“I really feel for you, Al. We’re all going to be in the Bahamas having the time of our lives and you’re stuck here in this boring city.”
“Well, don’t cry for me. Because when this weekend is over, I’ll have so much money that I’ll probably lay up in the Bahamas for an entire week.”
Demetrius glanced over at Al, and to his horror the man was smiling. He was planning on killing another family this weekend and he was actually smiling. “So, you have no problem with your weekend plans?”
“I’m good. Don’t worry about me.”
Demetrius pointed to the gas station across the street from the airport terminal. “Pull in there.”
“We don’t have all day, Demetrius. You don’t want to miss your flight.”
“I won’t miss it. Now pull into the gas station. They got these barbecue skins that I want to snack on while in the air.”
“Can’t you get some food at the airport?”
“The airport don’t sell these skins. So, just pull over. You wanted to be my chauffeur so bad, so get over there and let me get some snacks.”
Al shook his head. But he did as Demetrius demanded.
Jumping out of the car, Demetrius glanced at his watch. It was ten-thirty. If Angel had left the house right after him, she should be at Coach’s house by now. But, knowing how stubborn Coach was and how angry he had been the last time Demetrius spoke with him, he figured Angel would need a little extra time to persuade him to leave.
So, he did his best imitation of a turtle as he walked down each aisle, picking up a Reese’s cup in one aisle, and peanuts in another aisle. Down the chip aisle, Demetrius almost grabbed the bag of Funyuns, but then he remembered that he was supposed to be getting the skins. As he reached for them, Al stormed into the store.
“Grab your stuff and let’s go, boy. That plane ain’t gone sit on the runway waiting on you.”
Demetrius reached down and rubbed his ankle. He looked up at Al and said, “I don’t know why, but my ankle is bothering me today. Can you grab some pain pills?”
“Where am I supposed to get that?” Al rolled his eyes in frustration.
“I don’t know, go ask the clerk.”
~~~
Someone knocked on the door. Sam tried to lift the gun in his hand, but ended up fumbling with it. The gun fell to the ground and as he bent to pick it up, Katherine whispered through tight lips, “You have no business with that gun. You’re going to get yourself killed.”
The person behind the door said, “Mr. Johnson, it’s me, Mark Wilson. There’s a big storm coming tonight. I was just checking to see if you wanted me to shovel your snow in the morning.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Sam said, “That’ll be fine, Mark. Please shovel the snow in the morning.”
As Mark walked away from the house, Angel said, “We don’t have much time. Al has probably dropped Demetrius at the airport by now.
Katherine turned back to Sam. “I’m going to pack both of our things and you are leaving this house with me this morning.”
“What about the snow that’s coming? Someone has to be here to make sure that the house is properly cared for,” Sam argued.
But Katherine wasn’t hearing any of it. “This house, along with this whole town could freeze over and I wouldn’t think twice about it.” Wagging a finger at him, she said, “You created this mess, Sam Johnson with that gambling demon you can’t seem to shake. I have forgiven you for that. But if you stay here and die... I’ll never forgive you and because of the un-forgiveness that will be in my heart when I finally die, I won’t see Jesus, and it will all be your fault.”
~~~~
They pulled up to the airport at eleven-fifteen, Al was still fussing, “If you miss that flight, I’m going to tell your daddy that it was all because of some barbecue skins.”
“Don’t worry about it Al. The flight hasn’t left yet. But if I miss it, I’ll take the heat for it. It’s not on you.” He patted the man’s shoulder trying to reassure him that everything would be alright.
“Okay then.” Al calmed down a bit. He got out of the car and helped Demetrius with his bags. “Is your ankle still bothering you? Want me to carry these bags inside?”
“Naw, I got it. I guess the pain just comes and goes.”
Al, was getting back in the car as he said, “Enjoy yourself. And don’t worry about lil’ mama. I’ll ride past your house and make sure she stays put until you get home.”
That was the last thing Demetrius wanted. “She can leave if she wants. After that last comment she made to me, I’m not even sure that I want to deal with her like that anymore.”
Al nodded and then grinned, exposing his rotting tooth. “Let me know when you’re done with her... I just might like a shot.”
Demetrius clamped his mouth shut. The last thing he needed to do was respond to that nonsense. But if Al ever touched Angel, he’d kill the man with his bare hands. He stood there, watching Al pull off. He then went inside the airport and walked over to the Hertz rental car counter.
~~~~
Katherine had managed to convince her husband that they needed to get while the getting was good. But it still took another hour of packing before they had loaded three suitcases and two duffle bags into the Bronco. Sam finally put his foot down as Katherine went back to the house, grabbed a stack of papers and started stuffing them in her purse. “If you don’t get out of that house this instant, I’m going to change my mind.”
“I’m coming. I’m coming.” She dropped a couple of envelopes by the door, she was about to reach down and pick them up, but Sam started hollering.
“Right now, Katherine. We got to get on the road already.”
She closed the door, locked it and then got in the SUV.
As Angel drove, Katherine frantically searched through her purse. “I don’t have it... it’s not here,” she said as a single tear dropped from her eyes.
“What’s wrong, hon?” Sam asked.
She turned toward him, glaring with accusations. “You rushed me so fast that I left that letter Calvin sent us. It had a picture of our granddaughter in it.” This time there was an avalanche of tears.
He held onto his wife trying to soothe away the pain. “Don’t be sad. I’ll make this right. I promise... If you want, we can come back once everything dies down.”
Calming down, she shook her head. “Once we get where we’re going, I want you to put this house up for sale. I don’t want to live in the same city with Don Shepherd not another day. Calvin will just have to give us another picture of the baby.”
“Where do your kids live?” Angel asked as she got onto I-75 South. She was hoping to get them in a conversation that would bring a smile to their faces.
“We were only blessed with one child. A son,” Coach Johnson told her. He lives in South Carolina with his wife. They just had a baby girl and Katherine and I planned to spend the summer with them.”
Katherine said, “We don’t want to burden them. Calvin and his wife are doing really good. The last thing they need is two old fogies to take care of.”
“That’s why I wanted the money, baby. I knew you wanted to move down South, and if I had a hundred grand I could get you there in style.” Coach Johnson lowered his head and sucked in air.
Patting her husband’s knee, Katherine tried to console him. “We will still get there, Sam. We’ve got all of our savings and once we sell the house, we can buy us a small place near Calvin... you and Calvin can go fishing like y’all used to and I can babysit our granddaughter.”
“I should have talked to you about this in the first place, now I feel so foolish.” His head went low again. “All these years of trying to be an upstanding citizen in our community, and I get us run out of town.”
Angel felt for the man. She couldn’t let him take all the burden on his shoulders, so she said, “It’s not your fault that Demetrius’ dad is so greedy that he’s willing to kill rather than pay his debts.”
“I don’t know what’s gotten into Don. He’s always been a hard man. But he paid up whenever I won the numbers” Shaking his head he added, “If Leo hadn’t gotten himself arrested, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. Because I would have put my bet in with him.”
“I don’t like that way of thinking, Sam. You’ve got to stop all this gambling and I mean it this time. No more, you hear me?”
“After what happened to Danny and his wife, and how sick I’ve been over it all week. Worried that somebody might come and kill you over a bet I made... you got it, dear. I’m done gambling.”
They drove for about fifty miles then pulled into a gas station just before the Cincinnati exit. Angel got out and went to the ladies room. When she came back to the SUV she took a diaper out of her bag and changed DeMarcus.
Coach Johnson kept looking towards that exit; then when Angel got back in and just sat behind the wheel he said, “Don’t you think we need to keep moving?”
“Oh, I’m sorry for not communicating what we’re doing. Demetrius asked me to meet him at this location. He should be here in a few, I’m sure of it.”
“I know you’re helping us and all, dear. But I don’t think it’s wise for us to be left here like sitting ducks,” Katherine complained.
“Trust me,” Angel began. “If Demetrius says he’s going to do something, then it’s getting done. He hasn’t failed me yet.”
“What if he got on the plane and went to the Bahamas instead of risking his neck any further to help us? I’ve known Demetrius a long time, and he has never defied his father. He’s always done what Don told him to, even when it wasn’t in his best interest.”
“He defied him when he rescued me,” Angel said. “I don’t want to discuss all the particulars because it’s too embarrassing. But his father wasn’t happy about Demetrius’ choice to help me rather than do exactly what he had been told.
“And,” Angel continued, “I don’t think you realize how much Demetrius respects and cares for you, Mr. Johnson. He could never stand idly by and let his father hurt you.”
“I used to think Demetrius’ baseball skills was going to be his ticket out of this town and away from his father. But after he broke his ankle, he just gave up.”
“He seems to love the game so much. I would have thought he’d keep trying once his ankle healed. I wonder why he didn’t,” Angel mused.
“It was all Don’s fault. I told him that Demetrius could still get a scholarship to college because his numbers were that good. I said, ‘let him heal and then bring him back’. But the man wouldn’t hear of it. Told me that Demetrius would never be on that baseball diamond again.” Coach just shook his head.
“Maybe Angel came into his life at the right time. And now that he has a son, it’s time for Demetrius to realize that he needs to change his life.”
Angel gave a half smile as she said, “Maybe... I hope so.” She couldn’t bring herself to admit that DeMarcus wasn’t Demetrius’ son. She didn’t want this couple, who loved so deeply to know what a fool she had been. And as they kept sitting there waiting on Demetrius, she realized that her mother would want to know about DeMarcus’s father. How could she tell her that she’d left home to shack up with a strip club owner, who dealt drugs to his customers and tried to pimp her out. How could she tell her sweet mother that DeMarcus’s father was a heartless man like that?
Just as the shame of the situation was about to overtake her and cause her to rethink this visit with her mother, DeMarcus got fidgety in his seat, as he pointed at something outside and said, “Daddy.”
Angel’s head swiveled around, ‘please God,’ she silently prayed. ‘Let it be Demetrius’. A silver SUV had just parked next to them. As Angel glanced over with panic in her eyes, she saw that Demetrius was in the driver’s seat. Once again he had proven that she could trust him. He hadn’t hopped on that plane and left her behind. He got out and then Angel got out and ran to him. She jumped into his arms and sprinkled kisses all over his face.
Laughing, he asked, “What’s all of this for?”
“Demetrius Shepherd, you are a man of your word and I love you for that.”