War (15 page)

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“She moved in here in the beginning of her senior year. Nobody wanted to tell you. Her parents don’t like our family, don’t want nothing to do with her because she had a volleyball scholarship to Howard and now she’s pregnant and will probably have to give it up.”

              “Oh God…” I take a deep breath. “Alright, so where do I come in? Because I’m sure I come in here somewhere.”

              “Well…” His voice trails off.

              “I’m listening.”

              “Seth’s sitting right here, so is Bonnie and your mama. Say hi to Jon, ya’ll.”

“Hi, Jon,” they all say in unison.

“So we’ve been talking and we’re thinking that since you’re in Boston and Seth and Bonnie will be in DC, maybe you can help the family out?”

“And here we go,” I say as I put my head back and close my eyes. Knew this shit was coming.

“Listen Jon, if they put this little boy in foster care, he won’t have a chance in hell. A black boy in LA? He’ll be wearing a scarf on his face and shooting people in the back of the head before he learns his ABC’s. So…”

              “Are you asking me to take this baby?”

              “Listen, nobody else has the courage to ask you, but I do. Everybody else may be afraid of you but trust me, I’m not. I made you. Came right out of my dick.”

              “That’s beautiful. Now back to my original question.”

              “Yes. I’m asking you to help the family out and take this little boy. Your mama will come to Boston and stay there to help you out. She’ll basically be the one doing all the work. We just need you to sign some papers and show the social worker your digs. And I’m sure they’ll probably throw the baby at you.” I
knew
this was coming. “And like I said, your mama will come to Boston and live there. All you need to do is put her up in a home because I’m not too sure if Marla wants another woman taking over her territory. The baby will stay with your mama, wherever you stash them. All we need is for you to set up a baby room in that swanky condo of yours so that when the social worker visits, it looks like this little boy lives there. Because legally, you’ll be his daddy.”

              I look at Marla who’s smiling at the waitress as she’s handed an order of avocado egg rolls.

              “Can I have a to-go box?” I see her ask. She smiles at the waitress as she walks away. Soon her eyes drift over to me. She waves before blowing me a kiss. I nod at her as I hear Nicky bust out the bathroom door.

              “Jon?” my father says. “What do you have to say?”

              “I’m eating dinner with my family right now. I’ll call you tonight.”

              “What time?”

              “Ten.”

              “My time or your time?”

              “Your time.”

              “Alright, I’ll be waiting.” I end the call with my father. I should be annoyed. I should feel pressured. I should feel inconvenienced. But I don’t. For the first time in his life, my father is fighting to keep his family together. He’s the only one who had enough courage to call and ask me to take my brother’s son. Yet, he
should
have been the one who was the most afraid. But this is his family he’s fighting for. He called anyway.

I watch Marla put Nicky’s coat on.

But as impressed as I am with my father, I would never take my brother’s baby to make him happy.

I watch Marla put on Nicky’s hat.

NAT

              “Alright, let’s go,” Malcom says as he opens the passenger door.

We’ll have to give our greetings to Winnie and the kids before we head in after Demetrius and Marlon to see what the hell they’re up to. It may end in a brawl, especially if Jacob lays eyes on Demetrius, a man he hates more than any human being alive. This whole thing is risky. Jake doesn’t mess around with his kids, and the last thing he’ll want is for them to see him fighting on the streets of Boston. But once Jake sees Demetrius and remembers the day, five years ago, when he caught Demetrius in the condo
he
paid for, in the bed
he
shared with his wife, there’s no telling what Jake’s liable to do.

              “It may get ugly,” I say to Mac as I open my door.

              “Oh, I’m sure it will. Just make sure we get Winnie and the kids out of here.” Mac takes his coat off and slides it in the backseat. Next his cufflinks come off. Next his tie is loosened. I follow suit. When we’re both finished, we step out of the car and-

              “Pop!”
Shit.

Nicky.

MALCOLM

              As soon as Nicky says the word, I see his face freeze.
Pop
. He’s never made that mistake before in front of Jon. Jon looks down at Nicky and then slides his eyes over to me. They’re on the opposite side of the street, waiting to cross.

“Nicky-boy!” I say with a smile, as though nothing’s wrong. “Those avocado egg rolls?” I ask as I point to the bag in his hand that says California Kitchen.

“Yep!” He’s over his mistake. I look over to Jacob and he’s looking at us all, confused. Nat, me, Jon, him. Is there a problem? He puts his coffee on the table, slides Jaden out of his carrier and hands him to Winnie. He’s not sure what the problem is but he’s down for it. He immediately gets up from the table and walks to the curb to hail a cab for his family. He’s not sure what’s going on but it won’t be done in front of his kids. I look back towards Jon and see Marla. If she’s nervous and surprised, she doesn’t show it. She has a smile on her face as she gives me a wave.

              “Hey, Malcolm!” Marla says as she takes hold of Nicky’s hand and they start crossing the street. Jon’s eyes are locked on me. His blood is boiling. Steam is damn near coming out of the top of his head. His son has just called me, a white man, Dad. Nicky barely remembers his folly as he sees Ralphie, his best friend. Ralphie gets up and nearly runs to the curb to meet Nicky. He then starts talking about the probability of seeing Nicky tonight.

Jon’s eyes are still glued to me.

              “Marla. What’s going on, baby?” I say to her with a smile and wave. You’ve gotta respect Marla. Most people are intimated by Jon’s stoicism. With his size and impassiveness, he could probably make most people cower under a table. Not Marla. No matter that Jon and I tried to kill each other last month, it doesn’t bother her.  She refuses to allow Jon’s utter hatred of me destroy her status in my life. She’s the girlfriend to my wife’s ex-husband and that’s what she’ll remain. Good for her.

              “Hey Malcolm,” I hear Winnie say. I turn to her and see her eyes questioning me.
What’s going on?
I shake my head.
Just take the kids and go.

              “Winnie,” Jacob says. He motions for his family to go into the cab he just hailed.

              “But Nicky just got here,” Harper, Jacob’s oldest daughter, says. She’s had a schoolgirl crush on Nicky since she was able to talk.

              I watch Winnie, Beckett, Ralphie and Nicky’s future wife pile in the car.

              “Go slow,” Jacob tells the driver as he takes cash out of his wallet. “He’s not in a car seat.” He points to Jaden.

              “Of course, Attorney Blair,” the cabbie says.

              “Dad, can I ride with Auntie Winnie and Ralphie?” Nicky asks Jon.

              “What am I? Chopped liver?” Harper asks Nicky. Jon says nothing. His eyes are locked on me. I’m not sure if he’s even breathing right now because he damn sure hasn’t blinked.

              “Go ahead, pumpkin,” Marla says. “Please be careful with him,” she tells the cabbie. “He’s all we’ve got.”

              “Yes, ma’am.”

              Jon’s eyes haven’t left me.

              “See you at home,” I say to Nicky though my eyes are still on Jon.

              “Okay!” Nicky says back.

              I hear the cab doors shut as Jacob walks back over to the rest of us. I see Jon still looking at me but this isn’t anger I’m seeing here. This isn’t rage. This is hurt. Jon prides himself on being good at two things: computers and Nicky. If nothing else, he believes his one redeeming quality is his fatherhood. I have to admit, he’s not the type to throw money at his kid and send him on his way. He spends time with Nicky. He does. Honestly, when it comes to being a father, he’s blameless. I can’t spot a single fault. He pays his weight in child support—forty grand a year for Nicky’s private schooling. Nicky’s picked up by Marla every day after school. She feeds him, picks up Ralphie from Winnie, makes them do their homework, takes them to soccer practice and then brings them back home. Jon set that up. Marla is an extension of him, so that’s him doing his part. Twice a week, Nicky eats dinner in Jon and Marla’s condo. Once a week, they go out to a restaurant. Every weekend, Jon takes Nicky to basketball camp at the gym he’s a member of, in Roxbury. Jon’s a dickhead but he’s faultless with his son.

              And he continues to stare at me.

              “See you guys at home!” Marla says to Jacob, Nat and me as she begins to push Jon back across the street towards their truck. His eyes are still on me. He takes one step backwards. Then another. Marla whispers something. His eyes stay glued on me. This would be a perfect time for me talk shit but I won’t. This is the perfect moment to talk about that night in Pirahna. One mention of that night and the National Guard would be breaking us all up because, let’s just be honest, the mere mention of Danielle Rouge can cause a street fight on even given day. But now that Nicky’s in the mix, the atmosphere is completely different. With Red, it’s Jon’s pride that’s wounded. With Nicky, it’s Jon’s heart. And yes, Jon has a heart. It’s evident at this very moment when his blood is boiling to the point where he can’t even open his mouth. He doesn’t want Marla in the middle of the rampage that he feels coming on. He’s trying to keep his peace for her, which lets me know one thing: he loves her. He doesn’t want for her to be around yet another fight of his. He doesn’t want to upset her. He doesn’t want to scare her.

But Nicky.

He continues to look at me. He’s oblivious to the fact that I’ve already decided that since his woman is here and since his son is involved, I’ll be bowing out of this impending confrontation. One unspoken rule is that you don’t fuck around with a man’s family. No matter who that man is. Today’s not the day to fuck with Jon about what his son called me. Nicky’s off limits. So I take my eyes off of him and look at the window to see Marlon and Demetrius and…

              They’re gone.

DEMETRIUS

Jon saw Marlon and me as we snuck out of Starbucks.

“My father didn’t do
shit
for me!” Jon now screams out over the noise of laughing women and Aretha Franklin on the sound system telling us to
Call Me
. He takes another shot of rum. He’s had three so far. He has six more lined up in front of him.

Marlon and I headed out of Starbucks while Malcolm, Jacob and Nat’s back were turned away from the front doors. They were staring at Jon. Marlon was the one who saw the scene on the street. He knew it could get ugly. He also knew he didn’t want Jacob seeing me yet.

Jon saw Marlon point to his car down the street.
I’ll be right there if you need me.
Jon’s girlfriend saw us too. That’s when she began pushing him across the street. No doubt, she was nervous that a fight would ensue. We had no idea until now what started the whole thing. Seems that Jon’s son called Malcolm
Dad
. Damn.

              “Maybe he didn’t mean it like that,” Matt says. He ordered a Scotch and water that he’s been nursing since we got to this catfish dive in Roxbury, an hour ago. I won’t lie, I’m surprised to see Matt sober right now.

I met Jon and Matt before Gwen was divorced. Met them through Marlon and found out that we’re all in the same frat. They were around when I flew in and out of Boston to see Gwen that year she left Jacob. Marlon, Jon, Matt and I hung out, had drinks at this dive we’re at now and laughed over shots of rum. I noticed that Jon was a slow drinker, Marlon liked his drinks watered down and Matt could drink your ass under the table. That year that I flew in and out of Boston was fun but after Winnie remarried Jacob and I got serious with Sammie, I never came back.