Chapter 24-Kenya #2
She was right. Tobias and I had an unexplainable bond.
Even when I was upset with him, I would always go to bat for him, and he would do the same for me, but to know how much he was keeping from me had me seeing him differently.
My natural reaction was anger, but my heart wouldn’t let me be mad at him.
Out of all of us, the most wrong was done to him and not me.
“Fancy, are you and my father still involved with one another?”
“Don’t ask questions that you aren’t ready to know the answer to.”
“Fair enough,” I said with a nod.
From her answer, I knew that they were. I could see what my father saw in Fancy because she was a beautiful woman and had the heart to match. Last night as I tossed and turned, I imagined how different my life would have been if my father had left my mother, taken me, and married Fancy.
I could only imagine how much happier my childhood would have been. I wouldn’t have been in a situation where I was fighting for the love of a scorned, bitter woman.
“There’s more on your mind than our old drama. Talk to me, sweetie. I’m sure I have an old copper penny for your thoughts.” She brought the olive-green porcelain cup up to her lips and took a sip. From where I sat, I could see the steam wafting in the air.
“Yesterday I got into arguments with both of my siblings. I was upset with Tobias because he knew that Ivan has been having an affair. I felt like he should have said something to me about it instead of allowing her to walk around blind. When I left his house, I called Kendra, invited her to my house, and broke the news to her that Ivan has a separate family with a female named Rasheeda. Unbeknownst to me, Kendra was well aware of Ivan’s indiscretions.
That is when she told me she married a man just like our father. ”
“That darn girl is so much like your mother that it is a shame. You have to realize that sometimes people don’t tell certain truths in order to protect you.
With that, you have to realize that some people can’t be protected, and they don’t want to be either.
Ivan is Kendra’s meal ticket. He can do whatever, whenever, to whoever , and she is going to forgive him. ”
“You’re right. I just feel like my world crumbled into millions of pieces last night.”
“And that is exactly what Tobias was protecting you from, sweetie.”
“I see that now. Has my father reached out to him since Tobias found out?”
“Yes, he has, but you let them figure that out. I told myself that I was going to stay out of it, and I am telling you to do the same. If they are meant to establish a relationship, it needs to be because each of them wants to. They don’t need either of us intervening, trying to help them.”
Fancy knew me all too well, because I would have done my best to make sure that a relationship was orchestrated between the two.
“You just worry about keeping that man of yours happy. I still can’t believe how Olivia treated him, but believe me when I tell you that your father let her have it just as soon as the two of you left.”
“Really?”
I wasn’t surprised because I could see in his eyes just how upset he was at her behavior. To say that her conduct was embarrassing would have been the understatement of the year.
“Oh, yes, in all the years that I have known Kevin, I’ve never seen him become that upset.
He told her in front of Kendra, Ivan, and the kids that he refused to be married to a foolish, ignorant, silly woman, and demanded that she call you to apologize for her despicable behavior.
Then when she refused, he told her that it would be the last thing that she said to him, and he stormed out. ”
“He said that?”
“Oh, yes. He was in rare form, and I’m sure she was surprised too because he has let her get away with murder over the years.”
“Knowing what I know now, I don’t see how he stayed with her for so long.”
“That is for neither of us to know. We are all given a hand of cards in life. We have to make the best of what we are dealt, and that looks different for everybody.”
“I know. It’s just going to be a long time before I speak to my mother or my sister again. I’m fed up with being their caddy, trailing behind them as if I have something to prove.”
“I’m proud that you’ve had that revelation, but remember that is still your family.”
“No, Fancy, you are my family. I’m not sure who or what Olivia or Kendra are to me, and I am not sure if they deserve to occupy a space in my heart, or in my life. Family isn’t always the people you are born to, it’s the people who prove they love you even when they have nothing to gain.”
I finished talking to Fancy and then made my next stop.
“If you’re still mad at me, get out!” Tobias yelled over his shoulder. As always, he was sitting at his bar, eating. There was so much to say, but I wasn’t sure where to start, so instead of saying anything, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him from behind.
“I love you, big brother. I always have, and I always will.”
“Here you go,” he groaned sarcastically before accepting my embrace. “Now that you know, don’t be weird. Nothing changes between the two of us, and I don’t want to talk about Kevin.”
I heard all of his statement, and although I wanted to protest, I knew it really wasn’t my place to do so.
“Oh, I contest. If I ever need a kidney, I know just who to come to.” I laughed before kissing his cheek.
“Kenny, if it ever comes down to it, I got you. Now, are you ready?”
“Ready for what?” I asked, looking around the room as if I was missing something.
“Ready to take me out so you can apologize. I know you saw me blowing up your phone last night and not one time did you answer. You owe me lunch.”
“But you’re already eating.”
“That’s leftovers. It doesn’t count.”
“Fine, Tobi. You’re lucky that I love you and that I’m hungry. Now, come on.”
He pushed himself away from the bar and jumped up.
Once he grabbed his keys, we were out the door as quickly as we came.
Fancy was right about a lot, but one thing that stood out the most was the bond Tobias, and I shared from since I could remember.
He’d always been my brother, and I knew that was one thing that would never change.