July passed with relative ease on into August. The heat of the Southern California midsummer evenings was humid and relentless. The gangs seemed to react with much less violence than ever before. Montel's legend grew even though he rarely, if ever, hung around his old Reaper homies. Redrum ended up in jail for the third time in five years for armed robbery, and with his arrest and conviction, most of his little bandanna wearing lackeys lost interest in gang activity and wound up pursuing more constructive activities.
I noticed that after spending time together Fourth of July, Montel and Miss Shante shared a special closeness. They now appeared to be dating seriously. In fact, Montel had moved in with her and little Nadia. Surprisingly, no "I told you so," came from Mama.
I was enjoying the summer mainly because I had somehow ended hooking up with Fatima after all, who proved to be a jewel in the rough as a gal pal for me. Mama, too, had a pretty good summer as well. She had just received a raise on her job.
Alone at the house playing Playstation, I rolled up a few blunts and called over a couple of my boys to play a few games for some money. Within twenty minutes, five of my best homies walked up in the crib carrying their own game controllers and a pocket full of cash. We began our virtual football battle against each other on the big screen. The house was filled with the loud trash talk of pubescent boys and simulated stadium crowd noise echoing from the television speakers. Buttered popcorn, colas, and friendly put-downs flowed freely while twenty dollar bills were exchanged from hand to hand as losers relinquished their controllers to the victors.
After thirteen total games, my winnings amounted to over $200. I turned off the Playstation and TV before walking my disheartened pals to the threshold of the door, thanking them for their time and money as they filed out one after the other. I recounted my quick winnings, smiling proudly from the small stack of twenties and tens that I held in my hand. As I stuffed the wad of cash down into my sagging khakis, I noticed Fatima waltzing up the sidewalk. She picked up the pace of her gait when she saw me standing on the porch. She rushed toward me, squealing with delight with her arms outstretched. We held each other tight and passionately locked our lips together in a sloppy, teen kiss.
Our raging hormones tugged at us both to take advantage of the empty house. But common sense won over adolescent lust, and fortunately so, because Montel and Miss Shante pulled up with Mama, after an afternoon of grocery shopping, as Fatima and I stood chatting on the porch.
"Y'all had better not been doing nothing nasty while I've been gone," Mama said jokingly as she exited Montel's new Thunderbird.
Both Fatima and I laughed as we rushed off the porch to embrace Mama simultaneously before helping with the groceries. An hour after we had gotten all the groceries in the house and got settled in, the sound of a familiar vehicle came rumbling up along the curb in front of the house. Irritation immediately replaced my ebullience as the powerful engine just outside the window came to a halt. Montel, as calm as always, sat back flipping slowly through the pages of the old Testament book of Judges.
"Mama, it's Leon, and I betcha he's drunk, as always," I presumed. "But I'm gonna ask you with all due respect, Mama; please for me; for us all, do not argue with him, okay?" The last thing I wanted was for Mama and Leon to get to going at it in front of my girl.
"I promise you he will not make a scene, 'cause I won't let him." Mama rolled her eyes a bit She sighed audibly before raising up from the couch to get the door just as Leon lumbered up the walkway and onto the steps leading to the entrance.
Leon stopped at the threshold of the doorway to greet Mama with a kiss and hug before proceeding inside before her. Unlike usual, Leon was dressed fairly well on this evening. He was also clean shaven and sported a nice looking, well overdue haircut, which seemed to take at least five years off his hardened and deeply furrowed face. He slowly chewed on a stout, unlit cigar, as he stood tall in the middle of the living room floor. He barely acknowledged the rest of us sitting on the couch, except with a brief nod in our direction, before immediately turning his attention to Mama.
He seemed to have put on a few more pounds to his already mammoth frame, but it looked to be more like muscle mass than fat. Even as he stood handing Mama a lovely bouquet of red roses, his peaceable look did little to put the three of us at ease. We knew all too well how unpredictable the big man's moods could be.
"I wish that for once we could have this place to ourselves," he complained. "C'mon, baby, let's go and catch a movie or somethin', all right?"
"Ya know what, Leon?" Mama said in a tone that hinted she was about to decline. "I thank you for the roses and all. I really do, but I've got to pass. I'm so wore out. I'm fixin' to go lay down. So let's just get together tomorrow," Mama suggested.
Leon's response wasn't so gentle. "See, I try to do something nice and you reject me." His tone picked up.
Mama just shook her head. She looked at me as if recalling what we'd just talked about. "Why are you always so negative when you come around here? It's just not right, Leon. You and I have a relationship, but this is my home and I can't just let you keep disrespecting my home and family like this." Mama pushed the flowers toward Leon. "So here; take your flowers back and enjoy your movie."
Leon's face frowned with displeasure. "Listen up, woman. I ain't got no time for ya foolishness tonight. I ain't come all this way up here for nothing. So get ya self together and let's bounce. Don't lemme have to tell you twice."
By now Leon was talking so loud that I'm sure all the neighbors could hear him through the screen door.
Mama spoke back sternly before taking her seat on the couch among Fatima and me. "Goodbye, Leon," she said without batting an eye.
Leon could tell she meant business; that she wanted him to go, and more than likely, to never return. "C'mon, Angie. Stop playin' with me and let's go now. I ain't got time for this tonight."
"I said, bye, Leon."
In a huff, the now infuriated Leon tossed the long stem roses forcefully against the door before snatching it open with anger. Before walking out on to the porch, he stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Mama one last time. "You gonna learn one way or another on how to treat a man with the proper respect that's due him." The burly brute turned once again after descending down the steps a ways and stormed back up them, kicking the screen door furiously, startling us all.
By now Montel was on his way to the porch. Montel stood before his glowering adversary. "Leon, look man, I've watched you cold disrespect my mother. I'm sorry, but you're getting up outta here today." Montel cracked his knuckles. "Now, we can do this the easy way and you can walk outta here on your own, or we can do it the hard way, and you can get carted up outta here on a stretcher. The choice is yours."
Leon gritted his teeth and squared his wide shoulders while sizing up the much younger man standing before him. He smirked, backed away slowly, then went to his truck and drove away.
Fatima was so shaken by the turn of events that I had to wrap my arms around her in a comforting hug in order to quell her sobbing.
Mama rose up from her seat to face Montel after he entered the house from the porch. "Look, Montel, I appreciate you taking, care of your mama, but my business is my business, and you don't have to come to my rescue every time, okay?"
"Mama, I'm sorry, but I just can't let that cat disrespect you. I'll be darned if I'm gonna let anybody hurt you."
Mama could see the hurt in Montel's eyes. She walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Look, son, I know I've been going about dealing with Leon the wrong way, but so have you. Actually, I don't think it's either one of us who should be dealing with him at all."
Montel and I waited to see if Mama was going to tell us who the mysterious person was that should be dealing with Leon. The wait wasn't long.
"We both need to let go and let God." Silence fell over the room, a strange but peaceful silence, such as only the kind that words of wisdom can bring.
"Yeah, Mama, you're right," Montel agreed. "We both talk about God, but do our actions speak louder than words?"
Mama thought for a minute and then said solemnly, "I know that I need to rededicate my life to Christ. How 'bout you, son? Huh? What about you?"
Without verbally answering, Montel allowed his actions to speak louder than his words. He extended both his hands; one to me and one to Mama.
"Let's all join hands and seek God in prayer," Mama said.
Mama, Fatima and I stretched forth our hands until we were all linked together. As we all closed our eyes and hung our heads, Mama began to pray. This was a first for the family, and I must admit, the hush that fell over the room was so powerful, that I secretly hoped it wouldn't be the last.