Love Trumps Game (20 page)

Dear Mrs. Tidmore:

It saddens me to inform you that your daughter, Kaytrina Tidmore, is no longer living. I know this because I was one of the last people to see her alive. I just wanted you to know that her death was an accident at the hands of an ex-boyfriend of mine. They got into a fight and Kaykay lost her balance and hit her head. Trust me when I say that it was an accident. I doubt if she suffered because she died instantly.

I wasn't sure if I should write this letter to you or not, but it was hard for me to accept her death, and even harder for me to accept that you would be spending years wondering if she would ever come home and wondering what had happened to her. Kaykay was a dear friend to me, and just like you I will miss her so much.

Also, you'll be glad to know that the man responsible for her death, Topps Jackson, has also passed away. Not only was he the monster responsible for Kaykay's death, but he also provided a way for her body to be disposed of at Harmond's Funeral Home located in the Crenshaw area. I don't have the address, but I'm sure that it can be found in the Yellow Pages. I'm not saying that they kept her ashes, but you never know.

I should have called or written to tell you this information sooner, but issues with my own health kept me from doing so. I'm deeply sorry about this. I was very fond of your daughter, and not a day goes by that I don't think about her. If I had never invited her over to my place, this
tragedy would not have happened. I wish a thousand times that I could turn back the hands of time to see her beautiful smile again.

Regretfully yours

A dear friend of Kaykay

 

Neema took a deep sigh after reading the typed letter for the tenth time. She had written it two weeks ago after Myra had called to tell her what had happened to Topps Jackson and his accomplice who tried to do harm to their mother. Once her memory had started to return, thanks to Myra driving down each weekend with family pictures, love and patience, she experienced a great sense of closure. Writing the letter to Kaykay's mother would seal the deal.

There was a knock at the bedroom door. “Mama, are you coming back down?”

“Nita, I'll be right there.” Neema took up the address-labeled envelope, stuffed the letter inside and pulled off the sealing tape. Maybe she could get the next person going out to drop it in the mailbox. With a sense of accomplishment, she got up and headed down the stairs.

“Mama, I have a couple of more surprises for you,” Neema announced as she walked back into the cheery yellow kitchen to join her family. Everyone seemed happy and animated as they waited for Myra to serve her famous pineapple upside-down cake. She took a seat at the table. “You asked a couple of times whose house this is.”

Hattie looked at the loving faces surrounding the table. The only person missing was Myra's husband, Glen, who couldn't get out of two scheduled surgeries that day. “Well, here we all are, cooking and eating like we own this place.”

“I like this house,” Brandon confirmed again. “It's got a big backyard with huge trees.”

“Mama, you own it,” Neema said, smiling.

“Girl, please. I can't afford a house like this.” Hattie patted at her chest, thinking Neema might have some residual brain damage from her hit-and-run accident.

“It's paid for, Mama.”

“What?” Hattie couldn't believe what she was hearing. “By who, I mean, by whom?”

Neema patted her hand. “Don't worry about that part. You deserve it for all that I've put you through. Being hardheaded and not listening to what you were trying to show me. I'm so sorry, Mama.” Tears welled. “Trust me, things are gonna be so different from now on. I swear to God it will. Oh, and I'm going back to college for my degree.”

Hattie was momentarily speechless.

“That new Toyota Camry parked outside, that's yours as well.”

“Wait a minute. You saying this house and the car, both are mine?” Hattie looked from one face to another. Her gaze stopped on Bruno's face. “Is this your doing?”

“What? Why you looking at me? I'm just going with the flow,” he told her, smiling. Bruno saw no reason to spill the whole story, how after Hattie had taken the kids and fled from his house the night of the shooting, he found the keys to the Rover in Topps' pocket. He then searched for the vehicle, which he located a block over from his house. He'd found the duffle bags of money along with a safe deposit key he traced to a bank in San Pedro. There, he found expensive jewelry and more money. Topps Jackson had amassed quite a fortune from years of doing wrong. Enough to get Neema set up in a new apartment and buy a house and car for Hattie. As far as he was concerned, Hattie deserved everything that money could buy.

“Well, I'll be going now,” John West announced as he stood up from the table. “It was nice meeting all of you.”

Neema stood up, too. “You're an amazing man, Mr. West. Strangers don't do the things that you have done. Thanks for everything.” She was at his side for their good-bye hug at the front door. “I'll never forget you.”

“Better not. You're like my playdaughter now. I'll be heading out of town in three days. I'm sure we'll keep in touch.”

“I'd like that.”

“That's my girl.” West gently thumped the top of her head, and kissed her cheek. “The pleasure was all mine.” With that he left.

“May I please have some more cake?” Brandon asked.

Myra cut him another piece as Neema walked back into the eating area.

“Thank you, Auntie Myra.”

“You're welcome, Brandon.”

“Ohmygawd, my kids saying ‘please' and ‘thank you.' I can't believe how polite they are now.”

“Uh-huh,” Myra teased. “I bet you can't, so try to keep it moving that way.”

Neema picked up a dishtowel and tossed it at her. “Girl, forget you. What about those bay-bay kids of yours?”

“Girl, you know my kids aren't as bad as yours,” Myra teased her back.

“In your dreams.'

Bruno and Hattie had their heads huddled together, whispering something that only the two of them found amusing. Hattie's face was glowing as she got up to get her purse.

“Mama? Where you going?” Neema asked, standing at the counter with a glass of fruit punch.

“Uh…on a date.”

“A date?” Myra and Neema both stared in disbelief as Bruno escorted a giddy-acting Hattie to the front door.

“The kids are safe and back with their mother. It's time for me now.”

Two mouths sagged open as they watched their mother switch her sassy hips to the door and stop. Bruno kissed her cheek and opened the door.

“Oh, before you go, can you drop this letter in the mailbox for me?” Neema walked over and handed the letter to her.

“Whose Mrs. Tidmore?” Hattie queried, studying the address.

“The mother of a good friend. Please don't forget to mail it. It's very important.”

“Nee, I think you forgot to put a return address on it.”

“I didn't forget. It's my final closure.”

“Oh. No problem.” Hattie winked back at them. “Brandon and Nita, Nanny will see you two later.” Then she turned to Neema and Myra. “Oh yeah, I'll be in good hands, so don't worry. And one more thing. We'll talk more when I get back, but don't wait up for me.”

1. In a perfect world, grandmothers naturally love to spend time with their grandchildren, but can they become overwhelmed from too much “dropping the kids off”?
   
2. Should Hattie have taken her oldest daughter's suggestion to call Child Services for Neema's abandonment of her children?
   
3. The relationship between Neema and Topps Jackson is clearly a love-and-hate one where she has accepted being abused and degraded. Does this sort of behavior seem more acceptable to young women?
   
4. Six-year old Raynita was notorious for stealing things. To prevent the stealing incident at Walmart, should Hattie have paid better attention to the child while in the store?
   
5. Topps Jackson presents himself as a man that is cold-hearted and perhaps even insane. Did it seem right that he would expect loyalty from his accomplice, Zoot, after threatening the man with a gun?
   
6. Even though Hattie had warned seven-year-old Brandon about his potty mouth, was she being too harsh in washing his mouth out with soap and taking a belt to him?
   
7. Was Glen, Myra's husband, being reasonable for asking Hattie and the kids to leave his house?
   
8. Discovering Topps Jackson's drug money left in the vehicle, was it right or wrong for Bruno Kelly to keep the money and share it with Hattie?
   
9. It's rare for a stranger to help a person in need, but if you were in the shoes of the detective, John West, would you have helped a young woman like Neema?
   
10. Did you see John West's help as his way of making up for the daughter that he lost?
    
11. After learning that her sister Neema was alive, but suffering from amnesia, was Myra wrong for not telling her mother sooner?
    
12. After endangering the lives of her entire family, do you think that Neema learned a valuable lesson from the ordeal she suffered while trying to live the fast life?
    
13. Love Trumps Game
    is a story of good versus evil; Hattie's love for her grandchildren and their love in return for her. As a good-hearted person, did Hattie deserve what she ended up with, or should she have received more?