T ears trickled down my face when I arrived at the morgue to view my mother’s body. I was with Quan when my sister began blowing my phone up. Graciously, he brought me up here and now I’m distraught. I hated that our last words to each other were not loving words. I was livid that she was giving my tuition money away.
And now, I would give anything to have her back. Her husband and his two kids sat over in a corner trying to comfort him. But I know they didn’t like my mother. They wouldn’t even acknowledge her as his wife.
“Baby, let me take you back home. You need to get some rest,” Quan offered as he extended his arm around me.
Nova and I had just finished viewing the body and we were equally as much of a wreck. I was surprised to see Nova this affected by our mother’s death because they were at each other’s throat all her life. But then again, that is our mother.
“Yeah, I’m ready. Let me just say goodbye to my sister,” I replied before walking away to Tyriq and Nova.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said to her before wiping her tears.
“I know. It’s just so sudden.” Her voice cracked as she attempted to speak.
“Is that guy taking you home?” Ty asked me.
“Yeah, he is.” Why was he asking me that?
“Be careful,” Ty said before I turned around. I was curious as to why he thought I needed to be careful, but I shrugged it off and walked back to Quan.
Quan escorted me out and took me back home. When we got there, he made me a cup of tea and added a little bit of rum to ease my nerves. This man was amazing at how well he was taking care of me. I had only known him for a short while, yet he had been more loving towards me than any man I had ever known.
“Here you go,” he said as he handed me a hot mug. I sipped cautiously while leaning against the pillows in my bed.
“My mother was like my best friend.” My voice cracked.
“I know baby. And I’m sorry for your loss. I know how it is to lose a parent,” he said to me, referring to the fact that he had lost his father a few years ago. He told me once when we were on a date.
“How did you get through it?” I asked as tears showered my face.
“I kept living my life in a way that I knew would make him proud. There were things that he would have expected of me and I made sure that I fulfilled them. That’s what you have to do. Live the life you and your mother can be proud of,” he said before kissing me on my forehead.
“I have to leave because I have some business to handle early in the morning. If you need me to stay, I can.”
“No, don’t worry. I need some time alone.” I gave him a halfhearted smile. He kissed me again on the cheek before pulling a wad of cash out of his wallet. He peeled off a couple of hundreds and handed it to me.
“I can’t take this.” I shook my head.
“Yeah, you can. You’re going to be missing work and quite possibly school over the next couple of weeks. I want to make sure your bills get paid and that you get fed. Take the money,” he asserted. I felt truly lucky to have a man like him.
I kissed him on his lips and he turned and walked away. I slid the cash in my nightstand and turned off the lamp. The rum relaxed me and caused me to swiftly drift into sleep. But I still was depressed about my mother.