by Darrien Lee
“Well, damn. I’m happy to see you too, sis!” he yelled out to her.
Ramsey scratched his chin and then grabbed Malachi’s suitcase. As they headed for the grand staircase, he turned to his brother-in-law and said, “You know she’s right. It’s just common courtesy to call people before you show up on their doorstep. We travel a lot, which means you never know when we’re going to be here. I’ve been in Atlanta the past few days and just got home today.”
Malachi stopped on the landing and said, “I can leave if this is going to be a problem.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Ramsey answered as they entered the guess bedroom. He sat the suitcase on the floor and turned on the lamp. “You’re family, so it’s cool ... this time.”
“My sister’s not acting like she’s cool,” Malachi replied as he sat down and bounced Neariah on his knee.
“She’ll be fine. Keilah loves you. Just make sure you call next time.”
Neariah giggled loudly as she grabbed a fistful of Malachi’s dreadlocks. He gently pulled his hair out of her grasp and said, “I will, and I’m sorry if I ruined your homecoming.”
With a sly grin on his face, Ramsey said, “You can’t ruin my homecoming, bro, but I do accept your apology. Now, hand me my daughter. After you wash up, bring your ass downstairs so you can get some dinner.”
“Sounds good,” Malachi answered as he opened his suitcase. “Save me a chicken leg or whatever you have down there.”
After washing his hands and freshening up a bit, Malachi joined his sister and Ramsey at the table. He took a seat across from Keilah and poured himself a glass of wine. He took a sip and said, “This is good. What is it?”
Ramsey said, “You’re the connoisseur of wine. You tell me.”
Malachi turned the bottle around and saw that it was a three-hundred-dollar bottle of 2008 Far Niente Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
“Not bad, brother-in-law. It’s a good pick.”
Ramsey proudly pointed at Keilah. “Praise my wife. She picked it out, not me.”
With a huge grin on his face, Malachi looked over at his sister and said, “I see I taught you well.”
Malachi was a serious wine collector, even though he didn’t look the part. He looked more like a hip-hop artist with his dreadlocks and flashy attire. He had a very impressive wine cellar, which consisted of several types of wine in a wide price range. He even had some bottles that cost thousands of dollars. Over the years, his love of wine had rubbed off on Keilah, and she had become somewhat of a collector herself.
Keilah gave Neariah a piece of steak and said, “Whether you believe it or not, I do listen to you when you’re try to teach me things, especially about wine.”
“That’s good,” Malachi said with smile of admiration. “By the way, this food looks delicious. Did you cook it?”
“No, Camille did,” she answered as she added more vegetables to her plate.
Malachi took a bite of the steak and said, “Damn! She grills almost as good as I do. It’s tender and seasoned just right.”
“She’s a great cook,” Keilah said before changing the subject. “What’s going on, Malachi? I mean, seriously, why are you here a week earlier than everyone else? Is there something you’re not telling me? Is everything okay back home?”
Malachi put his fork down and smiled. “Everything’s cool. I needed a break, that’s all. You know it can be hard sometimes being around family all the time. I love my brothers, but damn! They can get on my last nerve. Besides, I wanted to spend some time with you guys before everybody else got here. You do know it’s going to be crazy, right?”
“It’s not going to be crazy, because if you and Keytone start tripping, I’m going to shut it down with the quickness,” Keilah retorted.
“Why are you singling us out?” Malachi asked.
“Because it’s always you two, that’s why. Everyone else gets along just fine.”
Keilah was the only girl and the baby in her family. Her brothers, Luke, Roman, Malachi, and Genesis, had basically raised her after their parents died. Her half brother, Keytone, was the same age as her oldest brother, Luke. He had a shady past, and it had been difficult for the brothers to accept him into the family dynasty, but he had changed his ways and had been a great manager at one of the family-owned casinos.
Ramsey laughed and asked, “Babe, how are you going to shut down Thanksgiving?”
She looked at her husband in disbelief. He had seen her family in action and was well aware of how quickly things could get out of hand with them.
“Ramsey, I know you’re not going to sit there and act like you don’t know how stupid they get,” Keilah said.
Ramsey laughed again. “I know they can get a little passionate about things—hell, I can too—but you can’t cancel Thanksgiving, so this is how it’s going to go down... . We’re going to fellowship as a family, give thanks to God, and enjoy some of Sabrinia’s delicious cooking.”
Sabrinia was Luke’s wife and a well-known professional chef who owned her own catering business. She often volunteered to cook for family functions, including Thanksgiving.
“Okay, if you say so,” she replied. “By the way, when are your parents and the rest of the family coming?”
“They’ll be here Tuesday, and my brother and sister will be here Wednesday.”
She rubbed her eyes and asked, “Where are we going to put everyone?”
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’ve already booked my room at the St. Regis, because I might hook up with somebody,” Malachi revealed.
Ramsey gave Malachi a high five and said, “I ain’t mad at you, bro. A man needs his privacy when he’s entertaining the ladies.”
“Please! Can we get back to the sleeping arrangements ?” Keilah asked as she rolled her eyes. It didn’t take much to get Malachi talking about hooking up with women.
With a huge smile on his face, Ramsey said, “Okay, we have six bedrooms, so we can move Neariah’s crib into our room and my parents can sleep in Neariah’s room.”
“Your mom is not going to let us take Neariah out of her room. They have some spoiling to catch up on,” Keilah reminded him.
“Well, whatever they want to do is fine with me,” said Ramsey. “Then Aunt Judy can have a guest room, and so can Luke and Sabrinia. Their kids are going to spend all their time in the theater and game rooms, anyway, so they will sleep wherever. That leaves two more rooms. I say let Roman and his wife have one and let my sister, Xenia, and her husband, Keith, have the other. Roman’s kids will camp out with the teenagers downstairs. The rest can get rooms at the St. Regis with Malachi. What do y’all think about that?”
“Sounds good to me,” Malachi replied.
Keilah nodded in agreement and informed her brother that he had the task of reserving rooms at the hotel and calling everyone to let them know about the arrangements.
“Me? Why me?”
She picked up Neariah’s cup. As she headed toward the kitchen, she said, “You show up a week early, you’re going to have to work, and that’s your first task.”
Malachi looked over at Ramsey, hoping to find an ally, but he was mistaken. Ramsey threw up his hands and said, “Sorry, bro. I can’t help you. The boss has spoken.”
Keilah returned to the table with the cup refilled for her daughter, who quickly turned it up. “How’s business ?” she asked as she sat down.
Malachi finished off his second glass of wine and said, “The casinos are doing great, especially the Special K, but it’s hard working with Keytone.”
The Special K was the family’s second casino, named in honor of Keilah since she was the brothers’ only sister. Their other casino, the Lucky Chance, had been a huge success for the family as well, but it had experienced its ups and downs as the Chance men worked hard to continue running their late father’s legacy.
“I know it can be hard working with family, but Keytone is our brother, whether you like it or not. You’re going to have to figure out a way to get
his past out of your system. He did save your life, remember?”
Malachi lowered his head and remembered when the head of a gang kidnapped him and his brothers—with the help of their trusted attorney, who had betrayed them—and held them hostage until they signed over their rights to their casino. They were freed only after Keilah, Ramsey, and Keytone rescued them in a huge shoot-out that left the gang leader and his entourage dead and the brothers free.
“You don’t have to remind me. I know he had a little bit to do with that, but you guys were there too.”
Keilah yelled, “Just face it, Malachi! He’s our brother. Accept it and respect him.”
Ramsey interrupted the pair, trying to bring peace to his household. “Listen, Malachi, I know it’s hard working with family sometimes, but Keilah’s right on this one.”
Keilah turned to Ramsey and asked, “Babe, are you saying I’m difficult to work with?”
Ramsey reached over to his wife and took her hand and kissed it. “No, sweetheart, I love working with you. I’m just saying it can be stressful. You’re my wife, so if anyone disrespects you, the husband in me will come out a lot faster than the business partner.”
Neariah squealed to get some attention. Malachi reached over and gave Neariah a tender piece steak.
“With my situation it’s a little different. It’s harder to run a business with family when all we seem to do is agree to disagree,” Malachi said.
“You must be doing something right,” Ramsey replied. “You guys have two very successful businesses. To keep your sanity, take more vacations. Otherwise, you’ll burn out.”
Keilah stood and picked up her empty plate. As she walked toward the kitchen, she said, “Yes, Malachi, take more vacations. Just make sure it’s far away from D.C.”
Malachi leaned back in his chair and yelled, “Why you got to be so damn mean, Keilah?”
She walked back into the room and said, “I’m not being mean. I’m keeping it real.”
Feeling he needed to put the subject to rest once and for all, Ramsey jumped into the conversation. “That’s enough, Keilah. Cut Malachi some slack. He’s your brother, and family is always welcome here. Stop giving him a hard time, because you know you miss them as much as they miss you.”
Ramsey then turned to Malachi. “Now for you, Keilah just wants to be treated as an adult and with respect. You’re welcome here anytime as long as you call first. Are we clear on the rules of visiting?”
Malachi held his wineglass out to his brother-in-law and his sister and said, “Crystal clear and, sis, I’m sorry if I overstepped my boundaries. It’s hard for me to accept you being all grown up, but I’m going to work on it. Okay?”
Keilah climbed out of her chair and walked around the table and hugged her brother’s neck. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, “That’s all I want. Thank you.”
The three of them touched their wineglasses together, and with that, the issue was resolved.
Major Michael Monroe stepped off the plane at Andrews Air Force Base in full dress uniform. He stopped to take in a breath of fresh air and said, “It’s good to be home.”
The two military personnel accompanying him said, “I’m sure it is, sir.”
Major Monroe had been missing in action in Iraq for over a year, with his fate unknown to his family and his unit, until he was found in a house by patrolling units in Baghdad . He also happened to be the main character in Keilah’s nightmares ever since they’d broken up a little over a year ago. Being in Iraq had given him a lot of time to think things over. Now he was back, and he had some unfinished business that he needed to take care of, but first things first. Michael and his entourage entered a government vehicle, which quickly drove them in the direction of the Pentagon.
Inside the shiny halls of the Department of Defense, Major Monroe took a seat in an office and prepared himself for his debriefing and his recounting of what was a remarkable story of survival.
Chapter Three
It was nearly eight o’clock in the evening when the doorbell rang once again at the Stone residence. Malachi and Ramsey were watching a football game in the theater room. Keilah was upstairs giving Neariah her bedtime bath, unaware that their friend Kyle Bradford had called, needing to speak with them, and had conversed briefly with Ramsey. Ramsey had picked up on the urgency in Kyle’s tone of voice, so he invited him over and decided to keep the phone call to himself until he found out what was really going on. Kyle worked at the Pentagon, and not only did he hold a prestigious position, but he was also one of D.C’s most eligible bachelors.
Shaking Kyle’s hand after letting him in the house, Ramsey said, “I thought you were out of town.”
Following Ramsey into his office, Kyle said, “I got back this morning.”
Ramsey closed the door to his office to give them some privacy.
Kyle sat down across from Ramsey’s desk and asked, “Where’s Keilah?”
“Upstairs, giving Neariah a bath,” Ramsey answered. “What’s going on? Because this doesn’t feel like a social visit.”
Kyle leaned forward and said, “I wanted to talk to you guys before this hits the media.”
“What?” Ramsey asked with concern.
“Some of what I’m about to tell you is classified, so you know you can’t repeat it outside the house.”
“You know I understand the rules,” Ramsey assured him.
Kyle took a deep breath and then said, “Major Michael Monroe has resurfaced. A unit found him in a house with an Iraqi family. According to him, his Humvee was ambushed by insurgents and he was the only one who survived. He was held prisoner for the past year. He said they moved him around from house to house to try and stay ahead of the American troops.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Ramsey asked, even though he knew Kyle would not kid about something of this magnitude.
“No, I’m not kidding. I saw him with my own eyes. He looked remarkable well, considering what he’s gone through. He still has a lot more debriefing to go through, and he has to have a psych exam too. I’m sure he went through hell over there. Sources said he’ll probably need therapy for a while. I don’t know what state of mind he’s in, but I’ll see what I can find out.”
Ramsey rubbed his chin in silence. “Do you think he’s still fixated on Keilah?”
“I have no way of knowing. You know the doctor-patient confidentiality guidelines.”
“What happens next?” Ramsey asked.
“You know the drill,” Kyle reminded his friend. “If everything checks out, he’ll probably retain his rank and maybe even get a promotion. If he’s smart, he’ll go ahead and retire. Whatever he does, Homeland Security is going to be interested in his story. Who knows what kind of intelligence he brought back with him.”
“That’s some bullshit,” Ramsey mumbled.
“I agree, but you know how this works. There will probably be some interviews with the national media, so Keilah needs to know he’s back. I remember you talking about those bad dreams she had after he disappeared.”
Ramsey walked over to the window and looked out over the lawn and said, “Yeah, for some reason she had it in her mind that he was going to try and take Neariah from us.”
Ramsey stood there in deep thought as he recalled how Keilah had dated Michael Monroe for a short period of time. He had even asked her to marry him. Fortunately, she was able to see him for what he really was when she caught him in bed with his male lover. Hurt and angry, she couldn’t understand why he had taken her down that dangerous path, so she interrogated him to get the reason behind his actions. He admitted to honestly loving her, but he was bisexual, and eventually he revealed that he wanted to marry her only to have a child. His plan was to marry her, ultimately file for divorce, and sue her for custody of the child. This admission sent Keilah over the edge. With every fiber in her body she wanted to kill him, but she shot him in the foot instead, leaving him begging for forgiveness, something she couldn’t do at the time.
“Bro, I can’t tell you that Monroe won’t try to contact Keilah. In his debriefing he made a statement regarding making amends with people he had wronged and being thankful for a second chance at life. Personally, I don’t think he’s being truthful,” Kyle said.
“What do you mean?” Ramsey asked.
“It’s a gut feeling, and it was something in his eyes. You had to be there to know what I’m talking about,” Kyle said as he stood. “You’re going to tell Keilah, right?”
“I have to. It’s been too hard convincing her that Neariah is safe. Besides, I can’t have her blindsided by him if he decides to approach her on the street,” Ramsey replied just before opening his office door and escorting Kyle to the front door.
When Kyle reached the front door, he turned and said, “You know I’ll do what I can to keep you informed on his movements. Give Keilah and Neariah my love.”
Ramsey opened the door for him and said, “I will. Call me tomorrow so we can talk more about this.”
Kyle shook Ramsey’s hand and said, “Will do.”
Ramsey closed the door behind him and rejoined Malachi in the theater room.
“What was that all about?” Malachi asked.
“Michael Monroe is no longer MIA,” Ramsey said as he took a swallow of his beer. “He’s back in D.C., and he’s alive and well.”
“No shit!” Malachi yelled out, causing Target to bark. He patted the dog’s head to let him know everything was okay.
“It’s the truth, but I haven’t told Keilah yet, so keep it to yourself for now. I’ll tell her between tonight and tomorrow, because it’s going to hit the media any day now.”
Malachi turned the sound down on the football game and looked his brother-in-law in the eyes. “Ramsey, I’m going to say this as plain as a brother can say it. If his punk ass comes anywhere near my sister or my niece, I’m not going to be responsible for my actions. His drama shook her up.”
“I’m right there with you,” Ramsey replied as he stood and finished off his beer. “I’m going upstairs to check on them.”
