’m sure with a lot of practice, he’ll catch on.”
“Coach Knox, can you come here right quick,” the other guy said.
I didn’t know who he was talking to ’til Joker turned and said, “Yeah.”
“Wait, you’re the coach?” I questioned him.
“Something wrong with that?”
“No. I’m just surprised.”
“Sit your ass over there,” he instructed, and I went over to the bottom bleacher and sat down just like I was told. I’on know how that man had me submitting to him like that.
Joker jogged across the field where the other guy stood and stopped with his back facing me. It was the only place on his body that wasn’t covered in tattoos, which was odd. Whispering came from behind me. I already knew that bitch was up there talking shit, but I was gon’ let her live to see another day. The last thing I wanted was to get my son put off the team before the first game.
For the next hour, I sat there and watched Joker interact with the children. He played with them and handled them with care. It was something that I didn’t expect from him. Once practice was over, Brave ran over to me so that we could leave.
“Did you have fun?” I asked him, nudging him toward the exit. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Joker over there speaking with a parent. The woman was snickering and slapping him on the arm as if he’d said something so hilarious. I could tell that most of the women were only going to show up to the practices just to flirt with him.
“It was cool,” was the only response I got out of Brave.
We walked out to the front of the stadium. I didn’t see Krissy’s truck when we got out there, forgetting that she told me to call when practice was over, so I pulled my phone from my purse and went to call her when I heard, “Damn, you couldn’t say goodbye?” I turned around and saw Joker approaching, tugging a white t-shirt down over his head.
“You seemed busy to me.”
“Let me find out that you’re jealous.”
The corners of my mouth quirked. I quickly wiped the smile away. “Jealous of what?”
“Women talking to me.”
“Why would I care? You don’t belong to me.”
“But I could.”
“No thank you.” My eyes scanned the parking lot again, and I mumbled, “Where’s Krissy?”
“Y’all need a ride home?”
“No,” I snapped.
“Is Auntie Kris coming back?” Brave looked up at me and asked.
“I thought she would’ve been back by now. I’m about to call her.”
“I can take y’all home if you want me to. It’s dark. I’on want to leave y’all standing up here.”
“Ma?...” Brave called out my name. He was probably ready to go home. Shit, at this point, I was ready myself. I’d been out since this morning when I walked him to school.
“Fine.”
“Let me grab my stuff. I’ll be right back,” he said and disappeared back inside the stadium.
Going to Krissy’s name, I sent her a text. You don’t have to worry about coming back for us. We got a ride.
I looked back to see if Joker was making his way back to us but didn’t see anything but darkness through the tunnel. “We’re having pizza for dinner,” one woman said as she and her two sons passed us.
“Ma, can we have pizza?” Brave asked me with pleading eyes.
Knowing that pizza wasn’t in the budget this week, I told him, “Not tonight. Maybe another time.” I felt like complete shit having to tell my son that, but it was nothing I was able to do about it. We didn’t have the money for it, and I wasn’t about to lie to him like we did.
“Y’all ready?” Joker asked as he approached us from behind.
“Yeah.” I stepped down off the curb and followed him toward his truck that wasn’t parked far. His truck and a couple other sedans were the only ones left in the parking lot. Brave trotted close at my side and halted when I did on the passenger side. I stood there as he climbed into the back seat, and I got into the front.
Joker pulled out of the parking lot and headed in the opposite direction of our house. “Where are we going?” I questioned him.
“I got a taste for some pizza.”
“We’re about to eat pizza!” Brave beamed from the back seat and leaned in our direction.
“Sit back, and why you don’t have your seat belt on?”
“Sorry,” he said, and I heard him pull the seat belt.
My phone buzzed. Grabbing it, I looked down and saw the message from Kris. Sorry. I didn’t know that y’all were already done. I had to run Ma to the emergency room.
Me: Dang. Is everything alright?
Kris: Yeah. Her pressure was up a bit. She hadn’t been taking her medicine .
Me: I’ll check in on her later and make sure she’s straight.
The truck halted. When I looked up, we were parked in front of Bibb Street Pizza. I’ve never eaten here before and didn’t even know it was down here. Honestly, there were a lot of places I haven’t eaten at before.
Joker climbed out the truck and I got out with Brave directly behind me. We walked up to the door and this Caucasian family exited. The guy took one look at Joker and released the door before he could reach it. Racist ass. People like that pissed me the fuck off.
Joker pulled the door and held it open for us. We stepped inside and pizza dough immediately hit my nostrils. It smelled so good in here.
“Good evening. How many are in the party?” the hostess asked.
“Just three,” Joker answered.
“Great. Right this way,” she said as she grabbed three menus. We followed her to a booth. Brave slid in first and then I got in next to him. Joker sat across from us. “Your waitress will be over shortly to take your drink orders. Have a nice evening,” she said and bounced away from the table.
“What kind of pizza do y’all normally eat?” Joker asked, looking at the menu.
“Meat lovers is fine.”
“And that’s all y’all want? You can get whatever you want.”
“What can I get for you?” this chick asked when she stopped at the table. She looked like she would’ve been in high school or something. Her eyes roamed Joker’s face with a smirk as if he was the only person sitting here.
“I want a water. What y’all getting?” His eyes locked with mine.
“I want a Sprite. What do you want, Poppa?”
“Fruit punch.”
Beaming a smile up at her, I watched as she jotted down what we asked for. Saliva damn near dripped from her mouth as she stared Joker down. If Brave wasn’t sitting next to me right now, I would’ve told her to just jump on his dick already since it seemed like she wanted it so bad. “Do you need more time to look over the menu?”
“Nah. We’ll take a large meat lovers pizza.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
She skipped away from the table, and I took my attention back to Joker. He sat directly across from me. Eyes damn near boring into my soul. “So is Knox your last name or what?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Nah. It’s my government. I only go by it when dealing with the kids.”
“Why not just go by it period?”
“I never really liked my government name.”
“Why not? I think it’s cuter than Joker. How you get the name Joker in the first place?”
“That’s a story for another day,” was his response.
“Here’s your drinks,” the waitress said and placed our cups on the table in front of us.
“I had the Sprite. He had the fruit punch,” I told her and switched our drinks. The only person’s drink order she had correct was Joker’s and that’s only because she was all in his face. If one asked me, that was really the only person she gave a damn about at the table. She had poor customer service skills.
“Sorry about that. Your pizza will be out soon,” she made known and left our table.
I took a sip from my drink and said, “Hey, can you give me a list of all the things Brave will need for practice? I don’t know anything about football and don’t even know what he wants to play for in the first place.”
“Ma, I told you that everyone is playing.”
“I can do that. I got your number, so I’ll text it to you.”
“Yeah, yeah…” I turned my attention back to Joker. “I noticed he had a bit of trouble out on the field. Is that anything that I need to worry about?”
“Not really. He has potential. I’m sure with a lot of practice, he’ll probably be a beast on the field. Don’t be worried about what everyone else has to say. Legends are made not born.”
The waitress came back over with the food and placed it in the center of the table. She stacked some plates and I passed one out to each of us. We began to eat silently. Why did Joker keep helping me? Was there something to gain from it? He was probably trying to get in my panties, but then again, there were so many women throwing themselves at him without him even having to do anything for them. Either way, whatever his motive was, I needed to stay away from him. As much as I wanted Brave to have a stepdaddy, at the same time, I didn’t need no man hurting me or him.
An hour had gone by and we finished eating our food. Brave gulped down the remainder of his juice. Joker reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash so freaking big. I’d never seen that much money at one time before. Curiously, I sat there, observing as he peeled off two hundred-dollar bills and tossed them onto the table. It must have been nice to be able to throw around cash like that.
We all got up from the table and went outside to the truck. Joker opened the door for me, which was surprising. I slipped into the seat with Brave directly behind me, and Joker shut the door.
“Did you have any homework?” I asked Brave as Joker climbed into the driver’s seat and started the truck.
“No.”
“It’s getting late so when we get home, get straight in the tub and get ready for bed.”
I looked at Brave over my shoulder and he nodded, then rested his head against the headrest. From the laziness of his eyes, I could tell that he’d probably be sleep way before we even make it home.
Joker backed out his space and hopped on the road. “Where’s his daddy if you don’t mind me asking?”
Looking down into my lap, I fiddled with my fingers. That was a touchy subject for me. I hated talking about it whenever it was brought up because it always led to Brave questioning me. I made sure to let him know that his father loved him dearly before he was taken away from us, because he truly did. Eno did everything he could to make sure that we had everything we needed when he was here and for a bit afterward.
“He got killed before Brave was born.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah...” I kept my head lowered, feeling the moisture threatening to fill the brims of my eyes.
“You never got with anyone else after that?”
“I tried a few times, but the relationships just didn’t work out in my favor.” Blinking back the tears, I looked over at Joker. He sat there, concentrating on driving. His face was relaxed, one hand resting on the steering wheel. Without a doubt, the diamond glistening in his ear was real. It was obvious why women tossed themselves at him on a regular. He was a good-looking man and paid too.
“Is that why you be pushing me away?” His gaze briefly met mine.
“Yeah. I just don’t have the time to waste on a relationship anymore. I have more than just my heart to protect.” He nodded.
We pulled into the parking lot of Ridgeview and the truck stopped in a space. “Thank you for dinner,” I stared at him and said. As his eyes poured back into mine, my heart skipped beats in my chest.
“No problem.”
Opening the door, I climbed out and pulled Brave’s door open for him. He was knocked out. I lightly shook him ’til his eyes fluttered open. “Wake up. We’re home.”
Brave groaned and rolled out of the truck. “Bye, Coach Knox,” he said, and I shut the door. We trotted up to the building. Jah wasn’t outside like he normally would be whenever we arrived at home. There was this homeless man that’ll sleep next to the door, sitting out there with a mixed dog. I couldn’t really make out exactly what the dog was, but it was huge, shaggy, white and brown. The dog sat up, and I moved Brave to the other side of me where it couldn’t reach him.
I opened the door and we entered the building then climbed the stairs up to our floor. Soon as we made it to the top, I saw some tall figure standing at our door. A piece of paper was slipped into the crack. “I paid the rent this month,” I said to myself. That was normally what happened whenever rent was missed or if something was going on at the complex. The closer we got, I realized it was some guy we’d never seen before standing there.
“Can I help you?” I asked and stopped with a good bit of distance between us and pulled Brave into my side. People were crazy and there was no telling what he was doing up here.
“You’re Halo, aren’t you?” A grin spread his lips. He took a step further in the dimly lit hallway, and I was able to make out his face. He was a good five ten with a caramel complexion. His head was bald and kinda dull. Maybe he needed a shave. “You look just like her.”
“I’m sorry, but who are you?”
“I’m your father.”