by Qiana London
“I completely understand and appreciate all of your assistance.”
“My pleasure. I’ll keep you posted and contact you if I need anything.”
“Sounds like a plan. Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome.”
We ended the call. Craig had been able to dropoff the grid with Melanie’s help. He and I had periodic contact on a burner phone that I’d supplied so that I could keep him updated on the progress of clearing Autumn’s name.With the new information I’d just received from Dallas, I decided to call him. As the call rolled over to voicemail, I saw Melanie and Snow come around the corner and pull up behind me. I left a brief, vague message for Craig. “She’s good and everything is being handled.”
I hung up and got out of the car.As I activated the alarm, Snow and Melanie headed over and joined me. We all walked up to Fatima’s door together. As we approached, a delicious aroma filled the air. Snow knocked, and Indya answered the door.
“You guys are just in time for dinner. Come on in.” She stepped aside and let us into the house.
As we headed inside, I noticed that Indya’s luggage was near the front door.
“You’re leaving already?” I inquired.
“Yeah, I have a flight out this evening. I need to get back to Boston to put some things in order beforeheading back this way. I hadn’t planned on staying long, but with all that my family has been through, I need to be here a bit longer.”
Fatima entered the living room from the kitchen. She immediately joined the conversation. “I told her that I appreciate the support, but itreally isn’t necessary for her to come back.” She gestured for us all to take a seat in the living room.“Make yourselves comfortable.”
“I don’t care what you say, you need to be around family right now. We’re all each other have.”
Fatima nodded her head. “I know, but I honestly feel like I need to disappear for a while. This has all been a lot to deal with. Unfortunately, with everything that I have to take care of at this point, I can’t really afford it, though.”
“Actually, we were going to suggest the same thing,” Melanie interjected.“You should go away for a while and reset.”
“Believe me, if I could I would.”
“Well, you can because we’re going to cover all of the expenses for you.”
Fatima’s eyes widened as she studied Melanie’s face to see if she was serious. “I couldn’t ask you all to do that.”
“That’s why we asked to come over today. It’s already been taken care of. It’s the least that we could do after what you did for us.”
“But what about my brother’s memorial service?”
Melanie reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope. She stood up, walked over to Fatima, and extended her arm. “This should help take some of the pressure off.”
Fatima took the envelope from her hand and opened it. She removed the papers inside and skimmed the document quickly. “Is this for real? He really requested not to have a funeral?”
“Now, that’s not something that I would fabricate.Believe it or not, even I have to draw the line somewhere.”
Fatima looked at Indya, who looked confused. She stood up, walked over, and took the paper from Fatima so that she could see it for herself. After studying the document for several minutes, Indya handed it back. “Well,” she saidand sighed.“It’s right here in black and white.”
“I know, but what should we do?”
“Even though it pisses me off, we’ll have to honor his wishes,” Indya concluded.
Fatima exhaled loudly and then her face softened. She actually looked relieved. “Okay,” she agreed.“But what now?”
“I’ll tell you what,” Indya started.“You took care of everything when Mama died, so it’s my turn. I will take care of getting the word out to our family members and other folks who would want to know. ThenI’ll choose a charitable music organization and establish an account in Anthony’s name. We’ll respect his wishes and give people a chance to pay their respects if they choose to.”
Fatima’s eyes filled with tears. She forced a smile as they fell down her cheeks.
“You’ve endured a lot. I know you’re used to taking care of everything, but let someone else take care of you for a change,” Snow told her.
Fatima looked around the room at all of us and forced a smile.
“Have you ever been to Rio de Janeiro?” I asked.
“No, I haven’t,” she replied and gasped.
“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” Snow said.
Melanie handed Fatima a larger envelope, which contained her airline tickets and hotel accommodation information and one thousand dollars.
“It’s time to add some more stamps to that passport of yours,” he added.
“Well, when you put it that way, it’s kinda hard to say no,” Fatima conceded and peered inside the envelope.“This is very generous. Thank you.”
“Your flight will leave the day after tomorrow,” Melanie announced.
Fatima stood up and headed back toward the kitchen. “Well, I guess I better clear my schedule,” she called out to us. Are you all hungry?”
“I can eat,” Snow said.
“And I never turn down a free meal,” I replied.
“Girl, I hope you’re prepared for them to eat you out of house and homebecause they definitely aren’t shy,” Melanie warned.
“That’s perfectly fine because I can’t stand leftovers,” Fatima said, laughing.
Chapter Fourteen
The sun was shining brightly on the court, and more people were out than usual for a Friday afternoon. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead and dripped down into my eyes, but I didn’t allow that to affect my hoop game. I was still playing hard. One of the guys on the other team passed the ball to his teammate. I stole the ball, dribbled toward the hoop, and then quickly passed the ball to Donte, who dunked it.
“That’s game!”
“Y’all wanna go again?”one of the dudes on the team asked.
“Nah, we’ve got shit to do,” Donte responded. He grabbed his T-shirt and raised it to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
“Let’s shoot for next weekend,” I suggested before I walked over to my gym bag sitting on the bench. I unzipped it, grabbed my Gatorade, twisted it open and gulped it down. When I was done, I tossed the empty bottle back into the bag and pulled out a hand towel. I wiped my face dry and placed the towel on the top of my head. It shielded me from the sun that was beginning to burn my skin. I picked up my bag. “Good game.”
Donte gathered the rest of his things. We headed to the parking lot and to our cars.
“It’s been a minute since we’ve hoopedlike that. We were long overdue,” he said.
“Yeah, I know. Work and life got in the way.”
We stopped walking when we reached our vehicles.
“Man, tell me about it,” he replied as he walked over tothe driver’s side of his car.“Today couldn’t come fast enough. I’m so ready for this trip to Vegas. I don’t even know when the last time was that I took a vacation. A change of pace will be good for the next few days.I’m going to head to the house to shower and get changedand then I’ll pick up Raijean.We’ve got to drop the baby off to her mother, but after that,we’ll be ready to go.”
Dezzy had been coordinating this trip for three weeks, and the time had finally come. Rather than fly, she thought it would be cool to ride down as a group and make fun stops along the way. I was game. I was always down for quality time with my girl, and Donte and I in a car together for several hours was sure to be entertaining.
“Alright. That sounds good. Let me know when you’re back at the house,and then I’ll head your way.I’ve got to get cleaned up too and take care of a few last-minute things before I pick up Dezzy.”
“Bet.”
We got into our cars and went our separate ways.
*****
After I had got out of the shower, I attempted to call Craig onc
e more. It had been a couple of days since we’d last communicated. Despite my many attempts, I still was unable to reach him. If I didn’t hear from him within the next twenty-four hours, I was going to call in some favors. In the meantime, I told myself not to be too concerned because no news had proven to be good news when it involved Craig. I went ahead and got dressed, checked emails, and made a few phone calls. Even though I would only be gone for a few days, I wanted to make sure that I followed up on necessary matters and got a head start on others, especially since I promised Dezzy that I wouldn’t do any work while we were on vacation. I placed a few additional items in my duffle bag, and zipped it shut before taking it downstairs. I placed it on the floor next to the front door and activated my alarm. As the alarm engaged, I grabbed my keys off the console, hit the light switch, picked up my belongings, and left the house.
Once I was in the car, I called Dezzy to make sure that she was home before heading to her place. When she answered the phone, I could tell that she was driving because I heard myself echoing through the Bluetooth connection in her car.
“Hey KJ, I had to run a couple of last-minute errandsand now I’m on my way to pick up the rental,so I’m about thirty minutes behind schedule.”
“It’s good. I have a stop to make before I come to your house,so it’s fine.”
“Perfect! My bags are already packed so we’ll be able to get going shortly after you get there.”
“No problem. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
I figured that I would have some extra time, which is why I decided to surprise my mother with flowers at work.Her job was in route to Dezzy’s house, so I pulled off at the next exit after I got off the phone.
I lucked up on a parking spot in front of her job. But before I went inside, I headed to the flower shop next door. I picked up an arrangement of irises, her favorite flower, and then headed to the office building. Once inside, I took the stairs to the third floor. As a patient exited the waiting room of the chiropractic office, I slipped inside quietly. My mother sat at the front counter, consumed with whatever she was looking at on the computer. One of her coworkers saw me first, and I hurried to bring my finger to my lips, gesturing for her to keep quiet. I approached the counter and placed the vase down.
My mother looked at the flowers and then at me. She gasped and then a large, beautiful smile formed on her face. “Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise!”
“Hey, Mama, how’s my favorite girl?”
She stood up from the desk and walked over to the door that separated the back office from the lobby area. She walked through the door and headed toward me with her arms extended. I took my mother into my arms and lifted her off her feet.
“I’m good and even better now that you’rehere.” She turned to face her coworker that I’d asked to keep my secret.“Gwen, do you see who’s here? This is my oldest son, Khalil. Ain’t he handsome?”
“Girl, if I was about twenty years younger,” Gwen teased.
I shook my head and blushed as I acknowledged her coworker. “How you doin’, Ms. Gwen?”
“I’m good, Khalil. What about you?”
“I can’t complain.”
“Gwen, I’m going to take a quick fifteen. Can you cover for a minute?”
“Of course I can. It was good seeing you, Khalil.”
“You too.”
My mother hooked her arm through mine and led me out of the office. We took the elevator down to the first floor and went outside.
“It’s so good to see you, baby. What brings you over this way? How haveyou been?”
“I’m well, Mama. I just wanted to stop by and pay you a little visit since I don’t get to see you as often as I’d like. I know we talk on the phone quite a bit, but we were overdue for face-to-facevisit.”
“Well, you know you can stop by and see me anytime.”
I nodded my head and pointed down the street toward a coffee shop that I knew she liked. “You want to let me treat you to a cup of coffee?”
“Now,you know I’m not going to turn down free caffeine. I’m about due for another cup anyway.” She laughed.
I chuckled and extended my hand in front of me, letting her go first. Then we began walking toward the café. As we talked and walked, I moved toward the side closest to the curb.
“Look at that. I raised such a gentleman.”
“Yes, you taught me well.”
We approached the door of the café and I opened it for her. She spoke to me as she passed me and entered the building. I walked in after her.
“So are you on your way out of town on an assignment?”
“No,ma’am. This trip will be completely for pleasure. I’m heading out with Donte, his girlfriend, and Dezzy.”
“That should be fun. How does he feel about you being involved with hissister?”
“Once he warmed up to the idea, he was okaywith it.”
“I’m still waiting to meet her, Khalil.” My mother’s tone was serious.
“You’re going to meet her, Mama. I know how you can be, though.By your standards, no one is good enough for me.”
She held her finger up to me while she placed her coffee order. I paid for her coffee and informed the barista that I didn’t want anything before we continued talking.
“Now, that’s not true. I just know a train wreck when I see one.” She shook her head and looked like she was recalling some of my past conquests.“I want the best for you. That’s all. I haven’t really known you to be serious about anyone except for Melanie.”
I knew that my mother was fond of Melanie. She was hurt when she found out that we were no longer together.
“We are just friends, Mama. I am very much into Desrinique. When you meet her, you’re going to love her.”
“Bring her around so that I can get to know her, and then I’lldecide.”
“Alright, I will. But you’ve got to promise me that you’ll play nice.”
“I always do,” she said sarcastically.
I chuckled and shook my head.
“Have you talked to your brother?”
I was hoping that she wouldn’t ask me about Craig because I didn’t want to lie to her. I quickly thought about what I could say to her while she picked up her coffee.
“I already know that he’s disappeared for a while for getting into trouble.”
“He told you?” I was shocked that she knew and relieved that I didn’t need to come up with a creative excuse.
“Yes, but he didn’t have to. Mama always knows. I don’t know how many times I have to tell y’allthat,” she said, shakingher head.“I wish that he would straighten up and fly right. I’m going tocontinue to pray for him. You’d never know that the two of you were raised by the same person. But I’m not giving up on my baby.”
We’re not all that different. I knew my mother often thought of me as the“goodson”, but shedidn’t know all the details of my line of work. If she did,she wouldn’t approve.
We headed out the door and back toward her office building.
“I’ve got a little something in the works. I think I can help Craig.”
We slowed to a stop in front of the door.
“You’ve always looked out for your brother. I would love it if you could do something to help him, but not at your own expense. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand, Mama.”
She glanced at the watch on her wrist. “I’ve gotta get back. You be safe and have fun on your trip.”
“Let me walk you back up.”
“I can take it from here. I’m a big girl,” she said with a wink.
“You think you’re grown, huh?” I joked.
“Boy, I’m yourmama and don’t you everforget it,” she teased.
I threw both hands up in surrender and waited for her to walk back inside the building. Once I saw her walk onto the elevator, I headed back to my car. As I pulled away from the curb, I cranked up the music and headed to meet Dezzy.
*****
&n
bsp; I made myself at home while I waited for Dezzy to change her clothes. I knew that she wasn’t going tobe ready to go once I got there. I sat on the couch and reminisced about the first conversation that we’d had in the very same spot when I first came back from serving in the marines. She was even more beautiful than I remembered, and even though it was messed up the way that everything had gone down, I was glad that she was no longer with her then boyfriend because I could strategically make my move. It was a challenge getting her to come around, but I finally did. My thoughts were interrupted by the banging of her luggage against the stair railing.
“Let me get that for you,” I insisted. I stood and walked up the stairs to help her with her bag.
“I got it.”
“No,you don’t.” I took the bag from her handand carried it down the stairs.“Damn, Dezzy, what do you have in here? Are you movingto Vegas?”
“Oh,hush, it’s not that heavy! I have a few outfits for each day. I just want to be prepared.”
“Yeah, if you say so,” I replied and chuckled.
As I carried her suitcase over to the door, Donte unlocked and opened the door. I was caught off guard because I thought we were going to pick him and Raijean up from her spot.
“What’s up, Tay? I thought we were coming to you.”
“I forgot that there will be street sweepingwhile we’re away and that threw a wrench in our plans. So I’m gonna leave my car here.”
Dezzy came down the stairs, grabbed her shoes, and put them on. “That’s actually better because now we can make up some of the lost time,” she chimed in.
I shook my head and chuckled. Dezzy had nerve.
“Yeah, that’s what I figured,” Donte added.
I continued to hold Dezzy’s bag in my hand. “I was just about to take her bag over to the rental and get mine out of my car.”
“Cool. I’ll grab our stuff too and move it over.”