He what?” Sandra led the chorus. She, her son, and daughter-in-law couldn’t believe the phone call Kidd had received less than ten minutes earlier. Adding the brief news report from the local station, it verified that a man at the airport had momentarily lost his mind. Without a photo, his mother, for one, didn’t really want to accept that it was her son. One thing for sure, they couldn’t deny he was in some kind of trouble.
Kidd was fuming. Sandra was bewildered and disappointed. “What was he doing at the airport?”
“He was on his way home to surprise you, Ma.”
“Me?” Sandra sucked in her breath.
“Yeah. Ace said he was homesick and he wanted to go home and check on you.”
“Well, his timing was off. That’s for sure,” Sandra replied in exasperation. “Why does your brother seem to be a magnet for craziness?”
Surfing the Internet on her phone when they got the call, Eva was about to sign off when a headline grabbed her attention. “Hey, look at this. A video is going viral on YouTube.” She read, “‘A lover’s spat brings a St. Louis airport to a halt.’”
Then Eva tapped “play” and the three of them squinted to watch the video play out.
“That can’t be Ace. He didn’t know—” Sandra caught herself. Kidd wasn’t privy to their whereabouts during the day. She was hoping to keep it that way.
Peering over Eva’s shoulder, they continued to watch the footage. Sure enough, two men were straining to lift a muscular man off the floor. Both women gasped when they saw the man stand up and a German shepherd ready to pounce. It was Ace.
“Thank God, he didn’t resist.” Sandra patted her chest to console her pounding heart. The potential aftermath of what could happen if her sons resisted when they were growing up, kept Sandra praying at night. Instantly, this scene became a stark reminder of those days.
Apparently, she should have never stopped praying. Turning away, she couldn’t watch anymore. Then she heard Ace’s muffled voice say, “Hi, Mom.” Sandra glanced over her shoulder in time to see Ace’s engaging smile and shuddered.
Kidd mumbled, “Fool.” He clutched a fist.
“Come on. You have to admit it’s funny. For Ace to be so arrogant in his moment of unfavorable international notoriety is amusing,” Eva commented.
Sandra exchanged glances with Kidd when he looked up. Staring each other in the eye, neither of them could contain it any longer. They laughed harder than Eva.
There was a brief intermission when Cheney’s husband, Parke, called. Malcolm followed and somehow, Cameron knew about it all the way up in Boston.
“I guess I’ve let him stew long enough. I’ll be back.” Kidd dug in his pants pockets for his car keys. He kissed Eva and was about to kiss his mother before she interrupted him.
“I’m going with you. No wonder Talise doesn’t want to be bothered with him,” Sandra said in disgust.
Kidd froze in his tracks. He glanced from his wife, who could keep a straight face no matter what, to his mother who wore an angelic expression—her game face.
“Somehow you two know something I don’t,” he announced, folding his arms and towering over them.
The women didn’t back down. One thing Kidd forgot was Sandra never let her sons, regardless of their size, intimidate her. She was the momma, and if anybody was going to instill fear, it would be her. Sandra lifted a defiant brow.
“Okay, I see you two have the mother/daughter-in-law pact going on. That’s all right. Don’t worry. I’ll figure it out. I’ll be waiting in the car.” With that said, Kidd walked out the front door.
The two women looked at each other. “Do you think we should say anything to Talise?” Eva whispered. “The video is pretty funny. She may get a good laugh. I promised her that Ace wouldn’t be within ten feet around her. And … look what happened.” Eva exploded into giggles again. “The Federal Marshals took care of that.”
“I think those were local police,” Sandra corrected, shaking her head. “Either way, she’s had enough excitement for one day. With all of us and Grandma BB, we were a handful.”
“You’re right.”
“Besides, Talise reminds me so much of myself when I was pregnant with Kidd and realized I was on my own. That was a challenging time to endure. Then after I got pregnant with Aaron, I took the ‘I am woman’ pledge and haven’t been with a man ever since.”
“You cheated yourself out of happiness.”
“And my sons out of a father figure. Samuel wasn’t available to fulfill his role, but I should have tried to make sure there was a male role model in their lives. They needed someone to help them grow into manhood,” Sandra admitted.
Reaching for her purse, she wore a somber look. “I recognized the longing in Talise’s eyes when she watched all of you. I pray she doesn’t miss out. She’s such a pretty girl—intelligent and independent too. As Aaron’s mother, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but after his stunt today, he may not be the best man for her.”
Blinking away a tear, Sandra’s heart was doubly heavy for Ace and Talise, as she headed out to join Kidd.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest … For my yoke is easy and my burden is light, God spoke from Matthew 11:28, 30.
“Sandra!” Eva called quickly, just before she closed the door.
Glancing over her shoulder, Sandra noticed Eva’s reverent expression. “God just spoke to me. It’s praying time.”
“I know.”