Chapter Seventeen

The next morning was difficult. The throbbing pain she felt in her head didn’t make her appreciate the beautiful morning sun which smiled through the windows, or the birds which chirped in all their excitement. She would have woken up with a shock had she not recalled fragments of Naomi and her son’s conversation. Even now that she thinks of it, she’s not sure if she was only dreaming. The vanilla scent which filled the room, the lacey curtains, the vintage decor made her feel totally out of place, intimidated even, compared to her retro style wall where most of their stuff were in disarray thanks to her ever dexterous roommate. She caught a glimpse of the picture which sat neatly on her console below her tv set. Still unable to get over what she had just found out.

“So he was a child too, interesting,” she spat, wincing at the pain she felt up there. She pushed herself to get up to go to her apartment before Naomi came in. 

“I see you’re trying to sneak out to your apartment like you do every night”, Naomi entered from the kitchen with a tray filled with hot buns and a cup of tea. She set it on the dining table and brushed off her hands with a napkin.

“You got better without your stick,” she staved off the subject. Peeved, Naomi squinted at her impassive expression. 

“You never change…” she sighed and got back to setting the table.

“Help yourself with a toothbrush at the toilet cabinet. You’d find a toothpaste on the mirror sill. You can have breakfast after that.” It didn’t sound like a suggestion but she was going to take her chances.

“Thank you Naomi but I can just get to my room and do all that and spare you the trouble,” she replied.

“You already caused me trouble when you returned in the arms of a stranger at such a late hour”

“A stranger?” She asked, knowing very well how that would sound in the old lady’s head.

“Just so you know, you’re not leaving until you’ve checked all three boxes,” Naomi made herself clear. 

Puffing out some air while her hand held on to her head she staggered out of the couch and to the toilet to do as she was told.

So much for not being a child anymore, she thought.

Naomi was unusually slow at eating her breakfast that day and Keisha noticed it through the mirror she brushed in front of. The old lady looked conflicted but calm all at the same time. A few moments later, she joined her at table, feeling a lot better after that bit of hygiene. 

“You’re here,” she snapped out of her head.

“But you are not,” Keisha chipped.

“Did I trouble you that much last night?” She added, hoping to start the subject she’s been avoiding. 

“It was good trouble. Though I wasn’t  pleased by the circumstances in which it was presented,” she replied. 

“I’m sorry, I wouldn’t forget my keys next time,”

“You still don’t get it, do you? See how pale you look. Yet you spend your nights in vanity. I thought we made a deal the last time?”

Now she was beginning to see it was a bad idea to rouse the subject about last night. Her hopes to have learned about her little family drama had just switched to her vain life. 

“…Naomi, I know you really care about me very much and perhaps I am now beginning to understand why. You don’t have a cause to do that anymore. I give you my word that I will not let my personal life interfere with what is expected of me at the diner. I’ll leave for my room first,” she folded the napkin and placed it by her barely touched meal and got up to leave. 

“What do you understand?”

“We both know who brought me here last night…”

Naomi fell silent but she wasn’t going to be bogged down by just that. 

“And what has that got to do with you?”

“It’s got everything to do with me Naomi- that I’m not a charity case to pacify whatever it is that happened between you and your son.” That felt like a slap on the face. She was flushed with shame and couldn’t scold her like she’d usually do. The truth was too plain and it was harsh to hear it. 

“See you later, Naomi,” she turned and left. Naomi didn’t stop her. For a brief moment, it reminded her of how she felt when she watched her son walk away the night before.

“Light and reflection. Closely knitted but distinct in their own ways,” she smirked at herself.

****

Todd watched his troubled friend trying so hard to get out of his head. He had just told him about the rough night he had the day before and the reason for that.

“We finally met yesterday…” he reported, his face grim with emotion. 

“It was bound to happen sooner or later,” Todd placed a paperweight on a proposal file Lois had just turned in. His office turned out to be Mitch’s second haven. The last time he stormed off to the club after that dramatic incident with Simona, he knew he had gone to the wrong place for solace. He almost got himself sucked back into the bed in which he ruined lives- his and all those ladies. Later, Todd found out why his good friend had been absent for close to two weeks.

“I’ve spoken to Lois to allow you entry whenever you come around. I’ll rather you mess up here than over there,” Todd told him afterwards.

Today, Mitch presented to him a hard nut to crack which technically, wasn’t that hard at all. But the passing of time had weathered what should have been easy to solve. He paced round the room, still thinking of how to address this issue he had brought. It’d be too ready-made and almost impractical to mention forgiveness at this point though that’s the destination. But people don’t usually like to take the easy routes when it comes to their emotions. Rather than face the beat and dance to it, they’d prefer to not see it or even hear it. That’s the conclusion Todd arrived at after many years of counselling people both young and old. 

His idle paces unnerved the young man. Feeling like he was up and about with another lousy idea. 

“So, what do you want to do?” Todd finally asked. 

“I wouldn’t be here if I knew.”

“What would the sun do?”

“Todd, don’t come at me with the whole WWJD thingy. I doubt Mary ever abandoned Jesus when he was a child…”

“Hmmm… while I’d want to further engage you on that, I’m afraid you must have misunderstood my question.”

“How?”

“I meant… the Sun not the Son” he pointed out the window to a shining sun which was at its peak at that time. Mitch looked to the sun and to the man before him with pained eyes. 

“I almost thought you had lost your mind for a minute but now that I think of it, I’ve gotten my answer….”

Todd smiled at him feeling proud of himself that he had just solved his dilemma with a simple question though it wasn’t so different from how the young fellow first understood it.

“I see you’re learning a lot more than I expected…” Todd clamped his shoulder to give his approval of him. 

“As hard as it may be. I think I should just face her. She deserves an explanation,” he added. 

“I’m happy to hear that. Perhaps I should get you an office space too. You’re getting a hang of this counselling thing,” Todd teased. Mitch scarcely chuckled at that. 

****

“Jamie moved?” Rich asked, the news hitting him hard in the face. Following their last conversation at the Haven he was counting on things getting better for them. Besides, he knew his cousin would never take such a decision and not inform him of all people about it. Bertha remained perched on the kitchen counter for the longest time, distraught by her son’s sudden disappearance. She knew she drove him out but she didn’t want it to turn out like this. Who knew what he’d be up to, seeing how weak-willed he was.

“So where is he now?” Rich asked frantic with anxiety and anger all at the same time. Sally told him they hadn’t heard from him and that did little to ease his mind. Bertha was too preoccupied in her mind to talk. 

Rich paced around the room racking his head hard to find some leads. 

“Anything from his friends? Where he usually visits?” He asked.  Sally shook her head, doing less than trying to calm her troubled sister.

“He hardly stepped out after you moved out, Rich. You of all people should know your cousin better than anyone,” Sally replied. 

“I knew I should have pressed him more to move in with me but he wouldn’t budge,” He sighed in frustration.

“I’ll try and engage a few friends so we find him,” 

“Alright. Take care of yourself too while you’re at it,” Sally mentioned, while gently rubbing her sister’s back.

“Let us hear from you if you hear anything too,” she added. 

In a matter of seconds he was already out. 

****

“A cup of coffee with waffles, please?” He said to the lady at the counter who busily punched in the order unto the system.

“What type of waffles please?” 

“You can actually sound this polite?” The voice finally registered. Slowly, she turned to see who this fellow was and smiled dryly. 

“And it’s the jerk,” she snickered. 

“That’s the part I’m used to,” he replied with a smirk too.

“Are you here to meet your mother or you’re just going to pretend to see me?” She folded her arms and kept that same smug expression on her face knowing very well how that’d make him feel.

“So you weren’t asleep after all. I should have really left you.” 

“I guess I can chip in a thank you”, she replied wryly. 

“That’s not enough for the backache you caused me…”

“If a thank you doesn’t suffice I could repay you with something else” she intoned, she leaned closer with her voice filled with sauciness.

“Are you hitting on me that boldly? Again?” Mitch stood firm trying to prove he wasn’t affected but he knew what that’d mean to him later.

“While I hate to admit it, you’re not that bad looking. And I see you’ve worked out pretty well,” she gently stroke his biceps with her fingers.

“Besides, we already know who you are,” she added.

“But I don’t know who you are”

“You don’t seem like the type who cares about that.”

“Well then, you just piqued my interest. I want to know how a shy girl became this forward. How you came from  church girl to  club girl”.

“You ask for too much, I’m afraid. But then, just in case you change your mind on my payment plan you can hit me up at our spot tonight. For now, I’ve got work and I promised your mother I wouldn’t slack off, so can I take your order now?” She asked, ready to punch in those keys. His eyes stayed on her as one trying to figure out what she was hiding but her eyes concealed too much to be read, yet revealed everything he needed to know. In a few moments, Naomi emerged from the kitchen and was pleased to see the one person she’d been waiting for.

“I guess that’s my cue to go. The invitation is still opened,” she winked and stepped back so Naomi could attend to him. 

“You returned,” she made a full curve of her lips, grateful that he was back. Whether she was the reason or not, she didn’t care. 

“You said in my own time,” he replied.

“I did. I just didn’t expect it to be that soon. Don’t get me wrong, ever since you left, I have been hoping you’d be showing up on the days afterwards,” she tried to make it clear of misunderstandings. Mitch saw the wrinkles of regret line her face. Even how she spoke with so much caution gave him enough reason for her to earn his forgiveness. After all, he said he was of the faith now.

“So can we have the tea you promised?”

“Certainly, we can.” She called out to Keisha to prepare them their finest as they took a seat at one corner of the diner. 

“Thank you for coming, Mitchy” she told him. Her hands still wobbled beneath the table sheets. Ideally she would be cupping his hands to let him feel her warmth but she didn’t think she deserved that much yet. While they waited to be served, she figured it’d be a good time to say what she couldn’t the last time.

“Mitchel,” she stuttered. He saw the struggle she had within. A part of him wanted to savour that moment where her mind took her down on a guilt trip and another part of him was aching. Not as one feeling like the victim but as one who has some mercy to spare. Before she could say another word, he cut in to save her the trouble.

“Mom…” and he saw what that meant to her by the eyes which popped out as if they were now seeing things for the very first time. A drib of inexplicable emotion lined her eyes, sending down a  shiny trail of moist on her face. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t the best child to you…. Ever since that time I was sent to juvie, I had enough time to think. And I realized how hard it must have been for you given the roguish life I lived. But I was still too angry to understand why you left. I was angry at myself. I was angry at you. I was even angry at my dead father, whoever he may be. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if I didn’t feel the hard knocks which came with being alone and lonely…”

“I’m sorry, honey” she sniffled.

“No, don’t be. I’m sorry for not being  good enough, that’s if I was at all. Who knows, if you had stayed, you probably may not have been able to pull off such a nice place as this. You would have had to use your money on bailing me out almost every time,” he chuckled softly. 

Their meal was ready to be served but Keisha could guess their conversation had hit the climactic end. She’d hate to interrupt that precious moment between mother and son. 

“You hold on first,” she told Louis, one of the waiters. Watching the two chat as if they were on set. 

“It seems to me that a lot has happened with you for  you to think like this. Whatever those things are, I’m grateful it has earned me a chance to meet you,” she smiled through her tears finally cupping his hands. 

“Well, I decided to go to church” he broke the news to her. As if she hadn’t already heard enough sweet words, now she’s hearing the best of all. She finally understood the heart from which her son spoke and she was grateful. It seemed she didn’t lose the one after all.

****

“I hope you pass through for cell tonight, Keisha. We’d be having it at the pastor’s wife’s house today,,” Naomi called out to her as she draped her apron over the hooks.

“Sorry, Naomi. I’ve got plans,” she replied.

“I wonder why I try,” Naomi whispered under her breath.

Keisha picked up her purse and dashed out. Her shift was finally over and returned to an empty apartment which was beginning to feel normal. Ideally, Albie should be there since she had made a habit of spending her siestas with them. For someone who wasn’t a kids person she kind of always looked forward to her visits. Though she didn’t admit it, that little girl was like a chaperone to her. But it had been a couple of days since she last saw her and wondered if she was grounded by her grandmother. That was sure to happen if Ms Morrey found out where her granddaughter had been hiding. It was totally out of the question to ask the grumpy old lady if Albie was alright. 

Feena’s exam did a lot more to her than just answering a couple of questions and getting to the next level. It earned her a chance to go camping with her new beau who was staying longer than expected. Two months had passed and they were still in love and rowing.

“So what’s different with this guy?” She asked her one time. 

“He’s everything…” she slurred with dreamy eyes. She recalled the nauseating experience she had just watching her moon over him. Continuing the subject might have actually gotten her puking. She dropped it.

She slumped hard into their worn out couch and took a moment to breathe. It had been a long day and quite interesting watching Naomi speak to her jerky son like she was speaking with the president. It only got her more curious to know what exactly she did to him because she thought the respect wasn’t worth it. Aside from the fact that he was hard to not notice, she couldn’t help but be interested in whatever had to do with him. Perhaps it was because they shared a similar past or something she couldn’t put a finger on. 

That scene from the diner reminded her of what she never had- a mother’s affection, but she wasn’t going to wallow in that feeling of rejection. All she wanted to do now was take a good shower, down a couple of those damned pills and be on her way to her private office at the club. She somewhat looked forward to a pleasurable night with that handsome jerky guy.

She was barely done clearing her head when she heard the doorbell. Her first guess was Albie. After all, her regular visits were long overdue.

“Albie? It’s not locked” She called out, too exhausted to get the door. She must have been in luck that day since she managed to grab a few snacks from the diner, she thought. No one entered and the doorbell still rang. That was enough for her to know it wasn’t her. She pulled herself out of the couch to the door and unbolted it.  She went pale after that. 

“How did you-? What are you-?”

“Keisha…,” he sighed in relief. 

“I really don’t want to see you Jamal” she winced as if in pain. “Please Keisha…” 

She could hardly look him in the eye but she sensed his anxiety as he stood before her. To allow him some audience or not, that was her dilemma. But she really didn’t want to hear anything more from him. She took a few steps away from him but he wasn’t going to give up just yet.

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