by Tiana Laveen
“Left her where, exactly?”
“In a crack house over on Quincy Street.” Nita rocked her body, holding herself. She’d suspected this, to be honest, but it hurt all the same.
“We’ve got to tell Olive,” Hunter stated. She nodded.
“I know it’s late, but by chance is the young lady awake?” the detective asked.
“No, she’s asleep,” Hunter answered. “She just lost her father a few months ago.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that. Sounds like she’s been going through a lot.”
“Yeah. So let us talk to her, and we’ll have her call you later on today, if that’s all right? We don’t want to tell her this, then put her on the phone right away.”
“I understand. Please call back though, as soon as you can.”
“We will.” Nita grabbed a tissue from her nightstand, dabbed her eyes, and blew her nose. Hunter ended the call and left the room, returning a short while later with Olive and Tisha. He sat them down.
“Nita… tell them.” He waited for her to say the unbearable.
“You’re pregnant?!” Tisha grinned.
Nita smiled sadly and shook her head.
“No, nothing like that, baby. We… we got a call tonight. Olive.” Nita stood from the bed and crouched down in front of the girl who sat in her vanity chair. She took the girl’s hands in hers and squeezed them as tears fell down her face. “Olive, your mother—”
“She’s dead, isn’t she? My mom is dead?” The girl’s eyes sheened over, but her tone sounded angry… so angry! Nita nodded. Olive burst out crying, and Tisha followed right behind her. The next hour was nothing short of a distorted measure of time, blurred out, full of fractures of already broken souls. There were tears, maniacal laughter, fits, calm, then more sobbing. Hunter stayed in the shadows of this display, sitting on the bed. Occasionally, he sipped from a bottle of water, but he remained calm. He remained a rock. When he finally spoke, his voice broke the painful rhythm, and with what remained, he made a new song.
“Olive, I know how you feel. My mother died, too.” Olive rested her bloodshot gaze on him. “She died too young, like yours. She had a drug problem, but was a beautiful person, just like your mother. I know how you feel… believe me. I know better than anyone else in this room. You’ve suffered enough. It’s going to be okay, though. I promise. Come here. I want to hug you.”
He got to his feet. The girl stood up and raced to him. She buried her head against his chest, crying her eyes out, holding on tight. He rubbed his bandaged hand over her head. Nita watched as the girl squeezed him, probably killing him as she gripped his ribs. But he didn’t push her away, he didn’t push her back. He forced down the pain and let her lean on him. He didn’t complain. They stood there like that for a long while.
“Tisha, come downstairs and help me make some coffee and a bite to eat, then get to some calls. We have business to take care of,” Nita said. Tisha nodded and they started out the bedroom. Before she left out, she threw them a look over her shoulder. Hunter rested his chin on the top of her head. Olive shook like a leaf. She looked like a little blond angel, with a beastly giant nurturing her. These two had a special connection and the kind of pain nobody else could understand. They came from a shattered, cruel, and gutted world that had left them in shambles. They spoke in a language no one could understand but those that had walked in their shoes.
When Nita turned to leave, she heard Hunter say, “Olive… Noah and Holly are gone, but they live through you. You’re not alone. You’ll never be alone. You’ve got Nita. You’ve got Tisha. And God knows, just like I promised your father, you’ve got me…”
CHAPTER TWENTY
When Someone Shows You Who They Are, Believe Them!
Hunter studied the old guitar. Justin wore a proud expression, complete with a big shit-eating grin on his face.
“Play it, man! Come on. It’s a nice acoustic guitar, just like you used to play. It belonged to John Denver.”
“You’re a damn liar.” Hunter chuckled as he sat down on Justin’s paisley couch, his nieces and nephews running wild all around him.
“Just play a song. I wanna hear it.”
Hunter strummed the chords. It had been so long since he’d done that.
“I’m not that great at it. I just liked doing it.”
“Stop making excuses and let me hear a little something.” Hunter strummed some more, then started to play ‘Free Fallin’, by Tom Petty. Closing his eyes, he went through the entire song, singing to the best of his ability. It went suddenly quiet around him. He could no longer hear the kids laughing and screaming, the television, nothing. When he opened his eyes, his brother, their children, and his brother’s very pregnant girlfriend were standing there, in awe.
“Hunter!” Miranda cried. “You play so nicely!”
“Thank you.”
His niece climbed on his lap and clapped, causing everyone to laugh.
“Play another one!” she begged, kicking her legs back and forth. They sat down and he played ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain?’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival. His heart squeezed in his chest when he recalled how much his mother loved this damn song. He fought tears, some happy, some from a source of pain. Holly’s funeral had torn him apart. Not many people had attended for her addiction had caused isolation over the years. Those who did show up knew the struggles and had seen her trying. It was a song and dance he’d sung background to as a child.
But he’d had to be strong and stop his brain from placing his dead mother’s face across Holly’s as she lay in that casket. He’d had to, for Olive, and Nita, too. His lady was strong, but behind closed doors, with him, she was losing her mind on behalf of Olive. The crying would typically occur when she thought no one could hear, behind the bathroom door or in a closet… but the nightmares, he’d witnessed firsthand. Sometimes, when grief surrounded you, there was no escape.
Nita’s heart was simply too damn big. She took any sort of harm coming to either of the girls very hard, and he understood that. Nita loved Olive as if she’d given birth to her, too.
It was time for something new, something that felt good, something that drowned out the wails, even if only for a night. So he strummed the last chord of the song and smiled as the room erupted in applause. His family dispersed but Justin stayed.
“What?” Hunter asked as he placed the guitar down. Justin burst out laughing, then lit up a cigarette.
“Damn, you’re good.”
“A, put that shit out or take it outside, man. Your girl is pregnant.”
His brother looked like he wanted to protest, then nodded. The two headed out the back door to the small, well-manicured lawn. After a brief silence, his brother flicked his cigarette and let the ashes fall over the wooden railing of the deck.
“Dad said, uh, you paid him visit.”
“Yeah.”
“He said it didn’t go well.”
“For me it did.”
Justin hesitated before saying, “Hunter, I guess, I just believe in second chances.”
“I didn’t ask what you believed.”
“I know you didn’t, but I’m telling you.” Justin looked at him with sad eyes, but Hunter turned away, itching for a cigarette now, too.
“I have a fight in five months… out in California. You coming?”
“Cali? Shit! That’s great, man. Yeah… yeah… just tell me when and where.”
Hunter nodded.
“Justin.” He stroked his chin. “I’m not interested in telling you how to deal with our father. But since you brought it up, I’m going to talk to you about this. See, you have to understand though, some things just can’t be forgotten. He’s a different man with you than he was with me. He’s playin’ you. See, that’s what guys like us do.”
“Guys like us? Me and you?”
“No.” Hunter linked his hands and watched a dog sniffing about in the distance. “Guys like me and dad. We exploit people for our gain. We’re just made like
that. We can con a conman. I’m… ugly on the inside. I have dark thoughts sometimes. But, I know what I am, and I know right from wrong. Nita’s my compass. I need her… but sometimes even a compass can’t keep a boat from veering off the path every now and again. Sometimes the sea is stronger than the power of suggestion and direction. Sometimes, you just gotta let a wolf be a wolf. Nature vs. nurture is funny, ya know?” Hunter offered a dark smile. “I told Nita that love is on a spectrum. That’s true for me. I can love people, but have degrees of love for ’em. I can love one person more than another, but still love them both. Nita… I love her hard, man. This some new shit… She’s got me all fucked up. I’m in love with her, Justin. I’ve never felt this way about any other woman. Like, I fell for her hard and fast. That’s never happened before.”
Justin laughed lightly at his words.
“I love that. I like her, Hunter. I told you that. I think you fell for her like you did because she meets all of your criteria. Nita is really pretty, man. She’s kind, smart, mature, responsible, got her shit together… I’m glad you found someone to make you happy, like I did. Me and Miranda ain’t perfect; we fight like cats and dogs sometimes, but she loves me and takes good care of me.”
“Miranda is a sweet woman, Justin. You’ve got a nice family. Don’t let Dad fuck it up for you.” Hunter stood straight, patted his brother on the back, and prepared to walk back inside.
“How could dad fuck it up? He’s in prison for life anyway.” He chuckled nervously. “He doesn’t want to do that, Hunter. And he likes seeing photos of my kids. He’s a grandfather now, for God’s sake.”
“Justin, me and Dad differ in two ways.”
“How’s that?”
“He can’t fucking stand to see anyone happy, and he doesn’t know the meaning of love. Don’t ever let him know your plans, what you’re excited about or your next move. Even from behind bars, he can make shit happen. Those guys that robbed you? He told them I gave you that money.” The color seemed to drain from Justin’s face. “They knew about it before you even told them at the bar. All you did that night was confirm it. They knew from your words it wasn’t just a rumor, so they put a plan in motion. He brought it up to me, but he let a little detail slip out, said it was four guys… nobody knew that, Justin. I hadn’t even told you how many I saw that night. It sounded inconsequential and he didn’t even realize what he’d said…but I understood it loud and clear. He’d asked you for some of that money, didn’t he?”
Justin swallowed. “Yeah…”
“And what did you say?”
“I said I could give him a little, but most of it had to go to my girlfriend and the kids, especially since Miranda was pregnant. I told him I needed to use it to take care of my family. I said we needed more space, a bigger apartment or house to rent. And I told him I was thinking of enrolling in some classes or something, too.”
“And he took what you could give him, pretended to be grateful, but he wanted more… He was pissed, Justin, mad that you chose your new family over him. So he let a few of the neighborhood idiots know you had cash on you, hoping they’d do what neighborhood idiots do… and they did. He didn’t necessarily want you to die, but he wanted you to be punished… ’cause he’s a sick, entitled fuck! I know you want to believe he’s redeemable, but he’s not, Justin. People are creatures of habit. Our father has a habit of hurting people who care about him. He gets sick satisfaction out of it. The sooner you realize that, the better off you’ll be.”
Justin dropped his gaze, shame oozing off of him. The cigarette slipped from his grip and he angrily crushed it under his foot. Hunter wrapped his hand around his brother’s neck and drew him close.
“I don’t wanna believe you… but… it makes sense. Kinda. Shit! How… how could he?!”
“Baby brother, wake up and smell the fucking coffee. There’s nothin’ more dangerous than a feral animal that’s suddenly behind a cage for life. That demented brain is still hard at work. Those bars don’t stop shit. They just make the creature’s bloodlust overflow. Some animals kill their young. And they enjoy it. Never forget that…”
Olive burst out laughing as she threw down her last card and shouted, “Uno!” The groans in that dining room were something else. Nita laughed and got up from the table.
“Anyone want something else to drink?”
“I do!” Tisha yelled. “One more round, Mama.”
“I have to go to work in the morning!”
Tisha muttered under her breath, but Nita was too tired to ask her what smartass mess she’d said. She tipped the two-liter bottle of Coke Zero and filled two plastic cups: one for her and one for her daughter. She walked back into the dining room and cursed under her breath when she caught her man encouraging the girls, ignoring her wishes, by shuffling the cards and dealing everyone another hand.
“Hunter, I said I have to get up for work.” She placed the cups down on the table. “Now that I’m training to be a manager, I especially have to be on my P’s and Q’s!”
“Just one more game, baby,” he stated dismissively.
She wanted to mush him in the face. Oh, how he was getting on her nerves lately! Hunter was typically reliable, but that week, he’d been hard to get a hold of, and he was moody. Everything seemed to rub him the wrong way. It was rather strange, though she tried to not put much thought into it. John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ was playing on the radio as they started the new round. When she sat and picked up her cards, though, something seemed odd. Her heart started to race.
“It’s your turn, baby,” Hunter said as he casually sipped his soda. Her hands began to shake and she burst out laughing.
“This… this UNO card says, ‘We’re 2 people who met and fell in love.’” The message had been taped on the actual 2 card.
“Yeah.”
Another card in her hand said, ‘Will you become 1 with me? Let’s get married.’ She stared at Tisha and Olive, and they were all smiles.
“YOU TWO KNEW!”
They laughed and clapped, excitement on their beautiful faces. Hunter removed a small jewelry box from his pants pocket. She covered her mouth over a gasp. He turned towards her and looked down at the box for a spell, as if trying to gather his thoughts.
“So, I’ve been planning how to do this for a while. Nothing ever seemed right or good enough. I was, uh, gonna take you to a fancy dinner. But that’s cliché. I was going to take you on a cruise, but then once you were telling me about how you didn’t like the idea of being stuck on an ocean I nixed that idea. I thought of all kinds of ways and then I figured, we have a family game night two nights a month. It’s something we all enjoy. And I wanted to talk to Tisha first because I’m not trying to be her father, you know, replace him. She’s got a good father already, but I still would be a part of her family, and a father figure so to speak, so I wanted to make sure she was comfortable.”
Tisha nodded in agreement, cheesing from ear to ear.
“So I sat her and Olive down and told them… I told them that I love you. That I want to be with you, and for all of us to be a family. The family I never had.” He paused and blinked a couple of times. “I told Tisha that I love her, too, and then I told Olive the same thing. Nita, you’re so special to these kids. You’re special to everybody. When Olive ran away a couple of weeks ago and returned a few hours later after all of your voicemails, you didn’t freak out on her. You understood.” Olive lowered her head. “She’s struggling. You got her into counseling and she knows you love her.”
“I was afraid after I graduate, I’d lose you, just like I lost… never mind.” The girl’s eyes watered. “I felt like… I’d be eighteen and then your job of having me around would be over. Tisha would go to college, and I’d be all alone. So, like I told you, Ms. Nita, I figured I’d leave before that happened. I’m sorry. That was stupid.”
“Olive.” Nita shook her head. “We’ve discussed this. I understand what happened! I will always be here for you. I told you my home is your home. Noth
ing will change that!” She smiled at the girl, and Olive smiled back.
“So, with all of that, I knew I was stepping into you all’s world. Not the other way around. The three of you are a family. I knew this family was special, and I wanted the woman in the center of it all to be mine. Forever.” Nita fought tears. She fought hard. He opened the box and she, Olive, and Tisha gasped. There lay a sparkling, oval cut diamond ring. It was huge. He removed the stunning piece and held it up. “Anita Percy, will you marry me?”
“Yes!”
He smiled as he slid it down her finger. The girls jumped about in their seats, clapping and making a scene. Nita actually pinched her thigh to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Hunter appeared to see her do it, and winked.
“You should get married this summer, Mama!” Tisha squealed.
“Winter weddings are pretty too, though,” Olive chimed in. “When I get married, I want to do so in the snow.”
“Olive, you might want to freeze your cha-chas off in mid-January but my Black ass will be in a warm church when I get married!”
“Use your imagination, Tisha! It would be pretty!” Olive protested.
“Pretty silly! Ain’t nobody gonna be out there in no snow, especially not me if I’m the maid of honor. The only person that’ll do this with you is some fool you call your groom, tryna prove his love to you by getting frostbitten! Talk about ruining a wedding night. His thing will be like a frozen fish stick. You’ll be screaming ‘NEMO!’”
At this, Hunter practically fell out of his chair.
“Tisha! You’re crazy! Talking like that! Just crude and silly!” Nita chastised as everyone burst out laughing. She shook her head at her daughter. The girl was a trip. The banter and silliness continued, and she couldn’t help but stare at that ring glowing on her finger from time to time as they finished the game.
