12. Halo
Halo
“ M ommy?” Hearing Brave’s little voice, I squirmed and stretched out on the couch before opening my eyes and turning over. I jumped up when my eyes landed on Joker, standing behind him.
Wiping the saliva from the corner of my mouth, I asked, “What are you doing here?” I noticed the bouquet of flowers in his hand and the Happy Birthday balloons in Brave’s. He also had a pink gift bag as well.
“When I saw you today, why you didn’t tell me it was your birthday?”
“How?”
“I had a talk with your son. He showed up at the stadium.”
“He did what!” My eyes damn near bulged from my head. Brave knew not to leave here alone. It was dangerous out there. Anything could’ve happened to him.
Brave’s eyes lowered and he said, “I’m sorry. I just really wanted to get you something and I didn’t have any money.”
“You could’ve asked me for some.”
“He won’t ever do it again. Ain’t that right?” Joker asked him.
“Yes, sir.” He twiddled the string to the balloons with his finger. “Happy Birthday, Ma,” he said and handed me over the balloons and the gift bag.
“Thank you, baby.” I released the balloons and they drifted up to the ceiling. Resting the gift bag in my lap, I pulled the box out and saw that it was a Marquirette’s box. I’d seen the store whenever I passed by but never really been inside. It always had a Sheriff’s truck sitting out there, so I knew that store was expensive as hell.
Opening the box, my mouth dropped to my lap when I saw the diamond heart necklace inside it. “This must have cost a fortune,” I looked up at Joker and said.
“Don’t worry ’bout how much it cost. Happy Birthday.”
Brave took the necklace out the box and I turned on the couch where he could slip it around my neck. Tears filled my eyes and I quickly blinked them back.
“Thank you. I love it.” I pulled Brave into my embrace and kissed his cheek. “We’ll talk about this later,” I told him, and he went to his bedroom. “I honestly didn’t hear him leave the house. I was so tired that I fell asleep when I came in,” I said, rubbing the nape of my neck. “Something could’ve really happened to him.”
I got up from the couch and Joker handed me the roses. “I know. I’m glad he made it to me when he did. You can’t blame him for wanting to do something for you though. My mama was the reason why I started going out to get money.”
“I just be so worried about him, especially after what happened to his daddy. All I ever do is stress whenever he ain’t around me. I know how cruel the world can be for young black boys.”
I trotted into the kitchen with him right on my heels. Leaning down into the cabinet, I grabbed my vase out of there. “I hope this is big enough. I don’t get flowers like that,” I said and turned around, placing the vase on the counter.
“You deserve flowers every week.”
“Though that may sound like a dream, I have to settle for reality.”
Opening the drawer next to the doorway, I grabbed the scissors out of there and opened the flowers. It came with a pack of flower food. Turning on the water, I filled the vase halfway and then poured the flower food inside. I cut the stems and carefully placed the roses inside the vase.
Once I was done, I took the flowers back into the living room and set them on the end table. “Thank you for getting him home safely.” I couldn’t thank him enough.
“No problem,” he said and stepped to the door. Joker stood there, eyes peering into my soul. His fingertips brushed my hand before cupping my face. My eyes shut and his lips pressed firmly against my forehead. Without uttering another word, he exited the apartment and shut the door behind him.
I marched to Brave’s bedroom and found him sitting in the middle of the bed with his tablet. “You know you’re in trouble, right?” His head snapped in my direction, and I yanked the tablet from his clutches. “You know you don’t leave this house on your own. Anything could’ve happened to you. I don’t know what’s gotten into you. I have Coach Knox’s number in my phone. If you wanted him, you could’ve called him.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t let it happen again. You’re grounded for the next couple of weeks. No tablet, no game, no TV. School, practice, and home to your bedroom. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied and lowered his head.
“Dinner will be done in a few,” I said and trotted out his bedroom, shutting the door behind me. Pressing my back against the door, I tilted my head back and exhaled. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks. “Thank you, God, for keeping him safe for me,” I whispered and peeled away from the door.
Friday night
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for his first game. I know that he’s going to crush it,” Krissy said over FaceTime as I scurried all over my bedroom in search of my black Steve Madden sneakers. They went perfectly with my black and red jersey that had Brave’s number on the back of it. I couldn’t remember the last time I wore them and they weren’t in the closet.
“Ugh,” I said, dropping to my hands and knees, I rested the phone on the floor underneath me to check underneath the bed before I went to search the closet by the front door. “It’s fine. I know you would’ve been there if you could. I’ll be sure to take plenty of pictures.” My eyes landed on my shoes, and I laid flat on my stomach, reaching as far as I could to grab them.
“I’ll be back in the morning.”
“I remember,” I replied, getting up from the floor. Grabbing my phone, I sat on the edge of the bed and shoved my foot down into the shoes.
“Let me know when you make it back home.”
“I will.” I puckered my lips and ended the call once I saw that it was four thirty. My Lyft should be pulling up outside soon. “Brave!” I shouted and got up from the bed. I grabbed my wristlet off the dresser and left out the room. “Brave, come on! Let’s go!”
A lot of people didn’t like coming to Ridgeview. They were scared as hell coming out here and if I wasn’t outside, waiting for them when they arrived, they were bound to leave.
“I was coming,” he said and stepped out his bedroom. My boy looked good in his uniform with his red number four resting in the center of the shirt.
“Hold on. Let me get a picture.” Stepping back, I lifted my phone in his direction and waited ’til he smiled before pressing the red button in the center of the screen with my thumb to snap the picture.
“I’m sending this to Krissy,” I told him. “Let’s go.” We rushed to the front door and stepped out.
“Hey, Brave!” one of the little girls said that stayed down the hallway. I think she was crushing on my baby. She broke her neck to speak to him every time she saw him and made sure to do it with a huge smile. She was around his age and was always knocking on my door asking for him to come out and play with her. The answer was always no. Brave knew he wasn’t allowed out that door without me.
“Hey, Summer,” he responded.
“You look cute. Where you going?” she asked him as I locked the door.
“I got a game,” he answered.
“Oh, you’re playing football? Let me see,” she said and skipped in his direction. When she stopped in front of him, he lifted his right arm in the air and flexed.
Giggling, I told him, “Boy, come on,” and nudged him away from the door.
“I’ll see you when you get back, Brave!” she yelled behind us.
Pulling him into my frame, we took the stairs down to the first floor. When we got outside, my ride hadn’t pulled up yet. Jah was posted against the wall with his friends. It’d been weeks since I last saw him. It was scary as hell that night I opened the door and he dropped into my arms. I called 911 and went with him to the hospital, but once I made sure he was going to be fine, I took my butt home. After that, he hadn’t been back out here, as if he was running from someone. I called a few times and checked on him to make sure he was okay and he’d always assure me that he was fine.
“Hey, Jah!” Brave said, grabbing his attention. He ran over and hugged him. Jah moved him back by the shoulders and took in his outfit.
“Today your first game?” He quirked a smile.
“Yeah,” Brave answered.
“Gon’ make sure you win that shit for me.”
“I will.” Jah’s eyes locked with mine. He removed himself away from the wall and closed the gap between us.
“How you been? I missed seeing you out here,” I told him with a light smile. It was good to see that he was actually fine now.
“I’m straight. I had a few things I needed to handle family wise. My uncle got killed too.”
“Aww, I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“It’s cool. How you been? Let me find out you missed a nigga.”
“Maybe…” I didn’t want to get his hopes up too high. It was nice seeing him out here every day when I got home though. Tires rolling on rocks quirked my ears. I looked back over my shoulder and saw that it was my Lyft arriving. “I gotta get going.”
“I’ll be here when you get back.”
My body gravitated to Jah, and I wrapped my arms around his waist, nestling my head into his chest. “I’m really glad that you’re okay,” I said when I pulled back. “Let’s go, Brave.”
We stepped to the red Hyundai and the guy rolled the window down. “Halo?”
“Yup.” I pulled the back door open. Brave slid into the seat with me directly behind him.
“Let’s go!” I lifted to my feet and yelled. I didn’t know what was going on, but I did know that the Hawks had the ball and they needed one more touchdown to win the game. Out of nowhere, one of the boys tossed Brave the ball and he caught it. He looked over in my direction. “Run!” I screamed at the top of my lungs before one of those little boys tackled my baby. He ran with Joker running with him down the sidelines. The boys guarding him were doing an excellent job. They didn’t allow any of the other boys on the other team near him.
I bounced on my tippytoes. He was so close to making a touchdown. “Go! Go! Go!” Brave crossed over into a touchdown and I screamed, “Yes!” I pushed people out the way as I ran down the bleachers. Brave slammed the ball down onto the ground and his team crowded around him. I ran full speed and didn’t stop ’til I made it to where Joker was and jumped up into his arms. My left arm wrapped around his neck while I lifted the right up into the air. “Oh my God, he did it! He did it!”
I was nervous as hell about Brave’s first game. Never in a million years did I ever think he’d score the final touchdown. I was so proud of my baby.
Joker’s eyes pierced mine. My heart banged against my chest. My eyes zeroed in on his lips and my head tilted toward his face.
“Ma, did you see that!” Brave yelled, breaking me from my trance. Joker placed me down on my feet and I cleared my throat, tugging on the hem of my jersey.
“I did. I’m so proud of you, Poppa,” I said and pulled him in for an embrace.
“Who wants pizza?” Joker asked the team, and they cheered.
“Have your parents meet me at Midtown Pizza Kitchen. Pizza on me,” he told them.
“Yay!” they yelled in unison, and everyone cleared out.
“Are y’all coming too? You can ride with me.”
After what just happened, I wasn’t sure if I needed to be anywhere near this man if I was going to keep the promise to myself about staying away from men. Joker didn’t seem like he’d do something to hurt me, but I didn’t know if he was still messing around with that girl, and I didn’t have time to be getting caught up in another love triangle. If I was going to be with someone, I had to be certain that it was me and only me they wanted. If not, I was good being alone.
“Can we, Ma?” Brave asked, bringing me back to reality.
“I guess so.”
Joker reached into his pocket and said, “Here.” His keys rested in his palm. “Wait for me in the truck. I’ll be there in a few.”
“Okay,” escaped my lips and I grabbed the keys. I turned to walk off before I realized that I didn’t even know where the truck was located. By the time I turned around, he was gone. “Guess we’ll have to go find the truck.”
Brave and I took the tunnel out the stadium to the parking lot. I pressed the fob to make Joker’s alarm go off and it immediately began to scream. The truck was parked directly in front of the stadium.
Brave and I went over and climbed into the truck. I started it up with the air on full blast. It was hot as hell outside and I’d been sweating for the last few hours. The air slapping my skin felt amazing. Pulling my phone out, I sent Krissy all the pictures that I took tonight. I really wish I thought about filming him making that touchdown, but next time I’ll be sure to be ready.
Before I even closed out her thread, her picture popped up on my phone. I swiped the screen and placed the phone to my ear. “Did they win?” she asked before I was even able to say anything.
“Yes, and he scored the final touchdown!”
“I know that’s right! Tell him I’m so proud of him.”
“Krissy says she’s proud of you.”
“Thank you,” was all he said.
“He said thanks.”
“What are y’all doing now?”
“We’re actually waiting for the coach so that we can go out for pizza.”
“I just know you’re not talking about that fine ass man you’ve been telling me about.”
I poked the tip of my tongue inside my jaw. I have told Krissy all about my interactions with Joker. She even knew about how he helped Brave purchase me something for my birthday. Krissy was adamant about me taking things to the next level with him, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready. Bringing a man into my life also meant I was bringing one into Brave’s. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for such a huge commitment right now. It was even harder knowing that he was Brave’s coach. If things didn’t work out between us, I didn’t want to ruin things for him. This was the type of situation I had to handle with care.
“Please don’t start,” I said when I drifted back to reality.
“I’m just saying, girl. He seems like a good man. You might need to hop on that shit before someone else snatches him up.”
“I’m not in a rush for anything. If someone else gets him, it only means that he wasn’t meant for me.” The driver’s door open, and I jumped. Krissy had me so wrapped up in her conversation that I hadn’t even noticed Joker made it to the truck. “I have to go. I’ll call you later,” I told her and ended the call.
“I’m so proud of you,” Joker said to Brave as he pulled away from the curb. “I tried to tell you that all that practice will pay off. You keep on playing like that and all the scouts will be fighting over you once you make it to high school.”
“For real?” From the tone of Brave’s voice, I knew he was smiling from ear to ear.
“Yeah. I’ll never tell you a lie.” Joker pulled out into traffic. The ride to the restaurant was kinda silent excluding the radio playing. I kept stealing peeks of Joker. Damn, why this man had to be so fucking fine?
We arrived at the pizza place just as some of the other teammates and their families were pulling into the parking lot. Joker shut off the truck and I opened my door. We were parked next to this other single parent who had two boys on the team. They were extremely close in age. She and another one of the mothers were riding together. When she saw me get out of Joker’s truck, she cut her eyes at me and rolled them hard and then said something to the other woman in the car with her. I knew they were gon’ hate me for Joker paying extra attention to me.
We went up to the door and Joker held it open for me and Brave. Once we were inside, he stopped at the hostess and said, “I have a football team coming in. I need all the free tables you got.”
“Sir, that’s something that you’re supposed to call ahead of time and reserve.”
“I’m reserving it now. I don’t care how much it cost.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a wad of cash and placed it on the podium.
“Um, okay. I think we can make that work.”
“Tell them I want ten pepperoni, ten cheese, ten supreme, and ten meat lovers.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?” I asked him.
“These are boys I’m feeding. I don’t think anything is too much.”
Yeah, I just had to rethink life. It was hard feeding one let alone an entire team. I was just gon’ stay in my place.
“I’ll get it to the kitchen. You can sit at any empty table you’d like,” she said and stepped from behind the podium.
Joker went over to the first empty table he saw and had a seat. I slid into the booth in front of him and all I heard from behind me was, “Brave!”
“Ma, I’m going over there with TJ if that’s alright with you.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“Yes!” He ran from the table, and I pulled my phone out, going to Instagram to help me ignore the stares coming my way from Joker and all the other jealous ass women that were in here.
“What else do you have planned for the weekend?” Joker asked.
My eyes shifted from my phone over to him and I replied, “Nothing. I’m just going to spend the rest of the weekend in the house.”
“I got a few errands to run, but I’ll be in the house for the most part.”
“Okay?...” I stared at him to see if there was a point he was getting at for asking me that, but when he didn’t continue, I went back to my phone and uploaded the pictures I took of Brave.
Resting my phone on the table, I turned my attention back to Joker. “When’s the next game?”
“The next one is next weekend. It’s in Huntsville.”
“Dang.”
“You didn’t get the schedule in the group chat?”
“They were texting so much that I silenced it.”
“Y’all gon’ be good to go?”
“I think I work next Saturday, but I’ll see if I can switch days with someone. It’s cool.”
“Okay.”
The chatter in the restaurant grew louder. I looked around and there were boys all over the place in Hawks jerseys. My phone vibrated on the table. When I looked down, I noticed it was a call from my mama.
“Can you watch out for Brave? I really need to take this and it’s loud in here.”
He nodded and I got up from my seat. Swiping the call, I placed the phone to my ear and stepped outside. “Hey, Ma.”
“Halo, I got a release date.”