BOMAW Vol. 10-12 (22 page)

"Take it to Vale storage, here... screw it, I'll pay for the month. They're open until 8pm, you got an hour and a half to get there. They always have vacancies." Shawn reached for his wallet, took out some money and passed it to Corliss. "Use this for fuck else, you're shits on the street. Better not bring it back here." He warned her.

She took the money, looking up at him. "How long you gone be here?" She softened up, despite his talking to her as he did.

"Don't worry about it." He answered.

"Who are they, in the house?"

"My family, you already know Angela."

"I know you ain't married to
her
." She stated, speaking of Sylvia, as if she were offended by the idea.

"As a matter of fact, I am. You know why? All woman, pure gold, a lady... you wouldn't know anything about that."

Shock passed over her features, as well a bit of pain, her mouth dropped open. "You actually
married
her?"

"That's usually how a man gets a wife, by marriage."

"Ain't that 'bout a bitch! You fucked me over but you married-..."

"I don't wanna hear that shit! No one fucked
you
over!
You
fucked me over, don't make me remind you! I may have forgiven, but I don't fuckin' forget."

"That shit wasn't my fault, it went too far!" She cried once again.

"
Go
- Corliss!" Shawn ordered backing away from her and before he turned away, "And I'm telling you now, you better back the fuck up off of Mama-JoJo, you understand ... you don't wanna fuckin' get me involved."

"Then don't -
get
- involved!" She retorted.

With warning in his eyes, he pointed at her shaking his head.

She turned away, went around and climbed into the truck, it drove off.

Back in the house, he closed the door behind him, locking it. Walking through the living-room into the kitchen, all eyes were on him. Especially his wife's eyes. He sighed, gave a smile loaded with expression, imploring her to be understanding and bear with him. Then to Mama JoJo.

"Mama-JoJo, can you tell me, why do I get this gut feeling, that before I leave here, I need to be getting you ready to take back home with me."

"We done went thou' all that before, I ain't leavin' my house!"

"Godalmightly Mama-JoJo, why in the blazin' hell you have to be so stubborn! I'm not gonna have you here, alone, going through this kind of stress! So I'm gonna just tell you this here, and now, right in front of my family, as they already know it ... we're building a new home. Mama JoJo, your rooms, are already drawn up in the plans. You'll have your own bedroom, your own sitting room, right off of your own patio. Start getting it in your head. You're coming to live with me."

"I ain't livin' wit'nobody, now you know I don't like dependin' on no one, but myself, I got my own!"

"Fuss all you want, that's just fine. But I'm tired of asking. If you want all of your stuff from here, to go there - that's fine, but get ready to move."

"I ain't goin'!"

"Yeah you are."

"I'm ol'enuff to be yo'mama three, fo'times! You can't make me go!" She fussed.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Let's get ready to go you all." He spoke to the others, going to Mama-JoJo, "Give me a kiss and hug. When we goin' out to dinner, your favorite restaurant? You name the day." He went on as if she just gladly agreed to all that he'd said.

"I may not wanna eat there, might wanna eat someplace else!" She returned, feeling cantankerous. Playing hard to please as he stood there, holding her, hugging her, giving her a kiss to her brow. "Well then we'll go wherever, someplace else then."

"Might not wanna go wit' you neither! I'ah go wit' the baby over there, your wife and chillin's, gon' leave you out o'it. Ain't gone be tellin' me what to do." She grumbled on. The "baby", had become Benjamin. Shawn chuckled, "You gone hurt my feelin's Mama-JoJo, you leave me out. All I wanna do is take care of you. I don't take care of you, who will? I couldn't live with myself, I couldn't sleep at night, I don't see about you."

"Hmph, time was ago I was takin' care of you, don't forget that."

"I haven't Mama-JoJo, now it's my turn, right?"

"Ain't yo'turn lessin' I say it's yo'turn."

"Then you best be gettin' close to saying it then." He returned, backing away for Angela to hug her and the others as well, taking turns to give her a kiss and a hug goodbye. All made their way out, saying goodbye with Shawn left on the steps last. "Lock up, we'll be back. Start collecting boxes." He warned, grinning at her, throwing her one more kiss.

"Get on' out'ah here! I ain't collectin' nothin'! Thowin' me no kiss! Want no mo'suggah from you!" Her lip was rolled out, brows pinched in a scowl. Watching him as he trotted down the stairs, and then into the Hummer. He leaned down to look at her across the vehicle, looking over Sylvia's lap. "LOCK UP!" He called to her.

She waved him off, but backed into her home, doing as he said.

Driving off finally, all were quiet. Thinking. Reflecting. Waiting. Every one of them waiting to hear Sylvia say something first. Also waiting, curious about that Corliss. Shawn drove on trying to think, trying to figure out how to explain things to his wife. They were halfway home when he asked Sylvia, "Its still early enough, wanna go grocery shopping?"

She looked over at him, answering softly, "Yeah, I suppose we should."

He took them all to Vons supermarket, instructed each of them to get a cart to pick up various items they liked to eat, and not to overflow the cart out of control, mainly because, they would only be there two weeks, going out to dinner most of that time. Crystal and Angela took a cart with Darren sitting in the top of the basket. Benjamin and Mundo took one with Isaac in the top of the cart. And of course, Shawn took one, leaning on it following Sylvia around the store, watching and waiting as she looked over different products, placing her choices in the cart.

"Well, come on, don't make me suffer. I know you, your mind is probably going a 100 miles a minute."

"No, not really. I'm learning, one day at a time, especially when it comes to you. I'm learning that I should, relax, brace myself, and uh, just wait it out, soon enough, all I need to know will reveal itself. So no, not a 100 miles."

"You mad at me? At a slow simmer maybe?"

"No."

"No? Not even a bit ... just a tiny, itty bitty bit?"

"Nope." She answered strolling along, picking up more stuff.

"So ... you gonna ask me anything?"

"You wanna tell me anything?" She replied calmly.

"Well I don't know if I should." He grinned, "What about Mama-JoJo? Me stating that I have plans for her to come to live with us, that okay?"

Sylvia chuckled, "Since when do you ask me anything? You decide on it, and then somewhere, at some point, I find out. Like tonight for instance."

"Sooo, what are you saying? Is it okay, or not, okay?" He asked, pushing the cart around the corner into the next isle.

"I like Mama-JoJo. You love Mama-JoJo. She is more than welcome in our home. I have no problem with that."

"But..." He offered to her.

"No buts ... I'm learning not to bother with buts."

"Ohhh, you're starting to bother me, making my stomach hurt." He moaned leaning on the cart all the way, arms crossed over the push bar.

"Why? I'm just as calm as can be." She returned, trying to decide on the kind of dinner she should prepare. "What should I fix for dinner the night she comes over?" She asked.

"Anything baby, fix whatever you want." He answered, not understanding this calm about her. "I wish you would get upset already so we can get this over with." He mumbled.

"No you don't, if that's what you wanted, you wouldn't have brought me to the grocery store. You would have taken me home so we could have it out."

"Ah ha! So you do wanna have a go at me."

"No, I don't." She smiled and continued on picking up more items and putting them in the cart.

"Okay then, here goes ... the big one ... wanna ask me ... about Corliss?"

Sylvia smiled and looked back at him, "Wanna tell me about Corliss?"

"Yes I do, because I don't want your imagination telling you things that aren't so."

"Thought you said you never dated black women?" She asked, searching her memory from past discussions.

"I haven't. You were the first I dated, fell in love with, wanted to marry. But ... as I told you, I've had ... encounters with them."

"As in, sex with them?"

Shawn sighed, "Yeah ... I have." He admitted.

"Corliss?"

"Corliss?" He parroted.

"Yes, Corliss, sex with Corliss? You and Corliss, sex. Yes."

"Emmm, no."

"Emmm no? Why not just no?" She asked.

Shawn sighed, "Well, I came close. Real close ... then, I just backed off."

"Oh yeah, why is that?"

"Because she was Jesse's cousin. I wasn't in love with her. I was in Mama-JoJo's house. And had I, it would have just been about the sex. So, I backed off."

"I see. What led to you ... almost having done so?" She asked.

"I was feeling like the scum of the earth, it wasn't long after Jesse was killed. I stayed with Mama-JoJo for some time. Mama-JoJo was off to play bingo, I was there, Corliss knew that I was there. She showed up, we talked a little bit, 'bout nothing important. Because I knew why she was there, just as she knew why she was there."

"You saying she came specifically to go to bed with you?"

"Yeah, that's exactly why she came. But, to give in and do that, would have been like insulting Jesse, insulting Mama-JoJo. Anyway, when I wouldn't go through with it, she eventually got angry with me, wanted me to leave, get the heck out of her grandmother's house. I wouldn't leave. She yelled a bunch of other stuff at me and took off threatening me, that I was there just using her grandmother. When in fact, had I gone to bed with her, I could have stayed there, continuing on to use her, as long as I was willing to get it on with Corliss, she didn't care about me being with Mama-JoJo."

"I see ... so, when did you finally leave?"

"Ohhh, after I got the hell beat out of me. After I came out of the hospital. After I found the two that did it and beat the living shit out of them."

Sylvia stopped and stared at him. "Shawn?! Have you been fighting all of your life?"

"Emmm, damn near, yeah ... damn near. Hey, they came into Mama-JoJo's house while I was sleeping and she was at church. I woke up to getting my ass kicked. She, the little bitch, sent them in on me. Mainly, because I wouldn't go to bed with her. What a mess that was. Mama JoJo came home and found me moments after they took off. They busted up my ribs good let me tell you. I came out of the hospital, rested up a spell, healed up and then went out and found out where they were, got them alone and beat the living shit out of them. Plus I cut the fuckers! Carved my initials in their asses."

"Shawn!?" Sylvia stood stunned.

"You know what, I came this close..." He held up his thumb and index finger measuring barely half an inch. "... from kicking her ass as well. I found her, told her what I did to them, and then told her that I would be informing Mama-JoJo about the whole ordeal, which I did. Anyway, I told her, she ever pull that shit again, she better make sure they kill me, because if not, her ass was mine ... and not to do what she wanted me to do with it either. I stayed around for a while longer, just to make it clear, that all knew I didn't leave because of no ass whoppin'. That's when I thought, I need some money,
now
... and-..."

"You went back into porn?"

"Yes ... that's when. And I ended up in Melba's not long after that."

"And met Merriam Styles?" Sylvia supplied, asking to be sure.

"You got it. I started giving Mama-JoJo money from every bit that I earned. I also went back and spent my weekends with her when I could, and then I ended up staying with Merriam. She wanted to take off to Europe, said that she promised her son a tour all over and well, you know that part ... I ah, became him. I went with her, but I did not ... wanna leave Mama-JoJo behind. No matter what I said to her, she would not go with me. I almost didn't go. She talked me into going and I promised that I would write her every week, send her pictures, stuff like that. Everywhere I went, I looked for roosters and chickens." He smiled thinking about it.

They were stopped in an isle, cart almost full. He stood, stretching his back, looking down at his wife as he stretched. "That's it baby. That's it in the nutshell. I mean, there's more but, as for Corliss, that's the important stuff. You believe me?" He asked taking her into his arms.

"Yes ... I believe you." She answered gazing up at him.

"Still love me like before?"

"No ... no no no, nothing like before. I love you more. You have been through some hell, haven't you Shawn." She asked as he bent and kissed the corner of her mouth, her nose, her brow, not caring about the fact that they were in the middle of a grocery store with customers milling about it.