Try a Little Tenderness

by Isaiah David Paul

  When they were done, Amirah was escorted to her car by one of Asheville’s finest. Once she got in her car, she got a group text from Mrs. Ingle telling her that there would be an emergency meeting held at David’s Table, where they would meet within the hour.

  “Any more news about why this happened?” Amirah asked after she rolled down the window.

  “Ma’am, we don’t know any more than what’s been reported,” the police officer replied. “We’re praying like you that the boys who got stabbed get their healing.”

  Amirah nodded her head and started the car. She felt foolish for letting Xen leave her room during the exam. It wasn’t her fault that he got stabbed, but she could’ve told him no. Then again, Amirah had never been the one to deny a student the right to use the bathroom. Her mother dealt with incontinence issues in her last days, so she was more sympathetic and willing to give the students the benefit of the doubt.

  As she drove away from the school, all she could picture were Xen’s eyes as he lay on the stretcher. The boy had made so much progress in avoiding being a troublemaker. She prayed that the stabbing didn’t send him back a few steps.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  I Can’t Write Left-Handed

  Praying that the injured students would be okay, Amirah headed to the brief staff meeting that was being held at David’s Table. They needed answers for the stabbings that had just taken place a few hours ago.

  Amirah was still shaken. She hadn’t thought she would ever see one of her students become a victim of a violent crime.

  “I see you brought your Bible.” Amirah noticed as she welcomed Mateo and Julio to the part of the restaurant that had been closed off for temporary school use.

  A few of her friends and some of the worshipers at Guiding Light Ministries decided to get together for an impromptu Bible study. The violence at her school left all of their souls vulnerable, and the prayer for Xen’s and the other students’ safe healing and recovery motivated the crowd to move closer to God.

  Mrs. Ingle and her husband came in too, and soon brought the meeting to order. “Today, we learn to be prepared for the unfortunate and unexpected,” Mrs. Ingle started. “The stabbings of three of our students could have happened at any school in Asheville, North Carolina, or in the country. Unfortunately, school stabbings and shootings are becoming too frequent.”

  Amirah noticed the weary looks on the faces of her fellow teachers. To think that when she was a little girl, teaching used to be one of the safest professions in the world. It seemed that when tragedy strikes, many lives are lost and a whole community is left to deal with the aftermath.

  “What’s the status of the students who were stabbed?” Calvin Rice asked.

  Amirah hadn’t even noticed Calvin step into the room. Calvin was also one of the original members of the Street Disciples Ministry that she’d heard so much about, and he spent a lot of his time mentoring young men in the area.

  “Thankfully, all of the students are stable,” Mrs. Ingle confirmed. “We decided that we are going to make tomorrow a teacher workday and let the students stay home. Administration will be meeting with the police department and strategizing a safe return for the students the following day. Most of you have the ability to work from home, so I’m only going to request that you come in for a few hours to record any grades you need to record.”

  Amirah felt good. Knowing that Xen and the other students were going to be okay made her feel at ease.

  “What do you need from the community?” Pastor Cummings asked. “Guiding Light Ministries is prepared to offer the sanctuary and access to our small classrooms and library for students who may need to meet or have counseling to deal with what happened.”

  “That is greatly appreciated,” Mrs. Ingle replied. “We want the students to return to having as close to a normal school year as possible, and anything that can speed up the process is good.

  “I did want to commend everyone for doing a great job handling the lockdown situation. I know that some of you were put in a tight spot with students knowing what the media had reported about the stabbing. I also want to acknowledge the teachers who remembered to put up the yellow cards for the students who were missing. Aside from the stabbing victims, everyone else was found safely.”

  Hearing Mrs. Ingle speak renewed Amirah’s faith in teaching and working at Shiloh Christian Academy. One thing she could always respect about Mrs. Ingle was that in addition to running a tight ship, she seemed to be prepared for every possible emergency imaginable.

  Amirah felt her phone vibrate. She pulled it out discreetly and saw that Aja and Marjorie had texted her with concern for her safety. She made a note to get in touch with them after the meeting was over.

  After a few more questions, Mrs. Ingle separated everyone by department. Calvin led the rest of the group to the opposite end of the room. Amirah could see Mateo, Hammer, and Pastor Cummings huddled up with the other administrators.

  He smiled. She felt safe with him around. She smiled back.

  “I’m glad to hear we all did well,” Calvin congratulated the team. “Amirah, if you need any help with the students on Thursday—”

  “I think I’ll be fine,” Amirah assured him, “Xen had asked to go to the bathroom and didn’t return. Most of my students were taking their unit test when the school went on lockdown.”

  “Well, it’s almost six o’clock now,” Calvin pointed out. “Mrs. Ingle will give an official statement on behalf of the academy, and Lord willing, that will answer some of the questions the parents and students may have.”

  Amirah agreed. She prayed that her students would return ready to learn and move forward. She had decided to visit with Xen later on after she got settled in at home.

  Most of the teachers started to disperse, and she was pleased she was able to meet with Mateo on her way out of the building.

  “Sorry you had to go through that.” He walked Amirah to her car.

  “I’ll be okay,” Amirah promised.

  “I thought about Turner and whether or not he could’ve been involved,” Mateo revealed. “I wondered whether or not this had anything to do with me or Sonic.”

  “Turner may not have had anything to do with this,” Amirah surprised herself by saying. “The police haven’t named anyone publicly yet, so there is no telling who they may have in mind. For some reason, I don’t think Turner would have his eyes set on a student at Shiloh.”

  “He may not, but I know he has his eyes set on you,” Mateo warned.

  “I’ll put Mrs. Ingle on alert about Turner.” Amirah attempted to ease Mateo’s mind. “I’m just glad that the students are going to pull through and for the extra security we will have on campus when the students return.”

  Amirah appreciated the concern Mateo had for her safety. “You want me to give you a ride to your car?” she offered.

  “I rode with Hammer,” Mateo confirmed, “but thanks for the offer.”

  Amirah and Mateo shared a hug, and Amirah watched as Mateo walked away. She quickly responded to Aja and Marjorie and promised to call them both when she got home. Amirah’s feelings for Mateo were growing stronger every day. He just didn’t know it.

  Amirah stayed in her car until she saw Mateo and Hammer get in their car safely. When they pulled off, she followed suit.

  Chapter Thirty

  Where They Do That?

  “Bruh, how come you don’t have this refrigerator stocked?” Julio pulled out water bottles and fruit that was packed in smaller plastic containers. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think a homeless person lived here.”

  Julio had overstayed his welcome. When Mateo brought his brother home from Madre’s a couple of days ago, he only meant he’d take Julio out for a little while. Julio had taken to sleeping on the other queen bed and claiming half of the room. Mateo’s room had become Julio’s second home.

  “Julio, chill.” Mateo tossed his apron on the bed. He had just come back from working at Burgers & Fries to help
out with the lunch shift. With the students being off for a teacher workday, he’d spent the bulk of the four-hour work shift making shakes and prepping the toppings and condiments that went into the shakes.

  The new threat from Turner raised his stress level. The man was down the hall from them, plotting, waiting to strike again. Mateo accessed the records and was amazed to find that Turner had indeed checked into the room under his real name. He thought Hammer must’ve been slipping. When he asked Hammer why he didn’t kick him out, Hammer said something about not wanting to move too quickly.

  What kind of mess was that?

  Hammer’s view was that Turner had been at the hotel for a whole week without causing any ruckus, and without the restraining order he failed to take out on him, Hammer would need more than a “he didn’t like him” to put Turner out. Hammer wasn’t going to approach Turner and offer him a refund to leave. He would inadvertently become the aggressor of any physical confrontation then. When Turner paid for the room in advance, he became a tenant and not a guest, so they had to treat him as if he were renting an apartment instead of a room. The only thing Hammer could do was to inform the employees not to renew his room after his time expired, or else they would enter into another monthly leasing situation.

  Mateo wondered whether Turner was responsible for the stabbings of the students at Shiloh Christian Academy. That was yet to be seen.

  “And you didn’t bring back no burgers either. See, you don’t ever do right,” Julio complained when he took cup of fruit to his mouth and let the chunks fall in.

  “Man,” Mateo complained, “you been here two days, and you could’ve bought some groceries or something. I work two jobs. You need to get you one.”

  “Aw, come on, bruh.”

  “Come on nothing,” Mateo responded. “I gotta pay rent and keep money so that I can take the bus back and forth when Sonic can’t take me to work.”

  “Look, don’t kill my vibe.” Julio tossed the empty container on the counter next to the refrigerator. “I applied at all these places that claim they support vets, but they want you to be white and lesbian in the process. If I could get my money up, I’d get my truck and my lawn equipment together.”

  “Wait a minute. What happened to your truck?” Mateo had forgotten that Julio had a black Ford F-150 that was paid for.

  “Wanna take a guess how I lost it?”

  Mateo shook his head. It was anyone’s guess as to what Julio may have done to lose his most prized position. He was going to reply with something smart when he felt his phone ringing. He’d just taken his shoes off and was about to undress when he saw Amirah’s name flash across the screen.

  “What’s up, ma?” Mateo asked as he swiped the ANSWER button to accept the call.

  “You made it home safe?” Amirah asked, annoyed that she had yet to hear from Mateo.

  “I love you too, girl.” Mateo put the phone on speaker, placed it on the bed, and took off his shirt.

  “This isn’t going to be no strip show, is it?” Julio got up and grabbed his keys off the table. “I can leave.”

  Mateo shook his head and put his finger to his lips to ask his brother to be quiet.

  “Who was that?” Amirah asked.

  “That’s my brother. Long story. But to answer your question, I’m in my room. I’m safe and Sonic is safe.”

  Mateo could hear Amirah’s sigh of relief. “I need to come by and see you. I forgot to give you his room key.”

  Mateo could feel his adrenaline rushing. Immediately he got up and grabbed the shirt he’d just thrown in the hamper seconds ago, and rushed to put on his shoes.

  “He gave you the key?” Mateo could see Julio poppin’ his knuckles and getting ready for whatever was going to go down.

  “Yeah, he feels like he can be a better man than you and offered me a chance to find out,” Amirah said.

  “You see him around now?” Mateo cut her off. He was worried that if Turner saw her, he would be planning to do some physical harm to her. He could hear Julio in the background venting and mumbling in Spanish about everything he was going to do to Turner when he saw him again.

  Mateo went to the window and took a peek through the curtains.

  “He said he stayed down the hall from you. What room are you in? I have his key and I want to give it to you before Turner arrives.” Amirah’s voice came in fuzzy over the speaker.

  “I’m in room one sixteen. The dude is at the end of the building,” Mateo answered.

  “Where he at?” Julio was hyped up, interrupting their conversation.

  “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Are you going to call Hammer?” Amirah asked.

  “I can’t. Hammer said something about Turner creating a tenancy in the room by paying a month in advance. We couldn’t put him out if we wanted to.” Mateo shook his head as he picked up the phone and turned off the speaker.

  “Okay. I’ll wait in my room and I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  Mateo and Amirah said their good-byes and ended the call. Mateo cursed himself for giving Hammer his Glock, but then the Spirit warned him to calm down.

  “Where that fool at?” Julio asked. “We can go settle this right now.”

  The last thing Mateo needed was for Julio’s OCD to kick in. He knew that Julio didn’t take his medications regularly, and he spent most of his “crazy check” on booze and women.

  “Look, bruh, chill. I got this.”

  “How? Hammer got your gun.” Julio was frustrated. “I still owe you a whooping for giving it to him. Who does some dumb stuff like that?”

  “Who said I needed it?” Mateo quipped back. He’d had enough of Julio and was ready to send him back to Madre.

  “Look, short man.” Julio got in Mateo’s face. “That big boy out there ain’t gonna stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. Where’s Sonic at?”

  “He’s at work. He’s closing the restaurant tonight.”

  “A’ight, bet. This is what we need to do: You go get in the shower so you can be fresh and clean for your girlfriend to get here, and I’ll make sure I’m ready to knock Turner out.”

  Julio dropped to the floor and did military-style push-ups effortlessly. He even did a few with one hand behind his back. Mateo shook his head as he got some underwear and an undershirt from the drawer. He hoped that the shower would ease his mind and prepare him to face Amirah and confront Turner if necessary. He didn’t like the idea that Turner just popped up at the school, or the fact that he hadn’t been there to protect her. Now Mateo knew where his enemy rested his head, and he knew he needed to be ready for whatever Turner had in store for them.

  Amirah knocked on the door. When it opened, she was surprised to see a taller, darker version of Mateo staring back at her.

  “Ameerah,” Julio greeted her, putting emphasis on the “e” portion of her name. “Me llamo Julio. Nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you too,” Amirah responded as she gave Julio a look over. Good looks definitely ran in the Valdez gene pool, and for a brief moment, she could picture darker and lighter little Mateos hanging around their uncle.

  Amirah stepped in, and she heard the shower turned off. She figured Mateo had come in from Burgers & Fries and was changing to go host in the lobby. She’d never been inside Heaven’s Inn before and was surprised at how large the room was. Two queen-sized beds fit into the room comfortably, with plenty of room to spare. The flat-screen television had the DVD player on the side, which gave the option for watching cable or renting something from Redbox or whatever. The floor of the carpet was new, and the buff comforter set looked like they came out of the Neiman Marcus catalog. The black refrigerator matched the other appliances from Kenmore.

  Mateo walked out wearing an undershirt and a towel wrapped around his waist. Amirah flashed a smile, and he flashed one back. She watched as he grabbed a pair of black slacks and his dress shoes that were in the closet.

  “Y’all look like that’s the first time y’all seen each other naked.�
� Julio smirked.

  Amirah frowned and shook her head.

  “Julio,” Mateo commanded.

  “What? I was just saying—”

  “Hush,” Mateo interrupted him. “I’m sorry for my brother. He a got little problem. I’ll be back.” He went back into the bathroom to put on his slacks.

  “I got a big problem. I don’t know what you talking about,” Julio responded to the door closing. “My brother is so rude. He didn’t even tell me he had a girlfriend until five minutes ago.”

  “Well, Mateo and I are taking things slow.”

  “Don’t move too slow,” Julio warned. “I’ll have to snatch you up if he isn’t careful.”

  Amirah wanted to keep a straight face, but she failed miserably. A smile and laughter escaped her face. Julio was definitely a trip. She could tell the two of them could entertain some company.

  “Man, if you don’t back up off my girl,” Mateo threatened as he came out of the bathroom, pulling her close to him from behind. He kissed her on the cheek. He loved the feeling of having her near him, and he realized that where he belonged was with her. For the first time in his life, Mateo was in love.

  “My bad, man. My bad.” Julio backed away with his hands up.

  Amirah dug into her front pocket. “Here is the key. What are you going to do with it?”

  “I’m going to give it to Hammer,” Mateo replied quickly as he put the key into his back pocket. He saw Julio giving facial expressions that indicated he was making a bad choice.

  “You’re not going to try to go after him, are you?” Amirah asked as she sat down on the chair next to his desk.

  “Not today,” Mateo promised. “He’ll get dealt with later. For now, I just want to make sure that you are safe and that we don’t have to worry about Turner trying anything stupid.”

  Amirah got up and kissed Mateo on his forehead. He pulled her close, and she felt safe in his arms. She knew she was in love. She just wasn’t sure if she was ready to say so out loud.