“Ay, what up, kinfolk?” I heard a voice yell from a distance. I looked around to see exactly who this ignorant fool was talking to. There’s nothing like being back in Georgia and running into ratchet black people.
“Yo, Morgan.” The voice yelled out again. My heart dropped when I realized it was for me. I spotted a tall, slender, chocolate man in an all-black suit with a driver’s hat on, standing at the passenger side of a Lincoln Town Car. At first I didn’t recognize him, until he flashed his smile.
“Beau?” I said as I finally got close to him.
“The one and only. Man, cousin, give me a hug.” He pulled me close to him and squeezed the life out of me. Beau was the youngest of my aunt Melba’s children. Growing up, we all thought he would go into the NBA because no one could beat him on the court, but the judicial court kept beating him. He stayed in and out of juvie, which eventually messed up his college scholarship.
“Man, cuz, you look better than a bowl of cheese grits,” he said as he finally let me go. “And just as thick, too.”
“Thanks, I guess. Where’s my folks? I thought they would be picking me up.”
“Well, Uncle Earl is working a double at the garage and Aunt Beanie is planning a surprise for you, so they asked me to pick you up.”
I was sad and relieved at the same time. As much as I didn’t want to be back, I did kind of wish my parents would have been the first faces I saw.
“Thanks, Beau, but you didn’t have to get all dressed up for me.”
“Oh naw, this is my uniform. I’m a chauffeur.” Beau proudly tugged on his tie and grinned from ear to ear. As hot as it was out here I knew he was dying, but I was glad to see him happy and out of trouble. “Now get in this car before them boys give me a ticket.”
He grabbed my bag from my hand and proceeded to put it in the trunk. I quickly hopped in the back seat like I was instructed, only to be immediately startled by the man who was already in the seat next me. “You okay?” he said.
I caught my breath and tried to slow my heartbeat. As I shook my head yes, I took in the sight that was beside me. His tall, muscular build was noticeable even through his suit. His milk-chocolate skin was still as smooth as I remembered. And the peach fuzz that I used to despise was now a full-grown goatee that framed his full lips and beautifully bright smile. This was a face I could never forget. Our whole high school career we were seemingly attached to the hip. He was the football star, I was the pageant princess, and everyone thought we were going to get married. I thought at some point we even believed the hype.
“Welcome home, babe.” He handed me a single white rose and kissed me softly on my cheek.
“Hello, Henry. What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to make sure you got home okay.”
“And you couldn’t have called the house later to find that out? I know you still have the number.”
“I could’ve, but what fun is that?”
I couldn’t believe this. I’d only been in town fifteen minutes and I’d already accumulated a headache. Maybe I can catch a flight back to London if I get out of the car right now and run for it.
“Y’all ready?” Beau hopped in the driver seat and took off before I could say anything. I should have known something was up. Beau and Henry had been friends since the womb. Their mothers were friends since high school and were excited when they became pregnant at the same time. My parents probably never asked them to pick me up; one of these idiots probably volunteered.
“Seriously, Morgan, it is really good to see you. We’ve missed you around here,” Henry continued.
“We?” I had known Henry a long time, and even though we hadn’t spoken in years I knew when he was up to something.
“Well, me in particular.”
Told you he was up to something.
“You know I’m here to get married, right?” Henry was my past and I had to remind him that I had a present and a future that didn’t include him.
“Ay, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that,” Beau butted in. “What kinda name is Ahvi? With a name like that, the brother can’t be black.”
“Ahvi is French and Albanian, but was born and raised in the UK.” It made me smile just thinking about my fiancé. I missed my love already and if it weren’t for the time difference I probably would have been on the phone right now instead of talking to these two fools.
“Jesus, take the wheel. She done fell in love with a white man.” Beau threw his hands in the air and pretended like the rapture was coming.
“First of all, keep your hands on the wheel.” I put on my stern voice like my mama so Beau understood I was serious. “And, second, I’m not marrying for race. I’m marrying for love.”
“If you’re so in love, why is this the first time we’re meeting him?” Henry gave me the “I’m on to you” look.
If Henry thought he was going to call my bluff, he had another thing coming. He could throw out all the ridiculous questions he wanted to. He can never get the best of me. “Because our lives are busy and I didn’t want my fiancé to be exposed to the coonery that is my family.”
“Damn, shawty. Why we gotta be coons though?” Beau said, trying to sound as if his feelings weren’t hurt.
“Beau, you just called me shawty. Cased closed.” We all chuckled out loud. I had to admit there was a piece of me that was a little happy to be in a familiar element. I still wasn’t too excited about this whole wedding reunion debacle, but this ride wasn’t so bad.
I finally settled back into my seat and took in the scenery. Everything looked so new and different; even just being on the right side of the road felt odd. I could feel Henry’s eyes on me and I knew he was plotting his next move. Our silence was broken by this obnoxious ring from his cell phone.
“Wow, can that ring get any louder?” I said, halfway annoyed, halfway joking.
“Uh-oh, that sounds like trouble, bruh,” Beau said, peering through the rearview mirror.
Henry rushed to get his phone out of his pocket, looked at it, then quickly put it on silence. I noticed there was only a number that popped up without a name.
“Still popular I see,” I said, looking back out the window.
“I’m sure it was probably business,” he lied.
“So why didn’t you answer it?” My turn to start calling bluffs.
“Trick question, bruh,” Beau interjected.
I could see the wheels turning in Henry’s head as his phone rang again. I burst out into laughter this time. This was exactly why I was happy with my life the way it was. Henry trying to bring his weak game all while other women were calling him was simply hilarious. This wasn’t high school, and I was never that easy.
“Why don’t we all agree to stay quiet the rest of the ride,” I proclaimed. I was not in the mood to be bothered with this foolishness, and I knew how to shut all that down with a quickness. With that being said, Beau turned up the radio and I closed my eyes to dream about being at home with Ahvi.
Chapter 5
Janette
After hearing Henry’s answering machine for the fifth time, I slammed the phone down in anger. I didn’t know what was happening but I was not a happy camper. I made plans for us to go out to breakfast and I hadn’t heard from him all morning. I had worked vigorously for six months wooing Henry and we were going to be together. I composed myself enough to finish getting dressed for Morgan’s welcome home party. Every bone in my body ached at the thought of this party, but I wouldn’t let Morgan get the best of me this time. I was going to put my big girl panties on and keep my composure through this thing. As soon as she says “I do,” she’ll hop back on that plane to London and everything will go back to the way it is supposed to be.
I put the finishing touches on my makeup and checked myself out in the mirror. This party may be for Morgan, but all eyes will be on Janette. I am not taking the back seat today. I grabbed my clutch and proceeded to the door. Before I could touch the handle, the phone rang.
“Henry?” I answered after the second ring, out of breath from rushing to pick it up. All I could hear was heavy breathing and sniffles on the other end.
“Hello. Who is this?” I almost started to hang up, thinking it was a prank call, until I heard my mother’s voice.
“Janette, you need to come home. Something’s happened.”
I could tell that my mother was trying to hold back her hysteria. She only called me Janette when it was something serious, and her being in tears made my stomach drop. I hung up the phone without a response and ran out the door like my hair was on fire.
I almost got into at least three accidents trying to get to my parents’ house. As soon as I pulled up, I noticed two police cars in the driveway. I felt my heart sink as I put my car in park and rushed to the door.
The scene in my folks’ living room was like something out of a movie. My mother was sobbing on the couch with my brother holding her. One police officer was standing by the fireplace, while the other was sitting directly in front of my mother. I stood still at the front door trying to take it all in.
“Are you Janette Maxson?” the officer who is by the fireplace said as he approached me.
I shook my head in confirmation but kept my eyes on my mother. “What happened? And where is my dad?”
“Why don’t you have a seat, Ms. Maxson.” The officer tried to nudge me near the couch and I yanked my arm away from him.
“I don’t want a seat. I want to know what happened. Mama, where is Dad?” My mother began to cry harder, and everyone in the room seemed like they didn’t want to speak.
“Your daddy never came home last night,” my mother finally spoke, though it was almost a whisper.
“Ma’am, we found your father’s car outside of Speedy’s bar this morning. Unfortunately he was deceased inside of the vehicle.”
The officer continued talking and my whole world went black. It was like nothing existed anymore. This has to be a nightmare. Any minute I will wake up and call my father and he will be here. I began pinching myself as hard as I could to try to wake myself up, but nothing changed. The tears began to stream down my face as I dropped to the floor. The officer was quick to catch me and place me beside my mother and brother.
“We won’t know for sure until we get the toxicology report, but we believe he died of natural causes,” officer number two said. “We are so sorry for your loss, but here is my card and you can contact me anytime.” He handed the card to my mother and she clutched it as she continued to sob.
The officers paused before they exited through the front door, leaving the three of us on the couch in silence. I was speechless. I just saw my father the other day and he was perfectly fine. There was no way he could be dead. This had to be a mistake.
“Mama, I’m gonna go make you some tea,” my brother finally said. JJ wasn’t crying but I could tell he was just as hurt as the rest of us. My daddy and he had a wonderful relationship. They did everything together; he was even named after him. My brother was a macho man but I knew this was eating him up inside. He kissed my mother on the cheek and disappeared into the kitchen.
I scooted closer to my mother and laid my head on her shoulder. We sat and cried in silence, neither one of us knowing what to do next. This was the absolute unthinkable situation. My mother stroked my face for a little while, then wiped her tears dry and got up from the couch.
“I guess I should start making calls to the family.” She glanced at their wedding picture that was sitting on the mantle and sniffed back a tear.
I sat there alone on the couch surrounded by my thoughts. My daddy and I weren’t extremely close but this was causing me so much pain. I lay down in the fetal position and cried until I fell asleep.
Chapter 6
Morgan
As long as I’d been gone, my folks hadn’t changed the house one bit. Everything was exactly how I remembered it. My father still had that rusty truck in the driveway, which I knew was driving my mom crazy. I took a deep breath and finally got out of the car. This was it. I was actually home after eight years. Henry led me in the house while Beau got my bag out of the trunk. Butterflies were jumping all in my stomach as I prepared for what I was walking into.
Walking through the house, my mother decorated it so pretty. There were banners, balloons, and streamers everywhere. The aroma of my mama’s cooking filled the air and I could hear old-school nineties music playing in the background. I must admit, my mama went all out. Henry and I rounded the corner into the family room and I was expecting to hear a bunch of people yell out, “Surprise.”
“Look who I found.” Henry pulled me in front of him and I was greeted by solemn faces. There were at least fifteen people, including my parents, sitting around in silence. I was so confused by what was going on. I knew I wasn’t so excited to be coming home, but was everyone upset by it? What kind of party was this?
“Hey, y’all. I’m home,” I said, still trying to figure out the situation.
My father finally came to hug and kiss me. I scanned the room and realized that most everyone in the room was crying. Something was really wrong.
“Welcome home, baby. We missed you so much.”
“But I’m guessing that’s not why everyone is crying. Daddy, what’s going on?”
My father took a step back and glanced at my mother to see if she was going to answer my question. I had never seen her in such a state of shock before.
“We just got word that Joe died,” my father answered.
“Uncle Bug?” Now it was my turn to be in a state of shock. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I just talked to Uncle Bug the other day and he was so excited to see me. We had always been close. He was actually my favorite uncle. He called me every week when I moved away, he made sure that I had whatever I needed even when I was doing pageants, we even had our own language. He was truly my favorite uncle. There was no way he was dead.
“How?” I barely got out.
“Not sure, but we think it was a heart attack. The police found him in his car.”
This was so awful. I rushed over to my mother’s side to console her. She and Uncle Bug were the closest in age out of all their siblings and I knew this was tearing her up.
“Hey now, partay.” Beau danced in all excited. As soon as he scanned the room he straightened up. “Dang, who died?”
Henry hit him in the back of the head, trying to give him a hint to calm down. It was silent for a few minutes, with the music still playing in the background like a twisted soundtrack to what was going on.
“All right now. I done cooked all this food and my baby is home, so let’s go eat. We’ll think about Joe after,” my mother finally said as she patted my hands.
Beau was the first one to pop up and head to the dining room. “You ain’t got to tell me twice.”
“I worry about you sometimes, you know that?” I heard Henry say as he followed him. Everyone else slowly began to move and pile into the dining room. My mother and I stayed seated.
“Mama, are you sure about this? I don’t need a party.” I honestly didn’t want to be bothered with anyone in the first place, until it was absolutely necessary, so I had no problem with this being cancelled.
“Nonsense. This is the first time we’ve seen you in eight years, we’re having this party.” She finally took a good look at me and kissed me on my cheek. “I’m so happy to see you. How was your flight?” she asked through tears, and I couldn’t tell if they were happy or sad ones.
“It was good. I slept through most of it.”
“That’s good, baby.” She looked around like she was trying to locate something. “Aren’t you missing someone?”
“Ahvi had to work this week.” I was actually relieved to say those words. I would have hated for this situation to be the first time Ahvi met my family.
“We can’t have a wedding without a groom.”
“Trust me, there will be a fiancé here for the wedding.” I hugged my mother and held on tight. Not being ab
le to do this for almost a decade really made me never want to let her go.
“C’mon, let’s go get some food before Beau eats it all.” My mother grabbed me and pulled me to the dining room. If I was going to be in Georgia, I sure was going to eat like I was in Georgia.
Over several hours, people came and went to and from my parents’ house, giving both their congratulations and their condolences. I got to see cousins and aunts and uncles who I hadn’t talked to in a long time. Everybody inquired about Ahvi, and I tried to give them as minimal an amount of information as possible. It was nice to see everyone but nerve-wracking at the same time.
Beau and Henry were the final two to leave the house and I was so happy to finally get settled in. My parents kept my bedroom exactly the same. It was almost surreal to see all the stuff I did throughout my childhood. All of my crowns, sashes, and trophies still lined the walls. Pictures of me when I was little still hung on my mirrors. My mom even kept my favorite teddy bear on the bed. It was like I had stepped into a time machine.
“You happy to be home?” my father asked at the door.
“I think I’m still processing it. It’s been a long time.” I grabbed my teddy and hopped on my bed. My dad had a smile on his face as he came and sat beside me.
“You know, it’s unfair to a father to have his only child move halfway around the world and never come visit him.” My father had a tone like he was joking, but I could tell that he was kind of hurt about it.
“I know, Daddy, and I apologize.”
He kissed me on my forehead and I knew that everything was all right.
“So Henry seems to be putting his final bid in. You know he’s really been successful with that car service business.”
Why is Henry even a subject right now? He is not even close to the top of the list of important topics to talk about. I would at least have thought my own daddy would be on my side. “Henry just wants what he can’t have. He’s always been that way. Besides, you all dragged me thousands of miles to get married here; I’m marrying Ahvi.”
All in a Day Page 3