by Bailey West
I sat up last night after they left thinking a lot about my life and the next moves that I need to make. I thought my life was good, no…I thought my life was great. I have money, businesses, I travel, I have women at my beck and call, and I have my music. I thought all of those things filled me and kept me content. Then I met Zora and Braeden, and I realized those things are great but at the end of the day I was lonely and I don’t want to be alone anymore. I enjoy their company. I love the way my house felt yesterday with them in it. I decided that my approach to Zora and BJ would change. I want to be a role model for my Lil dude and honestly…I can’t believe I am saying this but…I want to be Zora’s man.
BJ and I picked up Zora from the control room, and I took them back to Zanetta’s office. While Zora and Nette were talking, I called to make sure Chef had everything prepared at Zora’s house. She was waiting for us to arrive. We ate dinner together then Nette went home.
“So, how did you like the service today?” I asked Zora while we were chilling on her living room couch.
“I enjoyed Zanetta’s message. I liked the way the service flowed. It wasn’t a whole bunch of extra like I remember. I’m glad Roman asked me, and I’m glad I went.”
“I’m glad you came too. BJ was sad when he had to leave the children’s church.”
“He was?”
“Yeah. I think between me, Lil Sis and my brothers, we could get him there every Sunday.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Why? We are all together every Sunday anyway. I don’t mind taking him in with me. Sometimes I have to stay for both services, but I usually don’t. Either way, he would be fine.”
“Mommy!” BJ called from the back of the house. “I pooped, and now I’m clean!”
“He likes to announce that for some strange reason,” She laughed. “I’m going to go and put him down.”
“Is it okay if I come along?”
“Sure.”
I watched Zora’s routine with Braeden. She let him go into the bathroom by himself and undress after she turns the shower on the make sure the water is the right temperature. Braeden washes and then comes out for Zora to check him and help him into his night clothes. I wanted to learn his routine because I plan on helping. I want BJ, and I want his momma.
BJ climbed into bed.
“Zeke.”
“Yeah, buddy?”
“At kid church, they told me that I should pray before I go to bed. They said I should thank my new friend Jesus. They said he will listen to me when I pray cause he’s in Heaven.”
“You learned all of that today?” Zora asked.
“Yes, I learned it with my new friends at church.”
“Sure, man. I will help you. Come down here with me.”
I got on my knees and folded my hands in front of me. BJ mimicked my actions.
“Now you tell Jesus what you want him to know. My dad taught me to first tell God that you love Him. Close your eyes.”
He closed his eyes and said, “Hi Jesus. It’s me BJ. I love you and thank you for being my new friend.” He looked at me and said, “Will he speak back?”
“No, not usually but that doesn’t mean He’s not listening. You know how sometimes you can tell your mommy a story. She may not respond, but you know that she heard you?”
“Yes.”
“It’s the same thing with Jesus. He always hears you no matter what time of day it is or where you are.”
“Wow, that’s cool.”
“I know. Next, you ask Him to forgive you for any wrong choices you made today. After you ask him to forgive you, He forgets you did it.”
“He does?”
“Yeah, he completely forgets!”
“Wow. I wish my teacher forgot. Sometimes when I make a wrong choice, my apple gets moved down the tree. If your apple hits the ground, then you miss playtime outside.”
I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t. My apple would have stayed on the ground when I was his age. My apple stays on the ground now!
“Well, Jesus forgets, so remember to always ask for forgiveness, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You can just say please forgive me for all of my wrong choices.”
He repeated after me.
“Now you thank Him for whatever you want. You can thank Him for things like your family and friends.”
“Okay, Thank you, Jesus, for my mommy, my Tee Tee, my teacher, my friends and my Zeke. That’s all.”
He included me on the list with his Mom and Nette? I swallowed hard so my voice wouldn’t crack when I spoke again.
“Now you can ask him to keep you safe while you sleep or ask for whatever you want. It’s up to you. You talk to Him like you talk to me.”
“Okay.” BJ thought for a moment before he continued. “I want to be a good boy for my mommy and my teachers. I want to learn to play the drums real good like my Zeke. That’s all.”
“When you are finished, you say amen,” I instructed. “Amen means you have finished praying. It’s like saying ‘the end’ when you are done reading a book.”
“Amen.”
“Good job!”
We both got off our knees, and I helped him climb into bed.
Zora came over and kissed him on the forehead. “Goodnight baby.”
“Good night, Mommy. I told my friend Jesus about you.”
“I heard you baby, thank you.”
“Good night, Lil man,” I kissed him on the cheek.
“Good night, Zeke.”
Zora
I pulled the door closed behind me as Zeke and I left out of Braeden’s room. I watched as Zeke got down on his knees with my son and taught him how to pray. I was speechless…and turned on. I probably shouldn’t be turned on by a man praying with my son, but I was. I mean like squeezing my thighs together, fanning myself, turned on. I’ve never seen a man interact with a boy in such a nurturing way. I feel the genuine care, and concern Zeke has for my son. I also see the genuine reverence and respect my son has for Zeke.
“Thank you for teaching him, Zeke. I really appreciate it.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
I moved in front of him and stopped him by putting my hand on his chest.
“I mean it, Zeke. I have a dad and brothers, but none of them are in his life. You have become his role model. I can’t teach him to be a man. So, when I say thank you, I mean it. Thank you.”
He covered my hand that was resting on his chest with his hand. I could feel the callouses and the roughness of his hand, but his touch was gentle. He moved my hand to his mouth and kissed it.
“It’s my pleasure, Doctor Chambers.”
He kissed my hand again before moving around me to go back into the living room.
“Zeke, do you want something to drink? I have water, and I think I have some wine.”
“Water is fine. I don’t like wine.”
I handed him a bottle of water while asking, “You don’t like wine? That’s blasphemy! The people in the Bible drank wine all the time.”
“It has nothing to do with my Christianity. I’m not against drinking, but I would prefer a cognac or brandy. Nothing clear and certainly not wine. Wine is nasty, and it gives me a headache.”
“You just haven’t had the right bottle. I prefer a dry red wine. I don’t like sweet wine at all. Semi-sweet is cool.”
“You are probably the hundredth person that has told me that I haven’t tried the right kind of wine. I’ve had cheap bottles here in the states to very expensive rare bottles overseas and guess what? Every single one is nasty, and all of them; dry, sweet and semi-sweet gives me a headache.”
I laughed at him.
“You’re silly.”
“You know what’s good though?”
“What?”
“Kool-Aid. You get the right person that knows how to mix them flavors together and then add just the right amount of sugar! Kool-Aid has been and still is my most favorite drink. Blue makes the best Kool-Aid. Not that fake
Flavor-aid or Wyler’s. I’m talking about Kool-Aid with the dancing Kool-man pitcher on the package.”
“I thought I was the only one who could tell the difference between them.”
“Naw, don’t nothing else taste like Kool-Aid. The other ones have an after taste no matter how much sugar you add to them.”
“I know! I’ve had this conversation with people in the past, and they swear up and down that there isn’t a difference.”
“That’s because they don’t know Kool-Aid!”
“Exactly! What’s your favorite flavor?”
“Cherry. Grape is a close second. You thought I was going to say red, didn’t you? I know how to talk to smart people, Doctor Chambers.”
He tapped the tip of my nose with his pointer finger.
“Shut up Ezekiel!” I laughed. “Besides, for people that really know Kool-Aid, they know that red is actually a flavor.”
We both laughed.
“Are you going to tell me about your family?”
I knew he was going to ask about my family again. It’s not that I don’t want to share with him, but I can get so emotional when I talk about them. I have to think while I talk to make sure to leave out certain parts because there are some things I’m just not ready to talk about. I don’t know if I will ever be ready to talk about them.
“I am the youngest of four children. I have three older brothers: Countee, Amiri, and Langston. The boys are all close in age. Countee and Amiri are Irish twins; they were born about nine months apart. They are the same age for three months before Countee’s birthday comes again. Langston was born the next year. There are six years between Langston and me.
My dad is a pastor, and my mother is the ever loving first lady. My mother and I never got along. Well, I can’t say we never got along. She didn’t deal with me, and I learned how to cope. I was never disrespectful to her or anything like that but she never took an interest in me. The church monopolized my dad’s time, so he wasn’t around either. My brothers got old enough, and they all left and didn’t come back. I would see them maybe once every couple of months after they left home. I left home without anyone’s knowledge. I left Saint Louis by myself the night I graduated from high school, and I haven’t been back since. I wrote a letter to my parents apologizing and asking them if we could talk about it but my mother responded with a Fuck you go play in traffic letter.”
“She said that to you?”
“Not in so many words. She said you thought you were grown so stay grown and don’t contact us again. So…” I paused to fight back the tears I felt building. “I’ve been on my own.”
“And your brothers?”
“I haven’t heard from them. I don’t even know where to look for them. I thought that one of them would have come looking for me by now, but they haven’t.”
Ezekiel sat silent for a few minutes before he said, “Now I’m even more impressed with you Doctor Chambers. You’ve created a great life for you and BJ all on your own. I don’t know if this means anything to you, but I’m proud of you.”
Queue the tears…
“Thank you, Ezekiel, that means so much to me.”
Ezekiel
After Zora told me the story of her family, I was so impressed. I mean, I was feeling her already, but her strength is remarkable. Her life could have easily gone another way, but she fought hard to make sure it didn’t. That’s what’s up. That made me want to help her even more.
BJ likes to call me and tell me about his day at school or whatever new thing he has discovered. I look forward to our conversations. I asked Zora if I could spend some time with BJ. I wanted to build my own relationship with him. At first, she was a little reluctant which I understood. She’d been taking care of him and making sure he was safe his entire life. She eventually let me take him out for dinner. From there we started having regular outings together. Sometimes we would invite Zora and sometimes it would be just me and BJ. My goal for spending time with BJ was not only to build our relationship but give Zora some time alone. I’m sure she doesn’t get much of that.
I want to be around Zora all the time which is why I am following the directions she gave me to the park where her kickball game was being held. She invited me to play the first time they came to my house. I finally had time in my schedule to participate.
I parked my truck and got out to look through the crowd of people for Zora. I found her standing next to some square looking dude all cheezed up in her face. She had on some black leggings with the sheer panels on the sides, a black sports bra, but she covered it with a sleeveless white t-shirt and some black Nike Huarache tennis shoes. Her hair was pulled up into a top bun, like mine.
“My Zeke!” BJ ran to greet me as I approached Zora and Mr. Squarepants.
I was happy to see him. His smile always makes my day. I had been traveling for the past week, so I hadn’t seen him.
“What’s up man!” I picked him up and continued over to Zora.
“Hey, Zora.” I gave her a quick one-armed hug since I still had BJ in my arms. Coconut and jasmine…my favorite combination. I wanted to hold on to her possessively since Squarepants was all in her grill, but I didn’t.
“Hey Zeke, I’m glad you made it. This is Doctor Theo Sylvester. He is coming on as the prosthodontist at our practice. Doctor Sylvester, this is Ezekiel Bluette, drummer extraordinaire.”
I smiled at her introduction. I’m glad she didn’t introduce me as her friend. I was planning on being way more than a friend. Doctor Squarepants extended his hand. We shook. Weak ass handshake.
“It’s just Theo. Nice to meet you,” he lamely said.
“Zeke,” I responded unenthused.
I turned my attention to BJ. I didn’t have time to play like I was interested in anything Squarepants had to say.
“Well, I guess I will go and get my sneakers on. The game is about to start. I will see you later, Zora.”
“See ya, Theo,” Zora responded.
I didn’t acknowledge him.
“I have to go and check BJ in with the child care workers. They pay people to keep an eye on the kids while we play the game.”
I followed her to the little play area that was gated off. There were several kids in there running around.
“Are any of these kids your friends, BJ?” I asked.
“Yeah, I play with them while Mommy plays kickball.”
I put him down so he could be escorted into the enclosure by one of the workers.
“I will see you after the game, BJ okay?”
“Okay.”
We turned back in the direction of the fields.
“So, what’s up with Doctor Squarepants all up in your grill when I walked up?”
I was lowkey jealous.
“Doctor Squarepants,” she laughed. “You are stupid but what’s even more stupid is that when I first met him, I named him SpongeBob because his head is square.” We both laughed. “He is harmless. He’s new to the practice and is trying to get to know everyone.”
“I don’t know about getting to know everyone, but I see he is trying to get to know you. I may have to trip him when he comes around the bases, or maybe I will turn this into dodgeball and light his ass up with the ball.”
She stopped walking to laugh.
“Ezekiel, don’t!”
“I’m not making any promises,” I threw my hands up in mock surrender. “He’s trying to be my competition. He has to go.”
“Competition for what?”
“You.”
She smiled, “Whatever Zeke. You don’t have competition,” she winked and walked away.
“Word?” I said while jogging to catch up to her.
I hadn’t taken care of her backup problem yet. Not because I didn’t want to but because I was scared that once I did get a taste, that would be the thing that will solidify the fact that I am falling for her. The entire time I was away, I thought about her and BJ. I wondered what she was doing. I wondered if BJ was saying his prayers. I want
ed to call. I wanted to Facetime. I was ready to get back home. Usually, when I travel, I make the most of each trip. I see the city and find some legs to crawl between, but this time, I was just ready to get back to Houston…to my Lil Dude and his Momma.
Jealousy is not something that I thought I could experience but when I walked up on Zora and Doctor Squarepants, I felt a certain way. I didn’t like how close he was. I didn’t like that BJ was around to witness him flirting with Zora. I didn’t like that he felt comfortable enough to be that close to my wom…Whoa, Zeke. Slow your roll.
The team huddled up to pick positions and the order we would kick. I was hoping that Squarepants would be on the opposite team so that I could get one good lick in with the ball but we were on the same team so I won’t be able to get him…this time.
The game began, and I had so much fun. Zora is very athletic and competitive. She tried to kick a homerun every time she got up to the plate. She played center field while I played third base. It came down to the last play of the fifth and last inning of the game. We were tied with the other team. We had two people on base; one on first and the other on third. Zora was up to kick. We all cheered her on.
The first ball rolled under her leg. Strike one. We all cheered and encouraged her. The second ball came, and she kicked the air out of that ball. It went sailing over everyone’s heads. She kicked a homerun! Our team went crazy. We rushed to field to celebrate. She was all smiles as she rounded the bases. The team met her at home plate to celebrate her home run. I watched, making sure Doctor Squarepants kept his hands to himself. He did.
“So, MVP what would you like for dinner? My treat.”
Zora was still smiling as we walked to her car after picking up BJ.
“Let’s eat something, good Mommy,” BJ encouraged.
“Okay, something good,” She looked at BJ and winked. “What about Italian? Would you like some spaghetti BJ?”
“Yes!” He sang his answer.
“I know a great Italian place,” I commented.
“Can we go dressed like this?” Zora asked.
I looked her up and down appreciating how nice she looked in her leggings.
“Yeah, it’s a small place, low key. We will be fine.”
