KING: I’ve never heard you speak of a man like this.
DESTINY: He read my move by spotting out my intention. No man has ever read me like that besides you.
KING: And this very man we speak of, saved my sister from being raped huh (a moment of silence).
DESTINY: Not only did he save me, those men were determined to find you by any means.
KING: Looks like we found something here.
DESTINY: Is he still alive is the question though?
KING: Yes he is, I called the hospital and he is there. I’m about to go pay him a visit. I’ll call you soon.
DESTINY: Ok, I love you.
KING: I love you to sister.
King notices some opened mail in the trash can next to the desk. Bills, a returned letter from a people search company and a letter from the leasing office threatening to evict him. King hears some children playing outside that blends in with the jazz. His mind in deep thought while he picks up the chrome ink pen that Seven writes with. He wonders if he were to ever write a book and how would it be perceived. It was hard for him to believe that the story of his life was duplicated. The opposite attracted the slim basketball built man who mentally broke down Seven. King was not one who trusted many, but he felt a connection with Seven although they have never met. The no television, the cleanness of his home, the music, books and paper with writing’s on it. It reminded him sitting in his cell while in prison.
King leaves the apartment and locks the door behind him. He walks downstairs and goes in whatever direction he feels the leasing office would be. He walked passed a woman who was a prostitute, “hey sexy, where you going,” in a flirtatious demeanor. She looked way older than her age. “Thank you babe, I’m looking for the leasing office. Can you point me in the right direction?” While pointing in the direction, “yea it’s on Knox street.” while digging in his pocket and pulling out some money, “thank you momma, here you go.””Ewww won’t he do it, won’t he do it!” My prayer was answered this morning, thank ya Jesus!” King looks at the total appreciation on her face for receiving a twenty dollar bill. “Thank you,” and begins walking in the direction of Knox Street. He walks into the leasing office and sits in the chair right in front of the worker, Mr. Jones who was on the phone.
Mr. JONES: I have been working with you Miss. Yalonda. Now, I don’t want to evict ya, but I need to see some money in front of me by.. uhh, let me see, uhh.. last week! Now I ain’t tryna get in ya pocket book or coin purse, but I know you ain’t broke like your saying. I see the pizza man knocking on your door, and a couple of ya kid’s wearing Air Jordan shoes. Babe you on the government assistant programs of all the program’s, hell, ya rent ain’t nothing, $120 dollar’s. I’ll be right with you sir.
KING: No worries.
Mr. JONES: I know the game, don’t you play me Miss Yalonda. I don’t want to hear it, because I done heard it all! Now, you know I ain’t gonna have you and those poor babies out on the curb, but you better not be trying to play me. Find a way to get me my money. And the next time you find yourself raising your voice at me, there will be an eviction notice for ya ass real quick and fast. Don’t play me young lady. Have a good day… What can I do for you sir?
KING: Yes, my name is KJ, I am a friend of Seven Fitzgerald in apartment #2111.
Mr. JONES: Oh yea, there is another one who owes me money. That half breed been ducking and dodging me the last few days.
KING: He hasn’t been dodging you. He has been in the hospital from an accident that occurred.
Mr. JONES: Well alright, thanks for letting me know, but that don’t pay the rent. When he is supposed to be getting out of the hospital?
KING: In about a week, may even two weeks.
Mr. JONES: Aw hell naw! He running game. He got the wrong one jack. Now I pray for the man, but he will need more prayer’s, because there will be an eviction notice on his door.
KING: Well that’s what brings me to you. I am here to relay a message from Seven. He tells me to tell you, that he is sorry for being late with his response. He wasn’t trying to avoid you. So I am going to give KJ the money to pay my rent. I am KJ.
Mr. JONES: Well, we have rules and regulations. And no one is above is law. I would need a signed money order or check from Seven. Then, I won’t draw up the eviction notice for his late yella ass. I’m tired of this shit.
KING: How about we get right to it, while I’m sitting right here. The main thing is, you receiving the money. Mr. Seven is in hospital as we speak for performing a heroic act. And with all due respect sir, let that be the last time you speak negatively on my friend Seven. Do we have an understanding on that?
Mr. JONES (Long pause, with a look of who does this guy think he is ) Excuse me! Who do you think you are by coming in my office, telling me what I ain’t gon do?
KING: (Staring in the eyes of Mr. Jones while not speaking)
Mr. JONES: Uh hello. And besides, you can’t just walk up in here and pay, how you want to pay? So we will handle this the right way. The same way of how I been running it. Now, do we have an understanding on that?
King slowly gets up from his chair. He lifts the chair up a few inches from the ground, while walking around the desk towards Mr. Jones. The older man slightly tilted his head down while watching King over the top bridge of his thick glasses, “sir what are doing,” in a nervous tone. King replies while telling him everything was going to be okay, he was just hard on hearing and needed to sit a little closer. King pulls the chair right next to Mr. Jones and sits down while never taking his eyes off his eyes. He leans forward a little closer to Mr. Jones.
KING: I respect all my elder’s. But I also don’t like to repeat myself or being talked to in a disrespectful manner. So I am going tell you one more time, up close and personal so you can feel my energy. Now, it would be a very wise time to lose the pride and hear me out because that pride will getcha every time. And after you hear me out, we can both win. Now, this is what is going to happen. I am going to pay you Seven’s rent and I am also going to pay the rent of the following month as well. The woman you were on the phone with, Miss Yolanda, I am going to pay her rent for this last month and this month and I am going to pay it all in cash. And you are going to excuse the money order thing this time and you are going to figure it out. And for the late fees and for your troubles, I am also going to give you enough money to do something nice for yourself. Or if you are married, you can take your wife to the nicest restaurant in town. Now, do we have an understanding on that?
Mr. JONES: (Total change in his demeanor) Oh we most certainly do. What did you say your name is again?
KING: KJ
Mr. JONES: Right on KJ. So you say you will be paying in cash, is that correct?
KING: That is correct sir. I’m glad we could come to an understanding on this matter. I’m sure you have been working hard and it’s time to treat yourself.
Mr. JONES. Bingo! You are spot on my man.
KING: (While counting money) I will definitely take care of that for you.
Mr. JONES: Show ya right. Is there anything else I can do for you Mr. KJ?
KING: (While handing Mr. Jones the money) You know, I’m glad you asked, because there is something you can do for me.
Mr. JONES: Shoot
KING: (While handing Mr. Jones an extra $100 ) Can you keep a close look out for his apartment #2111. Just for the next couple of weeks, no cleaning people, no pest control, no random pop ups at this location. Nobody needs to enter this location. Seven, he is going to need to be on some total peace, total bed rest type of thing until he gets well.
Mr. JONES: Well I’ll be.. (While looking at the extra $100 bill over the top bridge of his glasses). That’s a done deal partner.
KING: Pleasure doing business with you.
Mr. JONES: And the same to you. Man o man, I have been around them all and you are one smooth criminal. Well, maybe not the criminal part, but you know what I mean.
King doesn’t respond back but men
tally thinks about what Mr. Jones said. He places the chair back in its correct place, checks the time on his gold watch and leaves the office. He walks to his car and leaves in the direction of the Legacy Hospital. The soundtrack to the movie, The Godfather plays while making calculative chess moves in his mind. Once King has his mind set on a task, it becomes his life. The project stays on his mind until the task is complete. He mentally goes through all the pro’s and con’s. Every detail of options are thought out and not attempted until it’s all mentally played out with precise precision. He will eat, sleep, and breath the task with the aim to have everything go as planned. King was a perfectionist, while it’s safe to say, that he was bit of a germophobic. He had to have things clean, in order, and prepared. The saying fits best when it came to King, “never judge a book by its cover,” because he most definitely did not fit the perception of his outer appearance.
King arrives at the hospital and makes his way to the third floor. He walks to the front desk and speaks to the first nurse he sees. He gives Seven’s wallet and keys to the receptionist while briefly stating that he retrieved the items after Seven was rushed to the hospital. He portrays to be the brother of Seven to get more information on his health and to see if he has had any visitors since his arrival. He walks over to room #333 and enters the room. Before walking over to the bed side, he stands there at a distance and looks at him sleep. He walks over and watches the man who sparred his life a world of trouble. He then walks over to the window and sits in the chair that faces Seven. For the next three hours, King sat and watched the parking lot without barely moving.
Then finally, Seven awakes to first see the ceiling. He continues to look up while collecting his thoughts of where he was at and how he got there. When turning to the side, he sees a stranger sitting in a chair staring right at him. The way he was sitting could have been a portrait painting. King rested both elbows on the arm of the chair with his hands folded on his stomach. He was sitting with his long legs crossed. He looked like a classy sophisticated man who was raised by the street’s his whole life. He wore a cool top and bottom jump suit that matched his shoes. His bottom gold teeth matched his gold watch. He had a razor sharp edge up and clean cut face. Seven and King saw each other for the first time.
KING: And so he awakes.
SEVEN: Who are you? Look man I didn’t know that woman, I was just trying to help. Nurse!
KING: No need for that Seven.
SEVEN: How do you know my name? Nurse!
KING: I overheard the nurse when asking about your state of being.
SEVEN: (Showing signs of having a sore body and headache) Look man, I don’t know anything. Everything happened so fast. When I think about it, things just got crazy after I made a wish and blew out the candle.
KING: So do you believe in fate?
SEVEN: (Thinks before he speaks) Yea I believe in fate.
KING: Then what are you worried about? Then it is possible that after you made a wish, right after you went through the sacrifice that leads you closer to fulfilling that wish.
SEVEN: You could be the man sent by the two guys who jumped me for all I know. The man standing in the way of me fulfilling my Destiny.
KING: I could be, but then again, maybe not. Call off the nurse when she comes so we can talk.
SEVEN: Who are you?
KING: (Gets up and walks to the edge of the hospital bed) I am King. And I came here to thank you.
The Nurse: (Walks into the room) “Oh you are finally up. Are you okay?”
SEVEN: (While staring back at King) Yes I’m okay. Do I have any major damage? And what is in this cord I’m hooked up to?
The Nurse: No major damage, but you did suffer from a concussion. Your body just needs rest from being banged up pretty bad. We gave you an IV to avoid dehydration.
SEVEN: Thank you. Can you please give us a minute?
The Nurse: (While looking at King but talking to Seven) Are you sure everything is okay? Is this man your brother? He says that you two were brothers. Do you need me to call security?
KING: Yes that is so, we are brothers. And we have a sister by the name of, Destiny June.
King could see that Destiny’s name got his attention. He then informs the nurse that everything is okay and she then leaves out of the room.
KING: I truly thank you for helping my sister Destiny. She is all that I got. And I am here to talk business with you. I would like to show my appreciation. And by the way, Destiny would like to see you.
SEVEN: She is a very interesting woman.
KING: She is indeed. You haven’t even seen the half of it.
SEVEN: So what business do you speak of? And you don’t owe me anything.
KING: Oh but I do. A business move that will benefit us both.
SEVEN: I don’t like doing business with strangers. And I have a hard time trusting.
KING: I second that. But you do believe in fate. So what do you have to lose?
SEVEN: Alright, I’m listening.
KING: I say we leave and talk elsewhere, the men who jumped you can show up any minute. That’s why I was here, just in case they decided to show up.
SEVEN: (Shakes his head in disappointment) Look, your welcome for me helping your sister. I just happened to be there, anybody could have been in my shoes and did the same thing. It’s probably just best if you leave.
KING: I respect that. But to answer your question of, why? It means a lot to me because that woman you saved from a man almost raping her, happens to be a virgin. I raised her. Not to mention, they could have killed her to find me. And it would be an honor if I could show my appreciation.
Seven pulls off the cord that is attached to him and slowly lifts himself up from the bed. He puts both feet on the ground and stands up. He walks over to window and begins to stare outside while taking in what King just informed him.
SEVEN: (While looking out the window) You can look out a window and see a picture in motion worth a thousand words. This life. This world we live in. A virgin in this modern world. What a rare case she is.
KING: How about we go get something to eat. I will tell you what caused you to end up in this hospital. The reason behind it all. And later we will meet up with Destiny for dinner. At least allow us to show our respect for what you have done for us. Then you can be on your way. You have to understand, you are like a hero to us.
SEVEN: (Eyes grew wide open while looking out the window) Say, there’s one of the guys who jumped me last night!
KING: (Walks over to the window to see for himself) We have to go now. You are going to have to trust me or deal with these men coming to look for you.
They both hurry out of the room. Seven left out wearing his hospital gown. He didn’t bother to retrieve any of his possessions. Instead, he asked a nurse where the stairs where located. “I’m sorry sir, the stair case is under construction right now and off limits.”
SEVEN: You gotta be kidding me, of all the times in the world.
KING: The elevator is our only option.
SEVEN: That guy is probably on his way up right now.
KING: (While looking up to see if there were any surveillance cameras near the elevator’s) If we run into him I’ll have to take him out. I’m not in the mood to run and I don’t think you are in the condition to run as well.
Both men walk to the elevator area. They watch to see who will be coming out of the opening doors. There were elevators on both sides of the hall. A nurse come out from the reception desk and watched the two men leave, “sir you shouldn’t be getting out of bed.” Seven and King pay her no mind as King pushes the first floor bottom to the elevators. The nurse still talks from at a distance causing an unwanted scene of people to see what was going on. Both Seven and King stood facing the elevator door that made the noise to notify the door was about to open. The elevator door had a mirror reflection. The two stood impatiently but patiently waiting for the door to open. They both looked into the mirror that displayed what was happening behind t
hem. Not only could the man come out from behind them, but the door in front of them as well. A moment right before they knew the door was about to open, King grips his fist ready for action.
Finally, the door slides open and a couple of people walk out. The big boy from the Northside not being one of them. They walk into the elevator and King pushes the first floor bottom that lights up. As the elevator door remains open, you could see the elevator door on the other side opening up and people walk out. The Northside guy did not see King or Seven when walking out, although both King and Seven could see him. The husky man would have continued on walking but the nurse who caused a scene was still trying to get Seven’s attention. That caused the big man who stood in the middle of the elevators to pay attention to what she was saying. “Stop those two gentlemen who just got onto the elevator.” The man turned his head and looked inside the elevators to see both King and Seven standing there while looking right back at him. He then raced for the elevator door but it closed just in the nic of time.
SEVEN: Yo! Who are these people?
KING: Some boys from the Northside who are looking for revenge.
SEVEN: Man let’s get the hell away from here.
KING: Roger that. No worries.
The elevator door opens and they both run to the parking lot. The hospital gown flapped in the air while following King’s lead to the car. Seven forgot all about his headache from the adrenaline rush of trying get away. They both got inside the car and King pulls out from the parking spot. When making a left turn into the main entrance, they could see the Northside guy run out from the hospital. He spots out King and Seven inside the Honda. They have to drive passed him in order to leave the parking lot. They all made eye contact before King hits the gas and drives straight for the man standing in the middle of the street. The big man attempts to stand in front of the car but realizes that King didn’t have any plans on stopping. The big man dashes out of the way and King drives away. Seven watches the big man from the rear view mirror as they drive off.
I Am Your Brother Page 3