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“Yo, Jimmy Lou, hurry up.” Zayden honked his truck horn while watching the church riot on his phone. “This shit is unreal.”
Jimmy Lou walked from his house, his plaid shirt wide open, revealing the white t-shirt. “I ain’t going,” he said into the passenger’s window. “And neither are you.”
“Man, this is crazy. They’re live streaming the riot.” Zayden laughed. “The more the police try to break it up, the more they fight. See? Get in so we can go.”
“You didn’t hear me? I’m not setting nothing on fire.”
“Come on, man.” Zayden laid his head on the rest. “Don’t pull this. You said you was coming.”
“Think, Zayden. This is crazy.”
“Your cousin killed himself because the Mills family dragged his name into the mud. That’s crazy.”
“Morris and Tilly are right. You don’t give a damn about Nate. You use this so you have an excuse to go up against the blacks well that’s your fight and not mine.”
“What kind of cousin are you?”
“There’s a lot of things I let you get away with.” Jimmy Lou’s cheeks swelled with air. “But questioning my love for Nate is not one. All you do is use people.”
Zayden sighed, looking ahead at the empty road.
“You used your pop for a place to stay and treat him like shit. Morris and Tilly for your dirty work, and Nate because you thought he’d be an NFL star and you’d be in the lap of luxury, well it’s over tonight, Zayden.” He walked toward the house.
Zayden started his engine. “Fuck you too.”
****
“Jesus.” Klein stood in Mayor Bordeaux’s living room watching the church riot on the giant flat-screen. “Enough is enough.” He slammed the remote on Bordeaux’s slate coffee table. “Do something.”
“What do you expect me to do?” Bordeaux read Klein’s firefighter proposal at his computer desk. “They hate me. They won’t listen to a thing I say.”
“Make them listen.” Klein marched across the lavender, vinyl tile. “Give me this.” He snatched the laptop off the table. “Now get your ass up and do what voters elected you to do.”
“What’s gotten into you?” Bordeaux jumped from his chair. “Why are you acting like this?”
“Because I’m tired.” Klein threw the computer on the floor.
“My computer!” Bordeaux gripped his head. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Yes, I’ve lost my mind. I’m sick of this. Look, I lost the woman I love tonight. She’s gone.”
“Sonjay? What happened?”
“She’s in love with another man.”
“Who?”
“Doesn’t matter. I lost her because I wasn’t handling my business, but I’m handling it from now on and you should handle yours too.” Klein waltzed back to the TV, pointing at it. “Is this what you want? You’re proud of this?”
The police threw tear gas while the crowd became more violent.
“All of this is going on because you and I were too afraid to fight. Everyone else is.
I might not agree with violence but at least they’re in the game. Where are we, mayor? Where are you?”
Bordeaux flinched, nostrils crinkling.
“You got the power to stop this and you’re standing on the sidelines watching. Presley is fighting for her life, the town’s fighting for justice whether it’s for Nate or Presley and it’s time I fight for it too.” Klein pushed his shoulders back, straightening his shirt. “I can’t work with you anymore if you don’t stop this tonight.”
“What?”
“I got into politics to change things. If we don’t do that then what good is it?”
“Don’t you think I want to say something?” Bordeaux thrust his hand toward the TV. “I’m ashamed it’s gotten to this point and I wish I’d done something sooner, but me going out there won’t make a difference now.”
“Who put you in office?”
Bordeaux twitched. “The people.”
“If you’re not there when they need you the most then you might as well get the
hell out because you’re not worthy of this office.”
Bordeaux held a distant gaze as if he were reflecting. “What if I can’t?”
“Then I can’t be your chief of staff.”
“I’d be lost without you in my corner.”
“Well?” Klein shrugged. “What are you gonna do?”
Bordeaux sighed, glaring at the TV. “Handle my business.”
Klein slapped Bordeaux’s back. “That’s the mayor I know and love.”
****
Sonjay turned in Dex’s passenger seat, looking out the back window at the riot disappearing from view. “Wow.” She turned ahead, straightening her seat belt. “It’s like we’re at war.”
The sound of glass breaking and people fighting stained the night air.
Dex seized the wheel. “I used to love Thompsonville now I’m ashamed of it.”
“You don’t have to go to the hospital with me. You can drop me off and I’ll get a ride back to the house to get my car.”
“You don’t need to go anywhere near Klein.”
“He can’t stop me from going home.”
“Trust me, you don’t want to be around Klein as pissed off as he is.” His eyes sparkled from the traffic lights. “Besides, I wanna see Presley too. What a night, huh?”
“How will I look at Klein again? I’m a horrible person.”
“I don’t like hurting him either but he’ll get over it.” He touched her chin. “We knew being together wouldn’t be easy. I refuse to beat myself up over this.” Dex turned onto the street a few blocks from the Mills’ restaurant. “We fell in love and we didn’t mean to hurt anyone. It’s done. All we can do is deal with it.” He gripped her hand. “We don’t have to hide anymore. That’s a beautiful thing.”
“Tell me I’m not a terrible person.”
“If you were I wouldn’t be with you. I still got the ring.”
She looked away from him.
“Yeah, I’m asking again. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
His mouth opened but she interrupted before he spoke, “Not right now though. We need to give things time. I need to heal from Klein.”
Dex nodded, looked ahead and leaned forward. “Is that Zayden’s truck?”
It sat in the parking lot of her parent’s restaurant as sparks shot from behind the building.
“Whoa,” Dex said. “Was that a spark?” He sped into the lot. “What is that?”
“I don’t know but what the hell is Zayden doing here?”
Another burst of light flashed from behind the restaurant.
“You smell that?” Sonjay sniffed. “Smells like something’s burning.”
“That motherfucker.” Dex jumped out the car.