Ezekiel's Passion

by Bailey West

  “Bye, Doctor Chambers.”

  “Bye, Mr. Bluette.”

  Ezekiel

  I came out of the room and saw Susan waiting on me. I followed her back down the hall and onto the elevator.

  I was so proud watching Zora do her thing with Obasi. She was extremely professional and knowledgeable. She put the whole room at ease. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was in her element, and I loved watching her.

  I emerged from the secret door and hopped into the SUV.

  “So, Doctor Zora is your friend, huh?” Lyrica asked as soon as I fastened my seat belt.

  “I thought she was your meal from the way you were looking at her,” Obasi commented.

  “Oh, someone is feeling better,” Lyrica said.

  “Much better, thanks.”

  “Yeah, she’s my friend,” I smiled.

  “Well, she is gorgeous. Those blue eyes are mesmerizing,” Lyrica stated.

  “I told you her beauty would take your mind off the pain.”

  “It almost did, bruh…it almost did,” Obasi laughed.

  When I walked into Zora’s office and saw her, it was like I started breathing again. Like these few days that I was away, I had been holding my breath. I didn’t realize that I missed seeing her until I saw her. Then I realized that I missed her a lot. When we hugged, I didn’t want to let her go.

  I was all prepared to spend the day with my Lil Dude and Zora. I had the pool checked. According to the pool company, I had all the safety equipment needed for a child. Percy stocked up on floatation devices and pool toys. Chef Leilani was coming over to prepare lunch and dinner for us. I was all set.

  Zora and BJ arrived at ten o'clock. I opened the front door and was greeted by BJ running into my arms.

  “Zeke!”

  I picked him up and gave him a hug.

  “Hey man! I missed you!”

  “I missed you too,” he returned excitedly.

  I turned to Zora. She smiled and walked to me. I hugged her with my free arm. I was still holding BJ.

  I put him down.

  “Let me look at these cool swim trunks you have on.” He was wearing a little red swim shirt with blue and red Spiderman swim trunks. He had on some Nike slides. “You look cool.”

  “Thank you,” he replied.

  Zora had a large bag on her shoulder.

  I took the bag from her shoulder and said, “Follow me.”

  I grabbed BJ’s hand and led them through the house to the pool.

  “I wasn’t sure of his skill level, so I have some floaties and stuff.”

  “He swims like a fish. I put him in water as soon as I could.”

  “The deep end and everything?” I wanted to be sure.

  “Yep, everything.”

  “Can I get in Mommy?” BJ asked while jumping up and down.

  She looked at me.

  “That’s why you’re here. Let’s get in.” I followed BJ to the pool.

  Sure enough, he dived into the deep end and came right up swimming. I jumped in and joined him. I turned around to ask Zora if she was getting in and saw her pulling her white cover-up over her head. She had on a black two-piece swimming suit. The top tied around her neck and the bottoms looked like they tied on each side. She had a small tattoo of a dream catcher on a string in the valley between her breast. She also has a tattoo of a trail of roses that started right underneath her left breast that got smaller in size as they continue down her side and disappeared into her bikini bottom. I would love to see where that ends. Her breasts are the perfect size, a handful. Her stomach is flat. She does crunches or planks…probably both. I can tell she does squats by how round her butt is. Her legs…

  “Mommy, are you getting in?” BJ’s little voice forced me to close my mouth.

  “I’m coming!” She responded while putting her hair up in a bun on the top of her head. She finished and jumped into the pool with us.

  BJ and I raced from one end of the pool to next. I had a basketball hoop set up over the pool. We played that for awhile. BJ wanted to see who could hold their breath the longest underwater. He won. We swam and played for a couple of hours before we got out to eat the food that Leilani prepared.

  “What are your plans? Are you going to stay a partner at the dental practice or open your own?”

  I was becoming more and more interested in Zora. Her past, present, and future.

  “I think I will stay with the partners for awhile. My dream is to open a free clinic where low-income people or people who don’t have insurance can get quality dental care. I remember volunteering at the free clinic in Saint Louis. It was the most disgusting place I’d ever seen. I was scared to touch the equipment out of fear that I would catch some communicable disease. The clientele was poor but just because they were poor shouldn’t mean that the facilities were not kept up. I want to provide a clean place for them to come and feel taken care of. I don’t want to just focus on pulling teeth but overall dental health.”

  “That’s cool.”

  “I want it to be a charitable organization and have 501(c)-(3) status so that the time the doctors donate to the clinic will be a tax write-off for them.”

  “My dad’s secretary is a lawyer. She knows all about not for profit stuff. I could connect you with her.”

  “That would be nice. I don’t really know where to start, I just know that I want to see it happen.”

  “She can help you think through the process and get some things on paper.”

  “Thank you, Zeke. I know that it won’t happen overnight, but I’m willing to work to see it happen.”

  “That’s what’s up!”

  Zora and I were talking at the table when I noticed that BJ had gotten quiet. I looked over at him to find his head resting on the table. He was sound asleep with a hot dog in one hand and a barbecued chicken leg in the other.

  “I guess he wore himself out,” I chuckled.

  “Yeah, he doesn’t fight his sleep. When he gets sleepy, he goes to sleep.”

  “No matter what he is doing, apparently.”

  “Right!”

  Zora removed the food from his hands while I collected him in my arms.

  “He can take a nap in my guest room.”

  Zora followed me through the house to one of my guest rooms. It had a sliding door out to the pool, so when he wakes up, he will be able to find us.

  I laid him on the bed after Zora put down a couple of towels to protect the bedding from his wet swim trunks. I opened the sliding door, and we went to sit back by the pool.

  “Oh, Blue asked me to call him while you were over here. He needed to talk to you about something.”

  “Talk to me? Is he going to propose to my sister?”

  “I think he is sooner rather than later but I don’t think that’s what he wants to talk to you about, though.”

  “Okay, call him.”

  Zora

  “What up Big Bro. I have Zora here with me,” Ezekiel spoke into the phone. “Yeah, let me put you on speaker.”

  “Hey, Zora. How are you?” Roman’s voice came through the phone.

  “I’m good, Roman. How are you?”

  “I’m great. Look, I’m out of town. I asked Zanetta if she would speak at both services tomorrow and she said that she would. I have a couple of favors to ask you.”

  “Okay,” I sat up in my seat to listen.

  “Well, first Chef Leilani is going to cook dinner for Nette tomorrow. I don’t want her to preach and then come home and have to cook. So, can we set up the Sunday dinner at your house instead of Nette’s apartment?”

  “Sure!”

  “Cool, Chef will give you all the details. The next thing is that I know it would mean a lot to Nette if you could be there when she ministers for the first time at my church.”

  My stomach dropped.

  I took a deep breath and said, “Roman, you know how I feel about church.”

  “I know but hear me out. I can’t be there. Pax is here with me. W
e are her family, and I want for her to have as much support as possible. Zeke will be there but the more family support, the better.”

  “Roman…” I wasn’t feeling this request at all. I will support my sister in any way possible, but this request felt a little over the top.

  “What if we can set it up where you can be there but you don’t have to sit in the sanctuary, would that work?” Roman asked.

  “Where would I sit?” I questioned looking at Ezekiel.

  “You can sit in the sound booth,” Ezekiel interjected. You can see and hear, but you don’t have to go into the sanctuary. I can make sure she gets to the booth, Blue.”

  “Please, Zora. This would mean a lot to Nette and in turn, mean a lot to me.”

  Roman knew I wasn’t going to be able to say no to him and Ezekiel. He set me up. I’m surprised Paxton isn’t in the background to seal the deal. These men have quickly become my family. They have been supportive and caring. There is no way I can say no.

  “Okay, fine. I will do it,” I relented.

  “Great. Let’s make this a surprise. Don’t let her know you are coming.”

  “Okay.”

  “Be safe Bro, see you when you get back,” Ezekiel said.

  “You too, Bro. Thanks for everything. I will see you when I return.”

  “One.”

  Ezekiel disconnected the call.

  “I guess I will see you at church tomorrow,” I rested my back against the back of the lounger.

  “I guess so,” Ezekiel smiled.

  Zeke’s phone rang. He looked at the screen. His eyebrows knitted together before he pressed the button to connect the call.

  “Zeke!” I heard a female voice come through the phone.

  I know he is not talking to another female while I am here with him. Then again, I guess I can’t say anything about him talking to someone since we are not dating. It is rude though.

  “What’s up? Is something wrong?” Zeke responded.

  I’m not going to even look over there to see what she looks like. This is ridiculous. I am going to get my son and get out of here. I mean, I only really came over because BJ wanted to come anyway. I sat forward about to get up to start collecting my things.

  “No, nothing is wrong. I wanted to know if I can get Doctor Zora’s number so we can call and thank her.”

  I turned my attention to the phone. Is that Lyrica?

  “Well, you are in luck. She’s right here.”

  He turned the phone so that I could see Lyrica’s beautiful face on the screen. My attitude change immediately. I relaxed and smiled.

  “Doctor Zora! Look, baby, she’s with Zeke.”

  Obasi came into view next to Lyrica.

  “What’s up Zeke?”

  “What up Obi?”

  “Man, cover up that pre-pubescent chest don’t nobody want to see that,” Obi scrunched his face up.

  “Whatever, man I saw you wipe that drool out of the corner of your mouth when you saw me.”

  They both laughed.

  “I see your face isn’t still all distorted and swollen,” Ezekiel commented.

  “No, I feel much better thanks to Doctor Zora.”

  I smiled.

  “Doctor Zora, I wanted to thank you and apologize for my rude behavior at your office the other day. I am taking my medicine, and I feel much better.” Obasi’s face was back to its normal state. The swelling had gone down. His smile was back also.

  “You don’t have to apologize. I totally understand.”

  I’ve dealt with so many patients that are in such severe dental pain that they are coarse when they normally aren’t. I don’t take it personally.

  “Oh, yes he does! You went out of your way to help us, and we appreciate it. We don’t get to come across a lot of genuine people. So, thank you,” Lyrica chimed in.

  “Thank you for saying that. You’re welcome. It was my pleasure to help,” I smiled.

  “Zeke, you’re lucky I’m with this beautiful creature next to me because if I weren’t, I would take your girl.”

  I smiled waiting for Zeke to say something like she isn’t my girl or we are not together.

  “You can barely speak English. You can’t take anything from me,” Zeke countered. “Shouldn’t you be out chasing lions or preparing for the village ritual?”

  “Oh, only if you’re about to go to Baby Gap to find a shirt to cover your skinny chest.”

  “You wish you…”

  “Boys!” Lyrica yelled cutting them off. “Stop it. She’s too good and smart for either one of you! Doctor Zora, do you see what I have to deal with all the time?”

  We all laughed.

  “Anyway, Doctor Zora, thank you again. We will see you next week,” Lyrica smiled.

  “Zeke, we will have our meeting next week while we are in town,” Obasi added.

  “Yep,” Zeke responded.

  “Bye,” I waved at the phone.

  Zeke disconnected the call and powered off his phone.

  “I answered the phone because she never calls me like that anymore. I thought something was wrong.”

  “You are pretty close to her?”

  “Yeah, she’s like a sister to me. She had a dude in the past that was an ass clown. He was always doing something stupid like trying to put his hands on her. He would play cruel mind games on her so she would call one of our other friends or me. I honestly thought that he was going to kill her at one point.”

  “Wow. I’m glad she got out of that.”

  “Yeah, Obasi is a good dude. I trust him with her.”

  I sat back in my lounge chair feeling a lot better since realizing that he answered his phone for his friend. I smiled thinking about his response to Obasi when he called me his girl. I mean I don’t know if I want to be his girl, but I am feeling this Lil church dude.

  Ezekiel

  “Where is BJ’s father?”

  I was resting in my lounge chair next to Zora after getting off the phone with Lyrica and Obasi. I’ve wanted to ask where he was since I met her.

  “Bahir? I have absolutely no idea. One day he was around and the next he wasn’t,” she shrugged.

  “So, BJ is not his nickname because he’s a junior?”

  “No, it’s his first name and middle name; Braeden James. Thank God he’s not a junior, especially with Bahir not being around.”

  “Was the responsibility too much for him?”

  “I don’t know. Literally, one day he was there and the next he was not. When BJ was six months, I was waiting for Bahir to come and watch him so that I could go to school and he never showed up. I went to his apartment, and it was cleaned out. He just disappeared.”

  “You haven’t heard from him since?”

  “No. Well, yes. I received a letter from him about a month after he disappeared. It didn’t have a return address. It was a few short words to tell me to move on with my life and forget him. He didn’t mention BJ at all. He gave me some checks totaling ten thousand dollars. That’s actually how I was able to purchase my house and my car. I deposited the checks into my account one at a time over the period of several months then I moved it over to a savings account. I didn’t need the money because I had a full scholarship to school and my grants were refunded to me, so I always had enough money to do what needed to be done. Not to mention food stamps and WIC. Doctor Miller taught me how to invest, so a little of it grew. He also taught me how to take care of my credit.”

  “Ten thousand dollars? Was he into something illegal?”

  “Not that I ever saw.”

  “Have you thought about trying to find him?”

  “I went to the police station when he first disappeared. They couldn’t help. I had a connect in the registrar’s office at our university. I asked her to see if there was another address on file for him. There wasn’t. After I received that letter from him, I stopped trying to find him. I mourned the relationship and then I had to focus on taking care of my son and finishing school.”

 
“So, you finished graduate school as a single mother by yourself?”

  “Yes, I did. I really didn’t have a choice. My family and I are estranged…that’s a whole other story for another time and Nette was back in Saint Louis. Even though she kept trying to come back and help me, I wouldn’t let her. I had to complete school to prove to myself that I could.”

  I admired her drive to be independent and take care of herself. I was thinking that maybe she and BJ’s father were not on speaking terms due to a bad break-up or something. He just left. That’s crazy.

  “Tell me about life on the road.”

  I let her change the subject even though I wanted to know more. My respect for her had gone to another level after hearing that she has raised BJ all by herself his whole life.

  “I know the main artist has groupies, but I’m sure you have them too, right? They take one look at those golden eyes and long ass locs…they are climbing the walls to get to you, huh? How long have you been growing them?”

  “I started right before my big Sis passed.”

  “Oh, Roman’s wife?”

  “Yeah, Michaela. I really didn’t plan on letting it get so long, but after she lost her hair, she told me to hold on to mine. So I did. Now they are a part of me. I think about cutting them off sometimes, but I’m going to keep them for a while longer.”

  “I like them a lot. That’s saying something because I’ve never been one for a dread head,” she smiled.

  “Oh, but now you are?”

  She seemed flustered for a second, but that look was quickly replaced with a smile, “So groupies?”

  I let her off the hook…for now.

  “I’ve had my fair share, maybe a little more than fair.”

  “I’ve heard that chicks will sneak into your hotel room and everything.”

  “Yeah, usually security will do a sweep of all the hotel rooms before we get there and then they will lock the floor, so no one has access unless we want them to. There was one band member, cold as hell percussionist named Busta, he didn’t want security to do a sweep of his room. He didn’t feel it was necessary. One night we arrived back to the hotel and Busta met a chick that he brought back to his room. Well, little did he know that another chick from a city that we were in previously had snuck into his room to surprise him. Ole’ girl jumped out the closet on that fool with the new chick, and all hell ensued. The girls started fighting, and Busta’s dumb ass tried to break it up. Rule number one: never, ever try to break up a girl on girl fight by yourself. They are way rowdier than men. He learned that lesson that night. Those girls kicked and scratched and slapped the hell outta him trying to get to each other. This fool had to call security to come and break up the fight. We clowned him for weeks afterward. The makeup artist had to work her magic for about a week to cover up all of the scratches and bruising on his face. Needless to say, we all learned a lesson that night. Make sure your room is secure before entering it,” I chuckled.