Chapter Twenty-Six

 

 

When Wrongs Are Righted

“Are you going to sit in the car all day?”

She shook her head but didn’t loosen her grip on the seatbelt across her chest.

“Baby.” I crouched down next to her and reached across her lap to release the restraint. “It’s fine. You know that, right?”

Her eyes narrowed to slits and shot daggers at me. “I thought I could do this but I can’t. I’ll just wait out here while you and Wisdom go in and have a good time.”

Laughing, I leaned back and caught Wisdom’s eye. “We’ll be right there, Lil Man.” I turned back to his mother and slid my hands up her exposed thighs, squeezing gently. “All that talk about wanting to meet my family and now we’re here and you want to chicken out.”

“That was before I cursed out your mama like a sailor fresh off the boat! I’m so damn embarrassed; I can’t even look her in the eye, let alone go into her damn house! I’m so pissed at you for putting me in this situation.”

The grin slipped off my face as the catch in her voice let me know she was serious. She was right; I’d had a big hand in putting her in this position. Although I’d felt like I was doing the right thing at the time, I fully acknowledged that it was my carelessness that led to Tonya blowing up at my mother. I had to own up to my part in it, but she had to do the same. She made the decision to disrespect my mother, so she had to live with that. For us to move forward, this was something we were going to have to tackle head-on. Tonya was important to me and having a relationship with my mother, free from animosity, was important to Tonya. They’d spoken on the phone but I knew it wasn’t enough so we were here, in the driveway of my parent’s home, preparing to go inside and have dinner with them.

We’d been sitting in the driveway for a while, and I could see now that I’d have to take matters into my own hands. Grabbing her legs, I swung them out of the car and placed her feet on the ground.

She put her hands up to stop me from pulling her out of the car and stood up. “You don’t have to manhandle me, I’m coming. I…I just need a minute.”

“I gave you five.” Bending at the knees, I lifted her up over my shoulder and kicked the door closed on the car, studiously ignoring her screams as I carried her up to the front door where I set her on her feet.

“That was so freaking unnecessary! I can walk!”

Wisdom stood at the door, giggling and I winked at him. “Tell your mom how long we’ve been waiting on her.”

“Mommy, it’s been ten minutes already. We had to take drastic measures.”

She gave him an incredulous look. “You conspired with him against me?”

Slipping an arm around her waist, I pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Don’t be so dramatic. We’re already here; we might as well go inside. “The door should be unlocked, Wisdom; open the screen door and turn the knob.”

He pushed the door open and stood back, and I grabbed Tonya’s hand before walking inside. My father was sitting in his favorite reclining chair, watching a basketball game. The moment we stepped inside, his face lit up and he jumped out of the chair with his arms spread wide.

“I’ll be damned. The prodigal son has returned.”

Laughing, I dropped Tonya’s hand and received the hug and kiss he was offering.

“Man, why you acting like I didn’t see you a few weeks ago?”

He released me. “Well, you didn’t have your better half with you, so I haven’t seen you whole in quite some time.”

My mouth fell open. “Wow, Pops. Firing shots as soon as I walk in the door, huh?”

A knowing look came across his face. “Are you finally going to introduce me to my daughter-in-law or do I have to stand here watching you catch flies with your mouth?”

“Oh my god.” Tonya breathed from behind me, laughter in her voice. She was enjoying me get blasted by my father but it was well deserved, so I took it in stride.

“Pops, this is my beautiful wife, my lady, my lover, Latonya Shari Black—hopefully soon, Hawkins—and this is my incredibly intelligent, incredibly talented stepson, Wisdom Cyrus Black. Baby, Wisdom, this is my father James Hawkins.”

Pops nodded, an impressed gleam in his eye. “That was quite an introduction, son. Good job.”

He then pushed me aside to pull Tonya into his arms. He must have said something to her because she nodded before stepping aside so that he could beckon Wisdom over.

“Where’s Ma?” I asked, glancing through the living room into the empty kitchen.

“She’s out back. Said she wanted to eat outdoors today.”

With a nod, I led my family through the living room, past the kitchen, and out the back door that led to my parents’ professionally landscaped backyard. As soon as we cleared the patio, I noticed Lisa come waddling around the corner. The moment she spotted us, her face brightened and her speed increased slightly. Bypassing me, she launched at Tonya with a force that almost knocked them both off of their feet. Tonya stumbled backward, wide, confused eyes on me. All I could do was shrug. I thought we were having dinner with my parents, so I had no idea why Lisa was here and couldn’t even fathom why she would be giving Tonya a super death-grip hug, knowing damn well it was a struggle with her belly in the way.

Wrapping her arms around Tonya’s neck, Lisa squealed, “It’s so good to finally meet you!”

“Um, thank you?”

Leaning back but not withdrawing her hold on Tonya, Lisa smiled widely. “Girl, you have no idea how glad I am to have you in the family!”

Immediately, I realized what she was saying and frowned. This is what J had been talking about. “Lisa, get on from ‘round here with that bullshit!”

Smirking, she faced me, leaving one arm around Tonya’s neck and propping her free hand on her hip.

“Don’t give me all of that smack talk because I’m showing my appreciation to this woman!”

“You’re showing appreciation for the wrong damn thing.”

“Says you!”

“Hell yeah, says me!

“Anyway!” Rolling her eyes, she turned to Wisdom. “Hey handsome, I’m your auntie, Lisa. I heard you were into sports. Well, your cousin Ja’mya is pretty athletic herself, and I think you two would have a lot in common. Come in back with me so I can introduce you.”

Wisdom looked to his mother for confirmation that it was okay while I gaped at Lisa.

“Mya’s here, too?”

“Yes, Jereth. Everyone is here.”

“Everyone?”

She shot me a look before grabbing both Tonya and Wisdom’s hand in each of her own and leading them around the corner of the house where the rest of my family was posted at the outdoor kitchen. Jeremiah approached us just before we reached the gazebo, and I could see come of the tension in Tonya’s shoulders relax as he hugged her to his side and dapped up Wisdom.

“It’s good to have y’all here, man.”

Glancing back at me, Tonya smiled. “It’s good to be here.”

And not that I’d ever doubted her about this particular thing, but it meant something to me that I could clearly see in her eyes that she meant it. It meant something that despite the nerves that had been plaguing her since we hopped in the car to embark on the road trip here that she felt good about being here, being around my family. And maybe the good energy she possessed could rub off on me and make me less anxious about this meet and greet. I jogged ahead, greeting my brother, dodging his swings as I pointed out that he also seemed to be gaining some pregnancy weight and brought the two halves of my family together with a smile.

Ma was still nowhere to be found and—after leaving Wisdom at the table where he’d already engaged in conversation with my niece—I took Tonya behind the gazebo to find my mother standing at the grill, wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat and an apron that read Not My Husband’s Apron.

“Here you are. I’ve been looking all over for you, woman.”

With a wide smile on her face, my mother dropped the tongs she was holding on the wooden shelf beside the grill and wiped her hands on her apron before taking two steps to hug first me, then Tonya. Eying her curiously, she didn’t seem to be holding in any anger, but I couldn’t be too sure. I nodded at Tonya.

“Mrs. Hawkins—” she began but when Ma started shaking her head, she bit her lip, effectively halting the rest of her plea. I knew it was too good to be true.

“Come on, Ma. You know what she’s trying to say, why we’re here. Give her a chance; we all know what went down was my fault.”

Tonya squeezed my hand. “Hold on, Jereth. I need to be the one to apologize.”

Ma put her hands in the air. "No need!”

Tonya shook her head. “Mrs. Hawkins, I—”

Grabbing Tonya’s other hand, Ma squeezed. “Didn’t I tell you to call me Sabrina?”

Tonya licked her lips as her eyes flitted from me to my mother nervously. “Yes, ma’am, but—”

“No buts. I said it and I meant it. I’ve already forgiven you, and from the looks of you standing here shaking like a leaf, you now need to forgive yourself. You said what you said out of hurt, and I understood that immediately. My son hurt you and wasn’t around to fix that hurt so you took it out on me. It wasn’t right, but what’s done is done.” Reaching up to wipe at Tonya’s tears, Ma cupped her cheek. “We can move on from this, can’t we?”

Tonya nodded and allowed herself to be pulled into a tight hug by my mother who rocked her gently from side to side and murmured comforting things that I couldn’t understand nor hear. And later, as we all sat around the long table under the gazebo and laughed over barbecued ribs and chicken while the sun began to set over the horizon, I looked at the beautiful woman sitting next to me who was fully engaged with Nedra in conversation about guns. At that moment, I felt the universe beaming down on me. Despite the rocky road, this thing was good. I was blessed.

Without rhyme or reason, I leaned over and kissed Tonya on her temple softly, and when she turned to me repeated my action on her lips, ignoring the course of “awwws” that came from Nedra and Lisa.

“You good?” I asked for her ears only.

The way her lips curved into a smile warmed my soul from within.

“I am, actually. I’m great.”

It was so simple, her reply, and yet, it was everything I needed to hear at that moment.

“I’m glad to hear that, baby. That’s all I wanted.”

Tilting her head, she looked at me, that smile dancing on her lips. “What about you? You good?”

“Yeah,” I drawled. “I’ll always be good when I have you by my side.”